Questions · Jamie Stone

31 Oct 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many affordable homes for rent it will deliver between 2008 and 2011.

Answer · Stewart Maxwell: The Affordable Housing Investment Programme will deliver 21,500 affordable homes for rent and low cost home ownership over the period 2008-11. The vast majority of these homes will be for rent but the exact proportion is not known and will be settled as the p…

31 Oct 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the announcement by the First Minister on 19 August 2008 that up to £100 million is being brought forward in the Affordable Housing Investment Programme from 2010-11, when the entire £100 million will be available for allocation.

Answer · Stewart Maxwell: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-17424 on 11 November 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/App…

31 Oct 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-15759 by Stewart Maxwell on 16 September 2008 in relation to up to £100 million being brought forward under the Affordable Housing Investment Programme, how much has been (a) released to date, and (b) allocated to each project and what the expected n…

Answer · Stewart Maxwell: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-17424 on 11 November 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/App…

31 Oct 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-15759 by Stewart Maxwell on 16 September 2008 in relation to up to £100 million being brought forward under the Affordable Housing Investment Programme, what the (a) revised level of expenditure and (b) unit approvals are expected to be for 2008-09 f…

Answer · Stewart Maxwell: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-17424 on 11 November 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/App…

31 Oct 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-15759 by Stewart Maxwell on 16 September 2008 in relation to up to £100 million being brought forward under the Affordable Housing Investment Programme, what the (a) revised level of expenditure and (b) number of unit approvals is expected to be for …

Answer · Stewart Maxwell: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-17424 on 11 November 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/App…

31 Oct 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-15759 by Stewart Maxwell on 16 September 2008 in relation to up to £100 million being brought forward under the Affordable Housing Investment Programme, what progress has been made on securing local authority contributions to the investment amount; w…

Answer · Stewart Maxwell: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-17424 on 11 November 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/App…

31 Oct 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-16452 by Stewart Maxwell on 26 September 2008, what work has now been carried out in relation to the amount being brought forward in the Affordable Housing Investment Programme from 2010-11 and what the consequent impact will be on planned units and …

Answer · Stewart Maxwell: Much progress has been achieved since September. On 7 October we announced the first £9 million tranche of this accelerated funding which will assist the acceleration of construction activity and the purchase of sites as follows: Accelerated…

20 Oct 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration is being given to ensuring that education authorities provide adult playground supervision for primary schools, regardless of the size of school roles.

Answer · Maureen Watt: The Schools (Safety and Supervision of Pupils) (Scotland) Regulations 1990, impose a clear and explicit duty on education authorities to take reasonable care for the safety of all pupils under their charge by the provision of such supervision as they consider…

10 Oct 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it intends to introduce a payment for deer farmers similar to the single farm payment to give them parity with sheep and cattle farmers.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: It is essential that any scheme we devise to support Scottish deer farmers is affordable, fair, sustainable and legally sound. We are therefore assessing the scale of the issue and looking at a variety of ways in which it might be possible to provide support,…

8 Oct 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether consideration will be given to a cold case review, conducted by a Scottish police force other than Northern Constabulary, into the police investigation that followed the death of Kevin McLeod in Wick on 8 February 1997.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The circumstances surrounding the tragic death of Kevin McLeod were the subject of two investigations conducted by Northern Constabulary in the months immediately following the incident. On 14 May 1998 an inquiry under the Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths In…

24 Sep 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations are being made to the UK Government in relation to the sub-contracting of part of the construction of new warships to companies operating at Nigg.

Answer · Jim Mather: Scottish ministers are in regular contact with their UK counterparts in the UK Government and work to promote and support the naval shipbuilding industry in Scotland. Most recently this has involved extensive engagement with MoD ministers around the aircraft …

22 Sep 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what financial assistance is planned for patients who have to travel large distances to access NHS dental treatment.

Answer · Shona Robison: There are no plans to introduce automatic financial assistance for travel to an NHS general dental practitioner. NHS boards wishing to set up such a scheme can seek guidance from the Scottish Government.

22 Sep 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what improvements are being put in place to enable NHS dental patients living in the NHS Highland area who have recently been given access to an NHS dentist’s patient list to receive first-time treatment.

Answer · Shona Robison: NHS Highland has a number of further projects planned across its area to increase access to NHS dental services. We anticipate that by improving capacity this would result in shorter timescales for patients waiting for care and treatment.

22 Sep 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what improvements are being put in place to enable NHS dental patients to receive ongoing treatment in the NHS Highland area.

Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-16479 on 30 September 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available of the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/we…

22 Sep 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what improvements are being put in place to enable patients living in the NHS Highland area to access NHS dentists’ patient lists.

Answer · Shona Robison: Responsibility for the overall provision of NHS general dental services in the area rests with NHS Highland. The board has already expanded its salaried service and have a number of additional projects planned across Highland for the further expansio…

22 Sep 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what consultation it has undertaken with (a) the Deer Commission for Scotland, (b) Scottish Natural Heritage and (c) the Scottish Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals regarding Scottish and Southern Energy’s habitat management plan for the culling of deer on the site of the Go…

Answer · Michael Russell: Before Scottish ministers gave consent to the Section 36 application for the Gordonbush wind farm, the outline habitat management plan was made available as part of an addendum which was subject to public consultation. No representations were subsequently rec…

19 Sep 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive who is responsible for policing the conditions of approval for the Gordonbush wind farm and what sanctions are available if the conditions are breached.

Answer · Jim Mather: The Gordonbush consent granted by Scottish ministers comprises both section 36 conditions and deemed planning conditions. The section 36 conditions are enforced by Scottish ministers. In the event that a breach of a section 36 condition is anticipated or occu…

19 Sep 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the announcement by the First Minister on 19 August 2008 that up to £100 million is being brought forward in the Affordable Housing Investment Programme from 2010-11, when the “spend profile and allocation” of that investment will be finalised.

Answer · Stewart Maxwell: From the accelerated funding we are planning to prioritise bringing forward new construction but will also spend on off the shelf units and land acquisitions where it is strategically sensible and offers value for money. We will review opportunities on a regu…

18 Sep 2008 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that future tidal and wave power developments in the Pentland Firth will be not be impeded by Scottish Natural Heritage’s proposal to create an extended marine reserve off the north coast of Caithness.

Answer · Michael Russell: The Scottish Government is involved with a number of public sector partners in a project aimed at helping to develop the tremendous renewable energy potential in the Pentland Firth. The success of this initiative and others like it will depend to a large exte…

28 Aug 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how the educational settlement for Highland Council will achieve the Executive’s stated aim of reducing class sizes.

Answer · Maureen Watt: Under the terms of the concordat there is no separate education budget for local authorities. Highland Council will receive £1,583.3 million over the next three years. It is for Highland Council to allocate these funds in the light of local priorities. Under …

31 Jul 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans there are to introduce the use of the SeQual Eclipse 2 Portable Oxygen Concentrator for NHS patients with breathing difficulties.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Portable Oxygen Concentrator Service is supplied through NHS National Services Scotland Health Facilities Scotland. The Eclipse 2 device is currently available, in a limited capacity, primarily for use by patients on holiday in Scotland. It is also suppli…

31 Jul 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-14712 by Shona Robison on 22 July 2008, when it expects to be in a position to announce decisions on the future shape of the domiciliary oxygen therapy service.

Answer · Shona Robison: I wrote to all MSPs on 1 August to advise them of my decision to proceed with a second phase of the review of the Domiciliary Oxygen Therapy Service (DOTS). This will comprise commissioned research and the establishment of a review group with recommendations …

28 Jul 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure that people being provided with false teeth do not experience delays because of changes to General Dental Council regulations.

Answer · Shona Robison: Regulations introduced by the General Dental Council between July 2006 to July 2008 relate only to the registration of dental technicians and clinical dental technicians, not to operational processes. From July 2006, it has been a legal requirement for clinic…

25 Jul 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children are in care owing to a parent suffering from myalgic encephalomyelitis.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: This information is not held centrally.

25 Jul 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many myalgic encephalomyelitis nurses there are.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: This information is not held centrally. The planning of the workforce, including specialist nurses, is primarily a matter for individual NHS boards. It is for NHS boards to determine levels of service provision based on local needs.

10 Jul 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the First Minister was told about the outbreak of clostridium difficile in the Vale of Leven Hospital.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the statement I made to the Parliament on 18 June 2008. I was first informed of cases of Clostridium difficile at Vale of Leven Hospital on 21 May 2008 and I first updated the First Minister at that time.

10 Jul 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many potential (a) student nurses and (b) midwives dropped out before completing their training in each of the last five years for which information is available.

Answer · Shona Robison: Information is not held in the format requested. ISD Scotland publishes information annually about students completing nursing training over a three-year period or cohort. The following table sets out the latest available attrition (drop out) rates for full c…

10 Jul 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it ensures that National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidance is reflected in the (a) advice given by NHS24 and (b) content of NHS24 online.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Clinical Change Governance Group within NHS 24 is responsible for reviewing published national clinical guidelines, and other government and health related documents and policies, in order to assess their impact on the organisation, including in the deliv…

10 Jul 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many emergency calls were received by each emergency medical dispatch centre in each year since 1998 and what the staff numbers were at each centre in each such year.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Ambulance Service have provided the call numbers and staff numbers for each emergency medical dispatch centre (EMDC) and these are set out in the following table. Call information is not held for the years prior to 2002-03 which was when the new …

10 Jul 2008 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many current vacancies there are for audiologists in each NHS board.

Answer · Shona Robison: This is a matter for individual NHS boards. The information requested is not held centrally. Following the audit, NHS boards were required to produce action plans to address workforce requirements in the light of the new target. We shall work closely with all…