Mr David Davidson

5 Feb 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will support the proposed regulation of smoking Bill by Stewart Maxwell MSP or whether it will introduce its own legislation.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The Executive has not had anopportunity to consider the practicalities of Stewart Maxwell’s Bill in detail.However, it is premature to reach a decision on legislation ahead of researchwhich we have commissioned on the evidence base for introducing smokingrest…

5 Feb 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost has been of each investigation carried out by the NHS Fraud Investigation Unit since its inception and what the annual cost is of maintaining the unit and its helpline.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The current running costs ofNHSScotland Counter Fraud Services (CFS) are £550,000 per annum. The costs of the Fraud Hotline for the period April 2003 to date are £80. For that period,there were approximately 230 calls. This volume of calls can be dealt with b…

5 Feb 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what advice it has issued to local authority planning departments since 1999 in respect of dealing with wind farm applications with regard to the effects of wind farms on human amenity, safety and health.

Answer · Mary Mulligan: <i>National Planning PolicyGuideline 6: Renewable Energy Developments </i>and <i>Planning Advice Note 45: Renewable Energy Technologies</i> wererevised in<i> </i>2000 and 2002 respectively to give guidance and advice on allthe major issues that are likely to …

5 Feb 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what it estimates the manpower requirements will be for the professions of medicine, pharmacy, dentistry and optometry for each of the next 10 years, broken down by NHS board area, to meet the needs of its plans for the future delivery of healthcare services.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The developing regionalworkforce networks and their constituent NHS boards will advise on future staffingrequirements in their areas in response to the demand for services they areresponsible for providing at regional and local level. Based on this advice, th…

5 Feb 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many postgraduate dental training posts it has approved for the Grampian NHS Board area and how many new posts it will approve and support for the area in each of the next three years.

Answer · Tom McCabe: Currently, there is one specialistregistrar training post within Oral and Maxillo-Facial Surgery, based atAberdeen Royal Infirmary. A trainee in restorative dentistry visits Aberdeen fortraining purposes on a weekly basis.</p><p>There are also nine vocational…

5 Feb 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its definition is of an outreach centre for dental training.

Answer · Tom McCabe: Outreach centres for dental studenttraining should allow an alternative training experience. This would preferablybe an experience which is different from the base dental hospital. Students usingsuch centres could learn and develop in either a clinical or non…

5 Feb 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase the number of consultant dermatologists.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Since 1997, the number of consultantdermatologists has increased by 16%. At 1.9%, the consultant dermatologist vacancyrate is below the national average consultant vacancy rate in Scotland of5.6%.</p><p>The number of specialist registrartraining posts within …

5 Feb 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to expand the provision of undergraduate education for health professionals to meet the needs of its legislative programme.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive undertakes a numberof actions to ensure that the output from our further and higher educationinstitutions is appropriate to the workforce needs of NHSScotland. For example:the annual student nurse intake planning exercise undertakes thisresponsi…

5 Feb 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made with the consultation on the draft bill on charity law reform.

Answer · Margaret Curran: On 5 December 2003, inresponse to a question from Jackie Baillie MSP, I published my strategy forconsultation during the drafting of the charity bill. The strategy set outthree core elements, including: the establishment of a bill reference group; arange of s…

3 Feb 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it has allocated for free personal care in the (a) current year and (b) next two years, broken down by (i) local authority and (ii) NHS board area.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The following funding has been allocated to local authorities for free personal and nursing care from 2003-04 to 2005-06. It is expected that local authorities will use their allocation flexibly in delivering the policy. A breakdown by NHS board area is not a…

3 Feb 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether a review of the eligibility criteria for free personal care will be carried out.

Answer · Tom McCabe: Sections 1 and 2 and Schedule 1 of the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002 and the regulationsmade under the act require that personal care be provided free by localauthorities to those aged 65 and over who need it, as recommended by the CareDevelop…

3 Feb 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what medical conditions entitle a patient to free personal care.

Answer · Tom McCabe: In legal terms, the CareDevelopment Group’s definition of personal care covers both personal care andpersonal support (as defined in the Regulation of Care (Scotland)Act 2001). The Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002 therefore requires that neither …

29 Jan 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider postponing any final decisions on the forthcoming regulations on permissible maximum dosage levels for food supplements listed in the Food Supplements (Scotland) Regulations 2003 until the completion of the National Association of Health Stores' judicial review in…

Answer · Tom McCabe: I have been advised by theFood Standards Agency that the implementation in Scotland of Europeanlegislation on maximum permitted levels of vitamins and minerals in foodsupplements will take place within the time laid down in the legislation onceit is agreed. T…

29 Jan 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when regulations will be introduced stating the permissible maximum dosage levels for food supplements listed in the Food Supplements (Scotland) Regulations 2003 and what scientific sources have been used to arrive at these levels.

Answer · Tom McCabe: I have been advised by theFood Standards Agency that Article 5 of the Food Supplements Directive lays outa framework for the future setting of maximum permitted levels of vitamins andminerals in food supplements. The European Commission will, in due course, m…

29 Jan 2004 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Presiding Officer what the projected budget, inclusive of staff costs, is for the opening ceremony for the new Scottish Parliament building.

Answer · George Reid: No decision has been made yet on the nature of the opening ceremony and therefore no specific budget has been allocated for this purpose. The Clerk/Chief Executive stated in evidence he gave to the Finance Committee on Tuesday 25 November that any funding req…

29 Jan 2004 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Presiding Officer what plans there are for an opening ceremony for the new Scottish Parliament building.

Answer · George Reid: A number of options arestill being considered for the opening ceremony but no decision has been madeyet on the nature of the ceremony. As soon as a decision is reached I willinform Parliament.</p>

23 Jan 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it has issued to acute trusts with regard to the use of patients' own medication for chronic conditions when patients go into hospital.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive hasnot issued any guidance to acute trusts with regard to the use of patients’ ownmedication for chronic conditions when patients go into hospital.</p><p><i>The Right Medicine: AStrategy for Pharmaceutical Care in </i><i>Scotland</i> co…

23 Jan 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will roll out the Grampian NHS Board model for carer support and support for self medication for those with chronic conditions.

Answer · Tom McCabe: I understand that the carersupport model in question is linked to a wider patient/public informationstrategy that Grampian NHS Board is now consulting on and that, amongst otherthings, the model focuses on identifying carers and signposting them to sourcesof …

23 Jan 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is on the provision of nurses specialising in Parkinson's disease.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: NHS boards are responsiblefor planning services in their area and for securing the staff needed todeliver them.</p><p>The Scottish Executiveremains committed to building the capacity of the NHSScotland workforce. Underthe Facing the Future banner £10million h…

23 Jan 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many neurologists with expertise in Parkinson's disease there are, broken down by NHS board area

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is not centrally available. However, the table identifies the number of neurologists by NHS board.</p><p>Table 1 – Neurology Consultants in Post (Headcount) by NHS Board (as at 30 September 2002)</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cell…

23 Jan 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will investigate recent fatal road accidents in Aberdeenshire and publish the results.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: Each year the ScottishExecutive analyses accidents across the trunk road network in order to identifyand bring forward an annual programme of targeted road safety improvements. Inaddition, whenever a fatal accident occurs on the network the trunk roadoperatin…

23 Jan 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when work will commence on the construction of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route and when it will open for use.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-26 on 6 June 2003. All answers to written parliamentary questions areavailable on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can befound at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/s…

23 Jan 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will commission road safety inspections on the A90 at Stonehaven, Muchalls, Newtonhill, Portlethen and Marywell.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: A review of the accidentpatterns on the A90 between Dundee and Aberdeen was carried out in 2003. While no specific issueswere identified at any of the junctions referred to there were recommendationsto improve some signs, road markings and high friction surfa…

23 Jan 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-29 by Nicol Stephen on 2 June 2003, what road safety improvements are planned for the A90 around Laurencekirk and when such improvements will be carried out.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: Following the implementationof the package of measures at the A90/A937 south junction, which I referred toin my answer to S2W-29, the junction was monitored to ascertain theireffectiveness. It has been concluded that some alterations to the signing andlining …

23 Jan 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have died from hepatitis C infection since the announcement of the ex gratia payment scheme for those who contracted the disease through blood products in the NHS and who, although qualifying, did not receive any benefit from the scheme.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: We do not know how manypeople, who have been infected with hepatitis C in this way, have died sincethe announcement on 29 August 2003. In the case of eligible people who die between 29 August 2003 andthe time when the scheme is in a position to make payments,…

21 Jan 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) dentistry graduates, (b) applicants to dental schools and (c) places available for dental students there have been in each of the last two years.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The latest informationavailable on the numbers you have requested is as follows:</p><p>Dentistry graduates (firstdegree) </p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <tr> <td> <p>2001</p> </td> <td> <p>112</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p>2002</p> </…

7 Jan 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients had been waiting longer than nine months for in-patient treatment at the end of 2003.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Validated waiting timesfigures for 31 December 2003 will be published by ISD Scotland on its“NHSScotland Acute Activity, Waiting Times and Waiting Lists” website on Thursday 26 February 2004.</p>

7 Jan 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when its review of progress in delivering the plan for action on alcohol problems will be published.

Answer · Tom McCabe: We have set up a sub-groupof the Scottish Advisory Committee on Alcohol Misuse to lead on the review ofprogress in delivering the Plan for Action and in determining priorities forfuture action. The group meets for the first time in February and we expect toco…

7 Jan 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the current status and outcome is of the IT training scheme for primary care health professionals and, in particular, whether the scheme has been rolled out across Scotland.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: As part of theimplementation arrangements for the new General Medical Services (GMS)Contract, the GMS Information, Management and Technology (IM&amp;T) Training/FacilitationProject was initiated in summer 2003. Itis a one-off initiative to inform the design o…

7 Jan 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether its target for an additional 525 student nurse places by the end of 2003 has been achieved.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive remainscommitted to building the capacity of NHSScotland.</p><p>To date we have recruited429 of the 525 additional student nursing and midwifery places that wereallocated for academic year 2003-04.</p><p>Efforts are still continuingto recruit to…