Parliamentary questions

Stewart Stevenson

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

8 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many prisoners have left custody and entered employment, education or training in each of the last five years, expressed also as a percentage of all released prisoners.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows: The Scottish Prison Service does not collect this information.

8 Nov 2005 · Written Question

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The available information is given in Table 12 of the statistical bulletin Reconvictions of offenders discharged from custody or given non-custodial sentences in 1999, Scotland published by the Scottish Executive in June 2005 a copy of which is availab…

8 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many dentists have left the NHS to work in private practice in each year since 1997.

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

8 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions for (a) reckless and (b) deliberate transmission of sexually transmitted diseases have been brought to court and how many succeeded in each year since 1997.

Answer · Colin Boyd: This information is not available. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s Case Management Database records details of the charges against each accused in terms of the specific common law or statutory offence that is alleged to have been committed. C…

8 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many women have given birth whilst serving a custodial sentence in each year since 1995.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows: During the period 1999-2000 to 2004-05 there were 17 cases.The figures are not shown broken down by year because to do so would ris…

8 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people under 18 were convicted of (a) drug offences, (b) fraud and forgery, (c) theft of or from vehicles and (d) criminal damage in each year since 1999 and how many received a custodial sentence.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The available information is given in the following table. The court proceedings statistics for 2004-05 are scheduled for publication in March 2006. Offences alleged to have been committed by children aged under 16 years are generally dealt with through the C…

8 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many ambulances there were in the NHS in each year since 1995.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The Scottish Ambulance Service’s fleet establishment for accident and emergency and non-emergency vehicles in each year since 1995 is listed in the following table: <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td> <p align=cente…

8 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost to each NHS board of legal fees for defending equal pay claims has been in each year since 1997.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Health boards in NHS Scotland have fiscal responsibility for the budgets allocated to them by the Scottish Executive. We therefore do not hold centrally details on the cost of legal fees incurred by individual boards.

8 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) children and (b) adults are awaiting cochlear implants in each NHS board area and what projections have been made of the number of cochlear implant treatments in the next five years.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Cochlear implantation is designated and funded as a national specialist service provided at two sites in Scotland: Crosshouse Hospital in Ayrshire (adults and children) and Edinburgh Royal Infirmary (adults). The number of patients waiting at each site is set…

8 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients have been waiting to commence anti-tumour necrosis factor therapy in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Andy Kerr: This information is not available centrally. Prescription of the anti-TNF drugs should be undertaken by consultant rheumatologists specialising in their use. Data on drugs dispensed in hospitals are not available centrally. Centrally collected data relate to …

7 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made regarding the Waste Incineration Directive, with specific reference to burning tallow as a fuel.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: The Executive has supported the UK Governments representations to the European Commission to exclude tallow from the scope of the Waste Incineration Directive.

7 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with officials of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs regarding the Waste Incineration Directive, with specific reference to burning tallow as a fuel.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: The Scottish Executive has had wide ranging discussions with DEFRA officials about various aspects of the implementation of the Waste Incineration Directive, including the implications for burning tallow.

7 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with EU officials regarding the Waste Incineration Directive, with specific reference to burning tallow as a fuel.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: The Scottish Executive has had no direct discussions with the European Commission about the regulation of tallow burning under the Waste Incineration Directive. However, the Executive is supporting the UK Government’s approaches to the Commission to exempt ta…

4 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the biggest single payment is in respect of legal aid that has not been recouped.

Answer · Hugh Henry: For the period from January 1999 until 8 November 2005, the biggest single payment in respect of legal aid that has not been recouped was £131,880.83 on 28 July 2004 in the case of Philip King v Bristow Helicopters.

4 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-20390 by Cathy Jamieson on 4 November 2005, how many of the fines listed have been paid in full.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Information on the number of fines imposed for possession of cannabis which are paid in full is not available from the statistics held centrally. The information systems maintained by the Scottish Courts Service in respect of fines imposed by the sheriff cour…

4 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has ever (a) contacted or (b) been contacted by interested parties who were willing to provide information or conduct research into the drug trade in Scotland.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: As part of the commissioning process for procuring any piece of social science research work, the Scottish Executive seeks expressions of interest from research organisations capable of carrying out that work and in that context has been contacted by organisa…

4 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it had with the Home Office to assist the Home Office in determining the size of the drugs trade in the United Kingdom.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive is in touch with the Home Office on a range of common interests including efforts to determine the size of the drugs trade in the United Kingdom.

4 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to compile an estimate of the size of the illegal drugs trade in Scotland.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive has no current plans to compile an estimate of the size of the illegal drugs trade in Scotland but we are continuing to keep under review the various sources of available data and developments in methodology so that we are able to asses…

4 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what bodies hold the information needed to compile a reliable estimate of the size of the illegal drugs trade in Scotland.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: A wide range of bodies including the police, the National Criminal Intelligence Service and the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency hold basic information on drug seizures and drug prices which, subject to the development of a reliable methodology, could contrib…

4 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people (a) under and (b) over 18 have DNA profiles stored in the police national database without having been charged or cautioned for any offence.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: There are 268 DNA profiles held on the Scottish DNA Database that people provided voluntarily, so these were provided without anyone being cautioned or charged. The people who provided these samples can withdraw their permission for the database to hold them …

4 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many secondary school-age children suffered from (a) high cholesterol levels, (b) heart failure and (c) diabetes in each year since 1995, broken down by NHS board area.

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

4 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) location and (b) capacity is of each completed private finance initiative hospital project; what the cost was of each such project, and what the (i) location, (ii) planned capacity and (iii) expected cost is of each planned project.

Answer · Andy Kerr: PFI is an additional source of funding which contributes substantially to capital investment in NHSScotland. It makes more of resources available, giving immediate access to significant sums and delivering new services more quickly than would be possible with…

4 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many assaults were recorded on ambulance service staff while on duty in each ambulance service area in each of the last five years and how many prosecutions resulted.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The information asked for is not collected centrally in the form requested. There is data available on violence and aggression related incidents available on the Scottish Health Statistics website under workforce statistics, <a href="http://www.isdscotland.or…

4 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many dentists received gross earnings from the NHS of (a) over £500,000, (b) £250,000 to £500,000, (c) £100,000 to £250,000 and (d) £50,000 to £100,000 in each year since 1997.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: NHS general dentists’ gross earnings from NHS general dental services: Number of Dentists Receiving Each Amount in Year Ending March<table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td> Amount of Earnings1,…

4 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients who have waited longer than 20 weeks for (a) an MRI and (b) a CT scan at a hospital run by an NHS board will be offered the choice to be treated elsewhere.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Information is not held centrally in the form requested. In June this year, I announced a maximum nine-weeks waiting time for eight key diagnostic tests, including MRI and CT scans. This commitment will come into effect from the end of 2007.Mean…

4 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many beds have been available in each NHS hospital in each year since 1997, broken down by major category.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The information requested is given in the table Average Available Staffed Beds by NHS Hospital and Specialty Group 1998 - 2005. A copy of which has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 37985). The table shows in…

4 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the population lack basic skills, such as numeracy and literacy, broken down into people aged (a) 18 to 24, (b) 25 to 29, (c) 30 to 34, (d) 35 to 39, (e) 40 to 44, (f) 45 to 49, (g) 50 to 54, (h) 55 to 59, (i) 60 to 64, (j) 65 to 69 and (k) 70 to 75.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: Data on the percentage of the population who lack basic skills, such as numeracy and literacy by age group is not held centrally.

2 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the net number of bed closures was in each NHS board in each year since 1999, broken down by bed type.

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

2 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the level of public spending per head was in Scotland in each year since 1997, broken down by local authority area, and what comparative information it has on the equivalent figures for the rest of the United Kingdom.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The level of total identifiable expenditure on services per head in Scotland (on both devolved and reserved matters) and the UK as a whole since 1997 is shown in the following table. Total Identifiable Spend per Head of Population<table border=1 c…

2 Nov 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many healthcare recruitment agencies which (a) have and (b) have not registered to comply with the Code of Practice for the International Recruitment of Healthcare Professionals have been used by the NHS since 1999 and on how many occasions in each case.

Answer · Andy Kerr: This information is not held centrally in terms of all health care professional staff groups. It will be however be requested quarterly from NHSScotland boards as part of the Scottish Executive’s monitoring role on compliance of the Code of Practice. T…