Parliamentary questions
Dr Richard Simpson
2,702 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
16 Jan 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has for capital expenditure on HMP Cornton Vale.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: The Scottish Prison Service is committing a significant investment to improve the quality of facilities at HMP and YOI Cornton Vale pending …
2 Jan 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many superfast computers are in operation in Scotland and at what operating speeds, expressed in petaflops; how many graphics processing units are involved in parallel computing and what percentage of the maximum computing power they achieve; which universities are engaged in their o…
Answer · Alasdair Allan: Most higher education institutions in Scotland own resources for research computing. The trend until recently has largely been to purchase such resources at the departmental level, with specific research goals in mind, funded by research grants. These resourc…
2 Jan 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the Welsh Government’s decision to introduce a statutory duty for local authorities to provide school-based counselling in all post-primary schools and whether it will consider similar measures for Scotland.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: The Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Act 2007 places a duty on all education authorities and managers of grant-aided schools to endeavour to ensure that public schools and grant-aided schools are health promoting. The Act defines a health p…
2 Jan 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the findings of the Welsh Government report, Evaluation of the Welsh School-based Counselling Strategy: Final Report.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: Scottish Government officials met with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), the authors of the Welsh Government report, in August 2012 to discuss the report’s findings and their relevance for Scotland. Education Scotland are now i…
2 Jan 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) counsellors, (b) psychotherapists and (c) cognitive behavioural therapists the NHS employs.
Answer · Alex Neil: Information on the number of (a) counsellors, (b) psychotherapists and (c) cognitive behavioural therapists the NHS employs is as follows: (a) The number of counsellors employed under the psychology budget in NHS Scotland can be found in the publication “Wor…
2 Jan 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of GP practices employs a counsellor and how this compares with (a) England, (b) Wales and (c) Northern Ireland.
Answer · Alex Neil: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-12051 on 22 January 2013. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentar…
2 Jan 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many counsellors are employed by GP practices.
Answer · Alex Neil: This is a matter for individual GP contractors as employers. The information requested is not held centrally.
20 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its evidence base is for the frequency of routine free eye tests and for free eye tests for people with (a) diabetes, (b) glaucoma and (c) other conditions.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The previous NHS sight test in Scotland was replaced by a new NHS eye examination on 1 April 2006. The NHS eye examination is tailored to meet the needs of the patient, taking into account their history and symptoms. This examination is called a “primary eye …
20 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to free eye tests, what the cost has been in each of the last four years (a) in total (b) for routine tests and (c) for repeat tests where a clinical need was identified.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The following table shows the value of payments made to optometrists by NHSScotland for NHS eye examinations in the previous four financial years. 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 £ £ £ £ (a) All NHS eye examinations 63,113,027 67,003,546 66,6…
20 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the cost of patient copayments for NHS dentistry was in the last year for which information is available.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Territorial NHS boards reported income of £64.001 million from General Dental Services in their audited annual accounts for the financial year ending 31 March 2012.
20 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to introduce free dentistry services and spectacles.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Free NHS dental treatment and vouchers towards the cost of glasses are available to people in receipt of income support, pension credit guarantee credit, income-based jobseeker’s allowance, income-related employment and support allowance, people entitled to, …
20 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will abolish (a) means testing and (b) disease-specific inclusions for registration for free prescriptions under the minor ailments scheme.
Answer · Alex Neil: As stated in previous answers to similar parliamentary questions lodged by the member on this subject, the current policy is to maintain eligibility for the same cohorts of patients who would have been eligible for free prescriptions prior to abolition. The …
20 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has issued guidance to NHS boards regarding not offering patients an alternative locally based appointment if the date of the appointment would result in a breach of the waiting times guarantee and, if so, which boards and when.
Answer · Alex Neil: This issue is covered in guidance issued by the Scottish Government in August 2012 in relation to the treatment time guarantee and also on NHS Scotland waiting time guidance. These documents are available at the following links: www.sehd.scot.nhs.uk/mels/CEL…
20 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its positon is on people making individual patient treatment requests having their waiting time "clocks" reset to zero rather than stopped.
Answer · Alex Neil: The rules around waiting time clock adjustments or resets are set out in The Patient Rights (Treatment Time Guarantee) (Scotland) Regulations 2012. Any patient requests would be covered by patient advised unavailability. Boards are required to explain to the…
20 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it is monitoring the outcomes for patients who are subject to a breach of the (a) 62-day target from referral to treatment or (b) 31-day outpatient to treatment target for all cancer types other than early prostate cancer and ductal carcinoma in situ breast cancer.
Answer · Alex Neil: There is no centrally held information to facilitate monitoring of outcomes for patients diagnosed with cancer who breach the cancer access targets, nor is there centrally held information on the relationship between cancer stage and point of treatment on can…
20 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the increased risks are of a poorer outcome for a patient with bowel cancer resulting from delays of more than two months from referral to treatment.
Answer · Alex Neil: Tumour types differ in biological behaviour and characteristics (including the rate at which they spread) and there is a lack of clinical evidence to suggest that treatment within 62 days of referral or 31 days of a decision to treat influences survival outco…
20 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the risks of a poorer outcome in bowel cancer for patients who are not treated within the 62-day cancer target.
Answer · Alex Neil: Tumour types differ in biological behaviour and characteristics (including the rate at which they spread) and there is lack of direct clinical evidence to suggest that treatment within 62 days of a referral or 31 days of a decision to treat influences surviva…
20 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the cost to farmers is of sowing oilseed rape treated with neonicotinoids.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The cost to farmers of neonicotinoid treatment of oilseed rape seed is equivalent to approximately £25 per hectare sown. This does not include the cost of the seed, or other costs of sowing such as labour and machinery.
20 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government by how much the oilseed rape crop yield decreases if neonicotinoids are not used as a seed treatment.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: Neonicotinoid seed treatments are aimed at two groups of pests on oilseed rape. Estimating an average oilseed rape crop yield loss from feeding damage caused by various flea beetle species is difficult. The impact of damage on crop establishment depends on h…
20 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what advice has been given to farmers regarding the prophylactic use of neonicotinoids on oilseed rape.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Code of Practice for Using Plant Protection Products in Scotland is an important source of practical advice for the safe use of pesticides for farmers and all other professional users of pesticides. Under a Scottish Government funded budget, staff at Sco…
20 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government with what scientists it has discussed neonicotinoids.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government’s position on all pesticides is based on scientific advice from SASA (Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture), and from the UK’s independent Advisory Committee on Pesticides. Scottish Government staff have discussed issues relat…
20 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has discussed with the researchers the implications of their findings that neonicotinoids have an adverse effect on bumble bees.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: Scottish Government staff are in contact with researchers on the Insect Pollinators Initiative (IPI) which is a research initiative led by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). The IPI aims to aid understanding and mitigation of …
20 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether neonicotinoids are harmful to insect pollinators such as honey bees and bumble bees and on what basis.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government takes this issue seriously. All agricultural pesticides are strictly regulated, based on independent scientific consideration. The Scottish Government’s scientific advice comes from SASA (Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture) an…
18 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it plans to spend on Peebles, Bruce and Younger halls in HMP Cornton Vale and for what reason.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Colin McConnell, chief executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows: “SPS is committing a significant investment to improve the quality of facilities at HMP & YOI Cornton Vale pending the full implementa…
18 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure continuity of medical treatment for women offenders who have started treatment in HMP Cornton Vale if the prison is closed.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Colin McConnell, chief executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows: “As announced by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice on 29 October 2012, the SPS is now developing plans for an improved regime for wome…
18 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it is implementing the recommendations of the Commission on Women Offenders to reduce the number of admissions to prison of women on (a) remand and (b) short-term sentences.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government’s official response to the Commission on Women Offenders (the Commission) report indicated its support for the Commission’s aim to reduce the numbers of women put on remand, or given short term sentences, where appropriate and robust a…
18 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to reduce the number of women offenders (a) on remand, (b) on sentences of six months and less where the primary offence is drugs other than those at the 218 Time Out centre, (c) in custody who have a primary alcohol problem and (d) in custody who have a communica…
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government set up the Commission on Women Offenders (the Commission) to look at all areas concerning women offenders involved in the criminal justice system in Scotland. We have been addressing the recommendations made by the Commission since the…
18 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what economic input will be lost to the Stirling area as a result of the proposed closure of HMP Cornton Vale.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows: “As announced by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice on 29 October 2012, the SPS is now developing plans for an improved regime for wome…
18 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the effect of a transfer of long-term prisoners as a result of the proposed closure of HMP Cornton Vale on programmes addressing their reoffending delivered by (a) Scottish Prison Service staff and (b) outside agencies.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Colin McConnell, chief executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows: “As announced by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice on 29 October 2012, the SPS is now developing plans for an improved regime for wome…
18 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the effect of the proposed closure of HMP Cornton Vale on staff who may have to travel to Inverclyde or Saughton.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Colin McConnell, chief executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows: “SPS consulted widely on the proposal for the future of HMP Cornton Vale in line with the recommendations of the Commission on Women O…