Parliamentary questions
Mrs Margaret Ewing
567 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
7 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of its health budget is allocated to health promotion.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The information is not held centrally.</p> <p>A separate figure for Scottish Executive spend specifically on health promotion is not available as there are a number of funding streams which also have a health promotion element in them but which are not separa…
7 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether NHS Scotland employs a greater or lesser proportion of health promotion staff than England.
Answer · Andy Kerr: Information on the proportion of health promotion staff in NHS Scotland is shown in the table. The latest available data is at 30 September 2004*.</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td> <p> </p></td> <td> <p…
7 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the NHS budget is used for preventative rather than curative purposes.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The information requested is not held centrally.</p>
7 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give a breakdown of the implementation dates of Agenda for Change in Scotland.
Answer · Andy Kerr: Implementation of Agenda for Change is a large and complex exercise involving a range of processes, including matching over 140,000 NHS non-medical staff to new job profiles, carrying out local evaluations for staff that do not match to these profiles, and as…
27 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many complaints it has received from interested parties regarding the performance and conduct of EAGA Partnership Ltd.
Answer · Johann Lamont: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:</p> <p>Eaga Partnership Ltd administers the central heating and Warm Deal programmes on behalf of Communities Scotland. Complaints received directl…
27 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many contracts under the Warm Deal have been completed in each local authority area.
Answer · Johann Lamont: I have asked Angiolina Foster,Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:</p><p>Installations under the WarmDeal are managed by Eaga Partnership Ltd and by individual local authorities. However,Eaga Partnership Ltd does no…
27 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many homes have had installations or renovations carried out since the inception of the Warm Deal; how many applications are outstanding, and what the current waiting list is.
Answer · Johann Lamont: I have asked Angiolina Foster,Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:</p><p>Eaga Partnership has indicatedthe current waiting time for Warm Deal installations is approximately three monthsand around 2,900 applicants ar…
27 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive to which sub-contractors EAGA Partnership Ltd has allocated the delivery of central heating renewal and/or installations and whether it is required to report back to the Executive on the success or failure rate of sub-contractors.
Answer · Johann Lamont: I have asked Angiolina Foster,Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:</p><p>Eaga Partnership, which administersthe central heating programme on behalf of the Scottish Executive, has responsibilityto source contractors …
27 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish a statistical analysis of the success of EAGA Partnership Ltd in delivering, on schedule, central heating replacements and installations under the Warm Deal.
Answer · Johann Lamont: I have asked Angiolina Foster,Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:</p><p>Each year, statistical analysisis provided on the success of the Central Heating and Warm Deal Programmes in the Scottish Executive Report, <i…
25 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has carried out any research to determine the level of provision of allergy services.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: In September 2000, the ScottishMedical and Scientific Advisory Committee (SMASAC) produced a detailed and comprehensivereport on immunology and allergy services in Scotland. The report set out theprovision at that time of services in Scotland for the diagnosi…
25 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many allergy specialists there are, broken down by NHS board area.
Answer · Andy Kerr: For the first time, allergy was recognised by the Specialist Training Authority as constituting a related but distinct specialty in 1999. The effects of specialist training in this discipline will take time to be fully reflected in NHS provision.</p> <p>Most …
25 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people suffer from a form of allergy, broken down by NHS board area.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Information is not held centrallyin the form requested. An estimate derived from information collected under NHSNational Services’ Information and Statistics Division’s Practice Team Informationsystem suggests that over the whole of Scotland in the 12 months …
25 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what training has been provided to ensure that medical staff have better knowledge and the skills to ensure that they are equipped for dealing with people who suffer from allergies.
Answer · Andy Kerr: For the first time, allergy was recognised by the Specialist Training Authority as constituting a related but distinct specialty in 1999. The effects of specialist training in this discipline will take time to be fully reflected in NHS provision.</p> <p>Train…
25 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any proposals to ring-fence funds to provide trained NHS specialists to deal with people who suffer from allergies.
Answer · Andy Kerr: There are no plans to ring-fence funds in this way. I expect NHS boards to make provision for allergy services from within their general annual allocations.</p>
25 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what expenditure it has incurred as a result of hydrological enquiries in the context of development plans and whether it will ensure that such expenditure is incurred in respect of all developments where there is a risk of flooding.
Answer · Johann Lamont: The Scottish Executive is funding the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) to prepare new indicative flood risk maps at a cost of £1.9 million and has previously spent £1.4 million on the digital terrain model which provides the basis for the maps. A…
7 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many accidents there were at the A96 Alves and Lhanbryde crawler lane in each of the last six years.
Answer · Tavish Scott: The number of injury accidents on the A96 at the Alves climbing lane in each of the last six years (January 1999 to December 2004) is as follows:</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td> <p>Year</p></td> <td> <p al…
7 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many junior doctors are currently working more hours than is permitted by the European Working Time Directive, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Andy Kerr: We do not monitor centrally thecompliance of junior doctors with the Working Time Regulations (WTR) since thisis the responsibility of NHS boards as employers. However, the working hours ofdoctors in training are monitored twice a year under the New Deal Cont…
7 Oct 2005 · SPCB Written Question
To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how many pieces of art have been (a) damaged or (b) stolen from Holyrood and any other offices under its management.
Answer · George Reid: Some minor damage has occurred to two pieces of art and to the fixing of two others. These are as follows:</p> <p>The Boyle Family, Study of Rippled Sand and Black Rocks, Hebrides - some minor damage to this artwork occurred with a small coffee spillage. This…
7 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many businesses have relocated their operating headquarters from Scotland.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: It is not possible to answer this question from the data held centrally. The Executive’s firm-level database (Inter-Departmental Business Register) contains data on employment and turnover for all enterprises located in Scotland, but does not record systemati…
7 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many extra training programmes have been introduced since 1999 in respect of finding employment for teenagers.
Answer · Allan Wilson: There have been no extra training programmes introduced since 1999, although the number of training places within existing programmes such as the MA Programme, Get Ready for Work and New Deal for Young people has increased.</p>
7 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many children from low-income families have entered further education since 1999.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: Household income data forfurther education(FE) students are not collected centrally.</p><p>However, based on the homeaddress of each student the following table provides information on thepercentage of full-time FE enrolments aged 16 to 20 who come from depri…
7 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what policies it has introduced to reduce pesticide levels in food.
Answer · Ross Finnie: Scottish Executive policy isdelivered through the pesticide approvals process under which statutory conditionsof use are set, the implementation of EC Directives on maximum residues levels (MRLs)which set limits on the amount of pesticide residue permitted in…
7 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when the Minister for Finance and Public Service Reform will respond to my letter of 6 September 2005 regarding taskforces.
Answer · Tom McCabe: I replied to your letter on the 5 October 2005.</p>
7 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are registered as having a learning disability, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Information on the number of adults with learning disabilities known to each local authority in Scotland is available in Annex A of Statistics Release <i>Adults with learning disabilities, implementation of the same as you? Scotland 2004 </i>which is availabl…
7 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received from interested parties regarding the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000.
Answer · Hugh Henry: The Scottish Executive receives a range of correspondence from different sources from time to time on the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 (the 2000 act).</p> <p>A valuable source of views on the operation of the legislation has been the two-year co…
7 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that, where guardianship has been granted to parents or to another responsible adult for an adult or child with learning difficulties, that the Scottish clearing banks are acting promptly and appropriately to open and service relevant accounts for guardians.
Answer · Hugh Henry: The Scottish Executive and the Office of the Public Guardian have met with the Committee of Scottish Clearing Banks on a number of occasions to explore operational difficulties which arose after the commencement of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 20…
7 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that, where guardianship has been granted for an adult or a child with learning disabilities, direct payments to these guardians are paid promptly to ensure the full care of the disabled person.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Once a guardian has been authorisedto receive direct payments on a user’s behalf, the process of issuing the moneyis the same as for any other user. No difficulties with prompt payment are expected,or have been brought to our attention.</p>
7 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received any requests from local authorities to change the level of non-residential care charges and, if so, from which local authorities.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: No.</p>
7 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any concerns regarding the COSLA guidelines, published in spring 2003 and amended in December 2004, which implement changes to charges for non-residential care services by April 2006.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-19742 on 1 November 2005. 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/weba…
7 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that guidelines issued by it and COSLA on the review of charges for non-residential care services will assist the clients of these services in claiming all benefits to which they are entitled and that no-one will be adversely affected by the changes in charging.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The guidance in question was issued by COSLA, not the Scottish Executive. It sets a framework of minimum standards for the protection of clients’ resources by local authorities. Service users are not adversely affected by the guidance as local authorities ret…