Mr Brian Monteith

26 Nov 2003 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the Minister for Health and Community Care will next meet representatives of NHS Forth Valley and what issues will be discussed.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I have noimmediate plans to do so. Regular discussions take place, however, between the Scottish Executive and representatives of NHS boards,on a variety of issues.</p>

21 Nov 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-926 by Mr Tom McCabe on 15 July 2003, how many NHS dental examinations were undertaken by the general and community dental services in 2002-03.

Answer · Tom McCabe: In 2002-03 there were2,213,262 NHS dental examinations undertaken by the general dental service and124,453 NHS dental examinations undertaken by the community dental service.</p>

21 Nov 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-926 by Mr Tom McCabe on 15 July 2003, how many sight tests (a) were undertaken on the NHS and (b) were estimated to be undertaken privately in 2002-03.

Answer · Tom McCabe: In 2002-03 there were 906,600sight tests undertaken on the NHS. It is estimated that around 450,000 sighttests were undertaken privately.</p>

18 Nov 2003 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Presiding Officer on how many occasions heating, plumbing or other similar contractors at the new Parliament building have removed fitting, piping and related fixtures and replaced them as a result of design changes and whether the cost of such work can be quantified.

Answer · George Reid: The Convener of the HolyroodProgress Group has informed me that the policy of the group and of the HolyroodProject Team is to keep design changes to a minimum. However, it is inevitablethat some changes will be required in any project of this complexity and s…

11 Nov 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many deaths occurred in each year from 1992 to 1999 as a result of gunshot wounds.

Answer · Hugh Henry: The information requested isgiven in the following table.</p><p>Deaths from Gunshot Wounds in Scotland</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0> <tr> <td> <p align=center>1992</p> </td> <td> <p align=center>1993</p> </td> <td> <p align=center>19…

10 Nov 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children have been admitted to hospital due to complications caused by environmental tobacco smoke in the last three years.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The information requested isnot available centrally.</p><p>A report by the RoyalCollege of Physicians of London, <i>Smoking and the young: a report of a workingparty of the </i><i>Royal</i><i> </i><i>College</i><i> of Physicians,</i> in 1992 estimated that as…

7 Nov 2003 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Presiding Officer when the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body anticipates that Horse Wynd, Edinburgh, next to the new Parliament building, will re-open.

Answer · George Reid: It is anticipated that HorseWynd will reopen before Christmas. The Holyrood progress group has decided thatasphalt should be used in this area instead of traditional granite setts. Thisis a temporary solution which will allow construction to proceed and the r…

6 Nov 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-926 by Mr Tom McCabe on 15 July 2003, whether the estimated cost of free NHS dental examinations is based on the recommended six-monthly check-up and whether the estimated cost of free NHS sight tests is based on the recommended biennial sight test.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The method of calculation of the estimated costs for the NHS dental examinations and NHS sight tests was setout in my reply of 15 July 2003.</p>

6 Nov 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether partial-birth abortion is practiced in Scotland and, if so, how many have been performed by the NHS in each of the last five years.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Methods of termination ofpregnancy are monitored through the forms sent to the Chief Medical Officer bypractitioners for every termination of pregnancy they perform. We are not aware of the procedure referred to as&quot;partial-birth abortion&quot; being used…

6 Nov 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-3183 by Mr Andy Kerr on 30 October 2003, how the remaining #3.592 million of the &#147;Miscellaneous&#148; section of the Other Enterprise and Lifelong Learning budget in the Draft Budget 2004-05 will be spent and what the corresponding figures are f…

Answer · Andy Kerr: This is a small reserve(0.15% of total budget) held against emergencies and unforeseen pressures in2003-04. The corresponding figures for 2004-05 and 2005 06 are £2.561 millionand £1.346 million respectively.</p>

4 Nov 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many state-funded denominational schools have been closed by local authorities in each of the last five years.

Answer · Peter Peacock: The number of suchdenominational schools closed in each of the past five calendar years is shownin the table. The information is derived from the Scottish Executive Education Department’s register of schools which is updated annually.</p><table border=1 cells…

4 Nov 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether its consent is required before a local authority can sanction the closure of a state-funded denominational school.

Answer · Peter Peacock: Ministerial consent for theclosure of such denominational schools is required only in certaincircumstances.</p><p>Schedule 2 to the Education(Publication and Consultation Etc)(Scotland) Regulations 1981, which applies tonon-denominational and denominational s…

29 Oct 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual cost is to the NHS of administering hearing checks.

Answer · Tom McCabe: This information is not heldcentrally.</p>

29 Oct 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to introduce free hearing tests for all, in light of the decision to introduce free eye and dental checks for all.

Answer · Tom McCabe: Hearing tests are currently free under the NHS, and only in exceptional circumstances, such as in private medical or legal cases, is a cost incurred.</p>

28 Oct 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on each programme or project allocated funds under the current Highlands and Islands Enterprise budget of #91.55 million and how much each programme or project has been allocated, grouped by strategic theme and priority.

Answer · Jim Wallace: Information on projects andprogrammes to which Highlands and Islands Enterprise have allocated funds iscontained in their Operating Plan for 2003-06, which is available on theirwebsite.</p>

28 Oct 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on each project or programme allocated funds under the current Scottish Enterprise budget of #461.2 million and how much each programme or project has been allocated, grouped by strategic theme and priority.

Answer · Jim Wallace: Information on projects andprogrammes to which Scottish Enterprise have allocated funds is contained intheir Operating Plan for 2003-04, which is available on their website.</p>

28 Oct 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many civil service jobs there were in (a) the Scottish Executive, (b) Executive agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The full-time equivalentnumber of permanent staff employed in each year since 1999 in the core departmentsof the Scottish Executive is provided in Table A. Information on this basis isnot held routinely at the centre for agencies and associated departments bu…

21 Oct 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to increase funding to Scottish Opera.

Answer · Frank McAveety: The budget allocation forScottish Opera for 2003-06 has been set. Scottish Opera must operate within thelevel of resource that has been identified as being available to it.</p>

21 Oct 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to categorise abusers according to their relationship with the abused child, including step-mother, live-in boyfriend and natural father, so that such information may be available in Scotland, in light of the findings of Child Maltreatment in the UK: A Study of th…

Answer · Euan Robson: The Scottish Executive publishes child protection statistics for Scotland,including the relationship of the child’s primary known/suspected abuser to thechild, for children who were subject to a case conference. The categories usedare: natural mother, natural…

21 Oct 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it is measuring the effectiveness of the free fruit scheme for primary one and two pupils.

Answer · Peter Peacock: We are in the process of commissioning a research project designed both to monitor the introduction of local schemes and also to evaluate the impact of the initiative. This will examine issues of supply and distribution both to the school and within schools, …

21 Oct 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much the visitScotland.com national booking hotline cost to (a) establish and (b) run on a monthly basis since it was launched.

Answer · Frank McAveety: The total cost of setting upvisitscotland.com as a public private partnership in 2002-03 was £7.5 million.Of that sum, the public sector contribution through VisitScotland and the areatourist boards in partnership was £1.875 million, most of which was in the …

21 Oct 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many telephone calls there have been to the visitscotland.com national booking hotline in each month since it was established.

Answer · Frank McAveety: Although this is anoperational matter for VisitScotland, the number of telephone enquiriesreceived by visitscotland.com since its inception total over 437,000. Thenumber of calls received during the summer months of this year varied between 40,000and 56,000 p…

21 Oct 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what public funds have been spent by Historic Scotland or any other public agency on capital works in connection with the management of Holyrood Park, Edinburgh, in each of the last four years for which figures are available, broken down by spending on (a) roads, (b) pavements, (c) cycle …

Answer · Frank McAveety: The following table showsthe Historic Scotland expenditure to date under the specified headings over thepast four years. I am not aware of capital expenditure by any other public agencyin Holyrood Park during the same period.</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 …

14 Oct 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it, or any of its agencies, provided any financial support in connection with the bid for the new Inverness to Birmingham air route; what funding it will make available for the next three years; how much funding has been provided to date, broken down by individual payments; to who…

Answer · Nicol Stephen: Support was provided for theInverness to Birmingham service by Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd and the Interim RouteDevelopment Fund (IRDF), the details of which are commercially confidential.Investment from the IRDF goes to the airport operator to enhance…

9 Oct 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-2237 by Malcolm Chisholm on 24 September 2003, on what total number of employees in each NHS board the National Insurance contribution figures are based.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The number of employees ineach NHS board area that the National Insurance contribution figures quoted inMr Chisholm’s answer to question S2W-2237 were based on is shown in thefollowing table:</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3 width=540> <thead> …

8 Oct 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it provides any guidelines or guidance to local authority education departments regarding the closure of schools.

Answer · Peter Peacock: The Scottish Executive has not issued specific guidelines or guidance to local authorityeducation departments regarding the closure of schools. We expect authoritiesto take account of integrated issues as set out in the joint Scottish Executive/COSLA school e…

8 Oct 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many deaths occurred in each of the last three years as a result of gunshot wounds.

Answer · Hugh Henry: There were 19 such deaths in2000, 12 in 2001 and 16 in 2002.</p>

8 Oct 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many guns it estimates were illegally held in each of the last three years.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: There are no Scottish Executive estimates of the number of guns illegally held in Scotland.</p><p>Firearms legislation isreserved and we will continue to work with the UK Government to safeguard thepublic against gun crime. Chapter 8 of the Criminal Justice B…

8 Oct 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many guns were legally held in each of the last three years.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The figures are available inthe statistical bulletin Firearm Certificates Statistics, Scotland 2002, copiesof which are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 29674)</p>

7 Oct 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it, or any other publicly-funded body, provides funding to local authorities for improving access or facilities at schools for disabled pupils.

Answer · Peter Peacock: The Scottish Executive provides funding directly to local authorities in this area. It is providing £9 million in 2003-04 to support localauthorities to prepare and implement accessibility strategies under theEducation (Disability Strategies and Pupils’ Educa…