Stewart Stevenson

5 Mar 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which organisations have been employed to provide external consultancy advice on rebranding its departments since 1999 and what the costs have been of such advice.

Answer · Tom McCabe: There have been no organisationswhich have been employed to provide external consultancy advice on rebranding the Scottish Executive departments since 1999.</p>

5 Mar 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) arrests, (b) charges and (c) successful prosecutions for incitement to racial hatred there were in each of the last five years, broken down by police force.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Data on numbers of arrests andcharges is not held centrally, nor is there a specific crime code for “incitementto racial hatred”. Such crimes will be included within crimes arising from racerelations legislation, which includes offences arising from the Race …

5 Mar 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions there were for assaults on serving police officers in each of the last three years, broken down by police force.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The available information, whichrelates to prosecutions under section 41(1)(a) of the Police (Scotland) Act1967, is given in the following table. This section of the 1967 Act provides thatany person who “assaults, resists, obstructs, molests or hinders a cons…

5 Mar 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) average and (b) longest waiting times were for treatment in (i) ear, nose and throat, (ii) general surgery, (iii) gynaecology, (iv) orthopaedic, (v) rheumatology, (vi) urology and (vii) pain relief specialities in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Median waiting times are not an Executive target. Our policyis to reduce the longest waiting times for patients. On 31 December 2006, no patient with a guarantee had waited more than 26 weeks for a first out-patientappointment. This national maximum waiting t…

5 Mar 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many dentists have exhausted their 2006-07 NHS budgets.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: This question is relevant only to NHS dentistry in Englandand Wales. Fixed NHS dentistry budgets, as part of a defined contract for NHSdental services, form no part of the provision of NHS dentistry in Scotland,and it is therefore not possible for NHS dentist…

5 Mar 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) average and (b) longest waiting times were for care assessments by each local authority in each of the last five years.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: This information is not available centrally.</p>

5 Mar 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much each local authority spent on (a) residential care homes and (b) nursing homes for elderly people in each of the last five years.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: As from April 2002 the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act2001 removed the statutory distinction between residential care homes andnursing homes. Consequently, local authority expenditure on residential carehomes and on nursing homes was combined from financial…

5 Mar 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of patients urgently referred by their GP with suspected cancer were subsequently diagnosed with cancer in the latest period for which figures are available.

Answer · Andy Kerr: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-32219 on 12March 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/w…

5 Mar 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of women non-urgently referred by their GP with a suspected breast condition were subsequently diagnosed with breast cancer in the latest period for which figures are available.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The information requested is not available centrally.</p>

5 Mar 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many vacancies there were for head teachers in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Hugh Henry: Information on head teacher vacanciesis not collected separately from deputy head vacancies. The following table showsvacancies (full-time equivalent) over three months for head teachers and deputyhead teachers in each of the last five years, broken down by l…

5 Mar 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent per capita on students with learning difficulties in each of the last five years.

Answer · Robert Brown: Expenditure on students withlearning difficulties is not recorded specifically in local authority accounts.However, their information on the expenditure on special education is publishedin table 1.1 of <i>Expenditure on School Education in Scotland</i>, on th…

5 Mar 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which courts have been (a) closed and (b) opened in each year since 1997.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish CourtService has not ceased the operation of any courts during this period. Two sheriffcourts have, however, been relocated to alternative premises, shared with localauthorities, within the towns in which they operate, resulting in the closure of…

5 Mar 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) households and (b) children lived in overcrowded housing in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board area.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: The following table 1 shows thepercentage of Scottish households living in overcrowded housing for each healthboard area, and the following table 2 shows the percentage of children in Scotland wholive in overcrowded housing.</p><p>Table 1: Percentage of Scott…

2 Mar 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the letter from the Minister for Environment and Rural Development (ref. 2006/0022748), whether advice from the Executive’s Legal and Parliamentary Unit has been received and whether the Minister is in a position to respond substantively to me.

Answer · Ross Finnie: I can confirm that advice hasbeen received from the Office of the Solicitor to the Scottish Executive providingclarification on the Executive’s position regarding ownership and responsibilityfor maintenance of Crovie Pier. As a result the Executive will seek …

2 Mar 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people died after contracting clostridium difficile in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The information requested isgiven in the following tables.</p><p>Deaths whereClostridium Difficile was the Underlying Cause of Death</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td width=190 valign=top> <p align=center>NHS Board of Res…

2 Mar 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people died after contracting MRSA in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The information requested isgiven in the following tables.</p><p>Deaths whereMRSA was the Underlying Cause of Death</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td nowrap valign=bottom> <p align=center>NHS Board of Residence</p> </td> …

2 Mar 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children and young people between the ages of 12 and 20 who required hospital treatment for (a) alcohol and (b) substance misuse were accommodated in adult psychiatric units in each of the last three years.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Information on the number ofpeople aged 12 to 20 who were discharged from Scottish mental hospitals and psychiatricunits with a diagnosis of alcohol or drug misuse from 2000-01 to 2004-05 is setout in the following table.</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cel…

2 Mar 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many gun crimes were committed in each of the last 10 years with (a) legally registered and (b) illegally held weapons.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: This information is not heldcentrally.</p>

2 Mar 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have died as a result of obesity in each of the last 10 years, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The following table shows thenumber of deaths for which obesity was recorded as the underlying cause of death,by NHS board for each of the last 10 years.</p><p>Obesity itself is rarely recordedas an underlying cause of death, although it may have been involve…

2 Mar 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people aged (a) 10 to 16, (b) 17 to 23 and (c) 24 to 30 were diagnosed with eating disorders in each of the last 10 years, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The information requested isnot held centrally. Information showing the number of patients discharged from generaland psychiatric hospitals with a diagnosis of eating disorder is set out in thefollowing tables. Patients diagnosed with eating disorders can be …

2 Mar 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of its budget will be taken up by PFI/PPP commitments in each of the next 10 years, broken down by department.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The information requested isset out in the following table.</p><p>SE PPP Commitments as a Percentageof Departmental Budgets¹</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td> <p align=center>Year</p> </td> <td> <p align=center>Just…

2 Mar 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of its budget was taken up by PFI/PPP commitments in each of the last 10 years, broken down by department.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The information requested isset out in the following table.</p><p>Executive PPP Commitments as a Percentage of Departmental Budgets¹</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3 width=621> <thead> <tr> <td width=86> <p align=center>Year</p> </td> …

2 Mar 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much severance pay was provided to political advisers who left the civil service in each year since 1999.

Answer · Tom McCabe: Combined information on the net amount of severance pay provided to special advisersover four periods is provided in thefollowing table. Information cannot be provided on an annual basis to preserveconfidentiality as the number of Special Advisers receiving s…

2 Mar 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what strategy it has in place for (a) the use of renewable energy and (b) meeting energy targets in Executive buildings.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The Executive continues to demonstrateits support of renewable technologies by choosing to purchase 100% of the electricityrequired to run it’s buildings from new renewable sources. We have set a targetto reduce the emissions caused by energy use on our estat…

2 Mar 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many alcohol-related deaths there were in hospitals in each of the last 10 years.

Answer · George Lyon: The information requested ispresented in the following table.</p><p>Alcohol-RelatedDeaths¹ in Hospitals, Scotland, 1996-2005</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td nowrap valign=bottom> <p align=center>1996</p> </td…

2 Mar 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions each of the three verdicts available to Scottish courts has been used in the last 12 months for which information is available.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The available information isgiven in the following table. The figures for acquittals include an element ofestimation to take account of undercounting due to recording delays.</p><p>Persons Proceeded Against inScottish courts, 2005-06: Estimated Number by Type…

1 Mar 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many convictions there were for offences committed in hospitals in each of the last 10 years, broken down by police force area.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Information on offence locationis not recorded in the available statistics on convictions.</p>

1 Mar 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) violent assaults and (b) arrests took place in hospitals in each of the last 10 years, broken down by police force area.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The recorded crime statisticsare based on an aggregate return, which does not give details of individual crimes,for instance the location of an assault. Statistics on the number of arrests madeby police forces are not held centrally.</p>

1 Mar 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many convictions related to cases of domestic abuse there were in each of the last 10 years, broken down by police force area.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Information in relation to guiltypleas and convictions for offences arising from incidents of domestic abuse is notseparately identifiable in the available statistics.</p>

1 Mar 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of credit card fraud were committed in each of the last 10 years, broken down by police force area.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Under Scots Law fraud is a commonlaw offence. The recorded crime statistics held centrally cannot distinguish differentcategories of fraud.</p>