Parliamentary questions
Mrs Margaret Ewing
567 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
12 Jan 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff employed by NHS Scotland were aged 70 or over in each year since 1999.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The table shows the total number of staff aged 70 and over employed in NHS Scotland at 30 September in each year from 1999 to 2004.</p> <p>NHSScotland Workforce Statistics, All NHS Staff, Headcount at 30 September</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding…
12 Jan 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated cost is to the economy arising from mental illness.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive has not made an estimate of the cost to the economy of mental illness.</p> <p>The direct costs of treatment services provided by NHS Scotland are £625,531,000.</p>
12 Jan 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has allocated for the provision of mental health services in each year since 1999.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: No specific allocation is made to NHS boards for the provision of mental health services. The level of expenditure on mental health and all other care services is determined by each NHS board from within their share of the record resources made available to N…
12 Jan 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many complaints have been made against NHS boards in respect of mental health care in each year since 1999 and what level of involvement ministers had in response to each case.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The NHS complaints procedure, which is independent of ministers and the Scottish Executive Health Department, was introduced in April 1996, and revised in April 2005, to provide a simple, flexible, impartial and easily accessible system for dealing with compl…
12 Jan 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received in the last five years from interested parties in respect of the delivery of mental health services.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: There is on-going engagement with a range of stakeholders including the statutory, voluntary and private sectors. Service users, carers and other interests are also actively involved within formal and other arrangements including the mechanisms in place for p…
12 Jan 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people with mental illness have died in police custody in each year since 1999, broken down by police force area.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: This information is not heldcentrally.</p>
12 Jan 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to tackle any discrimination against people with mental illness who are seeking work.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive has provided £2.178 million over the period 2002-05 to the See Me campaign to address stigma and discrimination. See Me has in process a dedicated strand of activity specifically aimed at the workplace.</p> <p>Scotland’s Health At Work …
12 Jan 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what recent assessment it has made of the level of funding for mental health services.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The overall level of health funding was assessed by ministers in Spending Review 2004. NHS boards are receiving record levels of funding to meet the health care needs, including mental health needs, of their resident populations.</p>
25 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many companies have been declared bankrupt since 1999.
Answer · Hugh Henry: The following table gives details of the different types of business insolvencies in Scotland from 1999 to 2005. The total number of Scottish business insolvencies for the period is 4,247.</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <tr> <td> <p>Ye…
25 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will provide a substantive answer to parliamentary question S2W-19753 which received a holding reply on 5 November 2005.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: The answer to parliamentaryquestion S2W-19753 was provided on 25 November 2005.</p>
25 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much hazardous waste has been illegally dumped since 1999 and how many prosecutions resulted, broken down by parliamentary constituency area.
Answer · Ross Finnie: Information about the amountof hazardous waste illegally dumped is not held centrally. There have been noprosecutions since 1999 leading to penalties under section 33 (9) of theEnvironmental Protection Act, which is the provision dealing specifically withthe …
25 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many businesses have produced hazardous waste since 1999 and how many businesses it estimates will produce hazardous waste in each year from 2006 to 2010.
Answer · Ross Finnie: This specific information isnot held centrally. Information published by the Scottish EnvironmentProtection Agency on hazardous or special waste is available in its Waste DataDigest which may be found at:</p><p><ahref="http://www.sepa.org.uk/nws/data/data_dig…
23 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many of its security passes have been reported (a) lost and (b) stolen by staff since 2001.
Answer · Tom McCabe: The Scottish ExecutiveSecurity Branch hold security pass statistics dating back to 1 April 2002. Fromthat date, until 22 November 2005, a total of 11,360 security passes have been issuedincluding new and replacement passes for Scottish Executive staff andnon-…
23 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many dairy farmers have gone out of business since 1999.
Answer · Ross Finnie: This information is not held centrally.</p> <p>The following table provides information on the number of Scottish holdings classed as dairy and the number of holdings with dairy cows in each year since 1999.</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> …
23 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment has been made of the impact of the retail price of milk on dairy farmers since 1999.
Answer · Ross Finnie: No assessment has been made in precisely these terms, but several reports have assessed the impact of farmgate prices and related supply-chain issues. The most recent of these is the Milk Development Council’s (MDC) <i>Dairy Supply Chain Margins 2004-05</i> r…
23 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the total supermarket share of the liquid milk market has been since 1999.
Answer · Ross Finnie: This information is not available centrally.</p> <p>Information supplied by the Milk Development Council is available from 2002 and is provided in the following table.</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td> <p>Year</p><…
23 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many women it employs, broken down by department.
Answer · Tom McCabe: The number of female permanent staff employed in the Scottish Executive core departments is shown in the following table.</p> <p>Permanent Female Staff at October 2005</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td> <p align=cent…
23 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people it employs from ethnic minorities, broken down by department.
Answer · Tom McCabe: The number of permanent staff employed in the Scottish Executive core departments who have declared themselves to be from an ethnic minority is shown in the following table.</p> <p>Permanent Staff from an Ethnic Minority at October 2005</p><table border=1 cel…
23 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many foster carers have been suspended.
Answer · Robert Brown: The information requested is not held centrally.</p>
23 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received in respect of the foster carers appeals process.
Answer · Robert Brown: The issue of foster carer appeals was raised by the Adoption Policy Review Group in its Phase II report <i>Adoption: Better Choices for our Children</i>. The Scottish Executive supports their recommendation that there should be an independent system for appea…
23 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many foster carers look after (a) one, (b) two, (c) three and (d) four or more foster children.
Answer · Robert Brown: The information requested is not held centrally.</p>
23 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the ratio is of children requiring foster care to the number of foster carers available.
Answer · Robert Brown: The information requested is not held centrally.</p> <p> </p>
15 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of E.coli have been found in (a) schools, (b) leisure centres, (c) hospitals and (d) businesses in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Most cases of E coli are sporadic and there is rarely any microbiological confirmation of the source of infection.</p> <p>From 1999 to date, 18 outbreaks of E coli linked to school or business locations were identified by Health Protection Scotland.</p><p>Out…
15 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS boards have made bortezomib (Velcade) available to patients who have requested such treatment.
Answer · Andy Kerr: Information on drug treatments given in hospitals is not available centrally. Data collected centrally relate to prescribed items dispensed by community pharmacists and dispensing doctors. These data are not patient-specific.</p> <p>The Scottish Medicines Con…
7 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the ratio has been of prisoners with mental health problems to psychiatric units in each year since 1999.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:</p> <p>The number of prisoners presenting with mental health problems is not known therefore such a ratio cannot be calculated.</p>
7 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many juveniles with mental health problems have been imprisoned in (a) non-secure and (b) secure psychiatric units in each year since 1999.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: This information is not held centrally. However, the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland is notified of detentions under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 and may be able to provide some information in relation to this query. They …
7 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many juveniles have been imprisoned in each year since 1999.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:The word juvenile is not used within the Scottish Prison Service. However, in England and Wales a juvenile is defined as someone aged under 18. We…
7 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what support is offered to sufferers of myalgic encephalopathy.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: This information is not held centrally. Responsibility for planning and delivery of support services for people with myalgic encephalopathy rests with NHS boards in consultation with social services departments.</p>
7 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it has allocated to early detection of myalgic encephalopathy.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: NHS boards are given unified budgets, increased by an average of 7.6% in the current financial year, from which they are expected to meet the costs of diagnosis and treatment for people with ME and all other chronic conditions. It is for NHS boards to decide …
7 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much it estimates that myalgic encephalopathy costs the economy.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Such an estimate is not available. The full costs of any chronic condition vary significantly between individuals affected.</p>