Parliamentary questions

Trish Godman

601 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

16 Feb 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many GP surgeries have available for patients the information leaflet on deep vein thrombosis discussed in the letter to the Public Petitions Committee from the Healthcare Policy and Strategy Directorate dated 5 March 2008.

Answer · Shona Robison: The information requested is not held centrally. The patient information leaflet on Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) was distributed to all general practices in April 2008 for display in surgeries. As a result of concerns about its availability, an electron…

16 Feb 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the criteria are for inclusion in the ReTIS project’s pilot programme trialling the use of attendant-controlled electrically powered outdoor wheelchairs and how these criteria were determined.

Answer · Shona Robison: Under the direction of the Wheelchair and Seating Services Project Board, a small multidisciplinary clinical working group was charged with identifying clinical criteria to support a pilot service development to trial alternative wheelchair options in NHSScot…

29 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the new guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) on reducing the risk of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism in patients admitted to hospital in England and Wales, whether there are plans to introduce similar guidelines in Scotl…

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Assessment of hospital patients'' risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE), as deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism are collectively known, has been advocated as part of the management of VTE since at least 2002, when Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Ne…

22 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what recent progress there has been regarding the action plan for youth football.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government and sportscotland remain closely involved in the implementation of the Youth Action Plan, meeting with key partners comprising the implementation steering group to discuss progress. A review of Scottish football is currently b…

22 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions have taken place with the Scottish Football Association and the Scottish Premier League regarding youth football.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government has been in regular contact with the Scottish Football Association and the Scottish Premier League about a range of issues including youth football.

17 Nov 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what recent progress has been made in setting up a voluntary accreditation scheme for land maintenance companies and whether it still expects the scheme to be in place by summer 2010.

Answer · Alex Neil: The stakeholders'' working group established to develop an accreditation scheme for property managers has met on a monthly basis since March 2009 and has made substantial progress, particularly in developing core standards, identifying effective options for t…

17 Nov 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the news that the Greenbelt Group faces being struck off by Companies House for failure to produce its latest set of accounts, what action the Scottish Government will take to protect homeowners from any aggressive debt recovery by the company.

16 Nov 2009 · Written Question

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Companies House are responsible for examining and storing company information delivered under the Companies Act and related legislation. The member may wish to take up any particular points on the submission of accounts with Companies House. More generally, t…

6 Nov 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the European Commission’s proposal for a temporary ban on the trade of Atlantic bluefin tuna and what steps are being taken to ensure that consumers buy only line-caught tuna.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government supports the stance of the European Commission in attempting to develop appropriate management measures for the bluefin tuna stock through the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna. The Scottish Govern…

6 Nov 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions have taken place with the UK Government anent the proposal to register the Atlantic bluefin tuna on the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Scottish Government officials are in regular contact with their UK Government counterparts with respect to the full range of fisheries-related policy issues, including issues relating to bluefin tuna. Management of this stock is regulated by the Inte…

6 Nov 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in relation to future fisheries negotiations, what reciprocal fishing rights it expects to be put in place that would allow Scottish fishing vessels to fish in Icelandic fishing grounds and what steps would be taken to ban whaling by Iceland if its bid for EU membership is successful.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The current level of access for Icelandic vessels to EU waters and for EU vessels to Icelandic waters is regulated both by the bilateral agreement between the EU and Iceland and by coastal states agreements made under the auspices of the North-East Atlantic F…

15 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions have taken place with Scottish nautical colleges and other training establishments anent employment opportunities on board Scottish Government or publicly subsidised maritime vessels.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: CalMac Ferries Limited and NorthLink Ferries Limited, both subsidiaries of David MacBrayne Limited, operate subsidised ferry services in Scotland on the basis of contracts awarded by the Scottish Government. The employment and training of staff is a matter fo…

15 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions have taken place with owners of Scottish shipyards and representatives of the Scottish Trades Union Congress anent the placing of contracts for the construction of Scottish Government owned or publicly subsidised maritime vessels.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: No such discussions or meetings have taken place.

15 Oct 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what recent representations have been made to the UK Government on behalf of shipyards on the Clyde in respect of awarding the contract for construction of one or more of the Royal Navy Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability vessels.

Answer · Jim Mather: The Scottish Government is in regular contact with the UK Government on behalf of Scottish shipbuilding and other manufacturing sectors. Most recently, the Minister for Defence Equipment and Support wrote to relevant Scottish ministers on 16 October 2009 wit…

4 Aug 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what resources will be made available over the next two years to support victims of human trafficking.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: No decisions have yet been made on the level of resources that the Scottish Government will make available to support victims of crime over the next two years.

4 Aug 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what resources have been made available for services to support women who have suffered sexual exploitation as a result of human trafficking

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-26276 on 1 September 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Ap…

4 Aug 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what resources have been made available for services to support victims of human trafficking.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government has awarded grants of almost £75,900 in 2007‘08 and £70,950 in 2008‘09 to the Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance (TARA), to provide support to women trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation. In 2008‘09…

4 Aug 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) arrests and (b) convictions for trafficking for sexual exploitation under section 22 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 there have been since 2003, broken down by police force area.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The number of arrests made by the police are generally not collected centrally. Data on arrests made during the specific police-led operations aimed at disrupting trafficking for sexual exploitation, namely Pentameter 1 and Pentameter 2, are given in the tab…

7 Jul 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to implement a pilot study to identify and log unmet gaps in the provision of attendant-controlled powered wheelchairs and, if so, when the pilot will be implemented.

Answer · Shona Robison: As part of service modernisation, the five NHS wheelchair and seating centres are planning a pilot service development that will include a trial of new wheelchair equipment. The equipment that is being considered includes dual control switches for people who …

7 Jul 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions or representations it has had with the Royal College of Nursing regarding nurses with arthritis.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government Health Directorates meet regularly with representatives from the Royal College of Nursing to discuss a broad range of topics. There has been no representation or discussion on the specific topic of nursing staff with arthritis.

7 Jul 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether recent representations have been made to the UK Department for Work and Pensions on behalf of ex-nurses with arthritis to ensure that these individuals benefit from industrial injury rules.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: No recent representations have been made by the Scottish Government to the UK Department for Work and Pensions on behalf of ex-nurses for arthritis. NHS employees across the UK have access to an injuries benefits scheme. no

7 Jul 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many current and former nurses have arthritis.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: This is a matter for NHS boards. The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally.

7 Jul 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what support it offers nurses diagnosed with arthritis as a result of duties undertaken while working for NHSScotland.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The management of health issues at work, which will include nurses diagnosed with arthritis, is a matter of delegated authority for NHS boards. The Scottish Government, through the Partnership Information Network (PIN) policies, provides the minimum …

11 Jun 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to review Planning Advice Note 65 (PAN 65).

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: A revised version of Planning Advice Note 65: Planning and Open Space was published in May 2008. The Scottish Government has no current plans for a further revision of the advice.

11 Jun 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether Planning Advice Note 65 (PAN 65) promotes the land management company ownership model of land management.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Planning Advice Note 65: Planning and Open Space (published in May 2008) provides examples of mechanisms and funding for the long-term maintenance of new open spaces. One example is councils or developers making arrangements with a suitable third part…

11 Jun 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to set up a voluntary accreditation scheme for land maintenance companies and, if so, when the scheme will be set up and what indications it has that it would be successful.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government is working with industry, consumer and housing stakeholders to establish an industry-led national accreditation scheme for residential property managers. The scheme will be voluntary but membership will require adherence to high standa…

2 Jun 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will launch its three-month consultation on high hedges.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: We plan to launch the consultation exercise on high hedges during the course of this year aiming for a publication date before the end of summer recess. We will ensure that the consultation is thorough, effective and appropriate to the target audienc…

1 Jun 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to the Office of Fair Trading report, Property factors in Scotland - a market study, and how it responded to the study.

Answer · Alex Neil: Full and careful consideration has been given to the Office of Fair Trading''s report and recommendations, which are currently informing work on the development of an accreditation scheme for property managers. Our formal response to the report was i…

1 Jun 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has met any residents’ groups representing Greenbelt Group of Companies Ltd customers or whether it plans to do so.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-24473 on 10 June 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/B…

1 Jun 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met the managing director or any other representatives of the Greenbelt Group of Companies Ltd and what was discussed.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: I met with the Managing Director of the Greenbelt Group on 12 September 2007. My representatives attended a follow up meeting on 5 December 2007. The minutes of both these meeting are available on the Scottish Government website. I have agre…