Parliamentary questions

Shona Robison

1,014 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

2 Aug 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what additional guidelines will be put place to combat the emerging spread of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) in hospitals.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The measures to control VRE are largely those which are being put in place to control other healthcare associated infections (HAIs), such as standard infection control precautions, isolation of infected patients, routine scrupulous hand hygiene with use of al…

2 Aug 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much is being spent on ways to counter vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) in hospitals.

Answer · Andy Kerr: In March 2005 the Executive launched its Clean Hospitals Campaign, which builds on the extensive work programme of the Ministerial Healthcare Associated Infection Task Force. The focus of the campaign is to prevent and control the spread of HAIs (including VR…

1 Aug 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average wage levels have been in each year since 1997, broken down by gender.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The preferred source for earnings estimates is the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), which is carried out by the Office for National Statistics. The following table gives the median gross weekly pay for full-time employee jobs by gender.<…

29 Jul 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to support local museums and galleries.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: I refer the member to the answers to questions S2W-18245, S2W-18246 and S2W-18250 on 24 August 2005. 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:…

29 Jul 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will investigate ways of providing non-national museums and galleries with additional funding, in light of their economic importance as stated in the report, Realising the True Impact of Museums and Galleries in Scottish Tourism, and whether it has had any meetings with COSLA o…

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: Scottish Executive support for non-national museums and galleries is channelled principally through local authorities. In addition, the Executive provides specific grant through the Scottish Museums Council. Local authority grant aided expenditure in respect …

29 Jul 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what payments have been made to each heritage museum in Dundee via the gift aid scheme in each of the last five years.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: The Scottish Executive has no functions in relation to the Gift Aid scheme, which is a reserved matter.

29 Jul 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what payments have been made from the Heritage Lottery Fund to (a) national Scottish museums, (b) industrial heritage museums and (c) other museums in each of the last three years and for what purpose.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: This is a matter for the Heritage Lottery Fund. The information requested is not compiled by the Scottish Executive.

29 Jul 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what grants each heritage museum has received in each of the last five years from national bodies, government bodies, local authorities and the National Lottery.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: Information about aggregate grant funding for individual non-national museums is not held centrally. However, the Scottish Museums Council has provided the following details of its disbursements on behalf of the Scottish Executive: <table border=1 cellsp…

29 Jul 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in improving access to museum, gallery and library collections for all groups of visitors.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: The Scottish Executive is directly responsible for only the national institutions. The National Galleries of Scotland, the National Library of Scotland and the National Museums of Scotland all have access strategies designed to increase the number and range o…

29 Jul 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much financial support it provided to museums and galleries in (a) 2002-03, (b) 2003-04, (c) 2004-05 and how much it will provide in 2005-06, broken down by type of museum and gallery.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: Grant-in-Aid for museums and galleries is shown in the following table: <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td>  </td> <td> 2002-03 (£000)</td> <td> 2003…

27 Jul 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many pharmacist vacancies there have been in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Andy Kerr: This information is not collected centrally. However, informationon NHS Scotland pharmacist staff in post is published on the Scottish Health Statisticswebsite under Workforce Statistics, <ahref="http://www.isdscotland.org/workforce">www.isdscotland.org/workf…

27 Jul 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many students have (a) applied for entry and (b) been accepted to study pharmacy courses at universities in each of the last five years.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: Information on the numbers of applicants and acceptances is not held by the Scottish Executive. These statistics are a matter for the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).

26 Jul 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure that patients suffering from terminal illnesses are able to die at home if they choose to.

Answer · Andy Kerr: It is our policy to supportthe development of specialist palliative care, including at home, whereappropriate. Substantial resources have been invested in palliative care by NHSboards and through the Cancer in Scotland strategy.Enabling people t…

26 Jul 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of people are dying at home in each NHS board area and what the reasons are for any disparity between areas.

Answer · George Lyon: The information requested isgiven in the following table.Percentage of deaths occurringat the deceased’s usual address in each health board area in Scotland in 2004<table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <tr> <td> Argyll and Clyde <…

25 Jul 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many consultants have received cash bonuses under the Distinction Awards scheme in each year since 1999.

Answer · Andy Kerr: There are three levels of DistinctionAward: B, A and A+. The number of NHS Scotland consultants receiving an award ineach year since 1999 are set out in the table.<table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td> Year </td> <…

25 Jul 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent on the Distinction Awards scheme in each year since 1999 and what the source of the funding was.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Although information on boards’ expenditure on Distinction Awards is not held centrally, boards receive an allocation each year from the Executive to cover distinction awards based on information provided by the Scottish Advisory Committee on Distinction Awar…

25 Jul 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) male, (b) female and (c) ethnic minority medical consultants there have been in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The question requires a considerable level of detail in the answer and a copy has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 37231). The tables show information on the headcount number of consultants in post by gender and fr…

19 Jul 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there will be any further Scottish research into the use of Marmoleum® in hospitals and public spaces and whether Marmoleum® will be installed in every hospital in Scotland as a preventative method for curtailing the spread of MRSA.

Answer · Andy Kerr: It is for manufacturers tocarry out testing on their products to gauge their suitability for use in theirtarget market environment. However, I have passed details of the Health ProtectionAgency’s Rapid Review Panel (RRP) to the manufacturers of Marmoleum®, Fo…

19 Jul 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why procedures for identifying and managing patients at risk of being infected with MRSA at admission vary between hospitals in Scotland and whether there are any plans to standardise practice.

Answer · Andy Kerr: All hospitals should adhereto the national guidance contained in the Code of Practice for the LocalManagement of Hygiene and Healthcare Associated Infection (HAI). Various otherstrands of work are underway to address this issue:Health Protection…

19 Jul 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many infection control nurses are employed by each NHS board.

Answer · Andy Kerr: NHSScotland now employs 145Infection Control Nurses (ICNs) – an increase of almost 60% since February2003. Figures for each NHS board are not held centrally. Health ProtectionScotland collects ICN statistics.

19 Jul 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many cleanliness champions have been appointed in each year since 2002, also broken down by NHS board, and what wards or clinical units are still awaiting a cleanliness champion.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Cleanliness champions arenot appointed, but are existing NHSScotland staff who undergo the cleanlinesschampions training programme. The aim of the programme is to train staff tochampion the prevention and control of Healthcare Associated Infections withinthei…