Parliamentary questions

Jim Tolson

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

10 Aug 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients aged (a) under 16, (b) 16 to 24, (c) 25 to 39, (d) 40 to 59 and (e) 60 and over attended accident and emergency departments at (i) Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline and (ii) Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy in each of the last five years.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: It is not possible to provide centrally collected accident and emergency attendance data for specific age groups in each of the last five years. Detailed information has been collected since July 2007, however, patient age information for NHS Fife locations c…

10 Aug 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of (a) drug and (b) alcohol-related accident and emergency admissions at (i) Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline and (b) Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy represented repeat admissions in each of the last five years.

Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-35669 on 6 September 2010. 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/App…

10 Aug 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) drug and (b) alcohol-related accident and emergency admissions there were at (i) Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline and (ii) Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy in each of the last five years.

Answer · Shona Robison: It is not possible from centrally held information to identify patients that were admitted to hospital after first attending an accident and emergency department. Information on discharges from acute non-obstetric, non-psychiatric hospitals is av…

23 Jul 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-34230 by Alex Neil on 16 June 2010, whether it will clarify what progress has been made in discussions with the energy companies to maximise the impact of the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target expenditure

Answer · Alex Neil: The next meeting of the CERT Strategy Group will be arranged shortly. We have established a CERT Data Group, to take forward a commitment from energy suppliers to gather annual data for Scottish CERT activity and provide it to the Scottish Government…

23 Jul 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-34230 by Alex Neil on 16 June 2010, when it expects to receive the report and recommendations from the Fuel Poverty Forum following the review of the first year of the Energy Assistance Package.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Fuel Poverty Forum published its report on 16 July. This is available at: <a href="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/Housing/access/FP/FPFFirstAnnualReport">http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/Housing/access/FP/…

23 Jul 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to (a) replace land previously denotified at St Margaret's Marsh Site of Special Scientific Interest and (b) ensure that any future loss of land at St Margaret's Marsh is compensated for by the provision of new or enhanced habitat elsewhere and what the reason is …

Answer · Richard Lochhead: SNH has advised that the part of the site which was denotified in 2009 did not contribute to the special interest for which the site had been notified. There was therefore no justification for seeking to compensate for the effect of the denotification. <…

23 Jul 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the extent, in hectares, of St Margaret’s Marsh Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) (a) was when originally designated as an SSSI, (b) is at present and (c) will be if the new Forth Crossing is developed as proposed

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The original extent of St Margaret''s Marsh SSSI was 26.4 hectares. The current extent is 24.0 hectares. If the Forth Replacement Crossing is developed as currently proposed, Scottish Natural Heritage estimate that the SSSI would be reduced to 21.2 hectares.<…

24 Jun 2010 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are being put in place to ensure that healthcare professionals are following the most recent expert guidelines on coeliac disease to improve the diagnosis rates.

Answer · Shona Robison: All healthcare professionals are expected to keep up-to-date with guidance on long-term conditions such as Coeliac Disease. There are a number of approaches to ensure that this information is kept up-to-date, and readily available. GPs are often the …

7 Jun 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-32443 by Alex Neil on 25 March 2010, what action it will take to reduce the number of households considered to be in fuel poverty.

Answer · Alex Neil: Since 2003, we have seen a rise in fuel poverty levels as a result of the continuing upward trend in energy prices and the effect of the recession. Energy prices are dictated by markets and regulation of energy companies is reserved to Westminster. I will con…

7 Jun 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many rail passenger seats have been available on an average weekday on northbound services crossing the Forth Rail Bridge between 4.30 am and 7.00 am in each of the last five years.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The current average number of seats provided by ScotRail northbound over the Forth rail bridge between 0430-0700 is 1,263 which is an increase of 134% from 540 in 2005. During the evening peak northbound from 1600 until 1900 the number of seats avai…

7 Jun 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many rail passenger seats have been available on an average weekday on southbound services crossing the Forth Rail Bridge between 6.30 am and 9.00 am in each of the last five years.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The current average number of seats provided by ScotRail southbound over the Forth rail bridge between 0630-0900 is 4,450 which is an increase of 46% from 3,050 in 2005. During the evening peak southbound from 1600 until 1900 the number of seats ava…

7 Jun 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what rail passenger numbers have been on the Fife circle line in each four-week period in each of the last five years.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Over the last five years from April 2005 until March 2010 the numbers of rail passenger journeys, based on ticket sales, on the Fife Circle line in each four week period are: <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <thead> <tr > <td nowrap …

7 Jun 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been prosecuted for (a) trespass or (b) vandalism on railway property in (i) Fife and (ii) Scotland in each of the last five years, broken down by those (A) under 16 and (B) 16 and over.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Transport Scotland does not hold this information. Railway Safety and Security has not been devolved to Scottish ministers and remain reserved to Westminster. British Transport Police are responsible for Policing Scotland''s railway and are …

7 Jun 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been (a) injured or (b) killed while trespassing on railway property in (i) Fife and (ii) Scotland in each of the last five years.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: Injury and fatality statistics in each of the five years up to 2008 (the latest year that statistics have been published for) are listed in the following table. Trespass and Suicide statistics are listed together in the same category and it is only the fatali…

7 Jun 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to reduce the incidence of bridge strikes to rail bridges.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: In respect of the Scottish trunk roads network we have been working closely with Network Rail to tackle the incidence of bridge strikes at road/rail interfaces across Scotland. Following completion of investigations instigated by our Operating Companies in ea…

7 Jun 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many bridge strikes to rail bridges in each of the last five years have been due to drivers following satellite navigation systems.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The information requested is not held by the Scottish Government. Further information may be held by the infrastructure owner Network Rail, the British Transport Police or the Rail Safety and Standards Board.

7 Jun 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many bridge strikes have been reported to rail bridges and what the cost has been of structural repairs to the affected bridges in each of the last five years.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The information that we hold on this subject is limited to bridges on the Scottish trunk road network. Local authorities may hold information pertaining to their own areas for non-trunk roads. Network Rail, as owner of Britain''s main line rail infrastructure…

22 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance is being given to NHS boards regarding the provision of support services for patients experiencing the side effects of treatment for prostate cancer.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-33332 on 28 April 2010 which is available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx">http://www.scott…

22 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance is being given to NHS boards regarding the provision of support services for patients undergoing treatment for prostate cancer.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The most appropriate treatment for an individual is determined following a multi-disciplinary team meeting. Following this it is the responsibility of the clinician caring for individuals to provide the relevant information about treatment options, side effec…

22 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what medical guidance is in place regarding the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: There are a number of documents that support the diagnosis of prostate cancer. A Prostate Cancer Risk Management Programme pack, which was originally published by the Department of Health in England, was issued to general practitioners (GPs) across NHS Scotla…

25 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to improve computer literacy in people aged over 50.

Answer · Jim Mather: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-32826 on 15 April 2010. 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/Apps2/…

25 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to improve access to and encourage use of the internet in low-income households.

Answer · Jim Mather: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-32825 on 22 April 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Busines…

25 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to improve access to and encourage use of the internet among people aged over 60.

Answer · Jim Mather: The Scottish Government is working with local partners to promote a range of support which can help everyone, including people in this age group, to improve their ICT skills. This includes adult learning schemes, such as ICT training materials developed for t…

25 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to improve access to the internet among people in the most deprived areas.

Answer · Jim Mather: Free broadband internet access is available to the public through Scotland''s libraries and, as a direct result of Scottish Government intervention, broadband availability in Scotland is now at over 99 per cent. It is widely recognised that the barriers to di…

16 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many households were considered to be in fuel poverty in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Alex Neil: The available figures, for fuel poverty, by local authority - from the Scottish House Condition Survey - are shown in the table below. The Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS) provides the official measure of fuel poverty for Scotland. As the SHCS…

16 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many horse riders received (a) fatal, (b) serious and (c) slight injuries from accidents with (i) a car(s), (ii) an HGV(s) and (iii) an other vehicle(s) in the last five years, broken down by police force area.

Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The following tables show the number of horse riders who were injured in reported road accidents involving cars, HGVs and other vehicles. There were no riders killed during the five years from 2004 to 2008. <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 >…

16 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people died from causes or accidents related to the supply, distribution and use of electricity in each of the last five years.

Answer · Jim Mather: This information is not held by the Scottish Government. However, data on major and minor accidents relating to the supply and distribution of electricity is held by the Energy Network Association, who are the industry body for UK energy transmission…

29 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on a right to request to allow NHS staff to establish a social enterprise to deliver primary and community care.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: It is for NHS boards to plan and provide the services required to meet the health care needs of their resident populations, including primary and community care services. However, the Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that social enterpris…

29 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to mainstream social prescribing in the NHS.

Answer · Shona Robison: A significant range of activity linking patients in primary care with nonmedical sources of support within the community is supported, and these all contribute to the mainstreaming of social prescribing. The General Medical Services contract incentiv…

29 Jan 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all NHS contracts that contain community benefit clauses.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: This is a matter for NHS National Procurement to answer and should be referred to: Jim Miller, Strategic Sourcing Director NHS National Procurement 2 Swinhill Avenue Canderside Toll Larkhall ML5 2…