Murdo Fraser

23 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that people in rural areas have access to local GP surgeries.

Answer · Alex Neil: Under the legal framework for service provision, NHS boards are responsible for ensuring the provision of primary medical services for their areas. In discharging these statutory obligations NHS boards are required to put in place those services which they co…

23 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its policy is on ensuring that NHS boards carry out patient consultations before making changes to the provision of treatments or services.

Answer · Alex Neil: NHS boards must involve the communities they serve in planning and developing the health and care services they provide. Involving patients, carers and the public is an important aspect of the Government’s ambitions for improving the quality of service provid…

23 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it measures the provision of fertility services across NHS boards with regard to (a) waiting times for treatment, (b) the number of cycles of treatment provided and (c) the number of couples seeking treatment.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The National Infertility Group, set up in April 2010, is considering the provision of infertility services across NHS Boards in Scotland. The Group will submit its report, with recommendations, to Ministers by the end of December 2012. Methods for measuring …

23 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government by what process it will consider and implement the National Infertility Group’s recommendations on IVF.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The National Infertility Group will submit its report, with recommendations, to Ministers by the end of December 2012. Ministers will consider these recommendations and any proposals for implementation, to ensure equity of access to IVF treatment for eligible…

23 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many cycles of IVF treatment it anticipates NHS boards will provide to eligible couples between October 2012 and the introduction of a new policy on IVF.

Answer · Michael Matheson: This information is not currently held centrally.

23 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the future of fertility services.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The National Infertility Group was set up, in April 2010, to address the inequity of access to IVF treatment across Scotland and will submit its final report to Ministers by the end of December 2012. Ministers will then consider the report and its recommendat…

23 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage NHS boards to adhere to the Expert Advisory Group on Infertility in Scotland guidelines.

Answer · Michael Matheson: National criteria were developed by the Expert Advisory Group on Infertility Services in Scotland (EAGISS) in 2000. These guidelines were subsequently reviewed and in 2007 further recommendations were made to raise the upper age limit for treatment and update…

22 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what criteria it uses to determine whether a capital spending project is "shovel-ready".

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: A “shovel ready” project is defined as a project which is in a position to commence construction in the next twelve months, and which is either currently not funded or only partly funded and could therefore benefit from additional capital allocations.

22 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent communication it has had with Scottish Natural Heritage regarding the spread of muntjac deer.  

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Scottish Natural Heritage was in communication with the Scottish Government in relation to a report from a member of the public on the sighting of Muntjac deer in Dumfries and Galloway in May 2012. Scottish Natural Heritage investigated this report but did no…

22 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action has been taken under the Muntjac Keeping (Scotland) Order 2011 to limit the spread of muntjac deer.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Muntjac Keeping (Scotland) Order 2011 was revoked when the non-native species parts of the Wildlife and Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2011 were commenced on 2 July 2012. However, the effect of the Order is maintained under the new legislation. The r…

22 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what 30 organisations will benefit from its Autism Development Fund and how much each will receive.

Answer · Michael Matheson: A table providing full details of the organisations and the amounts of funding they will receive from the Autism Development Fund can be found at SPICe (Bib. number 54416).

4 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to improve discipline in schools.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The Scottish Government takes seriously the need constantly to improve behaviour in schools. Curriculum for Excellence has encouraged schools to focus on creating a positive school ethos as the starting point for learning and the Scottish Government has suppo…

4 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many college places were available in welding in the current academic year compared to the previous four academic years.

Answer · Michael Russell: The latest figures on students studying welding at colleges are for 2010-11. Table 1a: The Total Number of Students Studying Welding in Scotland’s Colleges by Institution: 2006-07 to 2010-11 (Headcount). College Headcount 2010-11 2009-10 2008-09 2007-…

4 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many college places have been available in science, technologies, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects in the last five years, broken down by institution.

Answer · Michael Russell: The latest figures on students studying science, technologies, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects at colleges are for 2010-11. Table 1a: The Total Number of Students Studying Information Technology in Scotland’s Colleges by Institution: 2006-07 to 2010-11…

1 Oct 2012 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with NHS Tayside regarding patient transport between Perth and Dundee.

24 Sep 2012 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government will ensure that patients in Scotland with heart conditions receive treatment that is comparable with that for those from the rest of the UK.

17 Sep 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with NHS Tayside regarding patient transport between Perth and Dundee.

11 Sep 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will establish an information source and point of contact with Scottish Natural Heritage for those with concerns about the impact of wild beavers.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Scottish Natural Heritage has established a monitoring group to study the beavers in the Tay catchment, the Tay Beaver Study Group. The group will be setting up a website to provide information about the management of beavers on the Tay. There are already inf…

11 Sep 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Tayside beaver is a protected species.    

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Beavers are not a protected species in Scotland. However, Scottish Ministers announced on 16 March 2012 that beavers could remain on Tayside for the duration of the Scottish Beaver Trial and their impact will be monitored over this period. The status of beave…

11 Sep 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what is being done to develop communication between the Scottish Wild Beaver Group and (a) farmers and (b) beaver interest groups.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-09531 on 21 September 2012. One of the aims of the Tay Beaver Study Group is to develop communication between a range of interests, including the Scottish Wild Beaver Group, other conservation interests and fis…

10 Sep 2012 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government will ensure that colleges are in a position to respond to the rise in demand for student places.

31 Aug 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what organisations have received funding from Creative Scotland in each of the last three years, also broken down by number of employees.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: I have asked Andrew Dixon, Chief Executive of Creative Scotland, the public body for Culture and Creative Industries to write to the member. Further information about Creative Scotland’s activities is available at http://www.creativescotland.com/.

31 Aug 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what bodies in the field of literature receive funding from Creative Scotland.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: I have asked Andrew Dixon, Chief Executive of Creative Scotland, the public body for Culture and Creative Industries, to write to the member. Further information about Creative Scotland’s activities is available at http://www.creativescotland.com/.

28 Aug 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will introduce legislation placing an obligation on ministers to ensure that the recommendations of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation are implemented.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government currently has no plans to introduce legislation placing an obligation on ministers to ensure that the recommendations of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) are implemented.

28 Aug 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether legislation has been enacted to extend the remit of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation Board to Scotland and, if so, when.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The current Terms of Reference of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation state that the committee may provide advice to Scottish ministers.

28 Aug 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-08596 by Michael Matheson on 6 August 2012, which senior medical officers have observational status and what powers this gives them.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Senior Medical Officer within the Scottish Government with responsibility for vaccination and immunisation routinely attends meetings of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) as an observer. Dr Nicola Steedman is the current Senior Me…

14 Aug 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the criteria were for selecting the communities that will recieve funding from the first phase of the Community Broadband Scotland initiative.

Answer · Alex Neil: Communities that will receive funding from round 1 of the Community Broadband Scotland Seed Fund have not yet been selected. Detailed criteria for selecting the communities will be made available in September.

14 Aug 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the first case study reports will be produced under the Community Broadband Scotland initiative.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Community Broadband Scotland (CBS) website, which will go live in October, will include lessons learned and case studies from a range of successful community projects from across the UK and further afield. We will announce projects to be supported under …

14 Aug 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take when the Community Broadband Scotland initiative is complete.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Community Broadband Scotland (CBS) initiative is intended to be a source of learning for communities to enable them to develop tailored solutions to meet their broadband requirements. This will comprise a range of support mechanisms – a dedicated web and …

14 Aug 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will announce which communities will recieve funding from the first phase of the Community Broadband Scotland initiative.

Answer · Alex Neil: Projects selected to receive funding from the first round of the Community Broadband Scotland Seed Fund will be announced in October.