Parliamentary questions

Mary Scanlon

4,514 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

6 Apr 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether new and existing drugs and treatments will be assessed by the Scottish Health Technology Assessment Centre on the basis of affordability or cost-effectiveness.

Answer · Susan Deacon: The Health Technology Board for Scotland will assess new and existing drugs and treatments solely on the evidence of their clinical and cost-effectiveness.

5 Apr 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase the number of specialist clinical, medical and surgical oncologists working in the NHSiS.

Answer · Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive and the Scottish Council for Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education recently carried out an annual review of the Specialist Registrar (SpR) establishment. The review determines the numbers of higher specialist training numbers availa…

5 Apr 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure that the Scottish cancer survival rate does not remain lower than that of some parts of the EU and the United States of America.

Answer · Susan Deacon: Scotland's cancer survival record is sometimes inappropriately compared with that of European countries and the USA. Scotland's cancer registry collects data on <I>all</I> cancer registrations across the total population - unlike those of many of its European…

5 Apr 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans there are to ensure that all women with ovarian cancer who could benefit from platinum/paclitaxel therapy advice receive it.

Answer · Susan Deacon: The treatment of women with ovarian cancer is a matter for specialists experienced in the management of cancer. The use of platinum/paclitaxel in the treatment of ovarian cancer depends on the clinical judgement of the specialist concerned.

3 Apr 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any of the additional resources for the NHS from tobacco revenue, announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, will be directed towards smoking cessation treatments.

Answer · Susan Deacon: On 20 August, I announced the priorities for funding from the Scottish allocation of extra tobacco tax revenues. This included a doubling of investment to £2 million a year for the National Health Service in Scotland to help more people quit smoking, targeted…

3 Apr 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any additional resources for the NHS from tobacco revenue, announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, will benefit specific aspects of Scottish healthcare.

Answer · Susan Deacon: As I announced in Parliament on 22 March, the Scottish Executive has agreed to hypothecate Scotland's share of the tobacco tax to the health budget and to direct £26 million to support health improvements and public health initiatives. Detailed decisions on h…

31 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider funding a Scottish National Allergy Centre to co-ordinate one-stop treatment and research into allergic diseases.

Answer · Susan Deacon: It is for health boards and Trusts to develop allergy services in response to local needs. In doing so, they will be helped by the findings of a major review of immunology and allergy services which the Scottish Executive commissioned last year from the Scott…

31 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it estimates is being spent by the NHS in Scotland annually on smoking cessation treatments.

Answer · Susan Deacon: Approximately £1 million a year is spent by health boards on health promotion activities specifically aimed at reducing smoking. Following the publication of the White Paper on tobacco control <I>Smoking Kills</I>, an additional £3million over three years fro…

31 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it estimates is being spent by the NHS in Scotland annually on smoking related illness.

Answer · Susan Deacon: The information requested is not held centrally. The precise cost of treating smoking-related disease is difficult to ascertain, since cost data collected centrally from the National Health Service in Scotland cannot be attributed to individual disease. Howev…

31 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-1282 by Iain Gray on 2 March 2000, what measures are being taken to educate and inform parents of the benefits of the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccination.

Answer · Susan Deacon: A leaflet, designed to answer parents' questions about MMR vaccination, has been produced by the Health Education Board for Scotland and has been issued to health boards and general practitioners.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The Chief Medical Officer has also written t…

30 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is a strategy to identify and address the needs of mothers with post-natal depression.

Answer · Susan Deacon: Guidance was issued in March 1999 to the NHS and local authorities on <I>Services for Women with Postnatal Depression</I>. This offered advice on identification and the best organisation of multi-agency care and support for mothers and their families, and pla…

30 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-3886 by Susan Deacon on 21 March 2000, when it plans to increase total health spending to the current European average as a percentage of national income.

Answer · Susan Deacon: The following table shows public expenditure on health as a proportion of GDP in Scotland and in countries within the European Community in 1997 - the latest year for which comparable data are available.<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=406><TR>…

24 Mar 2000 · Written Question

Answer · Iain Gray: Health boards and local authority Social Work Departments incur expenditure in relation to mental health.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In terms of NHS expenditure, mental illness is equated with the specialties of General Psychiatry, Adolescent Psychiatry, Child Psychia…

24 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the additional money being received as a result of the Chancellor of the Exchequer's budget will be allocated to each health board in Scotland and for what purpose the money will be used.

Answer · Susan Deacon: I refer to my answer to question S1W-5591.

24 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any of the additional resources for the NHS announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer will be used to (a) alleviate NHS Trust financial deficits, (b) finance the 1,270 unfilled vacancies for nurses or (c) enable bed-blocking patients to access care in the community.

Answer · Susan Deacon: An additional £173 million has been allocated to the Health budget in the current financial year as a result of the Chancellor of the Exchequer's budget. I announced on 2 May that £60 million of this sum would be allocated to health boards on a formula basis …

24 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of mental health spending is allocated to (a) institutionalised care and (b) care in the community.

Answer · Iain Gray: Health boards and local authority Social Work Departments incur expenditure in relation to mental health.<P>Health boards receive an allocation based on weighted capitation. They are then required to provide a Health Improvement Plan in conjunction with their…

15 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what was allocated and spent by the Scottish Tourist Board on its external relations department in each of the last five years.

Answer · Henry McLeish: The information, including staff and related costs, is as follows:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=205><TR><TD WIDTH="59%" VALIGN="TOP"><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Financial Year</TD><TD WIDTH="41%" VALIGN="TOP"><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Amount</TD></TR><TR><T…

15 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what was allocated and spent by the Scottish Tourist Board on hospitality in each of the last five years.

Answer · Henry McLeish: The Board do not show this separately in their accounts.

15 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any guidelines in place regarding payment for residential care by elderly people and whether the policies of Moray Council to (a) require elderly property owners to take out a loan to pay for their care until their property is sold and (b) to delay admission to care for …

Answer · Iain Gray: The National Assistance (Assessment of Resources) Regulations 1992 and amendments apply to adults placed in residential and nursing homes by local authorities. The Scottish Executive has issued guidance to local authorities on the application of these regulat…

9 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what initiatives it is taking to address male infertility.

Answer · Susan Deacon: The report of the Expert Advisory Group on Infertility Services in Scotland was issued to health boards and NHS Trusts on 11 February. It recommends couple-based care for the management and delivery of infertility services. Health boards and NHS Trusts have b…

9 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the male fertility treatment intra cytoplasmic sperm injection is available throughout Scotland via the NHS.

Answer · Susan Deacon: Not all health boards currently provide intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) for their residents. I have, however, asked health boards and NHS Trusts throughout Scotland to work towards the implementation of the report of the Expert Advisory Group on Infer…

8 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to reduce the amount of bureaucracy experienced by farmers.

Answer · Ross Finnie: Yes. The Scottish Executive commissioned and has now received a report from a panel of industry representatives on the red tape involved in paying EU subsidies. This involved a detailed scrutiny of the EU Regulations and their implementation. The recommendati…

8 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many Agricultural Business Improvement Scheme applications were successful in the recent allocation.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The Department issued 543 grant approvals, for individual measures, in the last three months of the Agricultural Business Improvement Scheme (ABIS) prior to its closure on 31 December 1999. These approvals brought the total number of approvals since 1995 to 5…

8 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what proposals are in place to protect the future of nesting birds in the Western Isles from damage by mink.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive and Scottish Natural Heritage are currently involved with a number of other organisations in strategic trapping of mink in the Western Isles. In addition, the Scottish Executive and Scottish Natural Heritage have commissioned a field st…

8 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in developing a successor to the Agricultural Business Improvement Scheme using available transitional funds and how many applications are likely to be met under such a scheme.

Answer · Ross Finnie: Good progress is being made in negotiating, with the European Commission, proposals for a new Highlands and Islands Rural Development Plan drawn up by a partnership which includes the Rural Affairs Department, key public sector agencies, and representatives f…

8 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many farmers have committed suicide in the years 1997, 1998 and 1999.

Answer · Ross Finnie: Information collected from Registrations of Death shows cause of death and occupation of the deceased. According to this information, the numbers of farmers committing suicide in the three years in question were:<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 …

8 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many Scottish Executive Rural Affairs Department employees resigned in the past year excluding retirals.

Answer · Jack McConnell: The number of employees who left the Scottish Executive between 1 March 1999 and 1 March 2000 inclusive and had been assigned to the Rural Affairs Department are set out below.<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=510><TR><TD WIDTH="65%" VALIGN="TOP…

8 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what ongoing assistance is being provided to fund the increased staffing levels for the additional intensive care beds announced by the Minister for Health and Community Care on 22 February 2000.

Answer · Susan Deacon: It is for health boards, in conjunction with NHS Trusts, to determine the increased staffing levels necessary in light of local needs and circumstances, and to ensure the appropriate funding is in place.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The Scottish Executive is providing r…

8 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what is the number of intensive care and high dependency beds and the level of new equipment that will be provided from the funding package announced on 22 February 2000, and what use will be made of the remaining funds.

Answer · Susan Deacon: An additional £13.8 million has been made available to the NHS in Scotland. £6.8 million is to be spent on intensive care and high dependency beds and on new equipment, with the remaining £7 million to be used to meet local priorities. It is for health boards…

7 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the new emergency contraceptive Levonelle will be made available throughout Scotland.

Answer · Susan Deacon: Levonelle-2, was launched in the UK in February 2000 and is available throughout Scotland but only on prescription.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The Medicines Control Agency (MCA) is currently considering an application to re-classify Levonelle-2 from prescription-only …