Parliamentary questions
Susan Deacon
240 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
19 Mar 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to encourage and promote flexible working practices in both the public and private sectors.
Answer · Andy Kerr: Employment law is a reserved matter.Material relating to this is distributed by the lead UK Departments.</p><p>Public bodiesare under either a statutory duty or are expected to follow guidance on Best Value,including a requirement to promote equal opportuniti…
19 Mar 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to promote the benefits of a healthy work-life balance and to encourage practical action by employers and other organisations to support this aim.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The Scottish Centre for Healthy WorkingLives, which was established in April 2005 within NHS Health Scotland, encouragesemployers to adopt workplace practices and policies that support and encourage healthand wellbeing. The centre offers advice to employers o…
19 Mar 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what specific policies and resources it has put in place to stimulate and support corporate social responsibility.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive iscommitted to encouraging business to contribute positively to society, in whateverform that might take. A wide range of Scottish Executive policies promote thethree main strands of corporate social responsibility (CSR) – social,enviro…
19 Mar 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to review the method of allocating resources under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
Answer · Johann Lamont: We have no current plans toreview this.</p>
19 Mar 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what changes to policy and practice have resulted from the findings of the research report, Transport Impacts of Major Health Care Developments, published in 2002.
Answer · Andy Kerr: Scottish Executive planning policynow requires all development applications to include transport assessment andimplementation proposals, a requirement which was based on substantial researchcarried out by the Scottish Executive in the period 2001-04, of which…
19 Mar 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what support it is providing to public sector organisations to assist them to comply with the gender equality duty.
Answer · Rhona Brankin: It is a matter for individual publicauthorities to ensure they comply with the gender equality duty. The Equal OpportunitiesCommission (EOC) is the organisation responsible for providing support and guidanceto the public sector, however, to support the introd…
19 Mar 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to address under-representation of women in head teacher posts in secondary schools.
Answer · Hugh Henry: The Executive is constantly promoting equal opportunities inteacher recruitment and promotion. There has been a steady increase in the percentageof women in head teacher posts in secondary schools in recent years. Since devolutionin 1999 this has risen from 1…
19 Mar 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to increase the number of women in local authority chief executive posts.
Answer · Rhona Brankin: Local authorities are statutory bodieswith statutory responsibilities, responsible for running their own affairs. Undersection 64 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, they are empowered to appointsuch staff as in necessary for the proper discharge of …
19 Mar 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) men and (b) women held public appointments in each year since 1999 in (i) total and (ii) each public authority.
Answer · Tom McCabe: The information requested iscontained in a number of tables of statistics running to several pages, copiesof which are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib.number 42436). As the composition of the boards of individual public bodies byg…
19 Mar 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking, and what funding it is making available, to ensure that individuals and local organisations have access to advice and advocacy support to enable them to engage effectively in the planning process.
Answer · Des McNulty: The Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006provides more opportunities for communities to be involved in planning.</p><p>On 9 March 2007 the Executive launched Planning AdviceNote 81: <i>Community Engagement Planning with</i> <i>People</i> containing adviceand info…
19 Mar 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made to improve access to contraceptive services by women with problematic drug use in line with the recommendations of Hidden Harm, published in 2003 by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, and the Executive’s response in 2004 and subsequent Next Steps resp…
Answer · Andy Kerr: A number of separate initiatives are being carried out by NHSboards, these include: making a range of condoms and lubricants more extensivelyavailable free of charge to targeted high risk groups; improved links and crossmembership between strategy groups resp…
19 Mar 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the findings of the Bates funding review of drug treatment options.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: In September 2005, I commissionedPeter Bates, Chair of NHS Tayside, to undertake a confidential study to providea snapshot of “where we are now” in terms of delivering on the Executive’s drugsstrategy. It did not look at funding of drug treatment options. The…
19 Mar 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the findings of the stock-taking exercise of alcohol and drug action teams.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The stock-taking exercise ofalcohol and drug action teams will report to ministers in May and we intend to publishfindings once we have considered them.</p>
19 Mar 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the findings of the review of the role of methadone in treatment, announced by the First Minister in March 2006.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The findings of the ScottishExecutive’s review of methadone in drug treatment will be published once we haveseen all reports and made our conclusions. I expect the findings to be presentedto Parliament by the end of June 2007.</p>
19 Mar 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to revise and strengthen the procedures for elections to community councils.
Answer · George Lyon: The procedures for communitycouncil elections were addressed in the recommendations made to ministers as a resultof the review and it is expected that this will be considered by the Working Groupin the context of Model Community Council Schemes and Good Pract…
19 Mar 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when a code of conduct for members of community councils will be introduced.
Answer · George Lyon: One of the tasks to be undertakenby the working group will be to develop a code of conduct for community councillors.The working group is expected to conclude its work by spring 2008.</p>
19 Mar 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the timetable and membership will be of the short-life working group established to take forward the recommendations of the review of community councils.
Answer · George Lyon: It is intended that theworking group will exist for one year commencing in April 2007. The workinggroup will consist of six local authority representatives, six community councilrepresentatives, the Association of Scottish Community Councils (ASCC), the Socie…
19 Mar 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the final report of the review of community councils.
Answer · George Lyon: The analysis of the responsesto the Scottish Executive discussion paper <i>What can we do to help Community Councilsfulfil their role? </i>was published in December 2006 on the Scottish Executivewebsite along with the recommendations resulting from the review…
19 Mar 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to develop and promote the metropolitan region approach in order to stimulate and grow the economy.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: The importance ofmetropolitan regions has been recognised by economic experts internationally,and is a concept to which Scottish Enterprise has given careful consideration.</p><p>A metropolitan regionapproach is also reflected in the proposed strategic develo…
19 Mar 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when a national procurement contract for postal testing kits for chlamydia will be established.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The anticipatedvolume of postal testing kits for chlamydia required by NHS boards does not merita national contract.</p><p>However, Healthy Respect, the nationalhealth demonstration project, based in NHS Lothian will process orders on behalfof NHS boards to e…
19 Mar 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS boards provide postal testing kits for chlamydia, also broken down by board.
Answer · Andy Kerr: Three NHS boards currently provide Postal Testing Kits for chlamydiato their patients. These are NHS Lothian, NHS Borders and NHS Ayrshire and Arran.</p>
19 Mar 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of (a) GP practices and (b) other family planning clinics provide long-acting reversible methods of contraception.
Answer · Andy Kerr: In the year ending 31 March 2006, 93% of GP practices with prescriptions dispensed in this period prescribed long-actingreversible methods of contraception in the form of injections, implants and intra-uterinedevices.</p><p>Information on the provision of lon…
19 Mar 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made in ensuring that women with problematic drug use have access to specialist family planning services that are able to advise on and administer long-acting reversible contraception, as recommended by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs in its 2003 report, H…
Answer · Andy Kerr: Local NHSboards are working with drug and alcohol teams to ensure that women with problematicdrug use have access to specialist family planning services and this should includelong-acting reversible contraception.</p><p>We expect allthose working with vulnera…
19 Mar 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that (a) GPs and (b) other health professionals involved in family planning services are trained in the use of long-acting reversible methods of contraception.
Answer · Andy Kerr: It is for GPs, as independentpractitioners, to identify their own personal learning needs related to thehealth needs of their own patients, facilitated by annual appraisal system, andseek training in specific areas accordingly. The General Medical Servicescon…
19 Mar 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many women have been given long-acting reversible methods of contraception in each of the last three years, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Andy Kerr: Information on the number ofpatients receiving contraception is not held centrally.</p><p>However, the following tableshows the number of prescription items for contraceptive implants, injectionsand intra-uterine devices prescribed in Scotland during last thr…
19 Mar 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made in extending the provision of long-acting reversible methods of contraception in accordance with National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines published in October 2005.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The National Sexual HealthStrategy makes it clear that the Executive would expect the full range of contraceptivemethods, including long-acting reversible contraception, to be made availableto women, who will be facilitated to make an informed choice.</p><p>I…
19 Mar 2007 · SPCB Written Question
To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, further to the answer to question S2W-6170 by Mr George Reid on 11 February 2004, what arrangements exist for members of the public who wish to use baby changing/nursing mother facilities within the Parliament on a Saturday or Sunday.
Answer · Duncan McNeil: The baby changing/feedingroom for the public is available on a Saturday or Sunday in the same way thatit is available across weekdays (as it is open independently of the adjacentcrèche facility). Visitor Services staff are available to advise visitors of the…
19 Mar 2007 · SPCB Written Question
To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, further to the answers to questions S2W-6170 and S2W-6172 by Mr George Reid on 11 February 2004, how members of the public are made aware that there is a baby changing/nursing mother room for public use within the Parliament.
Answer · Duncan McNeil: The facility is publicisedin pre-visit information in the “Welcome to the Scottish Parliament” publicityleaflet, that is distributed to over 5,000 community and tourist informationoutlets across Scotland, and via the visitor information page of the Parliament…
19 Mar 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in implementing the recommendations of the Inclusion Project report, Towards a Healthier LGBT Scotland, published in October 2003.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: <i>Fair for All LGBT</i>, as the InclusionProject is now known, is a partnership between Stonewall Scotland and the ScottishExecutive Health Department. The project supports NHS boards to engage with localLGBT people and community organisations and work with …
14 Mar 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what changes and improvements to regulation have resulted from the work of the Improving Regulation in Scotland Unit.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Improving Regulation Unitis closely involved in the development of all policies affecting business withinthe Executive. The unit is in regular contact with business representative organisationsto hear about their regulatory concerns – which are then pursu…