Mary Scanlon

16 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-18318 by Michael Russell on 4 December 2013, whether all secondary pupils who wish to study for a higher that is not available at their school will be given the opportunity to study the course online.

Answer · Michael Russell: Local authorities are responsible for the provision of school education within their areas. As indicated in the answer to question S4W-18318, SCHOLAR, a programme of Heriot-Watt university, provides interactive online learning resources for SQA courses to Sc…

11 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-18312 by Keith Brown on 25 November 2013, what the workshop suggested the compressed timescale for local authorities seeking to move toward decriminalised parking enforcement should be, and how this compares with the average timescale for local auth…

Answer · Keith Brown: Information on the outputs of the parking workshop held on 22 November 2013, are available on the Transport Scotland website at: http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/road/policy/legal-requirements/road-and-traffic-orders/decriminalised-parking-enforcements T…

11 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure that people with mental health problems have equal access to diagnosis and treatment across the NHS.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Some people can experience more difficulty than others in accessing mental health services to meet their needs. This can be because some groups are less likely to try to access services, for example due to stigma, or because there are gaps or lack of capacity…

11 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what is being done to assist patients in psychiatric hospitals to stop smoking.

Answer · Michael Matheson: All patients in psychiatric hospitals will have access to support from dedicated NHS smoking cessation services. While existing smoke-free legislation includes an exemption for designated rooms in psychiatric hospitals and psychiatric units, national guidanc…

11 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the difference is between the life expectancy of (a) women and (b) men in deprived areas (i) in general and (ii) for people with mental health issues.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The general life expectancy for women and men by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD2009) is published on the National Records of Scotland's website and is available through the following link: http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/theme/life-ex…

11 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether current clinical pathways are sufficient to support the management of multiple diagnoses including mental health issues.

Answer · Michael Matheson: More than two million people in Scotland have long term conditions. Multimorbidity (two or more long term conditions) is the norm in Scottish people aged over 50 years however most people with multimorbidity in Scotland are under 65 years. Multimorbidity occ…

11 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what NHS facilities treat both mental health issues and addictions.

Answer · Michael Matheson: NHS boards and Alcohol and Drug Partnerships (ADPs) are responsible for providing mental health and addictions services to meet local needs. Where a person has co-occurring addiction and mental health problems, they should receive evidence-based treatment bas…

11 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that people with mental health issues receive the same level of NHS care and treatment as for physical health issues.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government funds NHS boards and their partners to provide high quality health care that meets the needs of their local populations. The Scottish Government has prioritised mental health and continues to work to give it parity with other health c…

11 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to assist people with mental health issues to stop smoking.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Smoking cessation support for people with mental health issues is available throughout Scotland via local stop smoking services. Individual treatment plans for all patients, including patients with mental health conditions, should be developed taking into ac…

11 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether GP dispensing pharmacies can offer a minor ailments or chronic medication service and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Answer · Alex Neil: The minor ailment service and the chronic medication service are additional pharmaceutical services, and by statute may only be offered by community pharmacy contractors on the pharmaceutical list of an NHS board.

11 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether GP practices must lose staff when they cease to provide a dispensing pharmacy service and, if so, for what reason.

Answer · Alex Neil: The level of staffing of a GP practice is a matter for the practice itself.

11 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much money a GP practice receives to provide a dispensing pharmacy service.

Answer · Alex Neil: There is no fixed amount. Payments are made up of two elements: remuneration, paid for each prescription written plus an on-cost payment, and; reimbursement, in respect of the items dispensed. Full details are set out in Section 18 of the General Medical Se…

9 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consultation it had with further education colleges prior to the reclassification of colleges by the Office for National Statistics.

Answer · Michael Russell: The decision to reclassify colleges was announced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in October 2010. The Scottish Government was not consulted on this decision in advance of the ONS announcement, therefore there was no opportunity for us to consult …

9 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason not more that 10% of Skills Development Scotland apprenticeships are directly contracted to further education colleges.

Answer · Angela Constance: This information is not held centrally. I will ask the chief executive of Skills Development Scotland to write to you on this matter.

9 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time female students have attended further education college courses in each of the last five years.

Answer · Michael Russell: Data on the number of students who attended colleges in Scotland are produced by the Scottish Funding Council. The latest data are for academic year 2011-12. Table 1 shows the number of female students who attended college in each of the last five academic y…

9 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that regional college boards do not increase their budgets to the detriment of funding for further education colleges.

Answer · Michael Russell: Once relevant powers are available to them, ministers plan to designate by order every college in a single college region that has a board of management under Part 1 of the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992 as a regional college. While these re…

9 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether surpluses gained from higher education activity will have to be transferred to the arm’s-length foundation trusts being set up by further education colleges.

Answer · Michael Russell: The Office for National Statistics reclassification applies to college entities as a whole. All activity within a college is therefore subject to the same budgeting and accounting regime.

9 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much money is expected to be transferred to arm’s-length foundation trusts being set up by further education colleges on 1 April 2014.

Answer · Michael Russell: The development of arm’s-length foundations is a matter being taken forward by the Scottish Funding Council. I have asked its Interim chief executive to respond directly to you.

9 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question SW4-18165 by Michael Russell on 20 November 2013, for what reason it decided to go ahead with the Office for National Statistics reclassification of colleges if there are no benefits.

Answer · Michael Russell: The unwelcome decision to reclassify colleges as central government bodies was taken by the Office of National Statistics and opposed by the Scottish Government. In spite of extensive negotiation, HM Treasury offered no flexibility or mitigation on the decisi…

9 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether former (a) college board members or (b) members of staff would be considered independent in terms of the role as trustee on a proposed arm’s-length foundation trust for a further education college.

Answer · Michael Russell: The development of arm’s-length foundations is a matter being taken forward by the Scottish Funding Council. I have asked its Interim chief executive to respond directly to you.

9 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the arm's-length foundation trusts being set up by further education colleges will ensure that trustees are independent.

Answer · Michael Russell: The development of arm’s-length foundations is a matter being taken forward by the Scottish Funding Council. I have asked its Interim chief executive to respond directly to you.

14 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that prisoners receive suitable mental health services.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Responsibility for providing primary health care services in prisons, including those mental health services that would normally be delivered by a GP in the community, transferred to the NHS in November 2011. Specialist mental health services have always been…

14 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a secure payments service in all prisons.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Colin McConnell, chief executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows: ‘The Scottish Prison Service is considering the provision of a secure payments service across the SPS as part of a wider prisoner tech…

13 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will engage with (a) farmers, (b) landowners and (c) homeowners regarding proposed routes for the dualled A96.

Answer · Keith Brown: Transport Scotland are hosting public exhibitions at nine venues along the A96 between 12 and 29 November allowing landowners, householders, farmers and communities the opportunity view and comment on the early stages of the design work on the Scottish Govern…

12 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many pupils have studied for highers online in each of the last five years.

Answer · Michael Russell: This information is not held centrally. Heriot-Watt University provides interactive online learning resources for Scottish Qualifications Authority courses to Scottish secondary schools through the SCHOLAR programme. Currently, SCHOLAR offer provision at hig…

12 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) minimum, (b) maximum and (c) average duration of a level (i) 2 and (ii) 3 modern apprenticeship has been in each year since 2009-10.

Answer · Angela Constance: With the exception of the construction and engineering frameworks, modern apprenticeship frameworks in Scotland have no fixed duration. Rather, apprenticeships are undertaken at the pace of the learner. Employers and industry bodies in the construction and en…

12 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of modern apprenticeships has been undertaken by disabled people in each year since 2005-06.

Answer · Angela Constance: The information you have requested is not held centrally. I will ask the chief executive of Skills Development Scotland to write to you on this matter.

12 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many disabled people have undertaken a modern apprenticeship in each year since 2005-06.

Answer · Angela Constance: The information you have requested is not held centrally. I will ask the chief executive of Skills Development Scotland to write to you on this matter.

12 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many students from further education colleges have articulated into second or third year university courses in each of the last five years.

Answer · Michael Russell: The latest data on students in higher education institutions in Scotland are Higher Education Statistics Agency data for 2011-12. Table 1 shows the number of UK-domiciled students who have articulated from college into the second or third year of a first deg…

12 Nov 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assistance it can provide to local authorities planning for alternative delivery of the traffic warden provision in light of Police Scotland's decision to cease this function.

Answer · Keith Brown: On 22 November 2013 Transport Scotland hosted a workshop with local authorities to discuss the future delivery of parking enforcement. This set out a number of actions which included how best to compress the timescale for local authorities seeking to move tow…