Parliamentary questions

Mary Scanlon

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

21 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what support is being given to complementary medicine.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: It is open to NHS boards to providecomplementary medicine through the NHS in Scotland. Decisions on whether to provide any particular formof complementary medicine are for NHS boards to make, based on their assessmentof local needs. Information on the level o…

14 Apr 2004 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how patients will benefit from the implementation of the new out-of-hours proposals in the NHS.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The new out-of-hours services must meet new mandatory accreditation standards drawn up by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland to ensure delivery of a safe, qualityservice.NHS boards envisage an integrated, multi-professional team-based approach to ensure …

14 Apr 2004 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that local authorities deliver high quality, value for money services.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The reportsof scrutiny bodies, particularly the Accounts Commission, and this year’s statutoryperformance indicators show further improvement in the performance of local government.We are constantly striving for continuous improvement across the public sector…

8 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria are used to disburse funds recovered by the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to local drug initiatives throughout Scotland.

Answer · Hugh Henry: I refer the member to the answergiven to question S2W-7502 on 10 May 2004. All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility forwhich can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/s…

8 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the procedure is for drugs projects to bid for monies recovered through the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

Answer · Hugh Henry: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-7502 on 10 May 2004.All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:<ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk…

8 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the assets received under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 have been distributed to projects, detailing how much each project received.

Answer · Hugh Henry: The relevant sections of theProceeds of Crime Act 2002 became effective on various dates, up to 24 March 2003.Since actual sums recovered in one financial year, from the budget for thefollowing financial year, we have yet to allocate assets recovered in 2003-…

8 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much money has been recovered in sei'ed assets under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 in respect of crime relating to (a) drugs, (b) alcohol and (c) cigarettes in each year since the implementation of the Act.

Answer · Colin Boyd: The Criminal Confiscation powersunder the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 came into force on 24 March 2003. The powersunder the Proceeds of Crime Act (Scotland) Act 1995 continue to be used in respect of cases withoffence dates prior to 24 March 2003.For th…

1 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why, in March 2003, there was bed blocking in the Highland Council area when the occupancy rate of care homes for older people was 89% and there were 211 vacant places.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The 15 April 2003 ISD Patientsready for discharge in NHSScotland census recorded 39 Highland Council patientsassessed as needing a care home place. Of these, 24 were awaiting funding from thecouncil and 15 were awaiting a place in a care home of their …

1 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) care homes and (b) care home places have been available in each of the last five years for (i) older people, (ii) adults with physical disabilities, (iii) adults with mental health problems, (iv) adults with learning disabilities and (v) adults in other client groups.

Answer · Tom McCabe: Table 1 shows the number of residential care homes and nursing homes and the number of places in these homes for 1999-2002.Note that some homes were dual‑registered and may therefore appear in boththe residential care homes and nursing homes sections. <…

1 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether people moving from a registered care home system to a package of care under housing support services will be given appropriate care and support in accordance with their needs.

Answer · Margaret Curran: When people move from a registeredcare home into the community local authorities have a duty under the Social Work(Scotland) Act 1968 to assess their needs and provide appropriate services. A singleshared assessment under Scottish Executive Circular No. CCD8/…

1 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any concerns in respect of 376 care homes deregistering and eight care homes opening in the year ended March 2003.

Answer · Tom McCabe: No. The nature of these serviceschanged, which meant that they no longer fell within the “care home service” definitionin the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001. Most, if not all, of them are housing supportservices, now also regulated by the Care Commiss…

1 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why 376 care homes deregistered in the year ending March 2003, broken down by intended client group.

Answer · Tom McCabe: Of the 376 care homes which deregisteredin the months leading up to 31 March 2003, nine were for older people, 15 for peoplewith physical disability or illness, 72 for people with mental health problems,243 for people with learning disabilities and 37 for oth…

1 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many former care homes have re-registered with the Care Commission as a housing support service.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The provision of informationon specific registration decisions is an operational matter for the Care Commission.

1 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many care homes have deregistered in each of the last five years, broken down by category.

Answer · Tom McCabe: Between 1st April 2002 and 31st March 2003, 376Care Homes de-registered. Nine were for older people, 15 for people with physicaldisabilities, 72 for people with mental health problems, 243 for people with learningdisabilities and 37 for other client groups. T…

29 Mar 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken, and what incentives are being offered, to encourage business and domestic water customers to conserve water.

Answer · Ross Finnie: Scottish Water is requiredto promote the sustainable use of water resources. For business customers, anincentive to conserve water is offered through charging arrangements. For domesticcustomers, water conservation is promoted by Scottish Water throughpublica…

26 Mar 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of electricity is produced through hydro schemes.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: In 2002, Scottish hydro stationsand pumped storage schemes produced 5,000 GigaWatt hours, accounting for 10.3% oftotal Scottish electricity output.

26 Mar 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether energy produced by established hydroelectric schemes is classified as renewable and what the reasons are for the position on the matter.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: All hydroelectric output in Scotland isclassified as renewable. Established stations with a capacity of up to 20MW andwhich have been refurbished since 1990 are also eligible for support under theRenewables Obligation (Scotland). Established stations with a c…

26 Mar 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what provision is being made to ensure that GPs attend road traffic accidents at an appropriate time in remote and rural areas.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: In terms of the National HealthService (General Medical Services Contracts) (Scotland) Regulations 2004 immediatelynecessary treatment must be provided on request to any person as a result of anaccident or emergency at any place within the practice area withi…

26 Mar 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether travel times to road traffic accidents are not included in the new out-of-hours medical cover proposals and what the reasons are for the position on this matter.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Under the terms of the NationalHealth Service (General Medical Services Contracts) (Scotland) Regulations 2004,immediately necessary treatment must be provided on request to any person as a resultof an accident or emergency at any place within the practice ar…

26 Mar 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether credit unions will be included in the Debt Arrangement Scheme.

Answer · Hugh Henry: Credit unions can act eitheras money advisers or payment distributors for the purpose of the scheme if theymeet the criteria and are approved. The Executive is aware that some credit unionsare already actively involved in debt advice or have payment distribut…