Parliamentary questions
Stewart Stevenson
2,358 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
7 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the largest single legal aid payment has been since 1999.
Answer · Hugh Henry: The largest single payment in a legally-aided case was £877,981.07, part of the cost of the case of <i>Robert Napier</i> v <i>The Scottish Ministers</i>. In that case, expenses were recovered from the defender and there was no net cost to the Legal Aid Fund.<…
7 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the ratio is of people wishing to enter a methadone maintenance treatment programme to places available.
Answer · Hugh Henry: This information is not heldcentrally. Decisions on treatment interventions and options for addressingother needs are for individual patients and their medical and socialprofessionals. The number of people entering methadone maintenance treatmentdepends on id…
7 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time is for patients who wish to enter into a methadone maintenance treatment programme, broken down by (a) NHS board area, (b) local authority area and (c) parliamentary constituency.
Answer · Hugh Henry: Average waiting times arenot regarded as a particularly effective measure of the availability andefficiency of drug services. Rather, theinformation compiled by Drug Action Teams and submitted to ISD specifies thenumber of people who wait for less than a week…
4 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time was for an appointment to see a GP in each NHS board in each year since 1999.
Answer · Andy Kerr: This information is not collected at a national level; nor held centrally. The waiting time for patients to see a GP is dependent on a number of factors including clinical need.</p>
4 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the rates of readmission to hospitals were in each NHS board area in each year since 1997.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The following tables show emergency admissions within 28 days of discharge by NHS Board of Treatment for calendar years, 1997 to 2004.</p><p>Emergency admissions within 28 days will include cases that are readmissions for complications resulting from the orig…
4 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many youth clubs there were in each local authority area in each of the last 10 years.
Answer · Robert Brown: This information is not collected centrally.</p>
4 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many dwellings have been built (a) by local authorities, (b) by housing associations and (c) in total in each year since 1990, broken down by number of bedrooms.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The following table shows the number of new dwellings completed in each year from 1990 to 2004, built by the private sector, local authorities and housing associations. Information on the number of bedrooms is not collected centrally.</p> <p>Dwellings Complet…
4 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average (a) value and (b) cost to the purchaser of a right-to-buy local authority property was after discount in (i) 1999 and (ii) the latest year for which figures are available.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The following table contains the mean market value and mean selling price of right to buy dwellings purchased in 1999 and 2004.</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td> <p align=center>Year of Sale</p></td> <td> <p…
4 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent on legal aid in each year since 1997.
Answer · Hugh Henry: The information requested isgiven in the annual reports published byThe Scottish Legal Aid Board covering the years from 1997 to 2004, copies ofwhich are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib.numbers: 33949, 33950, 4242, 7928, 14881, 22…
4 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what mechanisms are in place to ensure that the number of new graduates in (a) medicine, (b) nursing, (c) midwifery and (d) physiotherapy is matched by the number of junior posts for each category.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The National Workforce Planning Framework, published in August 2005, sets out the action required at national, regional, and board levels to effectively plan for future staffing developments. The planning framework operates within the context of Building a He…
4 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) nurses and midwives and (b) doctors were internationally recruited in each year since 1999, broken down by country.
Answer · Andy Kerr: 1. Figures of nurses and midwives internationally recruited to the NHSScotland are not held centrally. The most recent figures known are those issued by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) to September 2004 who identified almost 1,000 whole-time equivalent int…
3 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the net change in the number of employee jobs in each Glasgow parliamentary constituency has been in each year since 1999.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: The following table shows the net change in the number of employee jobs in each Glasgow parliamentary constituency from 1999 to the latest year for which data is available (2004). Changes between 2002 and 2003 are not included as there is a discontinuity betw…
3 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much was due in outstanding fines in each sheriff court in each of the last five years for which figures are available.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The information requested is shown in the following tables. The values include confiscation orders, compensation orders, fines transferred from England and Wales as well as fines imposed by the High Court which are recoverable by the Sheriff Clerk. Not all of…
3 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients from outside the NHS Greater Glasgow area were treated within the board area in each year since 1999.
Answer · Andy Kerr: Information on non-resident patients treated in NHS Greater Glasgow is shown in the following table.</p><p>Hospital In-Patient and Day Cases and New Out-Patient Attendances in NHS Greater Glasgow for Patients Resident Outside the Board Area<sup>1</sup></p><ta…
3 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many wards have been closed at weekends in each hospital due to staff shortages in each year since 1999.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The information on thenumber of ward closures at weekends due to staff shortages is not heldcentrally.</p><p>NHS boards are responsiblefor the provision of services in their local area to meet identified need. Thisincludes the configuration of hospital servic…
3 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many female offenders convicted or sentenced in (a) 2004 and (b) 2005 at (i) all sheriff summary courts, (ii) Glasgow Sheriff Summary Court, (iii) Edinburgh Sheriff Summary Court and (iv) Glasgow Stipendiary Court received a (1) resultant custodial sentence, excluding those defaulting…
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The information currently available for 2003 is given in the table.</p> <p>Females Given a Custodial Sentence or Fined in Selected Courts, 2003<sup>1</sup></p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td> <p> </p> <p>Court…
3 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many female offenders who defaulted on a fine in (a) all sheriff summary courts, (b) Glasgow Sheriff Summary Court, (c) Edinburgh Sheriff Summary Court and (d) Glasgow Stipendiary Magistrates Court were sent to prison as a result of that default in (i) 2004 and (ii) 2005.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:</p> <p>The available information for 2004 is given in the following table:</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <tr> <td> <p>&nb…
3 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting times in weeks were, and how many patients were waiting, for a first appointment in the (a) child dental health, (b) conservation, (c) oral medicine, (d) oral surgery, (e) orthodontics, (f) periodontology and (g) prosthodontics department of the Glasgow Dental Hos…
Answer · Andy Kerr: Median waiting times for firstout-patient appointments, following referral from a general medical or dentalpractitioner, are compiled from retrospective data which is collected at specialitylevel only and not at hospital department level. Due to technical dif…
3 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of patients in each (a) Glasgow, (b) Edinburgh, (c) Dundee, and (d) Aberdeen parliamentary constituency area were diagnosed with coronary heart disease compared with the national average in each of the last five years.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The number of patients discharged from acute hospitals with a main diagnosis of coronary heart disease in the years 2000-04 in each Parliamentary Constituency within Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen City areas are shown in the following tables. The cru…
3 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of people in each (a) Glasgow, (b) Edinburgh, (c) Dundee and (d) Aberdeen parliamentary constituency area died from cancer compared with the national average in each of the last five years.
Answer · George Lyon: The information requested is given in the following table.</p> <p>Deaths from Cancer<sup>1</sup> as a Percentage of the Population<sup>2</sup> Scotland and Selected Parliamentary Constituencies</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr…
3 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of people in each (a) Glasgow, (b) Edinburgh, (c) Dundee and (d) Aberdeen parliamentary constituency area died from lung cancer compared with the national average in each of the last five years.
Answer · George Lyon: The information requested is given in the following table.</p> <p>Deaths from Lung Cancer<sup>1</sup> as a Percentage of the Population<sup>2</sup> Scotland and Selected Parliamentary Constituencies</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> …
3 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of school leavers in each (a) Edinburgh, (b) Dundee and (c) Aberdeen parliamentary constituency area left school with no (i) standard and (ii) higher grade qualifications compared with the national average in each of the last five years.
Answer · Peter Peacock: The tables provided show the percentage of school leavers in (a) Edinburgh, (b) Dundee and (c) Aberdeen parliamentary constituency areas that left school with no (i) standard grades or equivalent and (ii) higher grade qualifications for each of the last five …
3 Oct 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which members of the boards of Social Inclusion Partnerships are members of the Labour Party.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster,Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to reply.</p><p>Her response is as follows:</p><p>The former Social Inclusion Partnerships have now been integratedwith Community Planning Partnerships (CPPs) and details of the political …
21 Sep 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many offences of (a) perjury, (b) resisting arrest and (c) wasting police time and how many bail offences other than absconding and re-offending have been committed in each year since 1999, broken down by police force area.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The available information is given in the following tables.</p> <p>Selected Crimes Recorded by the Police in Scotland, by Police Force Area, 1999</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td> <p align=center> </p></td> <t…
19 Sep 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executivehow many (a) doctors, (b) nurses, (c) consultants and (d) auxiliary staff have been victims of violence in each NHS hospital in each of the last 10 years.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The information asked for is not collected in the requested format. The data available on violence is published on the Scottish Health Statistics website under Workforce Statistics, <a href="http://www.isdscotland.org/workforce">www.isdscotland.org/workforce<…
19 Sep 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) nursing vacancies and (b) employed nurses there have been in each NHS hospital in each of the last five years.
Answer · Andy Kerr: Information on nursing staff in post and vacancies is not collected at hospital level. The lowest level of detail is by NHS board and this is published on the Scottish Health Statistics website under Workforce Statistics, at <b><a href="http://www.isdscotland…
19 Sep 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what information it holds centrally about waiting lists for diagnostic scanning services.
Answer · Andy Kerr: Our aim is to reduce waiting times for diagnostic services of all kinds, in line with the target announced recently to reduce diagnostic waits to nine weeks maximum by 2008. A variety of information on diagnostic waits is currently held by NHS boards and with…
19 Sep 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what its total spending on management consultants has been in each of the last five years, broken down by department.
Answer · Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive does not hold information on total spending under a categorisation of “management consultants”.</p> <p>However, in the answer to question S2W-18755 on 26 September 2005, we have been able to provide certain details of expenditure on “ex…
19 Sep 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many complaints it has received from individuals in respect of postal voting in local elections in each year since 1999.
Answer · George Lyon: None.</p>
13 Sep 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-9736 by Hugh Henry on 12 August 2004, how many police operations in 2004 involved issuing firearms to officers, broken down by police force area.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The deployment of firearms is an operational matter for Chief Constables. The following table gives information provided by forces for the number of operations against persons known or believed to be armed.</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> …