Jackie Baillie

8 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is aware of the level of the Department of Work and Pensions allocation for discretionary housing benefit to each local authority in Scotland.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-13013 on 5 March 2013. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentaryb…

8 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how much discretionary housing benefit was awarded by each local authority in 2011-12 and how much of it was allocated to (a) private sector, (b) local authority and (c) housing association tenants.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: The table gives the contribution from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) towards discretionary housing payments (DHP) in each local authority area in Scotland. Local authorities are allowed to supplement the amount they spend on DHPs from their own r…

8 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many people in Scotland claim housing benefit and how many of them are in receipt of disability living allowance.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: The Department for Work and Pensions publishes information on the number of housing benefit claimants on their website. This information is available at: http://83.244.183.193/hb_la/#view=hblaview11&selectedWafers=0&selectedColumns=0 During November 2012, t…

8 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it costs to provide passported benefits to people who might lose their entitlement to these because of the proposed welfare reforms, also broken down by local authority.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: It is unclear how many people might lose either wholly or in part their eligibility for benefits as a result of the UK Government’s welfare reforms. However there is enough data to allow us to estimate what the impact of moving from Disability Living Allowan…

8 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people currently qualify for passported benefits, broken down by benefit.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The latest figures available for take up of passported benefits are shown on the following table: Benefit Latest Numbers Held Legal Aid 2011-12 - 137,000 legal assistance cases (to nearest 1000). Court Fee Exemptions 2011-12 - 838 exemptions as a result…

8 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the draft regulations for passported benefits will cover all who currently qualify for these.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Regulations relating to income based passported benefits are designed to allow claimants on the Universal Credit pathfinder scheme, which begins in the Greater Manchester area later this year, to be able to claim income based passported benefits in the si…

8 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what current benefits will be covered by the draft regulations for passported benefits.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The passported benefits covered by the regulations are: Legal Aid, Court Fee Exemptions, Free School Lunches, Education Maintenance Allowance, Individual Learning Accounts, NHS Optical Vouchers, Free NHS Dental Treatment, NHS Patient Travel Costs, Blue Badge …

8 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will introduce the draft regulations on passported benefits and for what reason this has been delayed.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Welfare Reform (Consequential Amendments) Scotland Regulations 2013 and the Education (School Lunches) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2013 were laid before the Scottish Parliament on 25 February 2013. The Welfare Reform (Consequential Amendments) (Scotl…

8 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing first sought advice regarding the establishment of the orphan medicines fund and when it was received.

Answer · Alex Neil: The New Medicines Review, which is considering all aspects of access to new medicines, was established on 14 January 2013. We have received regular updates on the progress of the review since its inception.

7 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many families with children have been housed on a temporary basis in bed and breakfast accommodation in each year since 2009-10, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: The Scottish Government’s HL2 Return gives snapshot information on the number of households in temporary accommodation at the end of each quarter. Table 2 in the following file gives the number of households with children in bed and breakfast at the end of e…

7 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been sleeping rough in each year since 2009-10, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: The following table gives the number of homeless applications where at least one member of the household had slept rough on the night immediately before they made their homelessness application. 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Aberdeen City 184 220 84 Ab…

7 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many vacancies there are for medical physicists, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Alex Neil: The information requested on how many vacancies there are for medical physicists, broken down by NHS board is not held centrally.

7 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many medical physicists are employed by each NHS board.

Answer · Alex Neil: The information requested on how many medical physicists are employed by each NHS board is not held centrally.

7 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-10782 by Alex Neil on 13 November 2012, whether the report by Lothian and Borders Police in relation to the Elsie Inglis Care Home has been passed to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and, if so, what further action will be taken.

Answer · Alex Neil: Lothian and Borders Police have confirmed that a report was submitted to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) on 27 December 2012. It will be for the COPFS to decide if any further action is required.

7 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the claims of bullying and intimidation at the Scottish Ambulance Academy have been investigated and, if so, when the report will be published.

Answer · Alex Neil: I am aware that the allegations to which you refer are being investigated by the Scottish Ambulance Service. This is a matter for the Scottish Ambulance Service to take forward.

7 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-12122 by Alex Neil on 22 January 2013, whether the investigation into claims of bullying and intimidation at the Scottish Ambulance Service headquarters has been completed and, if so, when the report will be published.

Answer · Alex Neil: The investigation is concluded and a report has been made. This is now a matter for the Scottish Ambulance Service to take forward.

7 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the take-up of basic bank accounts.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-12966 on 13 March 2013. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentaryb…

7 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many people do not have bank accounts.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: This information is published in the Family Resources Survey report 2010-11, Table 4.1 (page 64) and can be accessed via the following link: http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/frs/2010_11/frs_2010_11_report.pdf.

7 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to promote financial inclusion.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: The Scottish Government supports a national infrastructure and related support for financial inclusion and financial awareness, including training for debt advisors and a Financial Learning Online Scotland website for financial capability practitioners. On 21…

7 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to (a) provide extra GPs and (b) increase the capacity of surgeries in deprived areas.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Bill on integration of adult health and social care being introduced to parliament before summer, will ensure that statutory partners, both Health Boards and Local Authorities, jointly plan and design services based on the needs of the population. The Bil…

7 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last collected data on the (a) number and (b) geographical distribution of GPs and what the data show.

Answer · Alex Neil: Headcount numbers of GPs working in general practice in Scotland are routinely collected and are published annually at: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/General-Practice/GPs-and-Other-Practice-Workforce/. The published figures currently run from …

7 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will collect data on the (a) number and (b) geographical distribution of GPs in 2012-13 and at regular intervals thereafter.

Answer · Alex Neil: The number (headcount) of GPs working in Scottish general practices will continue to be published on an annual basis at http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/General-Practice/GPs-and-Other-Practice-Workforce/ and will add to the figures for 1988-2012 (incl…

5 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to prevent age discrimination in clinical decision making.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Equality Act 2010, places duties on NHS boards to reduce inequalities in access to health care and improve health outcomes for people. On 1 October 2012, new provisions in the Equality Act 2010 came into force, introducing a ban on unjustifiable age discr…

5 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to reduce the incidence of misdiagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis is a rare lung condition, the cause of which is unknown. It can be difficult to diagnose as the main symptoms are similar to other lung conditions. Diagnosis will usually be made by a respiratory specialist and may involve a numb…

5 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the Scottish Medicines Consortium appraisal process has on the availability of orphan medicines.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Medicines Consortiums(SMC) processes for appraising orphan medicines are the same as that for any other medicine. However, in recognition of the small patient populations involved, the SMC can consider application of its modifiers which allow gre…

1 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people are alcohol dependent.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Figures for the number of people dependent on alcohol in Scotland are not available. The Scottish Health Survey 2012 included, for the first time, the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT). AUDIT is a validated screening tool specifically designed …

1 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people are being treated for alcohol dependency.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The national Drug and Alcohol Treatment Waiting Times Database (DATWTD) gathers access information from specialist drug and alcohol treatment services to measure performance against the HEAT A11 Drug and Alcohol Treatment Waiting Times Target. The DATWTD is m…

1 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent (a) meetings or (b) communications it has had with representatives of alcohol treatment providers regarding the impact of alcohol dependence on health and wellbeing.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Scottish Government Ministers and officials regularly engage with alcohol treatment providers via Alcohol and Drug Partnerships (ADPs). When engaging with ADPs, Scottish Government Ministers and officials cover a range of topics given the broad remit and func…

1 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many child protection cases there have been as a result of parental alcohol misuse in the last two years.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Child protection statistics gathered for 2011-12 will include, for the first time, information on children affected by parental substance misuse. These figures will be published on the Scottish Government website in the spring.

1 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessments have been made of the provision of services for families affected by alcohol misuse since 2007.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Alcohol and Drug Partnerships (ADPs) are strategic partnerships, established in 2009 and are responsible for: developing local strategies for tackling problem alcohol and drug use and promoting recovery. ADPs are responsible to undertake routine and on-going…