Parliamentary questions
Jackie Baillie
9,397 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
16 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what specific treatment is provided for chronic pain patients at the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases in Bath.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Information on the services provided at the centre in Bath is available on their website at the following link: http://www.bathcentreforpainservices.nhs.uk/Index.aspx
16 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-09736 by Michael Matheson on 27 September 2012, whether it will provide specialist services for chronic pain treatment in Scotland rather than sending patients to Bath at a cost in excess of £1.1 million since 2008-09.
Answer · Michael Matheson: National Services Division (NSD) is reviewing the current provision of chronic pain and is exploring options for the provision of specialist residential pain management services in the future, which includes consideration of the potential of a service based i…
16 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-09291 by Michael Matheson on 11 September 2012, for what reason the report of the audit of pain management services anticipated by the end of September 2012 has not been published and when it will be published.
Answer · Michael Matheson: As explained in my previous response of 11 September, to the question S4W-09291, raised by Jackie Baillie MSP on behalf of the Cross Party Group, the change of publishing date was due to additional factual accuracy checks being undertaken. I am pleased to ad…
16 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many transcatheter aortic valve implantation operations have been carried out in Edinburgh since the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing's announcement on 11 September 2012 and in which NHS board areas the patients have been resident.
Answer · Alex Neil: I am advised that, as at 7 November, four patients have been treated by the national transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) service in Edinburgh. Patients have been referred by three NHS boards. The national TAVI service expects to carry out around 5…
16 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether transcatheter aortic valve implantation treatment is available routinely on the basis of clinical decision or whether it is subject to an individual patient treatment request.
Answer · Alex Neil: As the national Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) service is now operational, NHS boards are able to routinely refer patients to the national service in Edinburgh. All new referrals should therefore be directed to the national TAVI service at the…
16 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when transcatheter aortic valve implantation treatment will be available at the Golden Jubilee National Hospital.
Answer · Alex Neil: As I announced on 11 September, I have taken the decision to introduce a Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) service in Scotland. This decision was based on the advice of the TAVI Short Life Group, who recommended that there should be a single cent…
16 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had about the location of transcatheter aortic valve implantation treatment centres in the last four years.
Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government has worked together with NHS Scotland, through the National Planning Forum (NPF), to gather expert advice and evidence from clinicians, health professionals and planners from Scotland and elsewhere in the UK on the potential provision …
10 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the March 2013 Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) guideline on head injury will refer to post-traumatic hypopituitarism (PTHP).
Answer · Alex Neil: While recognising that post-traumatic hypopituitarism is an important topic, SIGN is unable to include it in the remit of this guideline. A proposal to develop a separate guideline on this topic has been received and it is currently being assessed for inclusi…
1 Oct 2012 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing is taking to tackle the poor care of older patients in hospital highlighted in recent hospital inspections.
Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government, Healthcare Improvement Scotland and NHS boards are taking forward a number of actions in order to deliver safe, effective, person-centred care every time for older people in acute hospitals. We are working with NHS boards and clinica…
30 Sep 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether kinship care payments made by a local authority should cease if a residency order is granted and, if so, for what reason.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: For children whose long-term wellbeing is best served by living with kinship carers and who do not need compulsory supervision by a local authority, a kinship carer can be granted a section 11, Residence Order, of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995. Whether th…
29 Sep 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will fully fund the council tax benefit grant beyond 2013-14 and, if so, at what level.
Answer · John Swinney: The UK Government’s introduction of Universal Credit in October 2013 will have fundamental implications for how future Council Tax support might be provided. However, more detail on the operation of Universal Credit is required from the UK Department for Work…
27 Sep 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether any changes to pension arrangements will be the subject of a legislative consent motion or made by regulation and when it would introduce any such motion or order to the Parliament.
Answer · John Swinney: The UK Government's Public Service Pensions Bill places new and significant constraints on the Scottish Government’s ability to ensure a fair agreement which reflects Scottish circumstances. The UK Government has given the Scottish Government recent and late …
27 Sep 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the joint ministerial and trade union working group on pensions will reach agreement on any changes to pensions.
Answer · John Swinney: Tri-partite negotiations involving trades unions, employers and the Scottish Government are being taken forward at individual scheme level. Negotiations for reform of public service pensions began in March 2012 and these are ongoing. Regrettably, these negoti…
27 Sep 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the NHS pension scheme is in surplus and, if so, by how much.
Answer · John Swinney: Currently the annual scheme income from contributions exceeds annual expenditure on pension benefits in payment, which generates an in-year cash flow surplus. In 2010-11 that figure was £161 million. That in-year cash flow surplus is forecast to begin to reve…
27 Sep 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much the NHS spends on pension contributions and what information it has on NHS employer contributions in (a) England and (b) Wales.
Answer · John Swinney: NHS Scotland pays 13.5% of an employee’s pensionable pay into the NHS pension scheme. The total amount paid in the financial year 2010-11 was £595 million. The Scottish Government does not hold detailed information on the NHS England and Wales pension scheme.…
27 Sep 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many doctors who practise in Scotland have a sexual offence or child pornography conviction and of these how many are still deemed fit to practice.
Answer · Alex Neil: All NHSScotland health boards are expected to comply with the Safer Pre and Post Employment Checks Partnership Information Network (PIN) policy and take appropriate action based on any information received. This covers appointment checks that are either requi…
26 Sep 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what percentage uplift in prescriptions has been budgeted for in (a) 2012-13, (b) 2013-14 and (c) 2014-15.
Answer · Alex Neil: Prescribing costs are funded from NHS board baseline budget allocations provided by the Scottish Government. Territorial NHS boards received a 2.9% increase in baseline funding in 2012-13. Subject to Scottish Parliament approval, territorial NHS boards will …
26 Sep 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have died of silicosis or related diseases in each year since 2003.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The information requested is given in the following table. For the purpose of producing statistics on causes of death, deaths registered in Scotland are classified using the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Ten…
26 Sep 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the annual report on tuberculosis.
Answer · Michael Matheson: NHS boards recently reported to the Scottish Government on progress made in relation to the recommendations in the TB Action Plan for Scotland. This information will form the basis of the annual report which will be published by the end of this year.
26 Sep 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action is being taken to reduce the incidence of tuberculosis.
Answer · Michael Matheson: In March 2011, the Scottish Government published a TB Action Plan for Scotland which aims to reduce the incidence of tuberculosis. The Action Plan is primarily intended for those involved in the delivery of TB-related services in Scotland and sets out a range…
26 Sep 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many cases of drug-resistant tuberculosis have been reported in each year since 2007, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The following table provides the number of drug-resistant tuberculosis cases since 2007: NHS Board 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Ayrshire and Arran 0 0 2 0 0 Borders 1 0 0 0 0 Dumfries and Galloway 0 0 0 0 1 Fife 0 0 2 2 1 Forth Vall…
25 Sep 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether staffing shortages are having an impact on cancer screening.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government is not aware of any staffing shortages impacting on cancer screening in Scotland.
25 Sep 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on Professor Keith Oldroyd’s assessment that cost is the reason for not providing heart patients with certain treatments.
Answer · Alex Neil: We are not aware of any systematic evidence to suggest that Scottish patients are being disadvantaged in terms of access to medicines or devices of proven effectiveness. To help ensure that patients can gain appropriate access to new treatments, boards are s…
25 Sep 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the Public Audit Committee’s assessment that many people from deprived communities feel that it is inevitable that they will have health problems like heart disease, and what action it will take to change this perception.
Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government is committed to addressing the unfair and unjust health differences which disproportionately affect those living in Scotland’s most deprived communities. That is why the Keep Well anticipatory health checks are targeted at people over …
25 Sep 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been allocated to each NHS board for prescription costs in (a) 2012-13, (b) 2013-14 and (c) 2014-15.
Answer · Alex Neil: Prescribing costs are funded from NHS board baseline budget allocations provided by the Scottish Government. Territorial NHS boards received a 2.9% increase in baseline funding in 2012-13. Subject to Scottish Parliament approval, territorial NHS boards will …
25 Sep 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many young people are unemployed in each local authority area, also broken down by those unemployed for over (a) six and (b) 12 months, expressed as a percentage of the population.
Answer · John Swinney: The official measure of unemployment based on the ILO (International Labour Organisation) definition is not reliable for these disaggregations at local authority level. However, an alternative measure of unemployment is the claimant count. This gives the numb…
25 Sep 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people are unemployed in each local authority area, also broken down by those unemployed for over (a) six and (b) 12 months, expressed as a percentage of the population.
Answer · John Swinney: The official measure of unemployment based on the ILO (International Labour Organisation) definition is not reliable for these disaggregations at local authority level. However, an alternative measure of unemployment is the claimant count. This gives the numb…
25 Sep 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people attended the West of Scotland Action Forum on Youth Employment on 21 August 2012 and how many were private sector employers.
Answer · Angela Constance: Seventy-nine people attended the West of Scotland Action Forum on Youth Employment, 13 of whom were private sector employers.
25 Sep 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many young people have secured full-time, permanent employment as a result of the Youth Employment Strategy fund.
Answer · Angela Constance: Around 7,500 young people will be supported towards and into work as a result of the announcements made to date on the Youth Employment Strategy Fund. These opportunities will be provided through interventions such as Community Jobs Scotland, The Third Secto…
25 Sep 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what outcomes (a) have been and (b) are expected to be achieved by the Youth Employment Strategy fund.
Answer · Angela Constance: Youth Employment Strategy funding allocated to date aims to support: 1,000 of the most disadvantaged young people into work; 1,100 young people into job opportunities in social enterprises and third sector organisations through Community Jobs Scotland; 2…