Richard Lochhead

10 Dec 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive by how much, and by what percentage, each health board budget increased in each of the past five years (a) in total and (b) per capita and what the cumulative increase was over this period.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Details are as follows:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=604><TR><TD WIDTH="23%" VALIGN="TOP" HEIGHT=31><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Health Board</FONT></TD><TD WIDTH="20%" VALIGN="TOP" HEIGHT=31><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><P ALIG…

10 Dec 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many district nurses were employed in each quarter from 1 April 1996 to the most recent quarter for which figures are available.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The table shows the whole time equivalent of district nurses in post at 30 September in each of the years 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000. Staff in post data on a quarterly basis is not available centrally. Data for the year 2000 are the latest available.<P>D…

7 Dec 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, regarding its proposals for the regulation of the aquaculture industry announced on 6 December 2001, why the Deputy Minister for Environment and Rural Development did not announce those proposals in his speech to the Aquaculture Strategy for Scotland conference on 5 December 2001.

Answer · Allan Wilson: At the time of my speech, a letter outlining how I propose to take forward the conclusions of the review of regulation was being sent to the Transport and the Environment Committee, whom I was due to meet on 12 December. This afforded Parliament the opportuni…

5 Dec 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why the 20 day rule on livestock movement provided for in the Foot and Mouth Disease Order 1983 (SI 1983/1950) was extended to other orders currently in force.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The 20 day rule on livestock movements was one of a range of measures introduced to control the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. Whilst we continue to relax a number of measures the 20 day rule is one of the licence conditions under which animals are allow…

5 Dec 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the 20 day rule on livestock movement will lapse once Scotland ceases to be designated as a controlled area for foot-and-mouth disease purposes.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The current foot-and-mouth disease movement and other restrictions are under review. When Scotland ceases to be designated as a controlled area the existing movement control regime will be relaxed. However, veterinary advice is that some form of animal moveme…

5 Dec 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why the 20 day rule on livestock movement has not lapsed despite Scotland being foot-and-mouth disease free.

Answer · Ross Finnie: This restriction is still necessary to ensure that any disease which may be latent and undetected in livestock, which could be introduced onto a holding by an animal movement will have time to incubate and be identified before any animal leaves that holding a…

5 Dec 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Foot and Mouth Disease Declaratory (Controlled Area) (Scotland) (No.3) Order 2001 (SSI 2001/111) has been revoked and, if so, whether it will state what subordinate legislation revoked this Order and, if it has not been revoked, why not.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The Foot-and-Mouth Disease Declaratory (Controlled Area) (Scotland) (No 3) Order 2001 has not been revoked. There is still a possibility that there could be latent disease in some sheep flocks in the north of England and the south of Scotland. However, if the…

5 Dec 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why there was no time limit or inherent provision for review on the restrictions brought into force by the Foot and Mouth Disease Declaratory (Controlled Area) (Scotland) (No.3) Order 2001 (SSI 2001/111).

Answer · Ross Finnie: There is no requirement to put a time limit on the Foot and Mouth Disease Declaratory (Controlled Area) (Scotland) (No 3) Order. The restrictions have been reviewed regularly and a number of relaxations have been made. These relaxations have been made as soon…

5 Dec 2001 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made towards the implementation of the proposed Modern Transport System for the north east of Scotland.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Considerable progress has been made on the Modern Transport System proposals, which have been developed by the local authorities and other partners to the regional transport partnership (NESTRANS). The Executive is working with the partners on a number of pro…

29 Nov 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive who represented it at the most recent EU Fisheries Council Meeting and what the outcome was.

Answer · Ross Finnie: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-20681 on 6 December 2001.

28 Nov 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which Minister has responsibility for fisheries following the ministerial reshuffle.

Answer · Jack McConnell: The Minister for Environment and Rural Development has overall responsibility for all fisheries issues, and takes day-to-day responsibility for sea fisheries and the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency. The Deputy Minister for Environment and Rural Developme…

23 Nov 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to establish a Scottish equivalent of the National Patient Safety Agency which has been established in England and Wales.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the Member to the answer given to question S1W-20340.

23 Nov 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many adverse incidents have been recorded in hospital admissions, expressed also as a percentage of all admissions; how many patients have died or been seriously injured as a result of such incidents involving medical devices; how many patients are reported to have experienced serious…

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The number of written complaints about aspects of clinical treatment in hospitals can be found at:<P><A HREF="http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/isd/complaints/index.htm">http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/isd/complaints/index.htm</A>. <P>The rest of the information is not…

23 Nov 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many and what percentage of NHS Trusts have achieved accreditation under the National Health Service (Clinical Negligence and Other Risks Indemnity Scheme) (Scotland) Regulations 2000 (SSI 2000/54), as amended.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: There are three levels at which accreditation can be attained under the NHS Clinical Negligence and Other Risks Indemnity Scheme, and these can only be attained incrementally. Currently it is for individual NHS Trusts to decide when they wish to apply for acc…

23 Nov 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the standard of patient safety within the NHS in Scotland is adequate and whether this standard compares favourably with the standard of patient safety within the NHS in England.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: NHS Scotland has a widely recognised reputation for the quality and safety of its patient care. This is demonstrated in the work of the Clinical Standards Board for Scotland and the leading edge work being carried out by our other clinical effectiveness organ…

22 Nov 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive who will represent Scotland at the North Sea Conference in March 2002 and whether Scotland will be represented in its own right.

Answer · Ross Finnie: Matters involving international relations, as well as many of the individual issues likely to be discussed at next year's North Sea Conference, are reserved to Westminster. The Scottish Executive is, however, contributing to the preparations for the conferenc…

21 Nov 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, for the period 7 to 9 November 2001, it will give details of the daily records of winter maintenance on trunk roads in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire that BEAR Scotland Ltd is required to keep under section 3.3 of Schedule 7, Part 2 of the Term Contract for Management and Maintenanc…

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: It would be excessively time consuming and costly to obtain information from the Operating Companies at the level of detail requested, but I have undertaken to publish a report by the Performance Audit Group on the first year of operation of the new contracts…

16 Nov 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make additional resources available to attract general dental practitioners to rural areas similar to the 'Golden Hello' package of measures introduced for general practitioners.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Discussions are under way currently with the dental profession on improved support for dentists in rural areas. These will inform the way forward in respect of these dentists.

16 Nov 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will investigate the level of provision of hospital dental services in the Grampian Health Board area and the length of waiting times for such services in comparison with other health board areas.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I am aware of the difficulties the board is experiencing in providing adequate dental services in the Grampian area and my officials are in close touch with the board. The underlying problem has been difficulty in attracting staff. The University Hospitals NH…

16 Nov 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many consultants there are in (a) restorative dentistry, (b) oral and maxillofacial surgery and (c) orthodontics in each health board area in the current financial year, and were in each of the last three years, expressed in (i) numerical terms and (ii) as a ratio of consultants to h…

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Provisional Information on staff numbers at 30 September 2001 is not yet available. The information requested for the years 1998 to 2000, apart from maxillofacial surgeons who are not separately identified, is shown in Tables 1 and 2. Maxillofacial surgeons w…

16 Nov 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made towards increasing the number of general professional training opportunities for dental graduates in the Grampian region.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: General Professional Training (GPT) schemes comprise one year in general dental practice and, usually, six months in the Community Dental Service (CDS) and six months in the Hospital Dental Service (HDS). The Scottish Council for Postgraduate Medical and Dent…

16 Nov 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance has been given in the last 10 years towards the establishment of a postgraduate training facility for dentistry or towards any other initiative aimed at increasing the level of training opportunities for dental graduates, broken down by health board area.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Postgraduate medical and dental education has been managed by the Scottish Council for Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education (SCPMDE) on behalf of the Scottish Office/ Scottish Executive since 1993 and is managed on a regional, rather than on an NHS Board…

16 Nov 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action is required to establish a postgraduate training facility for dentistry in the Grampian region.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: A postgraduate dental facility has existed for many years at the Foresterhill complex in Aberdeen and will be upgraded and expanded over the next few months. Local general dental practitioners are very interested in and participate regularly in postgraduate a…

16 Nov 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many places there are at each dental school in the current year, and were in each of the last three years, and what the ratio was of applications to places available in each year.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is shown in the following table. The number of applications dropped in 2001 because the closing date for entry was brought forward from 15 December to 15 October. The Dental Schools continue to receive more than sufficient applicatio…

16 Nov 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to increase the number of places at dental schools in order to address any current shortage.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-20029.

16 Nov 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide financial assistance to the local health board or other appropriate organisation within the Grampian region to help attract dentists to the region.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive is investing record resources in NHSScotland and in Grampian. It is for NHS Grampian to determine how best to deploy these resources in accordance with their assessment of local needs and priorities and in the best interests of patients. I under…

16 Nov 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to reverse its policy of not recruiting dentists from overseas in order to address any shortage of dentists.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: There is no policy which restricts NHS Boards from recruiting dentists from overseas into Scotland. We are committed to increasing in the number of dentists working in primary care in Scotland. The Scottish Advisory Committee for the Dental Workforce are curr…

15 Nov 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the post of Inspector of Salmon Fisheries still exists and, if so, whether the post has undergone any material changes in the last 12 months.

Answer · Allan Wilson: The post of Inspector was created under provisions in the Fishery Board (Scotland) Act 1882, which was repealed by the Salmon Act 1986.<P>The title was retained until earlier this year, when the separate posts of Inspector and Head of the Salmon and Freshwate…

30 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much, and from what source, including grants from the European Union, Her Majesty's Government, the National Lottery, each further education college received in public funding in each of the past three years and will receive in the current year; what the total annual income from all …

Answer · Wendy Alexander: On behalf of the Scottish Executive, the Scottish Further Education Funding Council allocates public funds to Scotland's further education colleges. Colleges may receive income from a variety of other sources including fees, commercial activity and the Europe…

30 Oct 2001 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many, and what percentage of, pupils aged 16 and over left school within three months of the beginning of the school year over the last five years, and how many, and what percentage, left schools which had adopted Higher Still within three months of the beginning of the school year s…

Answer · Jack McConnell: The Executive does not hold figures on the number of pupils who leave school within three months of the beginning of the school year. Figures on the number who leave at the end of the first term are available and are given in the table.<P><TABLE BORDER CELLSP…