Parliamentary questions
Richard Lochhead
2,448 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
4 Dec 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide an update on the inshore fisheries review, including the number of submissions to the most recent consultation and the likely date for the publication of a draft strategy and subsequent legislation, and whether there has been any delay in respect of the review and,…
Answer · Ross Finnie: The strategic review ofinshore fisheries is being carried out through the Scottish Inshore FisheriesAdvisory Group (SIFAG), the Executive’s main source of stakeholder advice oninshore fisheries matters.</p><p>There are three key strandsto the strategic review…
2 Dec 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average number of applicants is for each place available on (a) speech and language therapy and (b) orthotics courses.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: On average there are sevenapplicants for each place available on speech and language therapy and threeapplicants per place for orthotics courses.</p>
2 Dec 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual throughput was in each neonatal unit in each of the last 10 years.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: A table detailing the throughputof each neo-natal unit for the years ending 31 March 1998to 2003 has been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 30478).</p><p>The recording of informationfrom neo-natal units was only phased in 1996-97. Howev…
2 Dec 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how the new GP contract will affect the number of hours available for treating drug misusers.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: A GPs working day is notsplit into allocated times to deal with different clinical needs, such as drugmisuse, diabetics, asthmatics etc. Rather, GPs make themselves available fortheir patients and deal with each case as it arises.</p><p>Under the terms of the…
2 Dec 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will act upon the plans submitted earlier this year by the drug and alcohol action teams to tackle alcohol misuse and why, and when, these plans were requested.
Answer · Tom McCabe: The submission and analysisof local alcohol action plans is a key part of the accountability process forthe £2.5 million the Executive provides each year to support alcohol and drug actionteams (ADATs). We have given feedback on the alcohol action plans submi…
2 Dec 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the drug misuse funding distribution formula will be changed to take into account prevalence rates and, if so, when the change will be implemented.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The formula for allocatingfunding to NHS boards for drug treatment services will take prevalence datainto account from 1 April 2004.</p>
1 Dec 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many days have been lost in the NHS through staff sickness in each of the last three years and in the current year expressed also in terms of (a) hours per annum, (b) cost per annum and (c) the ratio of hours lost to the total number of employees in each NHS board area.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: This information is notavailable centrally. However, it is proposed to issue pilot data collected forthe period 2000-01 to 2002-03 as part of the Occupational Health and SafetyMinimum Dataset later this month or next which will show the total absencehours los…
1 Dec 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the fishing vessel decommissioning fund has been paid directly to banks and what proportion this represents of allocations from the fund.
Answer · Ross Finnie: All decommissioning grantsare paid directly into the bank accounts nominated by scheme applicants. Theowners of 50 of the 67 vessels currently covered by the decommissioning scheme haveassigned their grants to secured lenders or mortgagees. However, we do not…
27 Nov 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the conclusions were of any research into the impact on white fish stocks of the ban on sandeel fishing in the Wee Bankie.
Answer · Ross Finnie: There is no conclusiveevidence yet of any impact of the Wee Bankie closure on sandeels or otherwhitefish.</p><p>The European Commission,with the support of the Scottish Executive, has proposed that the Wee Bankiearea closure continue for a further three years…
27 Nov 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting times are for (a) non-urgent and (b) urgent scans for osteoporosis in each NHS board area.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested isnot available centrally.</p>
20 Nov 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many children are currently diagnosed with (a) autism, (b) Asperger's syndrome and (c) semantic and pragmatic language disorder in each NHS board area.
Answer · Tom McCabe: The information requested isnot centrally available. Autism or Asperger’s syndrome will often be theunderlying condition and patients records may not explicitly refer to this. Informationabout face-to-face consultations between GPs and patients is gathered ce…
11 Nov 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-2633 by Ross Finnie on 29 September 2003, how much of the transitional aid scheme has now been, and is expected to be, paid out.
Answer · Ross Finnie: Transitional supports grantstotalling over £4.8 million were paid to the owners of over 150 vessels inrespect of the initial (March–August) aid period. We anticipate that theproposed extension of the scheme (subject to EC approval) to the end of theyear will …
11 Nov 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in each age group have moved to Scotland in each of the last 10 years, expressed also as a percentage of Scotland's population in each age group.
Answer · Hugh Henry: The following tables set outthe information readily available, drawn from patient registrations withgeneral practitioners as recorded in the National Health Service CentralRegister (NHSCR) and from the 2001 Census.</p><p>The NHSCR provides informationon the r…
11 Nov 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many, and what percentage of, people in each age group have left Scotland in each of the last 10 years.
Answer · Hugh Henry: The following tables set outthe information readily available, drawn from patient registrations withgeneral practitioners as recorded in the National Health Service CentralRegister (NHSCR) and from the 2001 Census.</p><p>The NHSCR providesinformation on the r…
11 Nov 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the #40 million made available for the decommissioning of fishing vessels is estimated to be allocated for this purpose following the closure of applications to the decommissioning scheme.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The deadline for the receiptof applications under the Fishing Vessels (Decommissioning) (Scotland)Scheme 2003 was 31 October 2003. Offers were made initially to the owners of 70 vesselscovering the £40 million available under the scheme. Some vessel ownerssub…
11 Nov 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to increase the number of places at each dental school and, if so, by how many places and when it estimates there will be a subsequent increase in student numbers.
Answer · Tom McCabe: There has been a continuous increasein the numbers of dental students in Scotland over the last four years. The new intake of dentalstudents for the year 2003-04 is 143. The Scottish Executive is currently in discussionswith the Scottish Higher Education Fund…
11 Nov 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) hospital-based and (b) community-based midwives there have been in each NHS board area in each of the last three years, expressed also on a per capita basis and as a ratio to the number of babies born in each year.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: A copy of the requested informationhas been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 29941).</p><p class=Confidentiality>The tables show whole time equivalent (WTE) and headcountinformation relating to hospital and community midwives and the p…
11 Nov 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations in support of the ending of the Common Fisheries Policy.
Answer · Ross Finnie: No. We are committed toreforming and improving the Common Fisheries Policy.</p>
11 Nov 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many incidents were attended by each fire brigade on (a) 4, (b) 5 and (c) 6 November in each of the last three years.
Answer · Hugh Henry: This information is not heldcentrally.</p>
11 Nov 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions there were for the sale of fireworks to under age customers from 5 October to 5 November in each of the last three years.
Answer · Elish Angiolini: In the year 2002-03,prosecutions took place in relation to 11 charges involving the sale offireworks to under age customers. Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Servicesystems do not allow extraction of data for the period 5 October to 5 Novemberin any year; n…
11 Nov 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many individuals under 18 were admitted to hospital as a result of illegal drug use in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board area and expressed also as a percentage of all illegal drug use admissions.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The latest complete count of the number of individuals aged under 18 admitted to hospitals in Scotlandwith a diagnosis of drug misuse is shown in the following table. It is not alwayspossible to explicitly identify illegal drug use from centrally held data, a…
10 Nov 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what its achievements in European policy have been since 1999.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The achievements of the Scottish Executive in European policy since 1999 are wide ranging and numerous and arerecorded in the proceedings of the Parliament and its various committees.</p>
5 Nov 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps have been taken to implement its policy on architecture; what further steps will be taken to implement the policy, and what funding has been allocated for this purpose.
Answer · Frank McAveety: Significant progress hasbeen made in delivering our policy on architecture. The Executive provides£300,000 annually to The Lighthouse to deliver a national programme ofactivities to raise awareness of the benefits of good architecture. Otherinitiatives includ…
27 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when research began within the Fisheries Research Service regarding causes of fluctuating cod stocks in the North Sea and what additional funds the Executive has made available for such research.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The Marine LaboratoryAberdeen, operating under different names, has been conducting research into North Sea codstocks, their assessment and the role of climate since its inception in 1898.Its budget for this year is £23.76 million.</p>
27 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what scientific progress has been made in the last 12 months in support of decoupling the management of cod from other white fish stocks in the North Sea.
Answer · Ross Finnie: Our Fisheries ResearchServices (FRS) Marine Laboratory have been working on the spatial distributionof haddock, nephrops and other species since the start of the year.</p><p>Thiswork was presented at an expert group convened by the European Commission from28 …
23 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average water bill for small businesses in (a) Scotland and (b) each local authority area was in each of the last 10 years.
Answer · Ross Finnie: This is an operationalmatter for Scottish Water. I have asked Dr Jon Hargreaves the Chief Executiveof Scottish Water to respond. His response is as follows:</p><p>The average water bill forsmall businesses is not available, though we can use the size of the b…
23 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) guest houses and (b) bed and breakfasts have been registered (i) nationally and (ii) in each tourist board area in each of the last five years.
Answer · Frank McAveety: This is an operationalmatter for VisitScotland.</p>
23 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many guest houses have deregistered in (a) Scotland and (b) each tourist board area in each of the last five years, expressed also as a percentage of all registered guest houses.
Answer · Frank McAveety: This is an operationalmatter for VisitScotland.</p>
22 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the proposal by Michl Ebner MEP, supported by the European Parliament, for the creation of a new European agency for linguistic diversity and language learning; whether it will make representations for the new agency to be located in Scotland, given the importance …
Answer · Peter Peacock: This proposal is one of two explicitrecommendations made by the European Parliament’s Committee on Culture, Youth,Education, the Media and Sport in its report of 14 July 2003 to the EuropeanCommission.</p><p>It is now for the Commissionto consider its respons…
22 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has submitted any applications for the use in Scotland of tripartite contracts and agreements between the European Union, the member state and itself as a regional sub-member state administration in relation to areas in which the Executive has the primary responsibility for imp…
Answer · Andy Kerr: No.</p>