Questions · Patricia Ferguson

17 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail the formula to be used to distribute the Better Neighbourhood Services Fund.

Answer · Angus MacKay: Allocations from the Better Neighbourhoods Services Fund were announced on 15 January 2001. They were made on the basis of proportions of income support recipients in the population of local authority areas.Glasgow City Council, which has t…

17 Jan 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive who will be involved in producing the Neighbourhood Renewal Statement for Scotland and whether this will be used to measure the effectiveness of the ways in which the Better Neighbourhood Services Fund is utilised in different local authority areas.

Answer · Jackie Baillie: The Neighbourhood Renewal Statement will be produced by the Scottish Executive in conjunction with key stakeholders. The statement will include issues relating to service delivery but separate measures will be developed to monitor and evaluate outcomes from p…

3 Jan 2001 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to reduce the murder rate.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The Executive is committed to making Scotland a place where people are safer and feel safer. To that end we are working in partnership with the law enforcement agencies, with communities and with all who are concerned with the protection of the public. A rece…

27 Sep 2000 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it will put in place to discourage young women from taking up smoking.

Answer · Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive is taking forward a range of measures to reduce levels of smoking among young people, especially young women. These include health education and promotion activities such as mass media advertising and Smokeline; targeted smoking cessati…

12 Sep 2000 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it plans to take to assist pensioners.

Answer · Iain Gray: I refer Patricia Ferguson to the answer I gave to question S1O-2270.

10 May 2000 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how the unemployment rate in Glasgow compares to the rates in other Scottish cities.

Answer · Henry McLeish: The unemployment rate in Glasgow, using the internationally standard ILO measure, was 13.5% in 1998. This compares to 8.5% in Dundee, 6.0% in Edinburgh, and 3.4% in Aberdeen.

3 May 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans exist to assist the development of shinty and encourage greater take-up of the sport.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: Since 1991, sportscotland has invested some £550,000 in a Team Sport Shinty Co-ordinator and two local development officers specifically to develop the grass roots of the sport. In addition to the £500,000 Lottery Sports Fund monies which has been awar…

29 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what initiatives exist to encourage schools to promote healthy eating.

Answer · Peter Peacock: Advice provided by the Scottish Executive gives health education, including nutritional education, a secure place within the curriculum and seeks to ensure that it is provided in all schools. Support materials to assist schools include materials on nutritiona…

29 Mar 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the report from the research team carrying out the homelessness review is expected.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: We are publishing tomorrow the first report of the Homelessness Task Force which makes proposals for the strengthening of the current homelessness legislation. The Executive accepts the report as providing a basis for legislation in the forthcoming Housing Bi…

2 Feb 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to increase the number of NHS complaints currently dealt within the 20 working day target.

Answer · Susan Deacon: Figures for 1998-99 confirm that almost 75% of all written complaints to Trusts are responded to within the 20-day period.We constantly urge Trusts to handle complaints as quickly as possible. With the support of the He…

2 Feb 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will establish an external working party to review the operation of government policy towards travelling people, as recommended by the Save the Children and the University of Dundee report Moving Targets.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: The Scottish Executive has no plans to set up an external working party. However, the Advisory Committee on Scotland's Travelling People is at present completing its end-of-term report in which it will be making recommendations to Scottish Ministers.<FONT FAC…

2 Feb 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether consideration is being given to include biomedical scientists in the pay review body which deals with the salaries of other professions allied to medicine.

Answer · Susan Deacon: The issue of extended coverage of the Nurses, Midwives, Health Visitors and Professions Allied to Medicine Pay Review Body (NPRB) is being considered in discussions on Agenda for Change: Modernising the NHS Pay System.

2 Feb 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what mechanism exists to review the salaries of biomedical scientists in order to bring them into line with those of other professions allied to medicine.

Answer · Susan Deacon: Biomedical scientists are not classed as a profession allied to medicine but are rather one of a number of staff groups who have their salaries reviewed annually, by negotiation, through the NHS Whitley Council structure.

1 Feb 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance is available to local authorities such as Glasgow City Council to assist in the maintenance and renovation of Scotland's architectural heritage.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: Glasgow City Council has statutory powers to make grants and loans towards the cost of repair or maintenance of historic buildings from the total funds allocated to it by the Scottish Executive. Partnership funding can be provided by Historic Scotland, an age…

1 Feb 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to reduce unemployment by encouraging the establishment of new business in areas such as Glasgow.

Answer · Henry McLeish: Wider national economic performance is likely to be the main determinant of trends in small business creation, and its employment opportunities, and the prospects for the Scottish economy remain good. However, we have a number of specific initiatives in hand …

27 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance will be given to Glasgow City Council to assist it in dealing with repair and improvement grant work in the private housing sector.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: It is for local authorities to set their own budgets for improvement and repairs grants from within their general services allocation. The forthcoming Housing Bill will include provisions to reform the grant system, including the introduction of a test of app…

13 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what primary health care services are available in Glasgow to homeless people who are not registered with a GP.

Answer · Susan Deacon: Our primary care system is based on the model of a "registered patient list", where a named doctor serves a list of patients identified by their place of residence. However, everyone has a right to be on a doctor's list and Primary Care NHS Trusts h…

13 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to encourage the establishment of breakfast clubs if they are proven to be beneficial to the health and development of primary school children in Glasgow.

Answer · Sam Galbraith: Breakfast club facilities are already available in a number of schools in Glasgow and other parts of Scotland, and this will provide valuable experience which can be drawn on where further clubs are to be established. The Scottish Community Diet Project, fund…

13 Jan 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any figures are available to demonstrate any effect which local projects, such as Breakfast Clubs, have in improving the health and development of primary school children in Glasgow.

Answer · Sam Galbraith: No systematic information on this is available centrally, although anecdotal information suggests that children who eat breakfast regularly are healthier and do better at school than those who arrive for lessons hungry.

8 Dec 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many official sites there are for travellers in Scotland and what the total number of pitches within these sites is.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: There are 34 local authority sites for travellers in Scotland with over 520 pitches.

8 Dec 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many travellers there are in Scotland currently and what the source of any available statistics is.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: A count of travellers, undertaken by the Scottish Executive, estimated there were around 460 traveller families in Scotland in January 1999. Further information may be found in Travelling People in Scotland: Report on Seasonal Count, a copy of which ha…

24 Nov 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in the Glasgow Maryhill constituency have applied to be considered for appointment to the Greater Glasgow Health Board or the North Glasgow University Hospitals NHS Trust in the last two years.

Answer · Susan Deacon: There have been four applications.

18 Nov 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that travellers have appropriate access to primary health care services.

Answer · Susan Deacon: A number of initiatives are already in place to improve access to primary health care services by disadvantaged groups.

17 Nov 1999 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that travellers have appropriate access to primary health care services.

Answer · Susan Deacon: A number of initiatives are already in place to improve access to primary health care services by disadvantaged groups.

4 Nov 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that treatment using intra-cytoplasmic sperm insemination is available to patients in the Greater Glasgow Health Area.

Answer · Susan Deacon: Currently, individual Health Boards determine how to respond to the demand for infertility services, including the provision of high technology procedures such as ICSI, on the basis of clinical need for patients who meet locally determined criteria and from w…

3 Nov 1999 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that treatment using intra-cytoplasmic sperm insemination is available to patients in the Greater Glasgow Health Area.

Answer · Susan Deacon: Currently, individual Health Boards determine how to respond to the demand for infertility services, including the provision of high technology procedures such as ICSI, on the basis of clinical need for patients who meet locally determined criteria and from w…

2 Nov 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will encourage Glasgow City Council to actively support NPPG11, Sport, Physical Recreation and Open Space, 1996, particularly in relation to redundant school sports grounds.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: All planning authorities must take account of the guidance in NPPG11 when preparing development plans and in carrying out their development control responsibilities.

28 Oct 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what provision is being made to ensure that professional interpreting services are provided in all cases in the Scottish criminal justice system where an accused person cannot understand or speak the language used in court.

Answer · Andrew Hardie: Where the prosecutor receives information that an accused person cannot speak or understand English he will make arrangements, usually through one of the interpreting agencies, to have an appropriate interpreter attend court to assist the accused.

27 Oct 1999 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what provision is being made to ensure that professional interpreting services are provided in all cases in the Scottish criminal justice system where an accused person cannot understand or speak the language used in court.

Answer · Andrew Hardie: Where the prosecutor receives information that an accused person cannot speak or understand English he will make arrangements, usually through one of the interpreting agencies, to have an appropriate interpreter attend court to assist the accused.