Parliamentary questions
Nanette Milne
1,264 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
21 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many hours civil servants have worked on preparing briefing papers for ministers on the independence referendum.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Civil servants assist Scottish Ministers in delivering the Government’s priorities, which were set out by the First Minister in his statement on the Programme for Government on Tuesday 5 September 2012. The commitments in the Programme for Government include …
21 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many civil servants are working on preparations for the independence referendum.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Elections and Referendum Team are responsible, among other things, for preparations for the independence referendum. This team consists of seven civil servants. Where appropriate, they seek input from colleagues in other parts of the organisation.
13 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many road accidents have been recorded as caused by drivers falling asleep at the wheel as a result of obstructive sleep apnoea in each year since 1999.
Answer · Michael Matheson: This information is not collected centrally.
13 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to improve awareness and treatment of obstructive sleep apnoea and find out how many people have been diagnosed with the condition.
Answer · Michael Matheson: In relation to the first part of the question, I refer the member to the answer to questions S4W-10425, S4W-10426 and S4W-10428 on 2 November 2012. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility f…
10 Dec 2012 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government which NHS infrastructure projects in Grampian will proceed following the extra capital funding announced in the Autumn Statement.
4 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been prosecuted for assaulting an NHS employee under regulations introduced in 2007 to extend the Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act 2005.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The available information is given in the following table. The Emergency Workers (Scotland)Act 2005 was introduced in May 2005 and offences committed after this date can be prosecuted under this legislation. As the information in the following table is based…
4 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to help develop winter sports facilities.
Answer · Shona Robison: All Scottish Government funding to support the development of sports facilities is routed through sportscotland. I have asked the Chief Executive of sportscotland to write to the member outlining the detail of support given to develop winter sports facilities…
4 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it gives to school pupils who want to learn to ski at centres in Scotland.
Answer · Shona Robison: Through the Active Schools programme and in partnership with Snowsport Scotland, school children are able to access a range of opportunities to learn to ski. This has seen a steady increase in the number of school age pupils skiing.
4 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it promotes the tourism potential of ski centres.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government is determined to maximise tourist growth and draw new visitors to Scotland and adventure activity has been indentified as an area of tourism with great growth potential in the industry-led “Tourism Scotland 2020” strategy. We recognise…
4 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much (a) it and (b) its agencies have spent in each year since 2007 on hiring so-called celebrities to (i) chair conferences or meetings and (ii) appear in public information broadcasts.
Answer · John Swinney: For the purposes of the question, I have taken “so-called celebrities” to mean public figures. a.) i) Departments and agencies of the Scottish Government on occasion hire public figures to chair conferences. On these occasions, the fees paid to the conferenc…
4 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on increasing the speed limit for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) to 50 mph.
Answer · Keith Brown: We currently have no plans to implement an increase in speed limits for HGVs on Scotland’s single carriageway roads from 40mph to 50mph. However, members of the A9 Safety Group have called for consideration of a trial of increased speed limits for HGVs on thi…
4 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the average waiting time to receive a hearing aid has been in each year since 2007, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Alex Neil: Audiology Services is included in the Scottish Government’s target that no patient should wait more than 18 weeks from a GP referral to start of treatment since the end of 2011. Information on Audiology services is collected on an aggregated form. Consequent…
3 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many care home places have been available in each year since 2007, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Alex Neil: The following table shows the number of care home places available in each NHS board at 31 March each year: Table: Care Homes Places at 31st March, by NHS Board, 2007 - 2012 NHS Board 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Ayrshire & Arran 3,007 3,180 3,16…
3 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many veterans have received priority NHS treatment in each year since 2007.
Answer · Alex Neil: Data on the number of veterans receiving priority treatment are not routinely collected or held by the Scottish Government. We continue to work closely with NHS Scotland and other health service providers to ensure our priority treatment commitment for Armed …
3 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many cleaning staff have been directly employed by the NHS in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Alex Neil: The tables and links show the numbers of cleaning staff directly employed by NHS boards from 1996 to 2012 both in relation to whole time equivalent (WTE) and headcount. The tables are available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) (Bib. …
22 Nov 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it provides to NHS boards regarding the granting of new pharmacies and the potential impact on the income and sustainability of GP surgeries.
Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government issued revised Guidance to NHS boards on arrangements for applications to open a community pharmacy in April 2011. The revised guidance (NHS Circular PCA (P) 7 (2011)) was issued following amendments to the NHS (Pharmaceutical Services…
12 Nov 2012 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made in opening up the school estate for community use.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: Our expectation is that local authorities make every effort to ensure that their school estate is available for appropriate community use in a way that addresses the needs of both pupils and the wider community. For example, 356 school building projects were …
8 Nov 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it offers NHS boards financial incentives to adopt the Liverpool Care Pathway and, if so, what these are.
Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government does not offer NHS boards financial incentives in relation to their use of the Liverpool Care Pathway and has no intention of doing so.
8 Nov 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether any NHS boards use the Liverpool Care Pathway and, if so, (a) which boards and (b) what targets have been set for the number of patients.
Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government is aware that some NHS boards in Scotland use the Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP). Information as to which NHS boards use the LCP is not collated centrally. The LCP is recognised as one tool which can be used to support delivery of good …
31 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of (a) the merits of and (b) the obstacles to introducing the compulsory microchipping of dogs.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: No in-depth assessment has been made as other work within the Agriculture, food and rural affairs Directorate is currently of a higher priority. However, the Scottish Government has to date received no evidence that making microchipping compulsory would effec…
31 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to introduce the compulsory microchipping of dogs.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-10158 on 12 November 2012. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamenta…
31 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the forestry sector regarding Lyme disease in ticks.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government has had no recent discussions with the forestry sector.
31 Oct 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what research (a) it and (b) Health Protection Scotland is carrying out on Lyme disease in ticks and who is responsible for the overall strategy.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government is not carrying out research on Lyme disease. We are not aware of any research currently being carried out by Health Protection Scotland. Lyme disease is an unusually complex disease with many factors that limit the extent of knowle…
5 Sep 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will introduce managed clinical networks for people with inflammatory bowel disease.
Answer · Alex Neil: Our Healthcare Quality Strategy describes Managed Clinical Networks (MCNs) as a key element in the provision of high quality care and the Scottish Government continues to advocate the role that MCNs can have in developing a co-ordinated, multi-disciplinary ap…
23 Aug 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the asset threshold where people have to contribute to the cost of their care is set at; whether it considers this to be sufficient, and whether it plans to consult on changing this.
Answer · Alex Neil: The National Assistance (Assessment of Resources) Regulations 1992 and associated Charging for Residential Accommodation Guidance (CRAG) provide the framework for local authorities to charge for the residential care that they provide or arrange. Since the Sc…
23 Aug 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to consult on introducing a care home fees cap.
Answer · Alex Neil: There are currently no plans to consult on a proposal to introduce a care home fees cap.
14 Aug 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) GP surgeries and (b) outreach GP surgeries have closed in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Information Services Division (ISD) of National Services Scotland publishes statistics as at 1 October annually on the number of GP practices broken down by NHS board. The latest figures and historical figures can be accessed via this link: http://www.isdsco…
14 Aug 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) GP surgeries and (b) outreach GP surgeries there have been in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Information Services Division (ISD) of National Services Scotland publishes statistics as at 1 October annually on the number of GP practices broken down by NHS board. The latest figures and historical figures can be accessed via this link http://www.isdscotl…
27 Jun 2012 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of any delay in delivering infrastructure projects in the north east on the region's economy.
19 Jun 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have received support from bereavement support teams in each year since 2007, broken down by NHS board, and how many teams each board has.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: This information is not held centrally. Guidance on the development and delivery of quality bereavement care services (entitled Shaping Bereavement Care) was issued to NHSScotland in February 2011 (www.sehd.scot.nhs.uk/mels/cel2011_09.pdf). This followed ext…