Parliamentary questions

Duncan McNeil

426 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

31 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of smoking cessation programmes in the Argyll and Clyde NHS Board area.

Answer · Mary Mulligan: NHS boards are required by the Scottish Executive to monitor and evaluate the success of their smoking cessation services as a whole. Argyll and Clyde NHS Board, therefore, has systems in place to enable it to assess the effectiveness of smoking cessation pro…

31 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to review the funding for hospice provision.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Arrangements for the funding of adult voluntary hospices remain as set out in Management Executive Letter (1994) 104. NHS boards are expected, taking account of local circumstances, to fund 50% of hospices' annual running costs. The Executive continuously mon…

31 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made on the provision of digital hearing aids on the NHS.

Answer · Mary Mulligan: The decision on which type of hearing aid best meets the clinical need of individual patients is for the clinician in charge of their care.The Good Practice Guidance on Adult Hearing Aid Fitting Services issued by the Executive to NHSScotland in March last…

12 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to receive the report from the expert group established in December 2001 to examine the merits or otherwise of a system of financial and other support for people who have been harmed by health service treatment where the NHS was not at fault.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-26652 on 25 June 2002.

12 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to increase the powers available to local authority environmental services departments to address any nuisance caused to residents by neighbours running a business from home.

Answer · Allan Wilson: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-27551 today. The Executive currently has no such plans and believes that existing powers, combined with the proposals included in the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill, described in my previous answer, are…

12 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether local authority environmental services departments have sufficient powers to address any nuisance caused to residents by neighbours running a business from home.

Answer · Allan Wilson: Generally, local authorities have a wide range of powers to deal with nuisance. Individuals and businesses are required to comply with the Environmental Protection Act 1990 which prohibits statutory nuisances that are prejudicial to health or a nuisance. Wher…

8 Jul 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-24605 by Mrs Mary Mulligan on 23 April 2002, what progress is being made on the study which is being undertaken to identify the impact and resource implications of the Working Time Regulations as they apply to NHSScotland staff; when it expects the r…

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Two separate working groups have been set up to look at the implications and implementation of the Working Time Regulations (WTRs) for NHSScotland. Both are making progress.The first group is a partnership working group established by the Scottish Partners…

24 Jun 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the outcome is of its consideration of the bids for financial support for school Public Private Partnership projects which were submitted by local authorities in December 2001.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Today we are announcing our response to schools modernisation proposals that we have received from 15 councils. We are also setting out how work will be taken forward on modernising the whole school estate across Scotland. This announcement builds on the j…

5 Jun 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment has been made of the value of breakfast clubs in improving school pupils' attendance and achievement.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: A summary of the interim findings of the National Evaluation of New Community Schools, including breakfast clubs, will be published by the Scottish Executive in the summer. The Evaluation will use quantitative data to examine the relationship between New Comm…

5 Jun 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what further plans it has to improve discipline in schools.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The recent Discipline Task Group report, Better Behaviour - Better Learning made 36 recommendations aimed at improving discipline in schools. These recommendations are currently being implemented by the Scottish Executive, local authorities and individ…

5 Jun 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to tackle truancy.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive funds a number of initiatives aimed at, or impacting on, truancy including the Scottish Schools Ethos Network, the Anti Bullying Network, the Alternatives to Exclusion Programme, Support for Parents, Study Support and New Community Scho…

5 Jun 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it publishes on the number of pupils excluded from schools and whether it will give a breakdown by education authority area of the number of such exclusions in each of the last three years.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Since 1998 the Scottish Executive has produced an annual survey on the number of temporary and permanent exclusions from schools in Scotland. The figures are broken down between education authorities and between primary, secondary and special schools. A copy …

5 Jun 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it has issued on the role of classroom assistants in schools and how their role is defined in any such guidance.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: Implementation guidance on the classroom assistants programme was issued in April 1999. The guidance indicates that assistants are expected to work under the direction of teachers in a variety of roles to reduce administrative workloads and, after appropriate…

28 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-24700 by Mr Jim Wallace on 1 May 2002, what assessment has been undertaken of the effectiveness of the Neighbourhood Warden pilot project in Paisley in reducing anti-social behaviour.

Answer · Margaret Curran: It is too early to assess the effectiveness of the Neighbourhood Warden pilot project because the project has only just started. The council is putting in place systems for monitoring and evaluation which should allow assessments of the effectiveness of the p…

28 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the effect which community wardens or special constables would have on anti-social behaviour.

Answer · Jim Wallace: It is too early to assess the effectiveness of the Neighbourhood Warden pilot project in Paisley, because the project has only just started. Renfrewshire Council is putting in place systems for monitoring and evaluation which should allow assessments of the e…

28 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to examine ways in which the Crown Office and the Procurator Fiscal Service can become more effective in prosecuting those charged with anti-social behaviour.

Answer · Elish Angiolini: The Review of the Planning, Allocation and Management of Resources in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, published on 4 March, made recommendations which are intended to improve the quality of the service delivered to the public across the…

24 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it holds on the number of affordable homes built in the last 12 months.

Answer · Margaret Curran: The Scottish Executive holds information on the number of new dwellings which are completed each quarter for local authority, housing association and private sector landlords. The information is available for each local authority area.Information is curren…

24 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to regenerate deprived areas.

Answer · Hugh Henry: The Executive supports a wide range of activities across Scotland in pursuit of our social justice and regeneration objectives. Some examples include:<UL><LI>The Better Neighbourhood Services Fund, providing £90 million over three years to improve the deliver…

24 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what weighting is given to poverty and health factors when calculating local authority central funding allocations.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Details of weightings are set out in Grant Aided Expenditure (the "Green Book") 2001-02, which is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 12261). The weightings also apply to 2002-03 and 2003-04.

10 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Northern Ireland Executive regarding the success of anti-drugs campaigns in schools by the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Scottish Executive ministers have regular discussions with their counterparts from the other UK administrations and the Republic of Ireland through the British-Irish Council (BIC). While there have been no direct discussions between the Scottish and Northe…

10 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made in sei'ing the assets of major drug dealers.

Answer · Jim Wallace: In 2001-02, 36 confiscation orders totalling almost £800,000, were made by the courts, mainly against persons convicted of drug offences, a marked increase over previous years. The Proceeds of Crime Bill, currently before the Westminster Parliament, will prov…

7 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking in order to improve public transport in urban areas.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-25637.

7 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what recent additional resources have been allocated to local authorities for investment in local transport.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Executive is fully committed to developing a modern integrated transport system for Scotland. The Executive's record levels of investment are set out in the Transport Delivery Report, which highlights our key priorities for improving public transport, bot…

3 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what support the Crown Office and procurator fiscal service give to the victims of, and witnesses to, domestic violence who are fearful of reprisals.

Answer · Elish Angiolini: The Victim Liaison Office is an information service which provides case specific details and information about the criminal justice process in general to victims together with information about, and referrals to, voluntary organisations who can provide suppor…

3 May 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made in reducing the number of adults lacking basic literacy and numeracy skills.

Answer · Iain Gray: £22.5 million is available over three years from April 2001 to raise levels of adult literacy and numeracy. £18.5 million of this is being distributed through local authorities to Community Learning Strategy Partnerships (CLSPs) where all providers can access…