Parliamentary questions
Jackie Baillie
9,397 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
12 Aug 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether they will expand the central heating programme to include children (a) with physical disabilities and (b) living in poverty.
Answer · Stewart Maxwell: The Scottish Fuel Poverty Forum is currently considering the long-term future of the programme and is expected to report back in early autumn. Once the forum has provided its recommendations the necessary decisions on the programme''s future will be taken.</p…
12 Aug 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average number of monthly applications for the central heating programme (a) was prior to the changes in the programme and (b) is now.
Answer · Stewart Maxwell: The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing announced on 22 May that she was prioritising the new applications of the central heating programme (CHP) with immediate effect to give priority to the fuel poor and allow headroom for reform of the Programme. Th…
12 Aug 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many central heating systems it expects to install in 2008-09 and 2009-10.
Answer · Stewart Maxwell: The Scottish Fuel Poverty Forum is currently considering the long term future of the programme and is expected to report back in early autumn. Once the forum has provided its recommendations the necessary decisions on the future of the programme will be taken…
2 Jul 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria will apply to the referral of allegations of breach of the ministerial code to the independent advisers by the First Minister.
Answer · Bruce Crawford: As the First Minister said in Parliament on 18 June, matters referred to the independent advisers will be matters of substance and import, and will not include matters which have already been resolved, or on which ministers have previously made a statement or…
2 Jul 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the criteria on which the First Minister will refer any allegations of breach of the ministerial code to the independent advisers.
Answer · Bruce Crawford: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-14804 on 17 July 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Bu…
2 Jul 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive who it has appointed as parliamentary liaison officers, broken down by portfolio.
Answer · Bruce Crawford: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-11317 on 27 March 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp…
1 Jul 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether NHS Scotland has core standards which NHS boards should meet and are legally enforceable.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: NHS boards are required to meet certain statutory requirements including a duty of quality. In addition, NHS boards are expected to take account of a range of standards and guidance, including those issued by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland in the planning a…
1 Jul 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has an equivalent governance framework to the Code of Practice for NHS Trusts issued by the Department of Health.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: A governance framework is in place in NHSScotland. NHS boards are required to have governance arrangements in place to cover their corporate and clinical responsibilities.</p> <p >NHS boards are required to provide assurance that robust governance arrangemen…
1 Jul 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will indicate the cost of policing Faslane 365 protests at HMNB Clyde.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The organisation of police operations, including the allocation of resources to this operation, is a matter for the Chief Constable of Strathclyde.</p>
1 Jul 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide Strathclyde Police Joint Board with additional funding to cover the cost of policing Faslane 365 protests at HMNB Clyde.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: There are no plans to provide additional funding to Strathclyde to cover these costs as there have been numerous protests at Faslane over the years and the need to police Faslane will have been built into the force’s budgets.</p>
1 Jul 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what cash efficiency savings have been sought from police boards for (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11.
Answer · John Swinney: Efficiency savings made by the police will contribute to the target set for local government. That is £174.7 million in 2008-09, £349.4 million in 2009-10 and £524.1 million in 2010-11. It will be for local authorities and the police forces to agree the level…
1 Jul 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to provide an additional £29 million to Strathclyde Joint Police Board to cover its additional pension costs for 2009-10.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-14795 on 15 July 2008 All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa…
1 Jul 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to provide any additional funding to police boards to cover the extra police pensions costs for 2009-10.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: There are no plans to provide any additional funding to police boards for this. Under the terms of the concordat, it is for police authorities to negotiate jointly the amount of funding that will be provided by local authorities to meet policing costs.</p>
1 Jul 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the current police establishment figures are as of 1 July 2008.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The operational deployment of resources is a matter for chief constables, and no information on planned establishment levels is held centrally.</p> <p >Figures on the number of police officers employed are collected on a whole-time equivalent basis for the Q…
30 Jun 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when the two patients who died at the Vale of Leven Hospital in June 2008 were infected by clostridium difficile.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I am advised by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde that one of the two patients who died in June 2008 tested positive for clostridium difficile on 29 April 2008. The second patient was confirmed clostridium difficile positive on 12 June 2008 and died the next day.…
27 Jun 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing will bring forward a real time system of surveillance and monitoring for hospital-acquired infection, including clostridium difficile.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Real time local surveillance and monitoring is already in place in NHS boards. As part of the board wide review into numbers of clostridium difficile cases and deaths going back to December 2007 which is currently underway, all NHS boards have been asked to r…
27 Jun 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing took after being made aware of multiple deaths of clostridium difficile at the Vale of Leven Hospital on Friday 6 June 2008.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the statement I made to the Parliament on 18 June 2008.</p>
27 Jun 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing has taken to ensure that there is a robust surveillance and monitoring system in place for the reporting of hospital-acquired infections, including clostridium difficile.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-14659 on 4 July 2008. I also announced on 18 June 2008 that an independent review would be held into the circumstances surrounding the clostridium difficile cases at the Vale of Leven Hospital. The review team’…
27 Jun 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing took after being made aware of cases of clostridium difficile at the Vale of Leven Hospital on Wednesday 21 May 2008.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the statement I made to the Parliament on 18 June 2008 which details all the steps taken by me, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and Scottish Government officials since these cases became known.</p>
26 Jun 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many deaths have been recorded where (a) clostridium difficile-associated disease, (b) MRSA, (c) vancomycin-resistant enterococci, (d) multi-resistant acinetobacter spp and (e) penicillin-resistant streptococcus pneumoniae was mentioned on the death certificate and in how many cases i…
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Data for (a) and (b) are provided in the table below. It is not possible, however, to provide figures on the specific infections requested at (c), (d) or (e).</p> <p > </p> <p >Deaths with Mention of Clostridium Difficile or MRSA in Scotland for the Pe…
26 Jun 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many deaths have been caused by clostridium difficile in each year since 1997, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The data in the following table were provided by the General Register Office of Scotland (GROS). It should be noted that it is unusual for clostridium difficile to be the sole cause of death as a range of contributory factors are normally involved, and it sho…
26 Jun 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive in how many deaths (a) clostridium difficile and (b) MRSA was recorded as a contributory factor in each year since1999, broken down by hospital and expressed also as a proportion of all deaths.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The data in the following tables were provided by the General Register Office of Scotland (GROS). The figures should be noted with caution. Recording of MRSA and clostridium difficile infections on death certificates is based on the clinical judgement of each…
26 Jun 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what additional resources have been made available to tackle clostridium difficile at the Vale of Leven Hospital broken down by (a) finance and (b) staff.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I am advised by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde that £1.1million of capital-related investment was made in 2006-2007 and 2007-2008.</p> <p >I refer the member to the answer to questions S3W-14368 and S3W-14685 on 14 July and 23 July 2008 respectively. All answ…
26 Jun 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it took following notification by Health Protection Scotland on 13 May 2008 of a clostridium difficile case at the Royal Alexandria Hospital, Paisley.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: NHS Glasgow notified Health Protection Scotland (HPS) in accordance with the guidance set out in Annex 4 of the 2003 guidance document Managing Incidents Presenting Actual and Potential Risks to Public Health: Guidance on Roles and Responsibilities of Inciden…
26 Jun 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it took following notification by Health Protection Scotland on 29 April 2008 of a clostridium difficile case at the Royal Alexandria Hospital, Paisley.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Health Protection Scotland (HPS) notified the Scottish Government of this case on 13 May. All the established infection control procedures and steps were followed by the NHS board and, as in all cases of this kind, HPS provided the NHS board with its expert a…
26 Jun 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it took following notification by Health Protection Scotland on 14 May 2008 of clostridium difficile cases at (a) Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, (b) Stobhill Hospital and (c) the Vale of Leven Hospital.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: NHS Grampian and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde notified Health Protection Scotland (HPS) in accordance with the guidance set out in Annex 4 of the 2003 guidance document Managing Incidents Presenting Actual and Potential Risks to Public Health: Guidance on Ro…
26 Jun 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive why it waited from 14 May until 22 May 2008 before making a public announcement on clostridium difficile at the Vale of Leven Hospital.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I would refer to the timeline of events in my statement to the Parliament on 18 June 2008.</p>
26 Jun 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when the first deep clean was carried out at the Vale of Leven Hospital; how many deep cleans have been carried out there since May 2007 and the reasons for each one
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Since May 2007, 18 full ward terminal cleans have been carried out in a variety of wards at the Vale of Leven Hospital. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde advise that it is not possible to state when the first terminal clean was carried out at the Vale of Leven Ho…
26 Jun 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent since May 2007 on tackling (a) MRSA and (b) clostridium difficile (i) across Scotland, (ii) by each individual NHS board and (iii) at the Vale of Leven Hospital.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: It is not possible to provide the breakdown sought for (i) and (ii) as both the Scottish Government and NHS boards invest in a range of measures to tackle all Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI). For example, the Scottish Government invested over £5 millio…
26 Jun 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which wards at the Vale of Leven Hospital have been affected by the outbreak of clostridium difficile.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I am advised by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde that the look-back exercise for the period 1 December 2007 to 1 June 2008 confirmed that patients in wards 3, 4, 6, 14, 15 and F of the Vale of Leven Hospital were treated for clostridium difficile.</p>