Donald Gorrie

28 Feb 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it supports the policy of regarding the 70,000 deaf people who use British Sign Language as belonging to a different language and cultural group, rather than as having a disability or communication impairment.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: The Scottish Executive supportsthe policy of regarding deaf people who useBritish Sign Language (BSL) as belonging to a different language and cultural group. This is acknowledged in our draft Language Strategy,published for consultation on 5 February 2007. T…

28 Feb 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to help to develop a curriculum for users of British Sign Language.

Answer · Robert Brown: The proposals being developedunder A Curriculum for Excellence place particular emphasis on the importance oflanguage and literacy across the whole curriculum. Experiences and outcomes willbe developed to enable learning in the language a young person needs, …

28 Feb 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to recruit and train more teachers of the deaf.

Answer · Robert Brown: The Scottish Executive is committedto having 53,000 full-time teachers in our schools by September 2007.</p><p>The Requirements for Teachers(Scotland) Regulations 2005 (Scottish Statutory Instrument 2005/355) require thatwhere an education authority employs a…

22 Feb 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it has provided to faith institutions including, but not exclusively, the Church of Scotland, Catholic Church and Scottish Council of Jewish Communities, in each of the last four years, broken down by institution.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: Theinformation requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The only way in which the information sought could beestablished would be to trawl all of the divisions identified on the social inclusionand voluntary issues database and ask them to i…

21 Feb 2007 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with local authorities to create a co-ordinated programme to improve the quality of football pitches and changing facilities in response to concerns illustrated by the march to the Parliament on 14 February 2007.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: The report of the national auditof local sports facilities published by sportscotland in June 2006 highlighted theneed for local authorities to prepare facility strategies. Future investment willbe determined on the basis of these and associated playing field…

20 Feb 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with local authorities to create a co-ordinated programme to improve the quality of football pitches and changing facilities in response to concerns illustrated by the march to the Parliament on 14 February 2007.

14 Feb 2007 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many affordable rented homes it intends will be built by 2012 to meet its aim of abolishing all unintentional homelessness by then.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: Our £1.2 billion programme isproviding 21,500 good quality affordable homes over the current three year spendingperiod. Decisions on spending beyond 2008 will be taken by the next administration.We are determined to maintain progress andremain committed to th…

8 Feb 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are in place to encourage as many young people as possible from ethnic minority communities to take part in sport.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: The Executive is committed toincreasing opportunities for everyone to participate in sport regardless of theirbackground. We are supporting sportscotland in the implementation of the <i>SingleEquity Plan</i> and the <i>Equity Standard for Scottish sport</i> t…

19 Dec 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what research has been undertaken to establish whether sufficient numbers of people read expensive public advertisements in the press for the expenditure to deliver best value as a means of conveying information to the public, as opposed to electronic means such as websites.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The selection of media is basedon the advice of our media buying agency and backed by independently audited data.In the case of press advertising the data is compiled by the Audit Bureau of Circulation.The Executive uses a variety of media including online ma…

19 Dec 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking, in addition to work in relation to football and parades, to tackle latent sectarianism in some parts of Scotland.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Real progress has been made intackling sectarianism in Scotland and I am proud of what has been achieved. The reconvenedSummit on Sectarianism, held on 12 December 2006, allowed the Executive and key stakeholders to reaffirm their commitmentto working in part…

21 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make certain that the National Alcohol Information Resource will ensure that alcohol and drug action teams’ corporate action plans provide information which distinguishes (a) drug clients from alcohol clients and (b) family members seeking counselling from substance users …

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: We are currently in discussionwith the National Alcohol Information Resource (NAIR) about the information thatis collected about people in contact with alcohol services.</p><p>NAIR does not specify the informationthat is provided in corporate action plans; th…

8 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the legal status is of the Charter for Grandchildren and what plans it has to afford it greater status.

Answer · Johann Lamont: The Charter for Grandchildren<i></i>was introduced in May this year, as part of a range of non-legislative measuresdesigned to complement the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006. The Charter for Grandchildren aims to highlightthe important role grandparents and th…

7 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether its rules and guidance allow and encourage local authorities to be flexible when selling surplus assets to local community organisations by charging less than market value, when such sales are considered to benefit the community as a whole.

Answer · Tom McCabe: Under Section 1(1) of the LocalGovernment (Scotland) Act 2003, local authorities are required to demonstrate“Best Value” in local government service provision by making the best use of publicresources, including land and property - keeping a considered and ap…

31 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will collate figures for injuries arising from accidents with fireworks or their misuse in Scotland in the three weeks around Guy Fawkes Day, in light of the decision by the Department of Trade and Industry not to collate figures for the United Kingdom in 2006.

Answer · Andy Kerr: As the Scottish figures on fireworksinjuries are collected as part of the Department of Trade and Industry FireworksInjuries Enquiry, and DTI have made the decision not to carry out this survey for2006, no figures will be collated for Scotland for 2006.</p>

18 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the position is in Scotland regarding the prescription of Aricept to treat people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Aricept will continue to berecommended for treatment by the NHS of patients who have moderate tomoderately severe Alzheimer’s Disease.</p>

18 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it has in place, or are planned, to gather more information and statistics about people currently engaging with alcohol treatment agencies in order to enable future alcohol services to be better targeted on the likely service users.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Local alcohol and drug actionteams (ADATs) have responsibility for assessing, planning and delivering alcoholservices, including the collection of information about local need and servicecapacity. Each ADAT is required to submit a corporate action plan to the…

18 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what support it gives to local councils on alcohol to help them to operate and co-operate with the Executive-funded Orion database on facilities dealing with alcohol problems.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Executive does not givefinancial support to Local Councils on Alcohol, but provides core and project fundingto Alcohol Focus Scotland which supports the council network. The NationalAlcohol Information Resource provides advice to local agencies on informa…

3 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executiven how many convictions for offences aggravated by religious prejudice in (a) 2003-04, (b) 2004-05 and (c) 2005-06 (i) the target was the police, (ii) the offence involved the perceived hatred of (1) Islam, (2) Judaism, (3) Christianity, (4) Protestantism and (5) Roman Catholicism, (iii) th…

2 Oct 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken to ensure that central or local government funding is maintained for educational advocacy services.

Answer · Robert Brown: The main Scottish Executive supportfor local authority expenditure on education, including educational advocacy services,is provided through the core local government finance settlement. The settlementcontains grant aided expenditure (GAE) provision for educa…

27 Sep 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many units of accommodation are provided for (a) drug misusers, (b) alcohol misusers and (c) both drug and alcohol misusers within the care home services category of care services.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Care Commission registerscare home services under the service type, Care Home Service and does not registerservices based on the client group type. However, we understand that (as at 2 October 2006), 25care home services provide services predominantly for…

27 Sep 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many units of accommodation are provided for (a) drug misusers, (b) alcohol misusers and (c) both drug and alcohol misusers within the independent health care services category of care services.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Care Commission registersall independent health care services under the service type “Independent HealthCare Service” and does not register services based on the client group type.</p><p>However, we understand that (asat 2 October 2006), three (3) registe…

27 Sep 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many units of accommodation are provided for (a) drug misusers, (b) alcohol misusers and (c) both drug and alcohol misusers within the housing support services category of care services.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Housing support services to vulnerablegroups are provided through the Supporting People programme. The latest availableinformation on numbers of clients supported through the programme, separately identifyingdrug and alcohol abusers, is given in table 2 of th…

20 Sep 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what system it has in place to monitor and reduce, where appropriate, the volume of regulations imposed on voluntary organisations and schools by the Executive, the UK Government, the European Union, local authorities and government agencies.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive is stronglycommitted to ensuring that all regulations are implemented in a way which causesminimum disruption to all sectors and bodies, including the voluntary sector.</p><p>Alllegislation emanating from the Scottish Executive which im…

19 Sep 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what research has been conducted to compare the success of residential in-patient facilities for treating patients with serious alcohol and drug dependency problems with other ways of treating these patients and what conclusions any such research has reached.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Health Economics ResearchUnit study of <i>effective and cost effective measures to reduce alcohol misuse</i>reviewed UK and international research on the effectiveness of interventions.This review notes that all studies need to be interpreted with caution…

19 Sep 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is its policy that residential in-patient facilities for treating patients with serious alcohol and drug dependency problems should be part of the range of provision in each NHS board area and, if so, what action it is taking to ensure that NHS boards make use of existing facil…

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: It is for each of the 22 Alcoholand Drug Action Teams (ADATs) to determine the range and availability of servicesat local level. Record levels of funding are being made available in 2005-06 and2006-07 by the Executive to support the expansion of treatment and…

19 Sep 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what residential in-patient facilities for treating patients with serious alcohol and drug dependency problems there are; what their capacity is, and which NHS board areas have no such facilities.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Since 2002-03 each Alcohol andDrug Action Team has been tasked with producing annual Corporate Action Plans whichcontain information on the numbers of alcohol rehabilitation places available atlocal level across Scotland. These plans are available on the Info…

18 Sep 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it or its agencies have had with public transport providers with regard to introduction of the “London model” of provision of services to hospitals in Scotland.

Answer · Tavish Scott: The Scottish ExecutiveHealth Department, Scottish Executive Transport Group and Transport Scotlandhave not had discussions with public transport providers with regard tointroduction of a “London model” of provision of services to hospitals in Scotland.</p>

18 Sep 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with NHS Lanarkshire with regard to the provision of visitor transport services for patients who are admitted to Hairmyres Hospital or Wishaw General Hospital as a result of the downgrading of accident and emergency services at Monklands Hospital.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Transport is a significant issuewhich NHS boards must take into account in the design and delivery of local healthservices. When submitting a proposal for a service change, boards are expected tohave fully assessed the impact of the proposed changes on the tr…

18 Sep 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many care home services, including bed-spaces, are provided specifically to (a) drug misusers, (b) alcohol misusers and (c) both drug and alcohol misusers.

18 Sep 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many independent health care services, including bed-spaces, are provided specifically to (a) drug misusers, (b) alcohol misusers and (c) both drug and alcohol misusers.