Parliamentary questions
Sandra White
1,617 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
3 Nov 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what events are planned in Scotland as part of the UK Year of the Volunteer 2005, as announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answer to S2W-11696, answered on 9 November 2004. 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/weba…
3 Nov 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the announcement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer that 2005 would be the UK Year of the Volunteer and the subsequent announcement that voluntary sector partners have been identified and will receive funding from the Home Office, what information it has on which voluntary sec…
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Ministers are currently considering how to involve Scotland in this initiative. Therefore no decisions have been made regarding the potential involvement of Scottish voluntary sector partners.</p>
3 Nov 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when the secondary housing stock transfer between Glasgow Housing Association Ltd and local housing organisations in Glasgow will be completed.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:</p><p>Both the Scottish Executive and Glasgow Housing Association Ltd remain committed to Second Stage Transfers. The Glasgow Housing Association h…
3 Nov 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has discussed the sale of high rise flats in the Glasgow area with Glasgow Housing Association Ltd and LPG Living.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:</p><p>No discussions have been held with either Glasgow Housing Association Ltd or LPG Living about this issue.</p>
3 Nov 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of any meetings which have taken place between LPG Living and Glasgow Housing Association Ltd’s Investment and Regeneration Department.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:</p><p>The Executive understands there have been discussions between Glasgow Housing Association and LPG Living, but has not been involved in those …
3 Nov 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase the number of community police in the Strathclyde area and, in particular, in Glasgow, to combat the increasing number of crimes of violence carried out with the use of knives.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Between 2004-05 and 2007-08, grant aided expenditure for Strathclyde Police is planned to increase by around 15.5%. The allocation of these resources between Glasgow and other parts of the Force area is a matter for the Chief Constable. However, we remain dee…
3 Nov 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to meet Strathclyde Police in light of the increase in the number of knife crimes in the Strathclyde area and, in particular, in Glasgow.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive is very concerned about knife crime and its contribution to violence. We are currently considering what measures are required to tackle violent crime including reviewing the law and enforcement on knife crime. I expect to discuss this w…
3 Nov 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many new build houses for rent have been completed in Glasgow since the transfer of housing stock from Glasgow City Council to Glasgow Housing Association Ltd.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:</p><p>Since the Glasgow housing stock transfer in March 2003, 1,338 new build houses for rent have been completed with Scottish Executive funding, w…
3 Nov 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to offer all householders who have a partial or inefficient central heating system access to its central heating programme through EAGA Partnership Ltd.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: In our spending proposals for 2005-08, <i>Building a Better Scotland</i>, we announced our target that by 2008 all pensioner households eligible for pension credit will meet the energy efficiency components of the Scottish Housing Quality Standard. We will an…
3 Nov 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to require hospital visitors to wash their hands on leaving patients’ bedsides to combat the spread of MRSA.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The management of the spread of infection is complex and visitors are as likely to bring infection into hospitals, unknowingly, as to carry it away after a visit. Making hand hygiene compulsory for visitors would be difficult to enforce. We expect NHS boards …
28 Oct 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to legislate for the inclusion of MRSA and other such infections as causes of death on death certificates.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) codes causes of death recorded by the certifying doctor following the Tenth Revision of the World Health Organisation (WHO) International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD10…
28 Oct 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what level of training domestic assistants receive in hospitals before being delegated responsibility for feeding patients who are too unwell to feed themselves.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The feeding of patients is an operational issue for local NHS health boards. In general domestic assistants are not involved in the feeding of patients.</p><p>However, training for domestic staff and other ancillary staff includes the principles of safe food …
28 Oct 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many crimes fell into the category of offences aggravated by religious prejudice in the six-month period from June 2003 to February 2004, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: This level of detail is not available from the recorded crime statistics collected centrally. Information on offence aggravators is included within the data collected centrally on court convictions, but statistics for 2003 and later are not yet available.</p>
28 Oct 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s (COPFS) report into the impact of section 74 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act (2003), which makes specific reference to offences aggravated by religious prejudice, will be published, as referred to in Tackling Religious Hatred – …
Answer · Colin Boyd: The report is now available onthe COPFS Website: </p><p><ahref="http://www.crownoffice.gov.uk/publications/invrepofsect.doc">http://www.crownoffice.gov.uk/publications/invrepofsect.doc</a>.</p>
28 Oct 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what support it will provide over the next three years to enable the development of a partnership and consortium-led approach in developing its initiative on accessing information for older people, announced by the Deputy Minister for Communities on 11 March 2004.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-11797, answered on 10 November 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:</p><p><a href="http://www.scot…
28 Oct 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what continued assistance will be provided to support the development of the Scottish Helpline for Older People and enable older people to get the answers they need as quickly as possible, in line with its initiative on improving the quality and consistency of information, announced by th…
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive has provided a grant of £125,000 from the Improving Public Service Delivery Fund to develop a consortium of key organisations working to improve information for older people. Although we have had meetings with Age Concern to discuss the…
1 Oct 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the announcement by Malcolm Chisholm regarding the Queen Mother’s Hospital and the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Yorkhill on 30 September 2004 (Official Report, c 10753-54), whether these hospitals will remain at their current location.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The location of the new developmentof maternity, paediatric and adult services in Glasgow will be determined throughan option appraisal exercise which will be subject to approval by the Advisory Groupled by Professor Andrew Calder.</p>
30 Sep 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many local authority playing fields that have been sold since 1999, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Patricia Ferguson: The information requested is not held centrally.</p>
30 Sep 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what acreage of local authority playing fields has been sold since 1999, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Patricia Ferguson: The information requested is not held centrally.</p>
30 Sep 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many new local authority outdoor sports facilities have opened since 1999, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Patricia Ferguson: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-11095 answered on 28 October 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.parli…
30 Sep 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what monitoring or guidelines exist to ensure compliance by building managers with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 in respect of disabled access to public buildings.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995 is reserved to Westminster and the UKGovernment. </p><p>The DDA makes no provision for a system of inspection to enforce ‘compliance’ with the Act. Instead, where an individual considers that they have been discrim…
30 Sep 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many new indoor local authority sports facilities have opened since 1999, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Patricia Ferguson: The information requested is not held centrally.</p>
30 Sep 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-10399 by Ms Margaret Curran on 14 September 2004, how many social rented houses have been completed in each local authority area in 2003-04.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:</p><p>Ministers have given a commitment to provide 18,000 new and improved homes for social rent and low cost home ownership in the 3 years up to 2…
8 Sep 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many houses were built in the social rented sector in each local authority area in 2003-04.
Answer · Margaret Curran: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:</p><p>Ministers have given a commitment to provide 18,000 new and improved homes for social rent and low-cost home ownership in the three years up t…
8 Sep 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many local authorities have taken advantage of the prudential borrowing regime to supply socially-rented houses since its introduction in 2002.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The prudential borrowing regime came into effect in April 2004 and applies to all councils. It is too soon to say what impact this will have on local authority housing.</p>
1 Sep 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans are in place to meet staff associations at the Queen Mother’s Hospital in Glasgow to address any ongoing concerns over the proposed closure by NHS Greater Glasgow.
Answer · Andy Kerr: I expect NHS Greater Glasgow to address concerns raised by staff on any aspects of their proposals for maternity services.</p>
27 Aug 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of any shortfalls in the budgets of NHS boards due to lack of payment to them by neighbouring boards.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: NHS boards are still agreeing 2004-05 uplifts in respect of service level agreements (SLA’s) with neighbouring NHS boards. Until these are agreed, NHS boards will not be in a position to identify shortfalls in budgets due to lack of payment to them by neighbo…
27 Aug 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to introduce a tracking system to enable NHS boards throughout Scotland to produce financial figures relating to referrals and treatment carried out by individual hospitals at the request of neighbouring boards.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: An information system is already in place that captures activity data for Out of Area Treatments and referrals for each health board. Health boards also record the financial value of these transfers in their annual accounts. </p>
27 Aug 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been allocated by each NHS board to Glasgow Homoeopathic Hospital since 1999 for treatment received at the hospital.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-8664 answered on 15 June 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.parliamen…
27 Aug 2004 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients have been referred to the Glasgow Homoeopathic Hospital since 1999, broken down by NHS board area that made the referral.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: This is a matter for NHS Greater Glasgow. This information is not held centrally.