Parliamentary questions

Stewart Stevenson

2,358 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

22 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated cost to the NHS was of hospital-acquired infections in each of the last five years.

Answer · Andy Kerr: This information is not heldcentrally.The ministerial healthcare associatedinfection task force has commissioned a detailed survey of HAIs (the national pointprevalence survey), which will include information on financial and resourceimplications based…

22 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what public relations companies have been employed by it in each year since 1999.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive putin place a contract for Public Relations (PR) on the August 1, 2004. Prior tothis, all PR work was sub contracted by the creative advertising agencies onthe Scottish Executive contract. The following PR companies have been hired byth…

22 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent on external consultants and advisers by (a) the First Minister’s office and (b) each Executive department in each year since 1999-2000 and what the projected costs are for 2006-07.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The First Minister’s office doesnot directly employ external consultants. For the Executive’s departments, I referthe member to the answer to question S2W-29856 on 24 November 2006. All answers towritten parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament…

22 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the criteria for determining a home detention curfew order have been altered since the introduction of the programme in July 2006.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron,Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is asfollows:No.

22 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what involvement the Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service had in awarding the contract for HM Prison Addiewell.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron,Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is asfollows:I signed the contract for HMPrison Addiewell on 20 June 2006.

22 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to commercial sponsorship of the International Corrections and Prisons Association, or events organised by it, in the period during which the Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service has been its chairperson.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron,Chief Executive of the Scottish PrisonService to respond. His response is as follows:None in the time that I havebeen the ICPA Honorary President or before.

22 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Nolan principles were applied in the appointment of the next Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service.

Answer · Tom McCabe: I refer the member to thequestion S2W-30071 answered on 7 December 2006. All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament's website the search facility forwhich can be found at: <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.…

22 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its reasons were for announcing the appointment of the next Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service during a parliamentary recess when the appointment is not due to commence until March 2007.

Answer · Tom McCabe: I refer the member to thequestion S2W-30071 answered on 7 December 2006. All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament's website the search facility for whichcan be found at: <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa…

22 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many candidates currently or previously employed by the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) were considered for the position of Chief Executive of the SPS.

22 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what process was undertaken and who was involved in selecting the new Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The Scottish Prison Service(SPS) is an established Scottish Executive agency. In line with standardprocedures, Senior Civil Service posts within the Executive, and its agencies,can be filled through external recruitment, internal promotion or managed movedepe…

22 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many posts in prisons at (a) governor or (b) deputy governor level are occupied on a (i) permanent or (ii) temporary basis by personnel who have not met the internal Scottish Prison Service competence level for that post.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron,Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is asfollows:I am content that allgovernors and deputy governors in post are competent to carry out their duties.

21 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that literature issued by its Environment and Rural Affairs Department on the Suckler Cow Premium Scheme 2003 contained all information relevant to scheme participants to which the department had access at that time.

Answer · Ross Finnie: I am satisfied that the 2003scheme literature described the scheme rules clearly and that we provided potentialclaimants with sufficient guidance to participate in the scheme and meet itsvarious conditions of eligibility. The notes for guidance cannot cover e…

21 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in relation to the Suckler Cow Premium Scheme 2003, on what date it first received guidance from the European Commission or other EU agency on how to manage breaches of the 5% heifer rule.

Answer · Ross Finnie: An EC information note wasissued to all Member States in 2002.

21 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in relation to the Suckler Cow Premium Scheme 2003, on what guidance it bases its policy for managing breaches of the 5% heifer rule.

Answer · Ross Finnie: We implemented thisparticular rule to comply with the requirements of the EC legislation governingthe Suckler Cow Premium Scheme. We were guided in how we handled breaches by ourinterpretation of the regulations, the advice issued to member states by theEurop…

21 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why those individuals who it considered to be in breach of the Suckler Cow Premium Scheme in 2003 were not notified of this position until January 2005.

Answer · Ross Finnie: I assume that the questionrelates to those Suckler Cow Premium Scheme (SCPS) 2003 claimants who breachedthe 5% minimum heifer rule; we wrote to them on 19 January 2005. This ruleapplied in 2003 only. We identified those who were in breach by analysing thecomp…

20 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost has been of providing (a) cleaning and (b) catering services to NHS hospitals in each financial year since 1997-98, broken down by hospital.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The total cost of providing (a)cleaning and (b) catering services to NHS hospitals in each financial year since1997-98, broken down by hospital is givenin table numbers 1 and 2 of NHS Catering and Cleaning Costs 1997-2005 whichis available in the Scott…

20 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many refunds were processed by the Student Loans Company in each year between 2000 and 2005 and what proportion of these resulted from overpayment of student loans.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: Numberof Refunds Processed in each Financial Year, for Scottish Domicile Loans in theRetained Portfolio - All Loan Products:<table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td width=97 valign=top> Financial Year </td…

20 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people aged (a) under 16, (b) 16 and 17 and (c) 18 to 21 were in (i) full-time, (ii) part-time and (iii) temporary employment in each year since 1999.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The following table shows thelevel of people in full-time, part-time and temporary employment for 1999-2006 forthose aged 16 to 17 and 18 to 21. Information is not available on employment ofpeople aged below 16.The estimates are based on asample survey…

20 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) diagnosis and (b) mortality rate was for (i) chronic lung disease, (ii) coronary heart disease and (iii) cancer in each electoral ward in each parliamentary constituency in each of the last 15 years.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The information requestedcould only be obtained at disproportionate cost.Alternative information onhealth and mortality indicators at low level geographies can be found at the Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics website <a href="http://www.sns.gov.uk/">w…

16 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many qualified nurses whose registration is current are aged (a) 60 to 64, (b) 65 to 68, (c) 69 and (d) 70 or more.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The following table shows registerednursing and midwifery staff working in NHS Scotland by age. Latest available datais at 30 September 2005. Centrally held information covers registered (qualified)nursing and midwifery staff working in NHS Scotland, however …

16 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many nurses employed in the NHS are aged (a) 60 to 64, (b) 65 to 68, (c) 69 and (d) 70 or more.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The information requested isgiven in the following table. Latest available figures are at 30 September 2005.<table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <tr> <td width=106 valign=top> Age </td> <td width=56 valign=top> <p align=c…

16 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average life expectancy has been in each local authority ward in (a) Glasgow, (b) Edinburgh, (c) Dundee, (d) Aberdeenshire and (e) Aberdeen in each year since 1997.

Answer · George Lyon: Life expectancy figures are notavailable for local authority wards because their population is too small to allowaccurate estimates to be made.Currently, life expectancy atbirth is calculated at local authority and NHS board area. Information for the p…

15 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children under the age of 18 have been admitted to hospital because of alcohol-related problems in each year since 1997, broken down by NHS hospital.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive does nothold information on admissions. Information on the number of discharges has beenplaced in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 41030).Table 1 shows the number of dischargesfrom Scottish general/acute ho…

14 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) adults and (b) adults with children have been temporarily housed in bed and breakfast accommodation since 1997, broken down by (i) quarter and (ii) local authority area, and how many it expects to be housed in this way on 31 December 2006.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive collectssnapshot data on the number of households in temporary accommodation at the endof each quarter, including information on households in bed and breakfast. Informationdistinguishing households with dependent children, including nu…

14 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients have had their operations cancelled (a) twice, (b) three times, (c) four times and (d) more than four times in each quarter since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The specific informationrequested is not available centrally.

14 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of people registered unemployed were aged (a) 25 and under, (b) 26 to 35, (c) 36 to 45, (d) 46 to 55 and (e) over 55 in each year since 1990, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The official source of thenumber of people registered unemployed is the claimant count i.e. people claiming jobseekers allowance. I have placed tables showingthe percentage of people registered unemployed by age-band and parliamentaryconstituency in th…

14 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) forecast and (b) out-turn figures have been for admissions to each accident and emergency department in each of the last five years.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Forecasts of accident andemergency (A&E) department attendances are not made at a Scotland level.Information on A&E attendances(new and return) is given in table 1 Accident and Emergency attendances by NHSboard and location for the years end…

14 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) violent crimes, (b) vehicle thefts and (c) burglaries there have been in each (i) police authority and (ii) local authority area in each of the last 20 years; what the year-on-year change has been; and what percentage of total crime figures was represented by each category in…

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The information requested isgiven in The numbers of violent crimes,vehicle thefts and burglaries in each police authority and local authority areafrom 1986 to 1994, and 1995-96 to 2005-06, a copy of which has been placed inthe Scottish Parliament Infor…

14 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much each of its departments and non-departmental public bodies have spent on consultants in each year since 1999.

Answer · Tom McCabe: Information is not held centrallyon NDPBs. For departments, I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-19304on 26 September 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availableon the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can …

14 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many binge drinkers there were in each of the last 10 years, broken down by (a) age, (b) gender and (c) area.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Binge drinking is defined inthe Executive’s Plan for Action on Alcohol Problems as “drinking an excessive amounton any one occasion”. The Scottish Health Survey defines binge drinking for adultsas drinking more than twice the recommended daily benchmark on a …