Mary Scanlon

15 Mar 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what research has been done in Scotland in relation to vitamin D deficiency.

Answer · Michael Matheson: There are a number of research projects we are aware of that are both under way and have been completed on vitamin D in Scotland, two of which concentrate on looking at vitamin D deficiency: Paul Haggerty Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health Universi…

15 Mar 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what health problems can result from vitamin D deficiency.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Vitamin D deficiency has a negative impact on bone mineralization leading to Rickets in children. Adults with vitamin D deficiency may experience bone pain and/or osteomalacia (soft bone). There has been emerging evidence linking vitamin D deficiency into a …

15 Mar 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children have been diagnosed with rickets in each of the last 10 years.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Information on the number of children treated in hospital and the associated number of hospital stays where a diagnosis of active rickets due to Vitamin D deficiency was recorded is shown in the following table. The figures do not include secondary rickets a…

15 Mar 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason private ferry operators can charge lower fares than subsidised operators for similar crossings.

Answer · Keith Brown: In line with current competition law, private ferry operators have commercial freedom to set their own fares. The fares of subsidised operators are generally regulated by the authority providing the subsidy. There are a small number of cases where a “similar…

15 Mar 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average cost is per hour to provide home care for older people, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government does not currently collect information on the average cost per hour to provide home care for older people, for each local authority.

15 Mar 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the eligibility criteria for free personal care at home are applied on a consistent basis by all local authorities.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Joint guidance on Eligibility Criteria for free personal and nursing care was issued by the Scottish Government and COSLA in September 2009. Local authorities were asked to confirm that their local arrangements were compatible with this guidance. All 32 local…

15 Mar 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the eligibility criteria are for receiving free personal care at home.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Eligibility criteria are defined in the joint guidance issued by the Scottish Government and COSLA on 28 September 2009. In broad terms the criteria are set out by categories of risk under the following headings: Critical Risk: Indicates that there are major…

15 Mar 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what amount in Freight Facilities Grant it has awarded in each of the last five years.

Answer · Keith Brown: The value of the Freight Facilities Grant (FFG) awards made by the Scottish Government in each of the last five financial years is as follows: Total Value of FFG Awards1 (£ million) 2007-08 0.0 2008-09 2.7 2009-10 0.0 2010-11 4.3 2011-12 0.4 Note:…

14 Mar 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will initiate a study on the carbon footprint of biomass plants that use materials such as draff.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Over the past months the Scottish Government has facilitated meetings between the Scotch Whisky Association and farming bodies to discuss concerns regarding the use of distillery co-products for renewables generation. In these stakeholder meetings it was dec…

1 Mar 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on what basis it decided to exclude prostate cancer from its Detect Cancer Early Initiative.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government is committed to taking forward a Detect Cancer Early Programme with a target of increasing the number of cancers detected at the early stage of disease as the earlier that cancer is diagnosed, the better the chance of a complete cure. …

1 Mar 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to ensure that men are made aware of the potential signs and symptoms of prostate cancer.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government's Better Cancer Care, recognised that early detection of cancer is crucial and the earlier it can be diagnosed, the better the chance of a positive outcome. Our “Detect Cancer Early” initiative is initially focusing on the three most c…

1 Mar 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure that men with a higher risk of prostate cancer are provided with sufficient information about the pros and cons of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test to ensure that they can make an informed choice about whether to take the test.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: As referred to in answer to question S4W-06003 on 8 March 2012, guidance in the form of a Prostate Cancer Risk Management Pack which supports the Prostate Cancer Risk Management Programme was issued to NHS boards (urologists, histopathologists, PSA testing la…

1 Mar 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to ensure that all GPs are made aware of a man’s right to request a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Guidance in the form of a Prostate Cancer Risk Management Pack which supports the Prostate Cancer Risk Management Programme was issued to NHS boards (urologists, histopathologists, PSA testing laboratories) and all general practitioners in Scotland in 2009. T…

1 Mar 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to ensure that men receive coordinated follow-up care, monitoring and advice following prostate cancer surgery and treatment.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Cancer remains a top clinical priority for Scottish Government. Our cancer policy is generic in that its aims to improve cancer services for all regardless of cancer type or whether a primary or secondary diagnosis. Better cancer Care, published in 2008, outl…

29 Feb 2012 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take following the recent Audit Scotland report on cardiology services.

28 Feb 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what profitable ferry routes are being operated by Calmac and Northlink Ferries.

Answer · Keith Brown: There are no profitable routes operated by CalMac Ferries or NorthLink Ferries Ltd and that is the reason why these ferry operators receive a public subsidy from the Scottish Government.

17 Feb 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the level of absenteeism due to mental health problems has been in each of its departments in each of the last five years.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government has not operated a Departmental structure since 2007. However, the average working days lost to sickness for the Core Scottish Government, where the reason for absence is categorised as a mental disorder, has been as follows: Absence …

13 Feb 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many modern apprenticeships there have been in each year since 2002 and, of these, how many have been completed.

Answer · Angela Constance: Apprenticeship numbers in Scotland have increased from 15,010 in 2007-08 to 21,561 in 2010-11. We will support 25,000 Modern Apprentice opportunities in 2011-12, the highest ever number of apprenticeships in Scotland. The Scottish Government does not hold th…

7 Feb 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what legal requirement there is for a consultation to be held regarding the establishment a of wind farm with a capacity of greater than 50 megawatts.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Applications for electricity generating stations over 50MW are considered by ministers under s36 of The Electricity Act 1989, and relevant related environmental regulations. These regulations require that an initial consultation is undertaken upon receipt of…

6 Feb 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the safety of using mercury amalgam in dental treatments.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government consider that mercury amalgam fillings are safe to use. This view is supported by other UK Health departments and the British Dental Association.

6 Feb 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what NHS dental treatments are available and whether it plans reductions in these.

Answer · Michael Matheson: NHS Dental Treatments are detailed in the Statement of Dental Remuneration. We have made no reductions in treatments available and have no plans to do so.

26 Jan 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to promote additional vitamin D for (a) pregnant women and (b) children.

Answer · Michael Matheson: In September 2010 the Chief Medical Officer for Scotland wrote to all health professionals urging them to explain the importance of vitamin D to patients at risk of deficiency. In June 2011 we produced a leaflet for the general public and health professionals…

26 Jan 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of older people living in publicly funded care homes is given regular vitamin D supplements.

Answer · Michael Matheson: This information is not collected.

26 Jan 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual cost to Scotland is of the healthy start programme.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Healthy Start scheme is managed by the Department of Health on behalf of the UK Governments. The administrative costs of running the scheme are met by the Department of Health and are thought to be around £5 million per year. We do not contribute towards …

26 Jan 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the uptake rate is for Scottish (a) women and (b) children who qualify for vitamins under the healthy start scheme.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Based on the Management Information report received from the Department of Health for the reporting period (21 November to 15 December 2011) there were 50,294 Scottish beneficiaries eligible under the scheme and 38,625 receiving the benefit. This represents a…

26 Jan 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of (a) adults and (b) children have blood levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D below the minimum level of 25 nanomoles per litre.

Answer · Michael Matheson: This information is not currently available. The Food Standards Agency in Scotland and the Scottish Government have funded an analysis of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) in blood samples collected in the 2010 and 2011 Scottish Health Surveys. This data is curren…

19 Jan 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been written off by each public sector organisation as a result of failed IT contracts in each of the last five years.

Answer · John Swinney: The information requested is not held centrally. In the case of the core Scottish Government, there have been no such write offs.

10 Jan 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance is given to communities to plant fruit trees.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government supports a number of projects including: (a) Central Scotland Green Network (CSGN) which has provided more than £100,000 to support the creation of over 100 community / school orchards since July 2010. (b) £15,000 to the Children’s O…

10 Jan 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in achieving the tree planting target by 2015.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The Scotland Rural Development Programme (SRDP) is the main delivery mechanism for private sector planting. Since the beginning of 2010 support for 17,263 hectares of new woodland creation has been approved. Taking an average stocking of 2,000 trees per hecta…

10 Jan 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual percentage sickness absence rate is for each public sector organisation.

Answer · John Swinney: The standardised measure used to report sickness absence across Civil Service organisations is average working days lost per full-time equivalent employee (AWDL). Sickness absence is reported over a full 12 month period to account for the seasonal patterns as…