Questions · Jackson Carlaw

25 Sep 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many hours of spare capacity there were in NHS facilities in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The requested information is not available. Information on the numbers of staffed available beds and bed occupancy in NHS Hospitals in Scotland is published on the NHS National Services Scotland Information Services Division website at <a href="http:…

25 Sep 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent on unused prescriptions in each year since 1999, also expressed in real terms.

Answer · Shona Robison: Information on the cost to the NHS of prescribed medicines not taken by patients or on prescriptions written for patients but not presented for dispensing is not collected centrally. The Scottish Government supports a range of initiatives through the contract…

25 Sep 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many new organ donors were registered in each month since May 2007.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: This information is not held in the form requested. However, available figures showing changes to the number of registrations to the Organ Donor Register each month since May 2007 are demonstrated in the following table: <table border=1 cellspacing=0 ce…

25 Sep 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many registered organ donors there were in each year since 1999.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Available figures for the number of people registered on the Organ Donor Register in Scotland are provided in the following table: <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <tr > <td valign=top > Registration Date </td>…

25 Sep 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machines there are in Scotland; where they are located; whether it is satisfied that this is a sufficient quantity in view of the influenza A (H1N1) pandemic, and, if not, how many more machines it proposes to gain access to; by when, and by wh…

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-27461 on 3 November 2009. 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…

3 Sep 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assurances it has received from the Government of Libya that Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi will be returned to custody in Scotland should he breach the terms of his release; whether these assurances have been relayed to East Renfrewshire Council and, if no such assurances have bee…

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Mr Megrahi has been released on licence conditions similar to those of any other prisoner released on licence on compassionate grounds. These are available on our website <a href="http://www.scotland.gsi.gov.uk/lockerbie">www.scotland.gsi.gov.uk/lockerbie</a>…

3 Sep 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in the event that East Renfrewshire Council reports that it believes that Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi has breached the terms of his release, how the Scottish Government intends to recall him to custody.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The powers of the Scottish Ministers and the Parole Board for Scotland are set out in section 17 of the Prisoners and Criminal Proceedings (Scotland) Act 1993. The processes for any recall are the same as for any other prisoner released on licence and who is …

3 Sep 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many prisoners granted compassionate release have been given freedom to travel abroad when the terms of the relevant release licence are monitored by a Scottish local authority.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The licences of prisoners granted early release on compassionate grounds routinely allow travel abroad subject to the approval of the individual''s supervising officer.

3 Sep 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any costs incurred by requiring East Renfrewshire Council to monitor the movements of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi in Libya will be funded directly by the Scottish Government or whether these costs will be met by council tax payers in East Renfrewshire.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: East Renfrewshire Council is not responsible for monitoring the movements of Mr Megrahi in Libya. They are responsible for supervising compliance with the terms of the compassionate release licence. Any associated costs are met in the same way as costs of sup…

3 Sep 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether public funds continue to be paid to house the relatives of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi in East Renfrewshire and, if so, what sum is involved and what bodies are responsible for funding this arrangement.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: We are not aware of any public funds being paid to house relatives of Mr Al-Megrahi in East Renfrewshire.

3 Sep 2009 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions it has had with the farming industry regarding the introduction of electronic identification for sheep in December 2009.

Answer · Richard Lochhead : This question was answered in the Chamber. The answer can be viewed in the Official Report using the following link: <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-09/sor0903-01.htm">http://www.scot…

19 Aug 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much money ASH Scotland received from the Scottish Government and other government-funded bodies last year, expressed (a) in cash terms and (b) as a proportion of ASH Scotland’s total budget.

Answer · Shona Robison: ASH Scotland is the only national voluntary sector agency dealing with tobacco control issues in Scotland. The funding it receives from the Scottish Government in the form of core and project grant funding is in return for agreed outcomes which contribute to …

15 Jul 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of council tax receipts is allocated to contributing to the pensions of local authority staff, also broken down by local authority.

Answer · John Swinney: It is the responsibility of each local authority to allocate the total financial resources available to it, including council tax receipts, on the basis of local needs and priorities having first fulfilled its statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set …

13 Jul 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the pilot study to identify and log unmet gaps in the provision of attendant-controlled powered wheelchairs will implement a national standard assessment tool based on the social model of disability.

Answer · Shona Robison: As part of the wheelchair and seating services modernisation action plan the need for a standard assessment tool that will assess mobility within a framework of the social model of disability has been identified. As part of the planning process for this pilot…

6 Jul 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of public contracts has been awarded to (a) small and (b) medium size businesses in each year since publication of John McClelland’s 2006 report, Review of Public Procurement in Scotland, expressed in terms of value.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Procurement information hub analyses procurement spending by Scottish public bodies including all local authorities and health boards. According to information on the hub at July 2009, spending with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) since…

6 Jul 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what evidence it has of the economic benefits to Scotland folllowing implementation of the recommendations of John McClelland’s 2006 report, Review of Public Procurement in Scotland, also taking into account local employment and welfare benefit costs and the multiplier effect of local spe…

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government is monitoring the proportion of contracts which go to small and medium-sized enterprises, and has asked all public bodies to do the same. According to the recently published Audit Scotland report Improving Public Sector Pu…

6 Jul 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what it has done to facilitate the establishment of small and medium-sized business consortia to ensure the participation of this sector in public procurement contract tenders and whether it considers any such actions to have been a success.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government recognises that the establishment of consortia and other supply chain partnerships can provide a mechanism for small, medium and social enterprises to actively compete for a range of public sector contracts. To facilitate this, the gov…

6 Jul 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what evidence it has of smaller business consortia being formed to participate in public procurement contract tenders and what success any such consortia have had in securing public procurement tenders.

Answer · John Swinney: There are no specific indicators which track the formation of, or success of, consortia in securing public procurement tenders. However, public bodies can track the percentage of their spend with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through the Scottish …

6 Jul 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to protect and ensure the participation of smaller and medium-sized businesses in public procurement contract tenders.

Answer · John Swinney: The government is committed to ensuring that small and medium-sized businesses have fair access to public sector contracts in Scotland. In support of this, in April I wrote to heads of procurement and chief executives throughout the Scottish public sector se…

6 Jul 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the effect on small businesses has been of the implementation of the recommendations of John McClelland’s 2006 report, Review of Public Procurement in Scotland.

Answer · John Swinney: The public sector currently spends approximately £8 billion on goods, works and services each year. Analysis of spend data from across the public sector shows that for 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 on average 49% of that spend was with small or medium-sized en…