Questions · Jackie Baillie

8 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how the development of the NHS Inform website was project managed; what project plans existed, and what budget controls were in place.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: An Advisory group and a programme board, following established governance and reporting structures, was put in place to manage the NHS inform project. In the latter stages, PRINCE 2 was deployed to monitor, direct and control the project. The budget…

8 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the original budget was for the (a) development and (b) maintenance of NHS Inform.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Up to £500,000 per annum has been identified for the development and ongoing delivery of the NHS inform service, inclusive of the three channels of delivery. This takes into account the evolving nature of the national service providing quality assured health …

8 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much will be spent per annum to maintain the NHS Inform website, including all IT costs.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The total projected cost per annum to maintain the website channel of delivery of NHS inform, including all IT costs, is £71,900.

8 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent on developing the NHS Inform website, including all IT costs.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: NHS inform is more than a website. It is an information service for the public, patients and carers that joins up online, telephone and face-to-face advice. The NHS inform set up costs totalled £560,000 over the period from April 2009 to June 2010, of which £…

8 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it was responsible for the Health + website and, if so, for what reason it has been removed.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The NHS inform team has been working in partnership with NHS Education for Scotland (NES) to integrate the Health Information Plus portal for all public facing health information material. NES has recently taken a decision to redirect the public to …

5 Nov 2010 · Written Question

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Comparative information by NHS board on the performance management outcomes for staff in the Executive and Senior Management Cohorts is not released. In many cases this would lead to the identification of individuals due to the small numbers involved.…

5 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the distribution of appraisal scores for the NHS Executive Managers Cohort was in (a) 2007-08, (b) 2008-09 and (c) 2009-10 and is in 2010-11, also broken down by gender.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The performance management arrangements for staff in the Executive Cohort are set out in HDL (2007)15. Similar arrangements apply to the Senior Management Cohort, but responsibility for these rests with health board remuneration committees rather than the Nat…

5 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many members of the NHS Executive Managers Cohort were or are (a) male and (b) female in (i) 2007-08, (ii) 2008-09, (iii) 2009-10 and (iv) 2010-11.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Information on the gender of staff in the Executive and Senior Management Cohorts is not held centrally.

5 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost of performance-related pay to the NHS Executive Managers Cohort was in (a) 2007-08, (b) 2008-09 and (c) 2009-10 and what the cost would have been if the National Performance Management Committee had not limited payments.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The pay remits for the Executive and Senior Management cohorts are assessed nationally in accordance with Scottish Government Public Sector Pay Policies: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/public-sector-pay which require aggregated figures. The tot…

5 Nov 2010 · Written Question

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: There is no specific staff group called the NHS Executive Managers cohort. There are currently two distinct cohorts subject to the same overall pay arrangements: the Executive Cohort and the Senior Management Cohort. Definitions of each are set out in circula…

5 Nov 2010 · Written Question

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The National Performance Management Committee has met on the undernoted dates: For the 2007-08 performance year: 25 February 2008; 2 May 2008; 28 July 2008; 8 August 2008; 29 August 2008; 26 S…

5 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the role is of the National Performance Management Committee.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The role of the National Performance Management Committee is set out in HDL 2006(54). The committee''s terms of reference has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 52071).

5 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive who the members of the National Performance Management Committee are and what positions they hold in the NHS.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The National Performance Management Committee is independently chaired by Mr Owen Clarke CBE. Mr Clarke, who was previously Head of the Inland Revenue Department for Scotland, was appointed as independent chair by Andy Kerr in 2006 and re-appointed in 2009 by…

4 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of local authorities (a) reducing respite services and (b) providing emergency respite services only.

Answer · Shona Robison: There has been an increase in overall respite weeks provision across Scotland. Statistics published on 28 September show that the amount of respite provision rose by 8,950 weeks between 2007-08 and 2009-10, exceeding the target of a rise of 6,000 weeks.</…

4 Nov 2010 · Written Question

Answer · Shona Robison: Local authorities'' net expenditure on support for carers, including respite care was £134.74 million in 2008-09. The figure for 2009-10 will be available early in 2011 and that for 2010-11 will be available in 2012. The figures for 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-…

4 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding has been made available to carers centres through carers information strategies for 2010-11, broken down by carers centre.

Answer · Shona Robison: It is not possible to determine how much of the total of £5 million allocated to NHS boards for carer information strategies (CIS) in 2010-11 has been allocated to carers centres. We have not requested that NHS boards provide information on the level of resou…

4 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many places were provided to new entrants to the trainee doctor programmes in (a) 2008-09 and (b) 2009-10.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The number of places provided to new entrants to the Foundation Training programmes in (a) 2008-09 and (b) 2009-10 has remained at approximately 800.

4 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many places were provided for new entrants to trainee nursing programmes in (a) 2008-09 and (b) 2009-10.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The intake targets for new entrants to nursing and midwifery pre-registration programmes in both 2008-09 and 2009-10 were 3,060.

4 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made changes to the number of new entrants to trainee doctor programmes for 2010-11.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: There has been no change to the number of new entrants to Foundation Training programme for 2010-11, which remains at 804.

4 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made changes to the number of new entrants to trainee nursing programmes for 2010-11.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The intake target for new entrants to pre-registration nursing and midwifery programmes remains at 3,060 for the academic session 2010-11. Decisions for 2011-12 will be taken in due course.

4 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it provides funding to the Samaritans’ telephone helpline.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government does not provide funding to the Samaritans for its telephone helpline and has never done so previously.

4 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding is provided to the Samaritans.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government''s Mental Health Division currently provides the Samaritans (in Scotland) with a core grant of £33,000 per year (2010-13) under the grant scheme associated with section 16b of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978. <…

4 Nov 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many suicides have been recorded in each year since 1999.

Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-28833 on 16 November 2009. 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/Apps2/Busine…

28 Oct 2010 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will continue to provide educational maintenance allowances for college students.

Answer · Michael Russell: As we announced in June, increased demand and pressures on public expenditure, and the fact that our budget for 2011-12 is not yet set, require us to review the scheme in December 2010. We will take stock of spend to date and the numbers of young people in re…

22 Oct 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether senior managers in the (a) Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park and (b) Cairngorms National Park receive bonus payments and, if so, how much has been paid in each year since the parks’ establishment.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: In the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Authority senior managers do not receive any non-consolidated bonus payments and none has been paid. In the Cairngorms National Park Authority, annual totals of between £1,260 and £2,644 have been awarded to …

22 Oct 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the current annual revenue and capital budget is for the (a) Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park and (b) Cairngorms National Park.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The revenue and capital budgets for 2010-11 are detailed for each of the national park authorities in the following table. <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <tr > <td width=317 valign=top >   </td> <td width=86 va…

21 Oct 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the project team responsible for Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland is working under the assumption of a 12.5% budget cut and, if so, whether part of this reduction will be achieved by voluntary severance.

Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-37018 on 11 November 2010. 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/A…

21 Oct 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what level of job losses it anticipates in the first three years of the operation of Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland, as outlined in the Draft Transitional Operating Plan.

Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-37018 on 11 November 2010. 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/A…

21 Oct 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what planning it has undertaken with regard to the staffing and budget of Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland and when it will provide this information to the Parliament.

Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-37018 on 11 November 2010. 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/A…

21 Oct 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the senior management team of Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland will be appointed and when they will take up their posts.

Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-37018 on 11 November 2010. 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/Apps2/Busine…