Tricia Marwick

20 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the Scottish Needs Assessment Programme report on multiple sclerosis (MS), whether it has advised health boards to review and evaluate care provision for MS sufferers and to quantify and review prescription of beta interferon for them.

Answer · Susan Deacon: The Executive would expect health boards to keep the care and services provided for MS sufferers under continuous review, taking into account the Scottish Needs Assessment Programme (SNAP) report and any other guidance.<FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><P>Before the …

20 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-7241 by Susan Deacon on 1 August 2000 and the Scottish Needs Assessment programme report on multiple sclerosis (MS), whether it will assess the number of MS patients in each health board area who could benefit from prescription of Beta Interferon and…

Answer · Susan Deacon: Only certain patients with a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis are likely to benefit from the use of Beta Interferon. The question of whether an individual patient might benefit from this treatment is a matter for the clinical judgement of the specialist concer…

20 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-8411 by Susan Deacon on 13 July 2000, what advice it has received from the Health Technology Board regarding the clinical and cost effectiveness of beta interferon as a treatment for multiple sclerosis and whether it will place a copy of any such adv…

Answer · Susan Deacon: A copy of a letter from the Health Technology Board for Scotland (HTBS) giving an update on its work to provide advice to NHSScotland on the clinical and cost effectiveness of beta interferon as a treatment for multiple sclerosis has been placed in the Parlia…

20 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-9430 by Susan Deacon on 15 September 2000 and the Scottish Needs Assessment Programme report on multiple sclerosis (MS), and in the light of the relatively high incidence of MS in Scotland, whether it will advise the Chief Scientist Office to reconsi…

Answer · Susan Deacon: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-11381 on 1 December 2000.

17 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-4425 by Susan Deacon on 27 March 2000, whether it will direct any agency or body to undertake research into multiple sclerosis (MS) or take any other measures to actively promote research into MS, and whether it will make funding available for this p…

Answer · Susan Deacon: Within the Scottish Executive, the Chief Scientist Office (CSO) has responsibility for encouraging and supporting research into health services and patient care within the NHS in Scotland. It fulfils this function by funding specific projects, proposed by res…

17 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-2384 by Susan Deacon on 19 November 1999, whether it will establish the number of multiple sclerosis sufferers in each health board area to enable resources to be matched to need,

Answer · Susan Deacon: The SNAP report estimates that there are at present in Scotland some 10,400 people suffering from multiple sclerosis. There are no plans to launch a national survey to establish the number of cases at health board level.<FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><P>Health boa…

17 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether existing service provision allows rapid referral of suspected cases of multiple sclerosis.

Answer · Susan Deacon: According to the Scottish Needs Assessment Programme report on multiple sclerosis published on 8 November 2000, the ideal service provisions for people with MS, which include rapid referral for diagnosis, are not being met across Scotland. As promised in <I>O…

17 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the Scottish Needs Assessment Programme report on multiple sclerosis (MS), what studies and evaluation will be done to assess the best form of delivering rehabilitation services to MS sufferers.

Answer · Susan Deacon: The Executive would expect health boards to keep the delivery of rehabilitation services, which benefit people with many other conditions as well as MS sufferers, under continuous review, taking into account Scottish Needs Assessment Programme (SNAP) reports …

17 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the Scottish Needs Assessment Programme report on multiple sclerosis (MS), what systems it will develop for the production and dissemination of information to support sufferers of MS and their families and carers, and how it will evaluate these systems.

Answer · Susan Deacon: As announced in <I>Our National Health: A plan for action; a plan for</I> <I>change</I>, the Executive will be investing £14 million over three years to build the capacity of the NHS to communicate with, listen to and work in partnership with individuals and …

17 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the Scottish Needs Assessment Programme report on multiple sclerosis (MS), whether it will carry out a national audit of service provision for MS sufferers.

Answer · Susan Deacon: There are no plans for such an audit in addition to the work already carried out by the SNAP, but the Executive is committed to working towards improving services for people with chronic enduring conditions like multiple sclerosis.

17 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many specialist multiple sclerosis nurses are employed in each health board area.

Answer · Susan Deacon: There are currently seven nurses designated as specialist multiple sclerosis nurses, two in Lothian and one each in Glasgow, Ayrshire, Fife, Dundee and Aberdeen.

17 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the Scottish Needs Assessment Programme report on multiple sclerosis (MS), whether health boards will be required to provide a common minimum standard of service provision for MS sufferers.

Answer · Susan Deacon: There are no current plans to do so. Given the clinical spectrum in MS, each case requires to be considered individually. Care and services should be provided which reflect the individual needs of the patient.

17 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive to detail by health board area, in each of the five years to 1999, (a) the number of neurologists employed by the NHSiS and (b) the median waiting time for new outpatient neurology appointments.

Answer · Susan Deacon: The number of consultant neurologists employed by the NHS in Scotland for the years 1995-99 is given in the table as broken down by health board area.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The median waiting times for a first outpatient appointment with a Consultant Neurologist,…

16 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which non-departmental public bodies which have been abolished since May 1997, specifying in each case the body's remit, any public monies received in its last year of operation, and how many posts each had.

Answer · Angus MacKay: Details of public bodies abolished since May 1997 were provided in the answer to question S1W-8016. Information relating to the remits, funding and composition of these bodies is to be found in the relevant version of the annual <I>Public Bodies</I> publicati…

16 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-8015 by Mr Jack McConnell on 30 October 2000, what each body's remit is, how much public money each receives and how many appointments have been made to each of them.

Answer · Angus MacKay: Details of the remits, funding and composition of the following Non-Departmental Public Bodies as listed in the answer to question S1W-8015 are included in the 1999 version of the Public Bodies document:<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">British Potato Council<P ALIGN="JUSTI…

15 Nov 2000 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what additional finance it intends to make available in 2000-01 and 2001-02 to local authorities to subsidise local bus services.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: Grant-aided expenditure (GAE) for bus support is £21.349 million in 2000-01. However, GAE allowances are not spending limits or targets. Grant allocations for each local authority for the next three years will be announced next month. Ultimately it is for eac…

8 Nov 2000 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it proposes to reconsider or review the Police (Scotland) Act 1967.

Answer · Jim Wallace: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1O-02491 on 9 November 2000.

1 Nov 2000 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it proposes to reconsider or review the Police (Scotland) Act 1967.

Answer · Jim Wallace: We have no plans to reconsider or review the Police (Scotland) Act 1967 as a whole, although parts of the Act, such as common police services, as part of the Review of Police and Fire Structures, have been under review or may be subject to review in the cours…

31 Oct 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what powers it has to suspend the Chief Constable of Fife Constabulary until all internal disciplinary and criminal investigations regarding him are complete.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The Executive has no powers to suspend senior police officers including chief constables. It is for police authorities to decide whether suspension seems appropriate in particular cases and for Ministers to decide whether or not to approve a decision to suspe…

31 Oct 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action will be taken to ensure that any disciplinary or criminal investigations regarding the Chief Constable of Fife Constabulary are complete before he is permitted to take early retirement.

Answer · Jim Wallace: This is a matter for Fife police authority.

25 Oct 2000 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to the rail operating companies and what advice and guidance it has given to the Shadow Strategic Rail Authority since the railway incident at Hatfield.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: Railway safety is a reserved matter. On 30 October I met Railtrack and the train companies operating in Scotland to discuss the impact on Scottish rail services of safety measures applied after the Hatfield accident.

1 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any research has been carried out in Scotland, or whether it has any plans to conduct such research, into the current health of polio survivors from the epidemic in the 1950's.

Answer · Susan Deacon: The Chief Scientist Office (CSO) of the Scottish Executive Health Department is not funding any research on this subject at present, but would be prepared to consider soundly-based proposals for such research.

1 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will estimate the number of persons currently living in Scotland who contracted polio during the 1950s epidemic.

Answer · Susan Deacon: This information is not available.

1 Aug 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will estimate the number of persons in Scotland who contracted polio in the 1950s.

Answer · Susan Deacon: The following table shows the number of confirmed cases notified: <TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH=260><TR><TD WIDTH="30%" VALIGN="TOP" HEIGHT=16><P></TD><TD WIDTH="22%" VALIGN="TOP" HEIGHT=16><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Males</TD><TD WIDTH="29%" VALIGN…

14 Jul 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-8365 by Henry McLeish on 13 July 2000, what criteria are used to determine whether an answer can only be provided at a disproportionate cost.

Answer · Tom McCabe: A major study to establish the average cost of dealing with Scottish Parliamentary Questions is nearing completion. As part of this study consideration will being given to setting a threshold beyond which the Executive may decline to answer a question on the …

4 Jul 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what advice it has given local authorities about the eligibility criteria which they must meet in order to claim exemption from the climate change levy.

Answer · Henry McLeish: The Scottish Energy Efficiency Office (SEEO) is in contact with local authority energy managers and with CoSLA to ensure that all authorities are aware of how the climate change levy will affect them and what they can do to mitigate its impact. Seminars; pres…

4 Jul 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to advise and inform individual businesses of (a) the impact of the climate change levy and (b) the eligibility criteria which they must meet in order to claim exemptions from this levy.

Answer · Henry McLeish: As part of an ongoing programme, the Scottish Energy Efficiency Office (SEEO) is endeavouring to make Scottish businesses aware of how the climate change levy will affect them and what they can do to mitigate its impact. Information on the CCL is being dissem…

3 Jul 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions since 1991 the Scottish Charities Office has fro'en the bank accounts of Scottish charities and what amount of money is held in fro'en accounts.

Answer · Colin Boyd: The Scottish Charities Office was established on 27 July 1992. Orders of the Court of Session freezing bank accounts of Scottish charities have been made on five occasions and just over £27,000 is currently held in frozen accounts.

3 Jul 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive (a) how many licences for on-street can collections were granted and (b) what sum of money was raised in total from such licences in each year since 1990-91 broken down by local authority.

Answer · Jim Wallace: This information is not collected centrally.

3 Jul 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the Scottish Charities Office expects to make its initial submission to the Charity Law Review Commission.

Answer · Colin Boyd: The timing is a matter for the Charity Law Review Commission.