Parliamentary questions

Stewart Stevenson

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

10 Jan 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what comparative information it has on how many weight management clinics there were in England in each of the last five years.

Answer · Andy Kerr: This information is not held centrally.

10 Jan 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time for obese patients to receive treatment at a weight management clinic was in each year since 1999.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The information requested is not collected centrally.

10 Jan 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many dentists were admitting new NHS patients on 1 December 2005, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: This information is not collected centrally.

10 Jan 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the most common forms of crime committed against young people of school age were in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The recorded crime statistics available centrally do not include any information on the circumstances of crimes, such as the age of the victim.

10 Jan 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people who had been placed in custody have reoffended in each year since 1997, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The available information is given in the following table. Persons Released from a Custodial Sentence in 1997-2001 by Approximate Local Authority Area1: Number Reconvicted Within Two Years2<table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpad…

10 Jan 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) maximum, (b) average and (c) target waiting times were for (i) in-patient and (ii) first out-patient appointments for each NHS board in each quarter of the last eight years.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Almost 54% of patients treated in NHSScotland hospitals are admitted immediately and never join a waiting list. Of those who do wait, over 40% are admitted within one month and almost 70% within three months. For those who have to wait longer, the maxi…

10 Jan 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how long on average patients who have had a heart attack have waited for cardiac rehabilitation services in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Andy Kerr: This information is not held centrally.

5 Jan 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many hospital admissions there have been in the last five years as a result of the use of (a) pharmaceutical drugs, (b) heroin, (c) cocaine, (d) cannabis, (e) alcohol, (f) nicotine and (g) magic mushrooms, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Hugh Henry: Information showing the numberof hospital admissions there have been in each of the last five years as a resultof substance misuse, according to the categories collected and broken down by NHSboards, has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Cent…

5 Jan 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many penalty notices have been issued in each year since 1999 in respect of the illegal use of fireworks, broken down by police force area.

Answer · Colin Boyd: In England and Wales, under the penalty notice for disorder scheme, the police can issue penalty notices for certain firework offences, but this scheme does not apply in Scotland. The Antisocial Behaviour etc (Scotland) Act 2004 creates a police power to iss…

5 Jan 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions for underage tobacco sales there have been in each year since 1997 and, of these, how many convictions resulted, broken down by police force area.

Answer · Colin Boyd: The following table shows the total number of charges reported in the last three financial years where Procurators Fiscal commenced court proceedings for contraventions of the Children and Young Persons (Scotland) Act 1937, Section 18(1), which relates to the…

4 Jan 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what research into the effects of early tooth loss it uses to inform the development, application and subsequent resourcing of (a) education policy, (b) dental health policy, (c) other health policy and (d) any other policy.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: There are a wide range of structured groups that impact on policy in Scotland as well as a range of professionals able to advise the Scottish Executive Health Department directly or through the Chief Dental Officer. These structured advisory groups inf…

4 Jan 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what correlation it considers that there is between early tooth loss caused by dental decay and (a) failure to thrive, (b) impaired speech development, (c) absence from school, (d) inability to concentrate in school, (e) reduced self-esteem and (f) mental ill-health.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The childhood problems listed in the question may all have a number of different causes. Early tooth loss due to dental decay may impact on these problems, but the Scottish Executive Health Department is not aware of evidence linking these problems directly t…

4 Jan 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many hours of absence from school were attributable to dental-related conditions in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Answer · Peter Peacock: The Scottish Executive does not collect data on the time taken by pupils to attend dental appointments, and data on length of sickness absence from school is not broken down by categories such as dental-related conditions.

22 Dec 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of unfair dismissal have been brought against it in each year since 1999; how many of these cases it lost; how many cases are outstanding, and what the total cost was of these proceedings.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive does not hold, on a central database, information related to the number of claims for unfair dismissal that have been brought against it since 1999, the outcome of such claims and the costs involved in responding to such claims. This in…

22 Dec 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many of its employees have been dismissed in each year since 1999.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The following table provides the number of employees dismissed from Scottish Executive core departments since 1999. <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <tr> <td> Year</td> <td> Number of Dismissals</td> </tr…

22 Dec 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many tribunal cases have been brought against the (a) Scottish Prison Service, (b) police and (c) fire service in each year since 1999 and for what reason; how many cases found in favour of the services, and how much these proceedings cost in total.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The information requested isnot held centrally.

21 Dec 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many deaths have been caused by clostridium difficile in each year since 1997, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The information requested is given in the following table. Deaths Caused by Clostridium Difficile, by NHS Board Area<table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3 width=560> <thead> <tr> <td>  </td> <td> 1…

20 Dec 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-21062 by Mr Tom McCabe on 20 December 2005, whether it will provide a breakdown of the cost of the mobile calls made by (a) ministers and special advisers and (b) officials in each of its departments in each year since 1999.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The cost of calls made from mobile phones purchased by the Scottish Executive and used by Ministers, special advisors and officials in each year for which data is available is shown in the table below. <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <tr> …

19 Dec 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the salaries have been of the chief executives or their equivalents of each Scottish Executive agency and non-departmental public body in each year since 1999.

Answer · Tom McCabe: Salary information for executive agencies is published as part of each agency’s annual report and accounts. Copies of these documents can be obtained directly from individual organisations or from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. Non-departm…

12 Dec 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the Minister for Communities will reply to Alex Salmond MP’s letter dated 12 October 2005 regarding renewable energy grants.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The reply to this letter was sent on 9 December 2005.

9 Dec 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the waiting times are for IVF treatment on the NHS in each NHS board area.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The information requested is contained in our recent infertility consultation document, which can be found at: <a href="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/09/infertility-consultation/current-service">http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/20…

6 Dec 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost per patient treated in hospital was in each NHS board in each of the last 10 years and what information it has on the comparative cost in each strategic health authority in England.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Details of the average costs of treating patients in each NHS board area are available in Scottish Health Service Costs (The Costs Book) produced by the Information Services Division of NHS National Services Scotland (ISD) at <a href="http://www.isdscotland.o…

6 Dec 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients in each year since 1997 had their operations cancelled (a) twice, (b) three times, (c) four times and (d) more than four times, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The specific information requested is not available centrally. Limited information is available centrally on the number of in-patient/day case episodes where operations/procedures were not carried out following admission. Table 1 shows information on t…

6 Dec 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many incidents of (a) smoking and (b) alcohol-related conditions were treated in (i) 1997 and (ii) the most recent year for which information is available; what the cost of treatment was in each year, and what estimate it has made of the cost to the economy of such incidents.

Answer · Andy Kerr: (a) Smoking-related conditions. A patient’s smoking status is not recorded centrally on most routine datasets and there are a large number of conditions which could be related to smoking, but which could also have other causes. However, peer reviewed a…

6 Dec 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the temporary staffing costs were in respect of (a) doctors, (b) nurses, (c) other healthcare professionals, (d) managers and (e) administrative staff in each of the last 10 years, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Information on the temporary staffing costs in respect of four of the five groups listed above is not collected centrally; however separate costs are available for nursing staff (both agency and bank) and we can provide an overall total for the cost of employ…

29 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) adults and (b) adults with children have temporarily been housed in bed and breakfast accommodation since 1999, broken down by quarter and local authority area, and how many it expects to be housed in this way in the quarter ended 31 December 2005.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive collects snapshot data on the number of households in temporary accommodation at the end of each quarter, including information on households in bed and breakfast. Information distinguishing households with dependent children, including…

28 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of eligible heart attack victims received blood clot-removing drugs within 20 minutes of arriving in hospital in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The information requested is not held centrally.

28 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were admitted to hospital with coronary heart disease in each year since 1997.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The information is shown in the following table. Patients Admitted to Acute Hospitals with a Diagnosis of Coronary Heart Disease, Year Ending December 1997-2004<table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <tr> <td> Year Ending December</p…

28 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many complaints were made against each NHS board in each year since 1997 and how many related to (a) clinical negligence, (b) waiting times, (c) tidiness/repair of hospital facilities, (d) staff and (e) other matters.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Information on the issues raised in written complaints to NHSScotland is available at <a href="http://www.isdscotland.org/complaints">http://www.isdscotland.org/complaints</a>. Following a review of the operation of the NHS Complaints Procedure carried…

28 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) average and (b) longest wait for urgent breast cancer referrals was in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS hospital.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Data on the waiting times of breast cancer patients between GP urgent referral and first treatment is collated to report performance against the national cancer waiting times target that by December 2005 the maximum wait from urgent referral to t…