Mrs Margaret Ewing

3 Sep 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there have been any delays in issuing draft orders in relation to the planned Fochabers/Mosstodloch bypass and what the reasons have been for any such delays.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: Progress with the preparation of the scheme is in line with the programme for a start of construction in 2003 that I announced following the Strategic Roads Review. It is now planned to publish draft road orders for the Fochabers and Mosstodloch bypass in Oct…

3 Sep 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects work to commence on the lowering of kerbs in the High Street, Fochabers.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: BEAR Scotland Ltd are currently carrying out the necessary design work to allow the works to commence this financial year.

3 Sep 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it intends to reschedule the cancelled exhibition on the planned Fochabers/Mosstodloch bypass and what the reasons were for the cancellation of this exhibition.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: It is planned that the exhibition in Fochabers will coincide with publication of the draft road orders for the Fochabers and Mosstodloch bypass in October.<P>The cancellation of the exhibition accommodation that had been booked provisionally for September was…

29 Jun 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action has been or will be taken by each health board to ensure that BCG vaccination of all (a) S2, (b) S3 and (c) S4 schoolchildren is resumed (i) by June 2001 or (ii) by the autumn term of 2001.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Susan Deacon's letter of 26 June to Mrs Ewing provided the most up-to-date details on the restart of the BCG programme in Scotland.

12 Jun 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of the NHSiS budget is spent on the treatment of stroke victims.

Answer · Susan Deacon: This information is not available centrally.

12 Jun 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many specialist consultants in each health board area are allocated to the treatment of stroke victims.

Answer · Susan Deacon: The information requested is not available centrally. It is a matter for health boards and Trusts to assess and provide for local needs and to determine the staffing levels required for effective service delivery.

12 Jun 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many nurses in each health board area are trained specifically to counsel and assist victims of strokes.

Answer · Susan Deacon: The information requested is not held centrally.

22 May 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to hold a public awareness campaign to help reduce any stigma and discrimination associated with epilepsy.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: We have no plans to hold such a campaign. The Scottish Executive is, however, providing grant support to the voluntary organisation, Epilepsy Action Scotland, for its work in raising awareness of epilepsy issues in Scotland and its support of those affected b…

5 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children in each age cohort have received a BCG vaccination in each of the last two years and what percentage these figures represent of the school population in each cohort, broken down by health board.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: This information is not available in the precise form requested. But the following four tables show:<P>the number of children recorded as being vaccinated, by age group, in each health board area for 1998 and 1999; and<P>the percentage of those in each age gr…

5 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what allocation of NHS funding has been made to the Medical Research Council or other research bodies to develop preventative and treatment measures in respect of tuberculosis.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The funding of the Medical Research Council is a reserved matter for the UK Government.<P>Chief Scientist Office (CSO) within the Scottish Executive Health Department is aware of 95 recently completed or ongoing studies into tuberculosis in the UK. One of the…

5 Apr 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-2864 by Susan Deacon on 1 February 2001, whether a secure supply of BCG vaccinations is now assured for schoolchildren in Scotland.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-14479 on 6 April 2001.

23 Mar 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-13156 by Malcolm Chisholm on 19 March 2001, when it will be in a position to announce the resumption of the BCG vaccination programme.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: On 24 March, I announced, through Scottish Executive News Release SE0786, the resumption of the schools BCG vaccination programme in Scotland.

22 Mar 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many licences for the movement of farm animals have been granted by each local authority since the instigation of the licence procedures as a result of foot-and-mouth disease, broken down by (a) species and (b) destination of consignment.

Answer · Ross Finnie: There is no centrally held record of the number of licences granted by local authorities, authorising the movement of cattle, sheep and pigs to slaughter. However, comparison of the latest slaughtering statistics covering the period commencing Sunday 18 Febru…

22 Mar 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what proposals it has to ensure early payment of agri-monetary compensation to farmers, whether it will provide any matching funding and, if so, how much.

Answer · Ross Finnie: Subject to final EU Commission approval we propose to begin making sheep agrimoney payments in early April and beef agrimoney payments in mid to late April.<P>Of the £156 million optional agrimoney package announced by the Government on 27 February 2001 all b…

20 Mar 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will outline the criteria used to determine qualification for rural rates relief.

Answer · Peter Peacock: Mandatory rates relief of 50% is awarded to sole village shops and post offices with a rateable value of £6,000 or less in settlements of 3,000 people or less. This may be topped up to 100% at the local authority's discretion.<P>In such settlements, local aut…

20 Mar 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it plans to take to tackle any postcode discrimination in determining rates relief for rural post offices.

Answer · Peter Peacock: The criteria for assessing eligibility for the rural rates relief scheme are as set out in my answer to S1W-14312. The Scottish Executive is not aware of any discrimination in the implementation of the scheme.

13 Mar 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many extra counselling and support staff have been recruited by each health board to support relatives of those children whose organs may have been retained by hospitals.

Answer · Susan Deacon: As indicated in the answer to question S1W-14159, inquiries are being handled by existing staff of NHS Trusts who are familiar with the issues involved. Yorkhill NHS Trust, which has dealt with the great majority of inquiries, has taken on an additional membe…

13 Mar 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it has taken to ensure that parents whose children's organs have been retained are given suitable support when making enquiries to the hospitals involved.

Answer · Susan Deacon: In response to early recommendations from the independent Review Group on the Retention of Organs at Post-Mortem, which I set up under the chairmanship of Professor Sheila McLean to advise the Executive on this highly sensitive issue, the Chief Executive of t…

13 Mar 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many sei'ures of illegal drugs have been made along the north east coast of Scotland since 1987.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The number of drug seizures made by Grampian Police is given in the table. More detailed information is not available centrally.<P>Number of seizures made by Grampian Police, 1987-98<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=264><TR><TD WIDTH="25%" VALIG…

13 Mar 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many convictions for the supply of drugs there have been in each parliamentary constituency in each year since 1987.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The information held centrally on the number of convicted persons whose main offence was supply or possession with intent to supply drugs cannot be broken down by parliamentary constituency. The available information relates to convictions by court and is giv…

13 Mar 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to Grampian University Hospitals NHS Trust to fund the salaries of the nurses, doctors and support workers currently employed at the Arthritis and Osteoporosis Centre, Woolmanhill Hospital, Aberdeen.

Answer · Susan Deacon: It is for the NHS in Grampian to decide how to deploy the increased resources which the Executive is making available.

13 Mar 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to be able to publish the findings of the exercise being conducted to determine the extent to which health boards have implemented the recommendations contained in the report of the Expert Advisory Group on Infertility Services.

Answer · Susan Deacon: Work is still ongoing, and we expect to be in a position to publish our findings in the summer.

13 Mar 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-2982 by Susan Deacon on 15 February 2001, when it currently expects the BCG vaccination programme to recommence.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-13933 on 23 March 2001.

13 Mar 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many enquiries have been made to each health board on the issue of the retention of children's organs.

Answer · Susan Deacon: The information is not held centrally in the form requested. The table gives the numbers of inquiries received by NHS Acute Trusts relating to the retention of organs at post mortem in general.<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=604><TR><TD WIDTH=…

1 Mar 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to assist home owners with the costs of removing white asbestos from their homes and whether applications for this purpose can be made through home improvement grant schemes.

Answer · Jackie Baillie: It is for owners to undertake any necessary works to their homes. Removing asbestos may qualify for assistance under the improvement and repairs grant system. However, local authorities administer the system and it is for them to decide whether to offer grant.

7 Feb 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-12741 by Susan Deacon on 5 February 2001, when information on the number of newly diagnosed cases of mesothelioma in each health board area in (a) 1998-99, (b) 1999-2000 and (c) 2000-01 will be available.

Answer · Susan Deacon: Collection and analysis of cancer registration data is an iterative process that ensures high quality data are being used in making comparisons within Scotland and across Europe and the rest of the world.<P>It is anticipated that 1998 cancer registration data…

7 Feb 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what additional funding it will make available to deal with any increase in instances of tuberculosis as a result of a shortfall in the supply of the BCG vaccination.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The trends in the incidence of tuberculosis in Scotland in recent years - as set out in my answer to question S1W-13298 - do not suggest that a large increase in infections is likely.

7 Feb 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what input it has made to Her Majesty's Government's discussions on the provision of adequate supplies of BCG vaccinations and when these discussions will conclude.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive has made clear its concern that the schools BCG programme be restarted as soon as possible and that a reliable supply of vaccine is secured towards achieving a stable position in the longer term.<P>I am pleased to say that we expect to be able s…

25 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what consultation was carried out with disability groups regarding the appointment of the Enham Trust as a replacement for Disability Scotland and what the start and end dates were of any consultation period.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-12840.

25 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has entered into a contract with the Enham Trust to take over the role of Disability Scotland and, if so, on what date the contract was formally and legally agreed.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive has not entered into a contract with the Enham Trust. The Administrator of Disability Scotland has submitted a proposal on the future of Disability Scotland and we are considering this.