Parliamentary questions

Bill Butler

673 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

25 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many uniformed police officers in Strathclyde were available to respond to calls from the public during the week ending on Sunday 24 April 2005.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Information for the wholeweek is not available centrally, although statistics provided by StrathclydePolice show that on Wednesday 20 April at 5am there were 337 uniformed constables undertakingresponse policing. The figure for Saturday 23 April at 10pm was 7…

29 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether a proposal to close the in-patient facility at the Glasgow Homeopathic Hospital would be permissible, given the terms of the Draft Agreement Fourth Revision/ref:HB4/1/10 of 1974.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Yes. Any such proposals would be subject to full public consultation and would need to be submitted to me for final approval.

29 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether NHS Greater Glasgow has the discretion to ignore the Draft Agreement Fourth Revision/ref:HB4/1/10 of 1974 insofar as it relates to the provision of in-patient beds at the homeopathic hospital on the Gartnavel site.

Answer · Andy Kerr: No.

29 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the status is of the Draft Agreement Fourth Revision/ref:HB4/1/10 of 1974 regarding the Glasgow Homeopathic Hospital and the in-patient service it provides.

Answer · Andy Kerr: This is a matter for NHS Greater Glasgow. I understand that a final version of the Draft Agreement Fourth Revision/ref HB4/1/10 of 1974 has not been traced.

9 Mar 2005 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether NHS Greater Glasgow has indicated its intention to proceed to formal consultation in respect of the future of the present in-patient facility at the Glasgow Homeopathic Hospital.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: No, I am informedby NHS Greater Glasgow that any such proposal would have to be agreed by the NHSboard and that no such consideration has yet taken place.

17 Nov 2004 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will raise standards of educational attainment in schools.

Answer · Peter Peacock: Educational attainment will be raised by putting the individual learner at the centre of all we do. The recent publication Ambitious, Excellent Schools set out a range of actions to heighten expectations, give more freedom for teachers and schools, gre…

3 Nov 2004 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to tackle serious and organised crime.

Answer · Hugh Henry: We are continuallylooking at ways to meet the growing and evolving threat from serious and organisedcrime. We are continuing to expand the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency (SDEA); we are working with the UK Government toensure co-ordination between the new Se…

15 Sep 2004 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether NHS Greater Glasgow has intimated its intention to proceed, before the end of the year, with its proposal to consult on the closure of the in-patient facility at the Glasgow Homeopathic Hospital.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I am advised by NHS Greater Glasgow that there are no firm proposals forconsultation on the future of in-patient facilities at the Glasgow HomeopathicHospital and no scheduled date for the NHS board to consider this issue.

11 Aug 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how successful NHS boards have been in meeting unmet need for digital hearing aids in their own areas.

Answer · Tom McCabe: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-9949 on 6 September 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webap…

11 Aug 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the approximate level of need for digital hearing aids is within each NHS board area.

Answer · Tom McCabe: This information is not held centrally.The Public Health Institute of Scotland’s Needs Assessment Report on NHS Audiology Services in Scotland, published in January 2003 states that: “730,000 adults in Scotland have a hearing loss with a …

11 Aug 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether NHS boards have encountered any particular problems in prescribing digital hearing aids to those who need them.

Answer · Tom McCabe: I would refer you to the answer given to S2W-9947 answered 6 September 2004. All answers to written questions can be found on the Parliaments Website , the search facility for which can be found at: <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa">…

11 Aug 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in ensuring that digital hearing aids are readily available throughout Scotland for those who need them.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The Executive has already made £7 million available to NHS boards to modernise audiology services and allow the provision of digital hearing aids where these are the most clinically effective option. An experienced project manager has been appointed to facili…

16 Jun 2004 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to encourage all sections of society to engage in its consultation on smoking in public places.

Answer · Tom McCabe: Everything possible is being done to ensure a wide-spread response to the consultation. People can pick up copies of the consultation questionnaire, which take only a few minutes to complete, from doctor’s surgeries, libraries, local authority premises and ot…

9 Jun 2004 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken regarding the failure to submit a timeous appeal in relation to Lord Bonomy's judgement in the Napier case.

Answer · Colin Boyd: It seems clear that mistakes in this case happened because of human error. We havealready put in place new systems and procedures aimed at ensuring that this type of error will not re-occur. We are also conducting a more general review of the conduct of litig…

18 May 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what form the investigation into the tragic incident in Maryhill last week will take and whether there will be a public inquiry.

Answer · Colin Boyd: I have now had discussions withthe Chairman of the Health and Safety Commission. We have agreed thatStrathclyde Police and the Health and Safety Executive will conduct a jointinvestigation into the explosion at ICL Plastics in Glasgow on 11 May 2004.Strathcly…

19 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what targets it expects Registers of Scotland to achieve in 2004-05.

Answer · Hugh Henry: Scottish ministers have set Registersof Scotland the following key targets for 2004-05:Financial1. to achieve a return of 15%on net capital employed over the three-year period ending 31 March 2005;2. to reduce the standard producti…

6 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consult with appropriate trade unions when selecting the location of the headquarters of its proposed transport agency.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: Yes.

6 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the timetable is for the decision on the location of the headquarters of its proposed transport agency.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: Ministers have not yet agreedthe timetable for considering the location of the proposed national transport agency.

6 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what factors will be taken into account when deciding the location of its proposed transport agency.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: Ministers will consider the locationof the proposed national transport agency, within the context of the Scottish Executive’srelocation policy.

6 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many jobs it anticipates will be created by the establishment of its proposed transport agency.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: Decisions on the precise sizeof the proposed national transport agency have still to be made.

27 Feb 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the outcomes from the short life working group on perinatal mental illness will be published and when the national assessment of mental health services will be completed and published.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I am pleased tosay that the outcome guidance for agencies on the planning and delivery ofpost-natal depression services will be published on 4 March. Thatguidance is of course a direct response to the provisions within the MentalHealth (Care and Treatm…

18 Feb 2004 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to support social firms and community businesses.

Answer · Margaret Curran: The Executive, through Communities Scotland, currently providesfinancial support to Social Firms Scotland to help them set up new social firmsacross Scotland. We are also providing directfunding to Social Firms Scotland for a project to assist the expansion o…

4 Feb 2004 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it is currently supporting the arts.

Answer · Frank McAveety: The Scottish Executive’s support for the arts in Scotland has increased significantly inrecent years. In particular:funding forthe Scottish Arts Council will increase by £1.95 million in 2004-05 and afurther £1.3 million in 2005-06, taking the Scottish…

2 Feb 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been allocated for the improvement of infant nutrition over the next three years.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: As detailed in my responseto S2W-5953 on 25 February 2004, the Executive supports many initiatives that promotethe improvement of infant nutrition. Most of these initiatives take a holisticapproach to child health and include the improvement of infant nutriti…

2 Feb 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to improve the standard of infant nutrition.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive supports manyinitiatives that promote the improvement of infant nutrition. These include theStarting Well health demonstration project, the Scottish Community Diet Projectand the Scottish Healthy Choice Awards Scheme.In 2003, NHS Health S…

30 Jan 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the report by the working group on off-sales in the community will be published.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The report by the working group on off-sales in the communityis being published today. I am very grateful to Peter Daniels and his group forproducing their report within a short timescale and for their business-like andconsensual approach.We welcome th…

3 Dec 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it is making with its review of the location of its Edinburgh-based executive agency, Accountant in Bankruptcy.

Answer · Hugh Henry: Followinga thorough review of the options for relocating Accountant in Bankruptcy, andcareful scrutiny of social and economic conditions, business efficiency andsustainable transport and accessibility, it has been agreed that Ayrshireprovides the best value l…

11 Nov 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any preliminary financial estimates have been made in respect of extending its free central heating installation programme to include people with disabilities and those who are chronically ill.

Answer · Mary Mulligan: We developed some financialestimates in the course of last year to extend the central heating programme tothose over 80 years of age with partial or inefficient central heating systems.Now that we have the datafrom the Scottish House Condition Survey 2…

11 Nov 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will consider extending its free central heating installation programme to include disadvantaged groups such as people with disabilities and those who are chronically ill.

Answer · Mary Mulligan: We will work withCommunities Scotland to examine the data set collected for the Scottish HouseCondition Survey 2002 to see where we can make an impact on the furthereradication of fuel poverty. We will look at disadvantaged groups such aspeople with disabilit…

11 Nov 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made since 1 May 2003 in respect of its commitment to ensure that, by 2006, no local authority housing association tenant or person aged 60 or over will have to live in a home lacking central heating or adequate insulation.

Answer · Mary Mulligan: I have asked Angiolina Foster, the Acting Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Herresponse is as follows:In the public sector we areon course to ensure that all local authority tenants who are without centralheating systems, and want a c…