Parliamentary questions

Duncan McNeil

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

16 Jul 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children adversely affected by drug misuse have been identified (a) across Scotland and (b) in each (i) local authority and (ii) police force area.

Answer · Adam Ingram: Informationon children affected by drug misuse by local authority and police force area isnot held centrally. The most recent estimate for Scotland is that up to 60,000 children under 16have a parent with a drug problem. Of these, it is estimated that between…

18 Jun 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to review the guidelines governing access to NHS fertility services.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Executivepublished Review of Access Criteria for Infertility Services in Scotlandin March 2007 to inform boards of recommended changes tobe made to the access criteria to funded infertility services.Guidelines for accessto IVF treat…

11 Jun 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the number of public holidays observed by local authorities is uniform across Scotland and, if not, how many are observed by each authority.

Answer · Linda Fabiani: There is noconcept of national “public holidays” in Scotland. There are bank holidays which are set out in the Schedule to theBanking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 and appointed by Royal Proclamation.There are also local holidays which are determined by loc…

30 May 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what estimates were made of the number of homeowners eligible for its central heating programme (a) in its original form and (b) since its subsequent extension in 2004 and how many homeowners have taken advantage of the scheme to date.

Answer · Stewart Maxwell: The 1996 Scottish HouseCondition Survey was the most recent evidence available prior to theintroduction of the central heating programme (CHP) in 2001. It showed thatthere were 32,000 owner-occupier households over 60 years of age without anyform of central h…

11 Jan 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the current estimated total monetary and staff cost is of policing the Faslane 365 protest, based on the stated intention of disruptive protests on a daily basis until 30 September 2007, broken down by police division where applicable.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Due to operationalcomplexities the costs associated with this precise operation are not centrallyavailable. The organisation of police operations, including the allocation ofresources to this operation, is first and foremost a matter for the ChiefConstable of…

11 Jan 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many police officers and civilian staff were involved in the operation at HM Naval Base Clyde, at Faslane, on 8 January 2007, including those involved in the processing of those arrested, and what the overall cost was.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Due to operationalcomplexities the number of officers assigned to this precise operation is notavailable centrally. The organisation of police operations, including theallocation of resources to this operation, is first and foremost a matter forthe Chief Cons…

11 Jan 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it cost to provide police officers to cover the protest at HM Naval Base Clyde, at Faslane, on 8 January 2007, also broken down by police division.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Due to operationalcomplexities the costs associated with the number of officers assigned to thisprecise operation is not centrally available. The organisation of policeoperations, including the allocation of resources to this operation, is firstand foremost a…

11 Jan 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many police officers were assigned to cover the protest at HM Naval Base Clyde, at Faslane, on 8 January 2007, broken down by (a) police division and (b) rank.

21 Dec 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it supports the recommendation made in A Fairer Way: Report by the Local Government Finance Review Committee that consideration should be given to introducing a discretionary power for local authorities to apply a tourism tax

Answer · George Lyon: The Local Government FinanceReview Committee was charged with looking at a range of options for the futureof local taxation and the pros and cons of each. We are currently giving theirfindings full consideration before making any decisions on local taxationis…

10 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to ensure that the ballot paper to be used by voters in the 2007 local government elections is as straightforward and easy to understand as possible.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The Single Transferable Votesystem will be used in the local government elections in Scotland forthe first time next year, and the Executive recognised that it was important toundertake research to ensure that the clearest format of ballot paper was used fort…

10 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what work is being done to ensure that the ballot paper which electors will use in the 2007 local government elections to cast their vote is as straightforward and easy to understand as possible.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: The Scottish Executive does notissue fish farm licences and is therefore unable to provide the information requested.

24 Feb 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will announce the publication of its regeneration policy statement.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I am pleased to announce today the publication of the Regeneration Policy Statement. This is an important and ambitious document for Scotland which sets out the role that regeneration can and should play in achieving the Executive’s twin aims of sustainable e…

22 Feb 2006 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on what criteria the locations of the proposed health care pilots were determined.

Answer · Andy Kerr: There will be five pilots inthe first phase of Prevention 2010 – our programme to tackle health inequalitiesby enhancing primary care in deprived areas - two in Greater Glasgow, and one eachin Lothian, Lanarkshire and Tayside. We used the Scottish Index of Mu…

15 Feb 2006 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has collected on the success of test purchasing of tobacco products by people aged under 16 in reducing illegal sales.

Answer · Colin Boyd: It is too early to judge the success of test purchasing in reducing illegal sales in Scotland as the new arrangements have not yet been rolled out across all local authority areas. However, the independent evaluation of the test purchasing pilots undertaken i…

18 Jan 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive to what projects in the Inverclyde area it has allocated funds under the Community Safety Award Programme.

Answer · Hugh Henry: The Scottish Executive allocates Community Safety Award Programme funding under a three-year action plan. In the period 2005-08 Inverclyde Community Safety Partnership (ICSP) is using the funding to contribute to a problem solving unit, improve and develop se…

18 Jan 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what funds it has allocated to the Inverclyde area under the Community Safety Award Programme.

Answer · Hugh Henry: The Scottish Executive made available a total of £346,704 to Inverclyde over the period 2002-05 under the Community Safety Partnership Award programme. A further £312,033 has been allocated to Inverclyde under the revised Community Safety Partnership Award pr…

28 Jun 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it intends to respond to the report by Sir Kenneth Calman which reviewed basic medical education in Scotland.

Answer · Andy Kerr: I am pleased to confirm that the response of the Executive has been published today. Copies are now available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 36894).

3 Jun 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take on the recommendations contained in the report of Professor James McEwen on the provision of chronic pain services, with particular reference to the formation of a national managed clinical network.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The Executive has made Professor McEwen’s report available to NHS boards and will be convening a conference to discuss best practice on pain management on 8 July 2005. The Managed Clinical Network approach to the management of chronic conditions will be consi…

3 Jun 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to ring-fence funding or to establish separate budgets for the treatment of chronic pain.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The Executive has no such plans. NHS boards are expected to fund services from the unified budgets made available to them by the Executive. The Executive is, however, looking at ways to make a more efficient use of resources. We have made the report of an ind…

22 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that its investment in improving public health is targeted at Scotland’s most deprived areas, as determined by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: Our health improvement policy aims to improve the health of all the people of Scotland but also to close the health gap. We have set within the 2004 Spending Review, a stretching and ambitious target to increase the rate of health improvement across a range o…

22 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it holds figures on spending on (a) health improvement in general and (b) smoking cessation, broken down by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation zone.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: Figures for (a) health improvement in general and (b) smoking cessation, broken down by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation zone are not available centrally.

22 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it will spend on smoking cessation services in (a) 2004-05 and (b) 2005-06, (i) in total and (ii) broken down by NHS board area.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: The Scottish Executive will spend (a)(i) £3 million on smoking cessation services in 2004-05.(a) (ii) Table showing breakdown by NHS board area 2004-05<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <tr> <td> Health Board </td>…

22 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent on smoking cessation services in 2003-04.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: The Scottish Executive allocated £3 million for smoking cessation services in 2003-04. In addition, the Executive supported the Partnership on Action on Tobacco and Health within the region of £300,000 in 2003-04 in order to run 11 pilots to identify best pra…

3 Nov 2004 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that individuals are aware of their rights under the Antisocial Behaviour etc (Scotland) Act 2004.

Answer · Hugh Henry: TheExecutive is providing a range of support to ensure that individuals are awareof their rights–but also their responsibilities–under the Antisocial BehaviourAct. This will include a website and public leaflets distributed through localauthorities. We are al…

15 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will respond to the report by Professor Sir John Temple on the future of Scotland's medical workforce.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Securing Future Practice - The Response of the Scottish Executive waspublished alongside Sir John Temple’s report on 9 June 2004. It contains the Executive’s response to each of the report’s recommendations and sets out work already underway to respond…

14 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to the motion tabled by the Scottish Council to the annual representatives' meeting of the British Medical Association that condemns chronic failure in ensuring that the NHS is properly staffed and demands urgent action.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I have received no direct approach from the BMA regarding the motion. The Scottish Health Workforce Plan 2004 Baseline makes clear that responsibilities lie with NHS boards and regional structures to produce integrated workforce plans in March each yea…

11 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what targets it has set for the processing of applications by Disclosure Scotland and how its performance against these targets is monitored.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Disclosure Scotland’s performance target is to process 90% of applications in 10 working (or 14 calendar) days. Performance is measured on a weekly basis. Additional staff have been recruited to help improve performance in meeting targets.The processin…

26 May 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to promote and mark the Scottish Year of Homecoming in 2009 and whether any such plans include holding or supporting particular events.

Answer · Frank McAveety: A group chaired by the Scottish Executive has been established with several partners to develop a strategy whichwill help us to maximise the opportunities for tourism and the promotion of Scotlandthat the iconic status of Robert Burns could provide. Plans to …

13 May 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish a revised smallpox action plan.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: As part of our plans for dealingwith bioterrorism, the Scottish Executive has today published a smallpox plan. Theplan “Guidelines for Smallpox Response and Management in Scotland in thePost-Eradication Era” is a revision of the interim document published for…

20 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider repealing the liable relatives rule which allows local authorities to seek contributions towards a person's care home fees from their spouse.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The Executive intends toremove the liable relatives rule from Scottish residential care charging at thefirst appropriate legislative opportunity.