Jackie Baillie

3 Nov 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what savings the NHS will realise and when in (a) expanding collaborative procurement, (b) rationalising the estate and (c) disposing of surplus assets, as outlined in the Scottish Spending Review 2011 and Draft Budget 2012-13.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Work on expanding collaborative procurement is ongoing, however, it is not possible to confirm at this time, given procurements have not yet concluded, the extent of potential savings or the timescales for achieving them. In the field of construction there a…

3 Nov 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason there is no recognition of the financial implications of welfare reform in the Scottish Spending Review 2011 and Draft Budget 2012-13.

Answer · John Swinney: The UK Government has not made sufficient information available to allow us to properly assess the overall effect of their reforms. The Supplementary Legislative Consent Memorandum, which we published on 1 November, sets this out along with the analysis we ha…

2 Nov 2011 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service has any discussion with the families of victims prior to deciding not to proceed with a case.

31 Oct 2011 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government is doing to ensure that respite provision for carers is available across Scotland.

28 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether a person working in adult care home services can register with the Scottish Social Services Council but take up to a further three years to attain the level of qualification required.

Answer · Angela Constance: Yes.

28 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether all adult care home staff must have the level of qualification required for their post at the date of compulsory registration.

Answer · Angela Constance: No. Registration must be achieved by the date of compulsory registration. However, a condition would be placed on the registration that the registrant must attain the relevant qualification within a specified period, normally three years.

28 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S4W-02691 by Angela Constance on 26 September 2011, how many of the people already registered as (a) managers, (b) workers with supervisory responsibilities, (c) practitioners and (d) support workers in adult care home services have attained the level of…

Answer · Angela Constance: This information is not held by the Scottish Executive. However, as with my response to your question S4W-02691 I will ask the Chief Executive of the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) to respond to your question.

28 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the increased frequency of inspections of older people's care services will commence.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I will shortly bring forward regulations on the increased inspection frequency for certain older people’s services which will come into force by the beginning of February. This will be the minimum inspection frequency and the Care Inspectorate will continue t…

28 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much the Care Inspectorate will spend on increasing staffing levels as a result of the increased frequency of inspection of older people's services announced by the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Cities Strategy.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: On 4 October 2011, the Care Inspectorate provided the Health and Sport Committee with an estimate for the costs of the additional staff it would require as a result of the new inspection frequency. The estimated increase is expected to be approximately £400,0…

28 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how (a) NHS boards and (b) Healthcare Improvement Scotland monitor healthcare services in care homes.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: NHS boards are responsible for planning, providing and securing the provision of NHS services for its population and for ensuring the quality of that care. Where NHS boards contract with the independent healthcare sector to provide NHS services these contrac…

28 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S4W-02557 by Nicola Sturgeon on 21 September 2011, whether the investigations into the delivery of care at the Elsie Inglis nursing home have been concluded.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The police investigation is still ongoing and it is expected to continue into next year due to the wide ranging lines of enquiry.

28 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the Care Inspectorate should have enforcement powers in relation to local authority commissioning of social care.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Care Inspectorate has a responsibility to scrutinise local authorities to provide an objective, evidence-based assessment of how well people are being served by their social work services; make a constructive contribution towards the further improvement o…

28 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in the context of the Self-directed Support (Scotland) Bill, whether it considers that the Protecting Vulnerable Groups registration scheme operated by Disclosure Scotland offers sufficient protection for people employing personal assistants.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Yes. The PVG scheme strikes a balance between proportionate protection and robust regulation and makes it easier for individual employers to determine who they might safely employ.

28 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent by the Care Inspectorate and its predecessor organisations on (a) making staff redundant or (b) early retirement packages since April 2010 and how much is estimated to 31 March 2012.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: A total cost of £2.7 million has been spent by the Care Inspectorate and its predecessor organisations on Voluntary Early Retirement and Voluntary Early Severance schemes since April 2010.

28 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in the context of the Self-directed Support (Scotland) Bill, it considers that personal assistants should be regulated by the Care Inspectorate and, if so, how this would be achieved.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Personal assistants (PAs) are not a regulated service under the Public Service Reform (Scotland) Act 2010. There are currently no plans to regulate PAs through the Care Inspectorate. The Scottish Government considers that the route to adequate protection of p…

28 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many times a care home has failed to comply with an improvement notice or an improvement notice has to be reissued for the same reason, in the last two years.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: In 2009-10, 30 Improvement Notices were not complied with and in 2010-11, six were not complied with. Statistics on the number re-issued are not routinely collected.

28 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many inspections of older people's care services will be carried out in 2012-13.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Care Inspectorate is currently preparing its Inspection Plan for 2012-13. Under the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 the plan will be consulted on and will also be subject to ministerial approval. Once finalised, the plan will be published on th…

28 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Care Inspectorate has the power to withdraw registration from care homes.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Care Inspectorate can cancel registration of a care service in a number of scenarios. It has the power to withdraw registration from care homes where it has served an Improvement Notice and this has not been complied with within the period specified in th…

28 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the review of the National Care Standards will be concluded.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government has not announced a review of the National Care Standards. I am giving consideration to such a review in the context of work on the integration of health and social care services, new models of care and the implementation of the dement…

28 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many complaints have been received by the Care Inspectorate since April 2011 and how many of these have been (a) upheld, (b) partially upheld, (c) rejected and (d) withdrawn.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Since 1 April 2011, the Care Inspectorate logged 992 new complaints. As of 31 October 2011, 907 complaint investigations had been completed, of which 242 were upheld, 412 were partially upheld, 252 were not upheld and one was withdrawn.

28 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the registration requirements are for care-at-home workers and what the end date is for registration.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The minimum qualification requirement for a manager is SVQ level 4 plus relevant management qualification (minimum of 60 credits and at SCQF level 8). The qualification requirements for supervisors and support workers in care at home services has not yet bee…

28 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what data are collected by the Care Inspectorate on emergency hospital admissions from care homes and whether the data are published.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Care Inspectorate does not collect data on emergency hospital admissions from care homes.

28 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what average time a routine inspection of a care home takes.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Care Inspectorate develops its inspection plan by making a risk-based, intelligence-led assessment of each service. This ensures inspections are targeted, proportionate and effective. A range of factors influence this assessment including the needs of the…

28 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what power the Care Inspectorate has in relation to improving staffing levels in care homes for adults.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-03684 on 14 November 2011. 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/parliamenta…

28 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Care Inspectorate considers the level of staffing in care homes and whether it publishes its findings.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Care Inspectorate does consider staffing levels at the point of registration and post registration regulation, including at inspections. The Care Inspectorate’s findings are published on their website: www.careinspectorate.com. In addition, each care home…

28 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what process the Care Inspectorate follows if a care home does not comply with an improvement notice.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: If a care home does not comply with an Improvement Notice, the Care Inspectorate must consider what appropriate action to take. Each Improvement Notice is unique to the service to which it is issued, however options available to the Care Inspectorate include …

28 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) average and (b) maximum length of time is between the Care Inspectorate inspecting a care home and issuing an improvement notice.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Statistics on average and maximum lengths of time between inspecting a care home and issuing an improvement notice are not collected. However, service providers are given full oral feedback on any concerns arising as a consequence of inspection or complaint s…

28 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of care homes it considers should have registered nurses and whether it will issue guidance to that effect.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The skills mix of staffing for individual care homes is dependent on the assessed needs of its residents. There are therefore no plans to issue guidance setting out the percentage of care homes requiring the services of a registered nurse. In addition, the C…

28 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many and what percentage of care homes employ registered nurses.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: As of 31 December 2010 there were 920 care homes for older people, of which 889 care homes had completed Annual Returns. Of these: 514 (58%) provide nursing care internally 257 (29%) use external nurses to provide nursing care (and have no internal provisi…

28 Oct 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive who has been (a) consulted and (b) involved in the review of the National Care Standards.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-03673 on 17 November 2011. 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/parliamentary…