Parliamentary questions

Brian Adam

1,580 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

22 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many police officers there are currently per head of population in each police force area.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The number of police officers in each force, at 30 June 2002, expressed per 1,000 population is shown in the following table.<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=472><TR><TD WIDTH="34%" VALIGN="TOP">Force</TD><TD WIDTH="18%" VALIGN="TOP">Esti…

22 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider allocating more resources to Grampian Police for the policing of royal residences and offshore installations.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The review of police GAE funding is well under way, under the auspices of a working group comprising the Executive, COSLA and the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS). It is however, too early to say what the results of the review will be.…

22 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the findings of the Police Grant Aided Expenditure Working Group.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The working group is expected to make recommendations later this year. When they do so, a full report of the processes and analysis involved in the GAE review will be published.

19 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the appeal process for persons who have been convicted is satisfactory.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The rights of appeal by a convicted person against his conviction or sentence are long standing and have evolved over the years into the system in operation today. They afford any person convicted of an offence by a court of first instance the opportunity to …

18 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received in regard to any concerns about the release of convicted prisoners where appeals are pending.

Answer · Jim Wallace: Since 1 April 2000, 10 letters have been received from one Member of Parliament, four Members of the Scottish Parliament and five members of the public expressing concern about the release of an appellant pending the determination of his appeal in five specif…

18 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to review the release on bail of prisoners convicted of serious crimes including violence while their appeals against conviction are pending.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The Scottish Executive has no power to review the grant of bail to convicted persons pending the determination of their appeal and it would be inappropriate to seek such powers. Only the High Court has the power to grant bail in these circumstances and to rec…

8 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any anaphylaxis and allergy services have closed or deferred waiting lists and, if so, which services are affected.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: There are no closed waiting lists. Only patients awaiting in-patient/day case treatment can be placed on a deferred waiting list. Anaphylaxis is primarily treated as an emergency, and allergy services are mostly provided on an out-patient basis.

8 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the mean waiting time is for anaphylaxis and allergy services, broken down by NHS board area.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Anaphylaxis is primarily treated as an emergency. Most treatments for allergies will take place in an out-patient clinic. Centrally available information does not identify cases where treatment starts in an out-patient setting. Information on the time betw…

4 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to increase the number of training posts for medical staff and other staff wishing to specialise in anaphylaxis and allergy services.

Answer · Mary Mulligan: Two higher specialist training posts in the specialty of allergy have been established in the west of Scotland. These posts are open to doctors who are eligible to apply. It is the responsibility of each trust, as the employer, to ensure that all health ca…

4 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many trainee specialists in anaphylaxis and allergy services there are and where they are located.

Answer · Mary Mulligan: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-27347.

4 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many specialists in anaphylaxis and allergies are in post and where are they located

Answer · Mary Mulligan: Allergy was recognised by the Specialist Training Authority as constituting a related but distinct specialty as recently as June 1999. Accordingly, the effects of specialist training in that discipline will take time to be fully reflected in NHS provision, an…

4 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any managed clinical networks have been set up to support anaphylaxis and allergy services.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The report by the Scottish Medical and Scientific Advisory Committee Immunology and Allergy Services in Scotland, published in September 2000, recommended the establishment of Managed Clinical Networks for those with immunological and allergic conditio…

4 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to implement the recommendations of the working party into immunology and allergy services in Scotland.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-26670 on 25 June 2002.

21 Jun 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take if the Scottish Voluntary Charter on Smoking in Public Places target of 49% of licensed premises having non-smoking provision is not met.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Signatories to the Voluntary Charter include the licensed, tourism and hospitality sectors. They agreed a target that 49% of their premises would offer non-smoking provision by the end of 2002. It is too early to say whether this target will be met although i…

21 Jun 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking in respect of smoking in enclosed public places that are not covered by the Scottish Voluntary Charter on Smoking in Public Places.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive recently made additional funding available to widen the scope of Voluntary Charter on Smoking in Public Places. The aim is to increase the stakeholder group to include restaurant associations, coffee chain outlets, fast food outlets, cl…

20 Jun 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications have been received by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service for chemistry degree courses at higher education institutions for (a) 2002-03 and (b) each of the last 15 years.

Answer · Iain Gray: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-23795 which provides the number of applications to chemistry degree courses at Scottish higher education institutions between 1997 and 2001.Limited data from prior to this date can be obtained by the U…

5 Jun 2002 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to discuss with Communities Scotland the responsibility for maintenance costs of amenity areas and unadopted roads and paths that have been passed to owners of former Scottish Special Housing Association homes.

Answer · Margaret Curran: The Scottish Executive has no plans to discuss this with Communities Scotland. Responsibility for maintenance costs of amenity areas and unadopted roads and paths of former Scottish Homes (and previously Scottish Special Housing Association) stock lies with t…

16 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what strategies are in place to provide the training requirements to service the genealogy tourism market in the long-term.

Answer · Mike Watson: I refer the member to the answer I gave to question S1W-25998.

16 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what initiatives have been developed within current tourism training strategies to service the genealogy tourism market.

Answer · Mike Watson: Tourism People is the lead organisation for developing tourism skills. Its national strategy will shortly be circulated to MSPs.

16 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has investigated the costs of buying out the concession to collect tolls on the Skye Bridge; if so, how much such a buyout would cost, and whether a buyout would represent best value for money.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: No. It is not the Executive's policy to buy out the concession contract, nor do we have the information necessary to calculate the full costs of so doing.

15 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to expand the role of private medicine within the NHS.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive is supporting NHSScotland through investment and reform to ensure that the service is able to deliver services of the quality the public expects. NHSScotland is making use of spare capacity in private hospitals in order to reduce waiting. The Na…