Parliamentary questions

Kenneth Gibson

2,008 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

7 Dec 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it has undertaken to eliminate age discrimination in treatment and care within the NHS.

Answer · Susan Deacon: Age is not a barrier to treatment or health care from the NHS

7 Dec 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the #305,017 paid to Lorna Naismith, former Director of Personnel at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, represents value for money in the NHS.

Answer · Susan Deacon: Lorna Naismith was given early retirement on grounds of organisational change due to trust reconfiguration. She did not receive the sum mentioned, the major part of that figure - £268k - represents the capitalisation costs for the pension which the employer i…

7 Dec 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which Scottish hospitals have removed organs from dead children without parental consent in financial years 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99 and currently.

Answer · Susan Deacon: I refer the member to my answer to question S1W-5615.

7 Dec 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why each of the Glasgow NHS Trusts are in financial deficit.

Answer · Susan Deacon: In the current financial year, the Scottish Executive has committed revenue funding for hospital and community health services of £791.5 million to Greater Glasgow, 4.25% more than last year's general allocation.The Glasgow NHS Trusts have …

7 Dec 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive to specify its efficiency savings target for each of the NHS Trusts in Glasgow this year and how it anticipates those savings will be achieved.

Answer · Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive does not set specific efficiency savings targets for health boards or NHS Trusts. Boards and Trusts are expected to supplement the substantial real terms increase in resources they received this year by improving the efficiency with whi…

7 Dec 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what impact there will be on patient services and staff employment by the Glasgow Primary Care Trust, the North Glasgow University Hospitals Trust, the South Glasgow University Hospitals Trust and the Yorkhill Trust if additional resources are not made available to meet the funding gap ex…

7 Dec 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will guarantee that it will meet in full the funding deficits currently experienced by the Glasgow Primary Care Trust, the North Glasgow University Hospitals Trust. the South Glasgow University Hospitals Trust and the Yorkhill Trust.

7 Dec 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria will be used to select the independent panel of academics to oversee the multi-modal study of the transport corridors covered by the M8 and M80 and when it will report.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: The independent panel of academics will be selected on the basis of their direct experience of multi-modal transport appraisal. Of particular relevance will be experience in transport modelling and appraisal, environmental assessment, economic development iss…

7 Dec 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many joint committees between itself and Her Majesty's Government are proposed; who their members and convenors will be; where and how often they will meet; what the remit of each committee will be, and whether they will deliberate in public.

Answer · Jim Wallace: The Joint Ministerial Committee will bring together Ministers from the UK Government and the three devolved administrations. The remit and structure of the JMC are set out in Annex A of the Memorandum of Understanding.<P ALIGN="JUSTI…

7 Dec 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it recognises "Social Phobia" as a genuine illness leading to, among other difficulties, social exclusion and, if so, what treatment guidelines have been issued.

Answer · Iain Gray: Social Phobia is included in the main psychiatric diagnostic manuals, the ICD-10 Classification of Mental and Behavioural Disorders and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV). Social Phobia is a mental illness that in its severest …

7 Dec 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to Her Majesty's Government through the Inter-Departmental Group on Older People to change the law to reduce the council tax benefit taper which requires pensioners to pay 20p in every # earned from their occupational or private pension over the income…

Answer · Wendy Alexander: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with United Kingdom Government Ministers and Departments on a wide range of issues, including council tax benefit. It is for the Department of Social Security to assess the impact of any possible changes to the cou…

7 Dec 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to Her Majesty's Government through the Inter-Departmental Group on Older People to change the law to reduce the housing benefit taper which requires pensioners to pay 65p in every pound earned from their occupation or private pension over the income s…

Answer · Wendy Alexander: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with United Kingdom Government Ministers and Departments on a wide range of issues, including housing benefit.

7 Dec 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to produce centrally statistical data as currently gathered by local authorities, to monitor the take-up rate of pensioners claiming council tax and housing benefits for the purposes of assessing poverty levels.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: Statistics on the take-up of income-related benefits are published annually by the Department for Social Security. The recently published report Social Justice...a Scotland where everyone matters set out our five key milestones for elderly people, incl…

6 Dec 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of people who died from cold-related illnesses in the last years for which figures are available were males over 65 and females over 60.

Answer · Susan Deacon: I refer Mr Gibson to the answer to his question S1W-3003.

6 Dec 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what is the estimated cost of ending excess winter deaths in Scotland.

Answer · Susan Deacon: I refer Mr Gibson to the answer to his question S1W-3003.

6 Dec 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what is the estimated cost to the NHS this year of treating cold-related illnesses.

Answer · Susan Deacon: I refer Mr Gibson to the answer to his question S1W-3003.

6 Dec 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many excess winter deaths in Scotland it estimates there will be from cold-related illnesses this winter.

Answer · Susan Deacon: I refer Mr Gibson to the answer to his question S1W-3003.

6 Dec 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in Scotland it estimates are at risk from cold-related illness this winter.

Answer · Susan Deacon: There is no recognised and quantifiable grouping or selection of cold-related illnesses. Many illnesses, including illnesses such as coronary heart disease, may be exacerbated by cold conditions, but it is impossible to say in what proportion of these cold ha…

3 Dec 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria were used in determining that Castlemilk and Dennistoun wards within the City of Glasgow should be awarded Objective 2 status and that Toryglen and Crosshill wards should have Objective 2 status removed.

Answer · Jack McConnell: The Structural Funds Regulations direct Objective 2 support towards areas undergoing socio-economic change. Assistance has to be concentrated on significant areas most affected, with due regard to national priorities. In this context the minor changes to the …

1 Dec 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive to list the birth and mortality rates and life expectancies for males and females for the years 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98 and 1998-99, broken down by health board.

Answer · Susan Deacon: The information available is given in the following tables:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 BORDERCOLOR="#000000" CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH=578><TR><TD VALIGN="TOP" COLSPAN=12 HEIGHT=15>Birth and death rates, by health board, …

1 Dec 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to reduce the levels of both authorised and unauthorised absence among school pupils.

Answer · Sam Galbraith: To assist education authorities, schools, teachers and parents in tackling non-attendance the Government supported the publication of the Scottish Initiative on Attendance, Absence and Attainment's good practice document Close to the Mark, which was pu…

1 Dec 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive to detail, for each category of authorised absence, the number and percentage of secondary school pupils not attending school in 1996-97, 1997-98 and 1998-99.

Answer · Sam Galbraith: I refer the member to the answer to S1W-2882 for the number of authorised absences among secondary school pupils in 1996-97, 1997-98 and 1998-99. More detailed information on categories of authorised absence is not collected by the Scottish Executive.

1 Dec 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive to list the categories of authorised absence currently permitted in Scottish schools.

Answer · Sam Galbraith: Authorised absence is defined as:sickness;medical and dental treatment;bereavement;domestic circumstances relating to exceptional hardship at home;no school within …

1 Dec 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive to detail the number and percentage of secondary school pupils not attending school through (a) authorised absence and (b) unauthorised absence in the school years 1996-97, 1997-98 and 1998-99.

Answer · Sam Galbraith: Data on the numbers of individual pupils not attending school through authorised or unauthorised absence is not collated nationally. The information can only be represented as an aggregated number of possible attendance.The annual…

26 Nov 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-2438 by Susan Deacon on 23 November 1999, what plans it has to make nicotine patches available on prescription.

Answer · Susan Deacon: We have no current plans to do so. However, an additional £1 million per year in 1999-2000 and for the next two years has been allocated to Health Boards to spend on smoking cessation services and nicotine replacement therapy. These services will provide…

25 Nov 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make a statement on its response to the recent report Edinburgh and Glasgow: Competitiveness and Cohesion.

Answer · Wendy Alexander: The information contained in this report confirms the scale of the work that needs to be done in tackling poverty and social exclusion in Glasgow. In recent years, Glasgow has made tremendous strides - population decline has been halted, there is net job grow…

22 Nov 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it will take to ensure that convicted felons are unable to telephone the victims of their crimes from their place of incarceration.

Answer · Jim Wallace: Under the Directions to the Prisons and Young Offenders Institutions (Scotland) Rules 1994 (as amended) a Prison Governor can prohibit a prisoner from making telephone calls to persons who have indicated to the Governor, in writing, that they do not wish to r…

22 Nov 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ensure that young carers under the age of 16 years are entitled to request an assessment under the provisions of the Carers (Recognition and Services) Act 1995.

Answer · Iain Gray: As indicated in our paper Strategy for Carers in Scotland and as discussed in the debate on 25 November, the carers' legislation working group which we are setting up will consider what provisions are necessary to ensure that carers under 16 years can …

22 Nov 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the discounted accident savings of the proposed M74 Northern Extension are relative to the M77 Fenwick to Malletsheugh scheme.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: I refer Mr Gibson to pages 112-115 of the report on the Strategic Roads Review which was published and made available to Members on 4 November.

22 Nov 1999 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how the proposed M74 Northern Extension compares to the M77 Fenwick to Malletsheugh in cost benefit terms.

Answer · Sarah Boyack: I refer Mr Gibson to pages 112-115 of the report on the Strategic Roads Review which was published and made available to Members on 4 November.