Parliamentary questions

Karen Whitefield

555 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

28 Feb 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will receive future Barnett consequentials arising from UK Government spending on the Big Society.

Answer · John Swinney: I understand that details of the Big Society funding are currently being finalised by the Cabinet Office. The Scottish Government will be entitled to Barnett consequentials of any comparable Department additional funding for this purpose.

28 Feb 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will receive Barnett consequentials resulting from the Big Society Transition Fund.

Answer · John Swinney: The Big Society Transition Fund was announced as part of the CSR settlement and as such any comparable Department consequentials arising from the Fund were included in the Scottish settlement from HM Treasury.

3 Feb 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it invests each year in research into type 1 diabetes.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Chief Scientist Office (CSO) within the Scottish Government has responsibility for encouraging and supporting research into health and healthcare needs in Scotland. CSO responds primarily to requests for funding research proposals initiated by the researc…

3 Feb 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people with type 1 diabetes use a continuous glucose monitor.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The information requested is not held centrally. In relation to the provision of continuous glucose monitoring, we expect diabetes services to be guided by the advice contained in SIGN Guideline 116 on the management of diabetes. The guideline is…

3 Feb 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what mechanisms are in place to monitor the success of the actions set out in the Diabetes Action Plan 2010 to increase insulin pump provision.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Diabetes Group (SDG) monitors NHS boards'' progress with the Diabetes Action Plan. Insulin pump provision is also a standing item on the agenda for meetings of the lead clinicians of the diabetes Managed Clinical Networks (MCNs).</p…

3 Feb 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-38080 by Keith Brown on 15 December 2010, whether there is a recommended set-back distance for the construction of wind turbines from individual properties.

Answer · Keith Brown: There is no recommended fixed distance between turbines and individual properties. The topple distance of a free-standing turbine would be the absolute minimum between it and a neighbouring property. Scottish Government planning advice on wind turbine develop…

13 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the cost of treating a person with type 1 diabetes with insulin pump therapy compared with a multiple daily injection regime

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: A cost template report, developed by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland, has been made available as a companion document to Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) Guideline 116 on the management of diabetes. The template provides estimates of the co…

9 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether HM Inspectorate of Education is evaluating outdoor learning in its school inspections as stated on page 26 of the Scottish Government's Early Years Framework

Answer · Michael Russell: HMIE inspects pre-school centres across local authority, private and voluntary sectors. In each inspection, Inspectors consider the provision for outdoor learning which the service provides. They evaluate children''s progress in physical development under the…

7 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in improving national support for foster carers.

Answer · Adam Ingram: The Scottish Government recognises the importance of foster care within the wider care sector and the critical role played by Scotland''s foster carers. We have continued to fund national third sector organisations that support foster carers and promote the d…

7 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made since May 2007 in supporting grandparents providing childcare for grandchildren aged under three.

Answer · Adam Ingram: Local authorities take the lead in providing childcare services, working with partners in the voluntary and private sectors, to meet the needs of children, their parents and, where applicable, their other carers, including grandparents. Scottish Government fi…

6 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the legal set-back distances are for the construction of wind turbines from (a) individual properties and (b) settlements.

Answer · Keith Brown: There are no legal set-back distances. Scottish Planning Policy recommends a 2km separation distance between areas of search for wind farms and the edge of cities, towns and villages. The Scottish Parliament''s Public Petitions Committee has supported this po…

2 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to increase the use of insulin pumps as a treatment for type 1 diabetes to bring Scotland into line with the European average of 20% of such patients using an insulin pump

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: We continue to encourage NHS boards to increase access to insulin pumps, in line with current guidance. Our Diabetes Action Plan, published in August, sets out a series of actions designed to support NHS boards make significant and sustained…

2 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average cost is of a hospital admission for a hypoglycaemic emergency for a patient with type 1 diabetes

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: This information is not centrally held.

2 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to address the impact of diabetes on women’s health across Scotland

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Diabetes, both type 1 and type 2, affects slightly more men than women, but both are equally susceptible to the complications associated with diabetes. Our Diabetes Action Plan draws attention, however, to the fact that the relative risk of cardiovas…

2 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to address diabetes-related excess mortality among women in the most deprived areas

Answer · Shona Robison: The Keep Well and Well North programmes continue to deliver inequalities targeted health checks to those living in Scotland''s most deprived communities. Those patients found to have diabetes are provided with treatment, and added to the diabetes register, an…

2 Dec 2010 · Written Question

Answer · Shona Robison: To date, over 91,000 people have received a Keep Well health check. Every patient who attends a Keep Well check is assessed for diabetes. However, information on the number of people diagnosed with diabetes as a result of Keep Well and Well North health check…

29 Oct 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to increase the amount available to home owners through the Home Owners’ Support Fund in order to offset the reduction in income support mortgage interest payments announced by the Department for Work and Pensions.

Answer · Alex Neil: It is recognised that Support for Mortgage Interest may not remove the threat of repossession for some homeowners, and there may be an increase in the number of homeowners facing financial difficulty. £20 million has been allocated to the Home Owners'' Suppor…

29 Oct 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it anticipates a significant increase in demand on the Home Owners’ Support Fund following the announcement by the Department for Work and Pensions that it is to reduce income support mortgage interest payments and, if so, how it plans to cope with this.

29 Oct 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will take action to prevent repossessions as a result of the decision by the Department for Work and Pensions to cut income support mortgage interest payments by approximately 40%.

Answer · Alex Neil: We believe that the recent changes to Support for Mortgage Interest will increase the number of home owners in Scotland facing financial difficulty and, potentially, at risk of repossession. However, we have put in place a number of measures to protect home o…

29 Oct 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it anticipates an increase in repossessions as a result of the announcement by the Department for Work and Pensions that it is reducing income support mortgage interest payments from 6.08% to 3.63% per annum.

6 Oct 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on how many families in Scotland will be affected by the abolition of child trust funds and how much they will lose on average.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: From 1 August 2010, child trust fund (CTF) payments to newly born children were more than halved and will cease entirely from 1 January 2011. Consequently, all families in Scotland with children born after December 2010 will receive no payment. F…

6 Oct 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on how many families in Scotland will face a reduction in child tax credit as a result of changes proposed by the UK Government and how much they will lose on average.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: As a result of the reforms to the tax and benefit system being introduced by the UK Government in 2011-12 and 2012-13, it is estimated that approximately 385,000 families in Scotland will lose or face a reduction in their child tax credit and working tax cred…

6 Oct 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on how many families in Scotland will face a reduction in child benefit as a result of changes proposed by the UK Government and how much they will lose on average.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Under the UK Government''s plans, from January 2013, households with a higher rate taxpayer will not receive child benefit. It is estimated that approximately 110,000 families in Scotland will have their child benefit withdrawn. On average, these families wil…

22 Sep 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many inpatient beds there were in NHS Lanarkshire in (a) April, (b) May, (c) June, (d) July and (e) August 2010, broken down by (i) specialism and (ii) hospital.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The requested information is not centrally available. Latest information on annual bed statistics for the financial years 2000-01 to 2009-10 can be found on the ISD website at: <a href="http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/3425.html">http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/…

22 Sep 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether NHS Lanarkshire records inpatient bed numbers available on a monthly basis.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Information Services Division (ISD) collects data on hospital beds on a monthly basis from all health boards however the official publication of central beds statistics is presented by financial year. The latest information on bed statistics (for the financia…