Parliamentary questions

Margaret Curran

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

21 Jan 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that the financial needs of the City of Glasgow Council are met.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government is providing all Scottish local authorities, including the City of Glasgow Council, with record levels of funding. While it is not for us to manage individual council budgets, we will continue to discuss financial pressures with local …

21 Jan 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-19656 by John Swinney on 12 January 2009, what the determining factors unique to Edinburgh were that led to the award of the capital city supplement of £3.5 million to the City of Edinburgh Council.

Answer · John Swinney: As indicated in the earlier answer, the additional capital city supplement funding provided to the City of Edinburgh Council recognised factors that are unique to Edinburgh as Scotland''s capital city. These include the marshalling and hosting of events, such…

21 Jan 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there was cabinet support for the allocation of central government funding to Glasgow City Council during the budget negotiations.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government operates on the basis of collective responsibility. This means that all decisions reached by ministers, individually or collectively, are agreed and supported by all members of the government.

19 Jan 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much Scottish Enterprise has spent on public relations and public affairs over the last two years.

Answer · Jim Mather: This is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise. I will ask its chief executive to write to you in this regard.

19 Jan 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much Glasgow Housing Association has spent on public relations and public affairs over the last two years.

Answer · Stewart Maxwell: The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

13 Jan 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much Strathclyde Partnership for Transport has spent on public affairs and public relations over the last two years.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The figures are as follows: Public Affairs 2006-07 - £146,169 2007-08 - £124,495. Public Relations 2006-07 - £43,061 2007-08 - £69,280. All figures include internal staff salaries costs. …

20 Nov 2008 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth last met COSLA.

Answer · John Swinney: Under our concordat with local government, I regularly meet COSLA. The most recent meeting was on Wednesday 5 November when the Cabinet Secretary for Lifelong Learning and I met the COSLA Presidential team.

13 Nov 2008 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to address youth violence in the east end of Glasgow.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The government is committed to tackling all forms of violence across the whole of Scotland, including in the east end of Glasgow, and will continue to work with and support the Violence Reduction Unit and other partners to make our communities safer places to…

18 Sep 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will take immediate action to unblock the apparent impasse between the State Hospital in Carstairs and NHS Fife in relation to the care of the remaining female patient in the State Hospital, in light of the implications for the NHS budget.

Answer · Shona Robison: Patients only transfer between hospitals and other services when it is clinically appropriate and safe to do so. Discharge planning will take into account all circumstances to ensure a structured supported move. There is no impasse between the State …

18 Sep 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action has been taken to unblock the apparent impasse between the State Hospital in Carstairs and NHS Fife in relation to the care of the remaining female patient in the State Hospital.

Answer · Shona Robison: The State Hospital and NHS Fife are working together to ensure a structured, supported move for the patient. The transfer will only take place when it is clinically appropriate and safe to do so. There is no impasse between the State Hospital and NHS…

2 Sep 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many multiple sclerosis specialist (a) physiotherapist, (b) psychiatrist and (c) occupational therapist posts there are, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Shona Robison: This information is not held centrally. The planning of the workforce, including staff specialising in multiple sclerosis, is a matter for NHS boards who are responsible for planning services in their area based on need. services for people with long-term con…

2 Sep 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many nurse consultant posts specialising in neurology there are, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Shona Robison: This information is not held centrally. The planning of the workforce, including staff specialising in neurology, is a matter for NHS boards who are responsible for planning services in their area based on need. Services for people with long-term conditions a…

25 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were (a) arrested, (b) charged, (c) prosecuted and (d) convicted in cases involving (i) rape, (ii) attempted rape and (iii) indecent assault in each year from 1998 to 2007, broken down by police force area.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The recorded crime data held centrally has the number of crimes recorded by the police and the number recorded as detected (that is, there is sufficient evidence to justify consideration of criminal proceedings). We cannot provide any information on the numbe…

13 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to invest in dental services for residents on the Isle of Cumbrae.

Answer · Shona Robison: Responsibility for the overall provision of NHS dental services in an area rests with the NHS board. NHS Ayrshire and Arran have no current plans to establish a salaried dental service on the Isle of Cumbrae. The board’s community dental service does, however…

13 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to invest in healthcare on the Isle of Arran and replace the Arran War Memorial Hospital.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: This is a matter for NHS Ayrshire and Arran.

4 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance exists to help NHS boards to identify rare (ultra-orphan) diseases and provide adequate and effective care for patients who have been diagnosed with such diseases.

Answer · Shona Robison: The diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases is a matter for health care professionals. NHS boards are responsible for planning and delivering services to meet the health care needs of their resident population.

4 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what provision it has made to support access to treatment for patients with extremely rare (ultra-orphan) diseases.

Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-13894 on 16 June 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/…

4 Jun 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what processes exist to support NHS boards to fund treatments for very rare (ultra-orphan) diseases and whether these include a risk-sharing scheme for funding.

Answer · Shona Robison: NHS boards are responsible for planning and delivering services to meet the health needs of their resident population, funded through the general annual allocation. This includes funding the costs of orphan and ultra-orphan drugs which have been approved for …

15 May 2008 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth last met representatives of the voluntary sector.

Answer · John Swinney: I last met with representatives of the voluntary sector on 24 April during the Lloyds TSB Foundation Annual Forum. I meet regularly with representatives of the voluntary sector whilst my officials in the Third Sector Division maintain close contact wi…

2 May 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-9558 by Nicola Sturgeon on 19 February 2008, what its schedule is for consulting statutory and voluntary agencies on reviewing the CHD and Stroke Strategy and how it intends to gather experiences of people who have had strokes, particularly those wit…

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: We expect to issue our revised national CHD and Stroke Strategy shortly on a consultative basis. It will reflect the work on the Aphasia in Scotland project commissioned by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland. We shall make sure that organisations which represen…

2 May 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will guarantee access to debt advice.

Answer · Stewart Maxwell: Debt advice is available from a wide range of providers, who offer a range of channels (face to face, telephone e-mail and web) to meet clients'' needs and preferred delivery methods. Local authorities are responsible for making free, local, money ad…

2 May 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many draft single outcome agreements address the provision of mental health services.

Answer · Shona Robison: We are currently in the process of agreeing single outcome agreements for 2008-09 with all 32 councils. We aim to complete this process by 30 June 2008 and, subject to agreement with councils, all finalised agreements will be made publically availabl…

1 May 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the strike at the Grangemouth oil refinery, whether all NHS services have contingency plans in place.

Answer · Shona Robison: Sound business continuity planning should be part of every organisation''s day-to-day business. It is for each organisation to ensure that if one of the suppliers providing services critical to the operation of the organisation fails they have access to an al…

1 May 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the strike at the Grangemouth oil refinery, what contingency plans it has in place to ensure the continued operation of emergency services.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: UK ministers have reserved responsibilities for energy supply and distribution, including any use of emergency legislation. The national emergency plan for fuel, if invoked by the UK Government, enables specific filling stations to be set aside for exclusive …

1 May 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the proposal that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde will provide £270 million towards the building of the New Southern General Hospital will have an impact on other aspects of the overall budget of the NHS board.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Of the £270 million capital being provided by the NHS board, £135 million is being provided from within the capital allocations available to the NHS board with the remaining £135 million being provided by applying anticipated capital receipts. The NHS board h…