Parliamentary questions

Shona Robison

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

19 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to introduce central purchasing of digital hearing aids.

Answer · Susan Deacon: Central purchasing of digital hearing aids has been arranged through Scottish Healthcare Supplies for NHSScotland since June 1999.

19 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to make digital hearing aids available free from the NHS in Scotland.

Answer · Susan Deacon: Digital hearing aids are already available free from NHSScotland.

19 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of people in Scotland who need a hearing aid have access to free digital hearing aids from the NHS in Scotland.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: All people who need a hearing aid, and are clinically assessed as being able to benefit from a feature only available in digital instruments, should be supplied with free digital hearing aids from NHSScotland. The Executive is currently reviewing the action N…

20 Sep 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is considering a delay in the application of the Data Protection Act to the NHS in Scotland in line with that agreed in England and Wales.

Answer · Susan Deacon: All provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998 are coming into force across the UK according to the timetables that have been set out in the legislation. There will be no delay in applying the Act to the NHS. There continues to be concerns …

2 Aug 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what resources are currently available for interpretation services within each health board area.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: This information is not held centrally.

2 Aug 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what vocational training in multi-cultural awareness is given to NHS medical staff and what qualifications are available in this area.

Answer · Susan Deacon: Our National Health: A plan for action, a plan for change requires NHS boards to ensure that their staff are professionally and culturally equiped to meet the distinctive needs of people and family groups from ethnic minority communi…

2 Aug 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive many multi-cultural health officers are currently employed within the NHS, broken down by health board.

Answer · Susan Deacon: This information is not held centrally.

31 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to its announcement on 25 January 2001 of a permanent personal medical services option in relation to the employment status of GPs, what resources have been made available to each health trust for the implementation of this initiative to date and what proportion of these resource…

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: A recurring investment programme of £4.5/6/8 million over the next three years has been made to NHS Boards for the development of Personal Medical Services (PMS) in Scotland. The table shows the breakdown of Personal Medical Services allocations for Year 1 (2…

31 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to its announcement on 25 January 2001 of a permanent personal medical services option in relation to the employment status of GPs, how many salaried GPs have been employed to date; where these GPs are located, and how many salaried GPs it expects to be employed by March 2002.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: There are currently 29 Personal Medical Services (PMS) salaried GPs. 16 in Grampian, nine in Lothian and four in Tayside. The total for those to be employed by March 2002 will be available shortly after the deadline of 31 December 2001 for applications to bec…

27 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it uses any data gathered by the Family Fund Trust and, if so, for what purpose.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive receives bulletins of statistical data gathered by the Family Fund Trust, which it uses to inform policy development.

27 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which schools in the north east do not provide drug education programmes.

Answer · Jack McConnell: Information at individual school level may be requested from education authorities. The following table, however, contains information at an education authority level.<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=604><TR><TD WIDTH="24%" VALIGN="TOP">Loca…

6 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the comparative office accommodation costs would be if the proposed new single water authority were to be based in (a) Tayside and (b) Edinburgh.

Answer · Ross Finnie: General information on comparative rental costs for office accommodation in Edinburgh and Dundee is available from the Valuation Office Agency Property Market Report (which is updated every six months in the spring and autumn).No specific i…

6 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there would be savings on office accommodation costs if 3,000 civil service jobs were relocated to Tayside and, if so, whether it can quantify these.

Answer · Angus MacKay: Comparing similar properties, office rentals are lower in Tayside than in Edinburgh. Whether a saving on office accommodation costs is achievable depends on the actual cost of existing accommodation and the cost of available alternatives in Tayside. Given the…

6 Jul 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there would be savings on office accommodation costs if civil service jobs were redistributed to the regions of Scotland in proportion to population and, if so, whether it can quantify these.

Answer · Angus MacKay: Comparing similar properties, office rentals in the centre of Edinburgh are usually higher than in other parts of Scotland. Whether a saving on office accommodation costs is achievable depends on the actual cost of existing accommodation and the cost of avail…

30 May 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance and funding it has made available since 1999 to voluntary and community groups and local authorities in relation to building community relations between local residents and refugees and asylum seekers in Glasgow and thereby facilitating social inclusion.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-16012.

30 May 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what grants under European Structural Funds and EU community initiatives such as EQUAL have been made available since 1999 to assist asylum seekers and refugees to become integrated into the local labour market and enhance their economic and social contribution.

Answer · Peter Peacock: Refugees and asylum seekers with permission from the Home Office to work on either a temporary or a permanent basis are eligible to benefit from European Social Fund grants available since 2000 under the Highlands & Islands Special Transitional Programme,…

29 May 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures the Scottish Executive is taking to support Verdant Works in Dundee and other heritage sites across Scotland.

Answer · Allan Wilson: Funding of the Verdant Works is the responsibility of the Dundee Heritage Trust. However, I am making arrangements for a meeting with representatives of the Trust to consider their present financial difficulties.A national audit is currently being carried …

14 May 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it plans to publish the research it commissioned on racial discrimination in the NHS.

Answer · Susan Deacon: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-15765.

14 May 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why the research it commissioned into racial discrimination in the NHS has not yet been published.

Answer · Susan Deacon: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-15765.

14 May 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the research it commissioned into racial discrimination in the NHS was ready for publication in November 2000.

Answer · Susan Deacon: A programme of action-oriented research was commissioned to establish the information and support needed by NHSScotland to meet the needs of people and families from ethnic minority communities. This was not ready for publication in November 2000.As part o…

8 May 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much money it estimates will be saved through the dispersal of civil service jobs outwith Edinburgh and Glasgow (a) in the first year and (b) over the first three-year period of the dispersal programme.

Answer · Angus MacKay: Since announcing the Scottish Executive's policy on relocation in September 1999, two bodies have been set up outwith Edinburgh or Glasgow. The Public Guardian's Office has been set up in Falkirk and the Food Standards Agency in Aberdeen.The relocation pol…

13 Mar 2001 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what recent correspondence it has had from the Dundee Young Women's Centre.

Answer · Iain Gray: The Executive has recently received five letters from or on behalf of the Dundee Young Women's Centre.

5 Mar 2001 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what action it plans to take, in the light of the recent UNISON survey, to reduce the volume of student nurses leaving the nursing profession.

Answer · Henry McLeish: Around 75% of student nurses complete their training courses successfully.In conjunction with the higher education institutions, which provide nurse education, the Scottish Executive has been and is continuing to take positive steps to reduce the drop-out …

1 Mar 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many day case patients have been re-categorised as outpatients in the last 12 months in order to reduce waiting lists, broken down by NHS Trust.

Answer · Susan Deacon: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-13792.

1 Mar 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which NHS Trusts are re-categorising day case patients as outpatients in order to reduce waiting lists.

Answer · Susan Deacon: It is for NHS Trusts, and in particular for hospital consultants, to determine the most appropriate setting for the treatment of individual patients. We are not aware of any instances of NHS Trusts re-categorising day cases as outpatients in order to reduce w…