Parliamentary questions
Dr Jean Turner
219 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
9 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it expects rail travel within Scotland to be brought within the ambit of the concessionary travel scheme.
Answer · Tavish Scott: The Scotland-wide free bus schemefor older and disabled persons delivers the Partnership Agreement commitment toa national free bus scheme. Local transport authorities will retain responsibilityto offer local concessions on other forms of transport, including…
9 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what opportunities exist to use concessionary travel data for wider transport planning purposes whilst simultaneously protecting the commercial interest of bus operators.
Answer · Tavish Scott: Commercially sensitive informationwill only be used specifically for the purpose of concessionary travel reimbursement.Transport Scotland will decide in due course whether non-commercially sensitivedata can be used for the wider purpose of transport planning.…
9 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how often, and by what means, participant bus operators will be reimbursed under the new concessionary travel scheme.
Answer · Tavish Scott: There will be 13 payment periodsat regular intervals in the financial year. Payment will be made by Bank AutomatedClearing System transfer.</p>
9 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the understanding that operators will be reimbursed at the rate of £0.736 per pound of the average adult fare within the new concessionary travel scheme, how that average fare will be calculated given the number of different types of tickets available to bus passengers.
Answer · Tavish Scott: Reimbursement for the Scotland-widefree bus scheme for older and disabled persons will be on the basis of adult singlefare. An operator may determine that this can be calculated in one of three ways:the “shadow fare” forgone for the eligible journey as derive…
9 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will employ an outside agency to monitor data gathering and evaluation services on a pro tem basis until a smart card system is operational within the new concessionary travel scheme.
Answer · Tavish Scott: Transport Scotlandwill be responsible for the management of the Scotland-wide free bus scheme forolder and disabled persons. The concessionary travel unit of Transport Scotlandwill employ reimbursement and compliance staff with responsibility formonitoring th…
9 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what protection will be put in place to ensure that data used as part of the smart card system for the concessionary travel scheme is used only for that purpose.
Answer · Tavish Scott: The data used by the transportapplication on the National Entitlement Card (smartcard) is handled within the ITSOtechnology standard environment. This is a secure encrypted environment similarto that used for credit cards. Data relating to travel will only be…
9 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the smart card system to be employed as part of the new concessionary travel scheme will be used solely for travel purposes or whether it will be a multifunctional card.
Answer · Tavish Scott: The National Entitlement Card(smartcard) currently being developed by the Improvement Service, which includesa transport application for the new concessionary scheme, is a multifunctional card.Each local authority can decide which multi applications can be us…
9 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what contingency measures will be put in place in the event of an individual bus operator who is the only provider of bus services to an isolated community being subject to capping measures under the new concessionary travel scheme.
Answer · Tavish Scott: The levels of reimbursementfor the Scotland-wide free bus scheme for older and disabled persons have beenset to ensure that bus operators are financially no better and no worse off asa result of their participation in the scheme and takes account of revenuefo…
9 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how the capping powers integral to the new concessionary travel scheme will operate in practice in order to prevent any misuse of the system by any rogue bus operators.
Answer · Tavish Scott: The financial cap which is afeature of the Scotland-wide free bus scheme for older and disabled people was introducedwith the agreement of the Confederation for Passenger Transport to provide an enhancedlevel of budgetary prediction and security. The capping …
9 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how effective monitoring of concessionary travel will be carried out in the absence of an operational smart card system in order to ensure prompt and accurate reimbursement of bus operators and the prevention of fraudulent claims being made by any rogue operators.
Answer · Tavish Scott: Prior to the introduction ofa fully smart system, Transport Scotland will use reimbursement and verificationsystems based on current best practice in local schemes, including data analysis,compliance system audits and surveys of bus services and passengers, t…
2 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the current freeze on new applications to the Children, Young People and Families Unified Voluntary Sector Fund, when it will review the fund in order to ensure that it is able to meet growing demand for services provided by the voluntary sector.
Answer · Robert Brown: A review of the fund, including its aims and objectives, is at an early stage. We will involve the voluntary sector in this review and will announce the outcome in good time for voluntary organisations to prepare for the 2007-08 funding round.</p>
2 Feb 2006 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made in delivering its commitment to undertake research to determine whether there is a need for routine sight-screening for schoolchildren which it has indicated will also include an investigation of the optimal intervals for testing, who should undertake the tests a…
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Officials of the Health Department are seeking advice from the UK National Screening Committee (NSC) in relation to vision screening and are currently awaiting its response. The NSC advises UK Ministers on screening policy based on the latest research evidenc…
19 Dec 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to foster and promote the Scottish cultural tradition in fiddle music to enhance tourism, similar to the position in Ireland.
Answer · Patricia Ferguson: The Scottish Executive is working with VisitScotland and the Scottish Arts Council to ensure that fiddle music is effectively promoted to enhance tourism in Scotland in a range of ways including support for traditional music festivals, organisations which sup…
19 Dec 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what provisions are being made to harmonise the variable provision and quality of music teaching across the country and to ensure that all children are offered the opportunity to learn a stringed instrument in school.
Answer · Peter Peacock: Education authorities and head teachers are responsible for decisions about how best to promote the teaching of music in schools in response to local circumstances. The Scottish Arts Council is shortly to commission independent research to evaluate the effect…
19 Dec 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether a student who cannot afford tuition but who shows musical potential after one year’s tuition would be provided with an instrument and tuition to fulfil such potential.
Answer · Peter Peacock: Additional specialist instrumental tuition is often available to school pupils. The application and level of charges are matters for individual education authorities. However, those councils operating a charging system normally offer concessions to pupils who…
19 Dec 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether professional music teachers are employed to teach instrumental music in primary schools.
Answer · Peter Peacock: Yes. Music instruction more generally, including instrumental music instruction, is delivered in primary schools by visiting music specialists, music instructors and instrumental instructors as well as by qualified music teachers.</p>
19 Dec 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether musical instruments are provided for tuition in all primary schools.
Answer · Peter Peacock: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-21884 on 13 January 2006. 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…
19 Dec 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether all primary schools provide a year of tuition on a musical instrument.
Answer · Peter Peacock: The Youth Music Initiative (YMI), administered by the Scottish Arts Council, assists education authorities with the aim that, by 2006, every primary school pupil will have the opportunity to access at least one year’s free music tuition by primary 6. £10 mill…
21 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many registered practice nurse locums there are, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Andy Kerr: This information is not held centrally.</p>
21 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many registered practice nurses there are, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Andy Kerr: Data on the whole-time equivalent numbers of practice nurses employed by general practices within each NHS board area for each year from 1988-2003 inclusive are published on ISD’s website at <a href="http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/info3.jsp?pContentID=2781&am…
21 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken to facilitate backfill arrangements to support practice nurses in accessing continuing professional development opportunities.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The new General Medical Services contract, which advocates a practice based approach, will enable the practice to use resources available to it, both people and money, to deliver services in such a way as to meet the needs of their patients. It allows the pra…
17 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-16187 by Mr Andy Kerr on 9 May 2005, whether the procurement exercise on Picture Archiving and Communications Systems has been concluded and a supplier identified.
Answer · Andy Kerr: A contract to deploy Picture Archiving and Communications Systems (PACS) facilities where they're required across NHS Scotland will be signed soon.</p>
17 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-16187 by Mr Andy Kerr on 9 May 2005, whether it will clarify its position on the use of Picture Archiving and Communications Systems (PACS), given the statement in section 47 of the final report of NHS Quality Improvement Scotland’s Emergency Medical…
Answer · Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive agrees with the points in paragraph 47 of the final report of the NHS QIS Emergency Admissions Scoping Group that teleradiology has a number of potential applications and should be employed routinely to allow image transfer from referri…
17 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-16184 by Mr Andy Kerr on 5 May 2005, whether there have been any occasions when there was a call for a paramedic-led response accident and emergency ambulance which did not have a paramedic on board.
Answer · Andy Kerr: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-20799 on 29 November 2005. 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/weba…
17 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-16184 by Mr Andy Kerr on 5 May 2005, what the number of paramedic-led response calls in the last three years was as a percentage of non-paramedic-led response calls.
Answer · Andy Kerr: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-20799 on 29 November 2005. 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/weba…
17 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-16184 by Mr Andy Kerr on 5 May 2005, how many paramedic-led response calls there were in each of the last three years in (a) Scotland and (b) each NHS board area.
Answer · Andy Kerr: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-20799 on 29 November 2005. 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/weba…
17 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-16184 by Mr Andy Kerr on 5 May 2005, what the proportion is of paramedics to technicians in (a) Scotland and (b) each NHS board area.
Answer · Andy Kerr: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-20799 on 29 November 2005. 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/weba…
17 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-16184 by Mr Andy Kerr on 5 May 2005, what criteria are used to determine whether an accident and emergency ambulance constitutes a paramedic-led response.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The Scottish Ambulance Service deploys the most appropriate resource to an emergency call, and in relation to Category A (life threatening) calls, these should now all be responded to by a paramedic, whether that paramedic is in a rapid response unit, or is p…
17 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive why its expenditure on outsourced legal work to 12 private sector law firms has increased from £159,000 in 2001-02 to £2,033,000 in 2004-05.
Answer · Colin Boyd: A Framework contract for legal services was put in place in June 2003, creating a panel of 12 firms able to take on specific projects or areas of legal work where in-house expertise or resource was unavailable. The framework provides a robust two-stage procur…
17 Nov 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive why it is necessary for it to outsource legal work.
Answer · Colin Boyd: Work is outsourced in a number of areas requiring expertise available only externally or to provide a resource not otherwise available. Legal work is one such area.</p>