Parliamentary questions
Alex Neil
3,059 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
13 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-12471 by Mr Jim Wallace on 7 December 2004, what percentage of the workforce would have to be employed to meet its definition of "full employment".
Answer · Jim Wallace: There is no widely accepted employment rate that corresponds to full employment. The Executive’s definition of full employment is employment opportunity for all, which is only achievable by ensuring opportunities for people in the whole of society throughout …
5 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many histopathology units there are in each NHS board area; how many it projects that there will be in (a) five years and (b) ten years, and what plans are in place to provide additional resources to clinical laboratories to meet the demands of waiting list and waiting time initiative…
Answer · Andy Kerr: The information requested about existing laboratories and plans for further developments is shown in the following table. It is for NHS boards to determine how to allocate resources to local services.</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead…
5 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what it considers to be adequate overnight ambulance cover for areas outwith the immediate vicinity of accident and emergency services.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive has invested in the Scottish Ambulance Service at a level designed to enable it to employ more front-line staff and deliver a more responsive service for patients. Between March 2001 and March 2004 the ambulance service employed 220 add…
5 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive in which NHS board areas there is a shortage of consultant pathologists; how many consultant pathologist posts are currently filled by locum staff, and what plans are in place to address any current shortage.
Answer · Andy Kerr: Pathology is included within a number of specialties which are grouped by ISD Scotland under the heading “Clinical Laboratory Specialties”.</p> <p>Within this group, the number of consultants in post had increased by almost 3% between 1999 and 2004. At 30<sup…
1 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many GP practices have withdrawn minor injuries services as a result of the NHS board opting not to fund the enhanced payments scheme for provision of these services under the new GP contract.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The information is not available centrally.</p> <p>All practices are expected to provide to all of their patients essential and those additional services they are contracted to provide under the terms of the new General Medical Services contract. Minor injury…
1 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS boards have chosen not to fund minor injuries services through general practices in their area under the new GP contract.
Answer · Andy Kerr: There are no figures held for NHS boards opting not to fund the enhanced payments scheme for provision of minor injuries services through general practices in their area under the new GP contract. To underpin the new UK-wide GMS contract there is a Patient Se…
1 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many referrals to (a) the Diabetes Unit at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary and (b) the Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) department at The Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Yorkhill, from GPs in the Cumbernauld and Kilsyth area have been refused in each of the last five years.
Answer · Andy Kerr: This is an operational matterfor NHS Greater Glasgow. Information of this kind is not held centrally.</p>
1 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ensure that the block contract between NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Greater Glasgow for the referral of patients from the Cumbernauld and Kilsyth area to Glasgow hospitals is secured for the long term.
Answer · Andy Kerr: NHS Greater Glasgow and NHS Lanarkshirecontinue to work together to ensure that patients in Cumbernauld and Kilsyth canbe referred by their GPs to Greater Glasgow hospitals where this is clinically appropriateand matches the personal choice of the patient.</p>
1 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) district nurses, (b) health visitors, (c) treatment room nurses, (d) midwives and (e) speech language therapists were employed by NHS Lanarkshire to work in the Cumbernauld and Kilsyth area in each of the last five years and how many it estimates will be employed in each of t…
Answer · Andy Kerr: Information on staff employednow and in the future by NHS Lanarkshire to work specifically in the Cumbernauldand Kilsyth area is not available centrally.</p>
1 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how often administrative staff in NHS Lanarkshire left their employment and were not replaced with a full-time equivalent in each year since 1999 and what positions it estimates will be vacated and not replaced in each of the next three years.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The specific information requestedis not held centrally.</p>
1 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how often primary care staff in NHS Lanarkshire left their employment and were not replaced with a full-time equivalent in each year since 1999 and how many positions it estimates will be vacated and not replaced in each of the next three years.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The specific informationrequested is not held centrally. Currentdata on NHS staff collected by ISD does not allow the explicit identification ofstaff working in primary care settings. Information on most staff groups is availableby specialty and work area, ra…
1 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of requests by GPs for an ambulance within one hour, not including immediate or non-urgent requests, were met within the hour in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The figures for 2000-01 and 2001-02 are not available. The percentage of requests by GPs for an ambulance within an hour which were met within the hour for 2002-05 are set out in the following table. The information is not available for the earlier two years.…
31 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what its end-year flexibility (EYF) levels have been in each year since 1999, expressed also as a percentage of the total block grant, and what the estimated EYF levels are for each of the next five years.
Answer · Tom McCabe: The following table detailsthe end-year flexibility (EYF) levels for the Scottish Executive including its armslength bodies for each year since 1999:</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td> <p align=center>Year</p> </td> <t…
31 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Department for Education and Skills and Skillset regarding the plans for a compulsory levy on film productions to fund training for prospective film makers and what information it has on what proportion of the £500,000 expected to be raised each year w…
Answer · Allan Wilson: Scottish ministers have been fully consulted on the proposal for a compulsory levy on film production in the UK. Dr Lewis Macdonald, the then Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, gave his agreement in August 2004 to the Secretary of State for…
24 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether Premier Prison Services has at all times met its contractual commitments in respect of employing one or more registered mental health nurses.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:</p> <p>Yes.</p>
24 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether a registered mental health nurse was employed in HM Prison Kilmarnock between 1 and 11 January 2002.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:</p> <p>The SPS does not hold this information as staffing issues at HMP Kilmarnock are a matter for Premier Prison Services.</p>
24 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many registered mental health nurses are currently employed in HM Prison Kilmarnock.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:</p> <p>The SPS does not hold this information as staffing issues at HM Prison Kilmarnock are a matter for Premier Prison Services.</p>
24 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many prisoners admitted to HM Prison Kilmarnock since January 2002 have not been examined by a registered mental health nurse.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:</p> <p>The SPS does not hold this information.</p>
24 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the turnover of staff employed at health centres in prisons has been in each of the last six years, broken down by prison.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:</p> <p class=MsoBodyText>The figures in the table reflect the turnover of health centre staff for the last five financial years. Figures for earl…
24 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action has been taken in HM Prison Kilmarnock since January 2002 to introduce procedures to ensure compliance with the Director's Rules, including those referred to specifically in the fatal accident inquiry report on the death of James Barclay.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:</p> <p>I refer the member to the answer to S2W-15552 on 14 April 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parlia…
24 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any of those who held senior management positions in HM Prison Kilmarnock in January 2002 and who, according to the fatal accident report on the death of James Barclay in January 2002, "showed a careless or even negligent disregard for securing compliance with the Director"s Rules…
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:</p> <p>I refer the member to the answer to S2W-15609 on 14 April 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parlia…
24 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether HM Chief Inspector of Prisons has checked whether the watches in HM Prison Kilmarnock are now properly carried out.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The report by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons on his inspection of HM Prison Kilmarnock between 25 October and 2 November 2004 will be published on 26 April. Inspection of anti-suicide procedures is always part of inspections and will continue to be so.</p>
24 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether HM Chief Inspector of Prisons has checked, as part of his most recent inspection of the prison, whether the watch logs in HM Prison Kilmarnock are being falsified.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: HM Chief Inspector of Prisons checked the “High Risk Assessment Observation and Support Records” (referred to by staff as “watch logs”) as part of his most recent inspection of Kilmarnock. He had no reason to believe that the entries were anything other than …
24 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many officers in HM Prison Kilmarnock have been disciplined since January 2002 for failing to carry out watches.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:</p> <p>The SPS does not hold this information as staffing issues at HM Prison Kilmarnock are a matter for Premier Prison Services.</p>
24 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many officers in HM Prison Kilmarnock have been disciplined since January 2002 for falsifying watch logs.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:</p> <p>I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-15609 on 14 April 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on t…
24 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Lord Advocate will pursue criminal action against those who allegedly falsified the information relating to suicide watches in HM Prison Kilmarnock, as reported in the BBC documentary broadcast on 9 March 2005 and in the findings of the fatal accident inquiry into the death of…
Answer · Colin Boyd: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-15477, answered on 18 April 2005. All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the searchfacility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/…
24 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether procedures have been introduced in HM Prison Kilmarnock to ensure that any "red cards" issued by the police to indicate that a prisoner is at risk are passed to both the officer completing the reception risk assessment form and the nurse responsible for examining the prisoner on a…
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:</p> <p>I refer the member to the answer to S2W-15593 on 14 April 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parlia…
24 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether procedures have been introduced at HM Prison Kilmarnock to ensure that, where a "red card" has been issued by the police to indicate that a prisoner is at risk, the prisoner will be placed on the appropriate watch.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:</p> <p>This procedure has been updated and the “red card” system is no longer in use. Relevant details are contained in the Personal Escort Recor…
24 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what changes there have been to admission procedures within HM Prison Kilmarnock since January 2002.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:</p> <p>Director’s Rules have been updated and approved by SPS and now include a checklist to assist staff in identifying prisoners at risk.…
24 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether every prisoner entering HM Prison Kilmarnock since January 2002 has been examined by a nurse; what examinations are undertaken by the nurse, and what role the nurse plays in assessing whether a prisoner may be at risk of self-harm or suicide.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:</p> <p>In accordance with Rule 8 of The Prisons and Young Offenders Institutions (Scotland) Rules 1994 (as amended) a health care examination is …