Alex Neil

17 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the National Health Service (General Medical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 1995 or the current rules and regulations on the appointment of a GP were applied in the composition and voting procedures for the area medical committee that appointed Dr Gilchrist to fill the single GP…

Answer · Andy Kerr: The method by which doctors are selected for appointment as a GP is a matter for each NHS board. In the case of Dr Gilchrist applications were considered in January and August 2004 in terms of the NHS (General Medical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 1995. Th…

17 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the appeal in respect of the filling of the vacancy for a single GP practice at the Rowallan Medical Centre in Blantyre was dealt with under the National Health Service (General Medical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 1995 or the General Medical Services (Transitional and Other A…

Answer · Andy Kerr: Both the NHS (General Medical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 1995 and the General Medical Services (Transitional and Other Ancillary Provisions) (Scotland) Order 2004 applied to the appeal. The appeal was made on 9 February 2004 and fell to be considered un…

15 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will carry out a comprehensive review of all the procedures pertaining to the appointment of GPs to ensure fairness and accountability and to improve the information flow to, and involvement of, patients and their representatives.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The arrangements for the appointment of GPs under the new general medical services contract came into effect on 1 April 2004. There are no plans to review them at this time.</p>

15 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review the rules and regulations governing the appointment of general practitioners in order to provide greater statutory participation by patients’ representatives.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The NHS Reform (Scotland) Act 2004 places a duty on NHS boards to ensure public involvement and equal opportunities. This applies to the development and provision of services generally, but would not extend to final decisions on the appointment of GPs or NHS …

15 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will reinstate the right of appeal for unsuccessful applicants for a GP vacancy into its new rules and regulations for the appointment of GPs and, if so, whether this right will be backdated to the date of the introduction of the new rules and regulations.

Answer · Andy Kerr: There are no plans to do so at present.</p>

15 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is legally competent to remove the provision for an appeal procedure from the regulations which replaced the National Health Service (General Medical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 1995 governing the appointment of a GP to a single practice and whether this is consistent with…

Answer · Andy Kerr: The NHS (General Medical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 1995 were revoked by the NHS (Primary Medical Services Performers Lists) (Scotland) Regulations 2004. The 2004 Regulations were approved by the Parliament and are held to be legally competent and consi…

15 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is legally competent to disallow a right of appeal against a decision by an NHS board in respect of an application for a single GP practice vacancy which was held under the National Health Service (General Medical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 1995 where the filling of the v…

Answer · Andy Kerr: The NHS (General Medical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 1995 were revoked on 1 April 2004. The General Medical Services (Transitional and Other Ancillary Provisions) (Scotland) Order 2004 kept in force certain provisions of the 1995 regulations dealing with…

15 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the procedure was to enable a single GP practice to become a multi-GP practice between 1995 and 2004 and what the current procedure is.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Under the NHS (General Medical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 1995 it was a matter for each GP on the medical list to decide whether to practise on their own or in a group practice. Any change to the arrangement had to be notified to the NHS board and patie…

15 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the procedure for filling the vacancy for a single GP practice at the Rowallan Medical Centre in Blantyre was governed by the National Health Service (General Medical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 1995 and whether these regulations applied to the rerun of that appointment.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The provisions in the NHS (General Medical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 1995 which dealt with vacancies for GPs contained various stages. Where more than one application was received a NHS board was required to select a candidate and report to the Scottis…

15 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidelines it has issued about the organisation of meetings held by officials from its health department with patient groups or representatives of the general public.

Answer · Andy Kerr: There are no specific guidelines relating to the organisation of meetings with Health Department officials and the public, but there are a number of materials which have been issued to support consultation and engagement with the public.</p><p>The Scottish Ex…

15 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what period it considers to be acceptable between the advertisement of a vacancy at a GP practice and the deadline for submitting applications for that vacancy.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The period in which an application could be submitted was entirely a matter for a NHS board.</p>

15 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many GP practices were initially appointed as single practices and subsequently became multi-practices in each year since 1995.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The information is not held centrally.</p>

15 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many single GP practices have been (a) advertised and (b) filled in each year since 1995, broken down by NHS board area.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The information is not held centrally.</p>

15 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether ministers personally approved appointments of GPs between 1995 and 2004 and whether such appointments are currently personally approved by ministers or delegated to officials within the Executive and, if so, to whom.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The appointments of GPs between 1995 and 2004 was for the Scottish Medical Practices Committee and did not require the approval of ministers. Nor do ministers or officials of the Executive approve such appointments at present.</p>

15 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what procedures were in place for ministers to approve the advertisement, recruitment, selection and appointment of GPs between 1995 and 2004 and what the current procedures are for GP appointments.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Between 1995 and 2004 ministers had no role in any aspect of the appointment of GPs in individual cases unless an appeal was submitted by an unsuccessful applicant. If an appeal revealed a defect in any aspect of a case the NHS (General Medical Services) (Sco…

15 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what rules and regulations covered the advertisement, recruitment, selection and appointment of GPs by an NHS board or trust between 1995 and 2004; what rules and regulations are currently in operation in respect of such appointments; whether there have been any breaches of such rules and…

Answer · Andy Kerr: The procedures for the admission of GPs to the medical list of a NHS board between 1995 and 2004 were contained in the NHS (General Medical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 1995. Since 1 April 2004 the NHS (General Medical Services Performers Lists) (Scotland…

15 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what powers ministers have had since 1995 to intervene in the advertisement, recruitment, selection and appointment of a GP by an NHS board or trust; how often such powers have been exercised; on what basis such powers were exercised, and within which NHS board areas.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The NHS (Scotland) Act 1978 provides that ministers may give directions to NHS Boards on the exercise of their functions. No general directions have been made since 1995 in respect of advertisement, recruitment, selection and appointment in respect of GPs.</p…

9 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it has allocated for external relations in each of the next three financial years, broken down by department.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive’s spending proposals for each department over the next three financial years are detailed in the Draft Budget 2005-06 document which is available on the Scottish Executive website. Spending plans for international relations are set out …

9 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will introduce its Diligence and Bankruptcy Bill.

Answer · Jim Wallace: Consultation on the draft Bankruptcy & Diligence (Scotland) Bill ended on 30 September 2004 and the responses are in the final stage of analysis. Decisions on introduction are yet to be finally made, but we have already announced our intention to bring forwar…

9 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to identify the employment, education or training status of youngsters for whom it does not have such information and, once identified, what assistance it offers those who are not engaged in any of these activities.

Answer · Allan Wilson: Reducing the proportion of 16 to 19-year-olds NEET (not in education, employment or training) is a priority for the Executive. Career Scotland (CS) has a key role both in identifying this group and promoting their employability. Career Scotland provides the S…

9 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what procedures should be followed by local authorities where a company has engaged in opencast mining activities without appropriate planning permission and what penalties should be imposed.

Answer · Johann Lamont: Planning authorities have a range of discretionary powers to deal with breaches of planning control. If unauthorised mining is taking place, it would be for the authority to decide, based on the severity of the breach, whether to invite the company to apply f…

9 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many paediatric nurses have been recruited in each of the last three years and what the latest figures are in respect of vacancies for such nurses.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Whilst this information is not collected centrally, information on joiners can be gauged through annual censuses of the nursing and midwifery workforce, at 30 September, to establish annual flows of staff in and out of NHSScotland.</p><p>The following table s…

9 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give a breakdown of the destination details of all nursing graduates for each of the last three years.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The first destination details of newly qualified nurses and midwives completing a three year diploma course are presented in the attached table for each of the years 2001, 2002 and 2003. This information covers the majority of nursing graduates. Information o…

9 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many complaints have been received in each of the last five years regarding the Accountant in Bankruptcy.

Answer · Hugh Henry: I have asked Gillian Thompson, Chief Executive of the Accountant in Bankruptcy to respond. Her response is as follows:</p><p>Records of complaints are collated by financial year. The numbers of complaints made against the Accountant in Bankruptcy in each of t…

9 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what biofuel initiatives it is involved in, broken down by project and detailing (a) cost, (b) funding arrangements, (c) anticipated outputs and (d) project timescales.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive has provided support to the production of biodiesel in Scotland by awarding a Regional Selective Assistance grant of £1.2 million to Argent Energy, which is building the nation’s first large scale biodiesel plant at its Scottish base ne…

28 Oct 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied with the approach adopted by Scottish Enterprise in its industrial dispute with UNISON in respect of performance-related pay and associated issues.

Answer · Jim Wallace: As an executive Non-Departmental Public Body, it is for Scottish Enterprise to determine how it conducts its pay negotiations with the unions. I understand that there is still scope for negotiation on several aspects of the pay award and I have encouraged all…

28 Oct 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make a ministerial statement on the industrial dispute between Scottish Enterprise and UNISON in respect of performance-related pay and associated issues.

Answer · Jim Wallace: No. As an executive NDPB, Scottish Enterprise has full responsibility for conducting its pay negotiations within the terms of a pay remit agreed beforehand by Scottish ministers.</p>

28 Oct 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will make an announcement on the outcome of its deliberations on the application for planning permission from Eden Waste Ltd for a landfill site near Greengairs in Lanarkshire.

Answer · Johann Lamont: This application was considered at a public local inquiry and the Scottish ministers advised all parties, on 5 February 2004, that they were minded to accept the reporters’ recommendation that planning permission should be granted. Whilst every effort will be…

27 Oct 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many and what different types of assessment are used to diagnose autism in each NHS board; how many of these types of assessment are recognised by clinical psychologists, and whether it has any plans to standardise the assessment process across all NHS boards.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: The first national audit of services for people with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) in 2003 identified existing service provision, gaps and provided a basis for future planning. The statistical report of the audit findings can be found at <a href="http://s…

28 Sep 2004 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether fingerprint technology currently being used by the Scottish Criminal Records Office is sufficiently up to date.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Fingerprint technology currently in use by the Scottish Fingerprint Service isup to date. It consists of two interlinked parts, the Automatic FingerprintRecognition System which was introduced in 1991 and which had a major software upgraded in 1997 and th…