Parliamentary questions

Jackson Carlaw

1,088 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

18 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the condition rating of each primary and secondary school building for each local authority in the west of Scotland.

Answer · Keith Brown: The information is published on the government website at the following link: <a href="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/1038/0078775.xls">http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/1038/0078775.xls</a>.

18 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to answer to question S3W-20360 by Jim Mather on 11 February 2009, whether it will list the (a) total population of people of all ages, (b) number of staff employed and (c) ratio of local authority employees to total head of population in each local authority.

Answer · Jim Mather: The information requested is set out in the following table. Part (a) shows the latest estimates of total population by local authority. Part (b) shows the latest statistics on the number of staff employed by each local authority. This includes both full-time…

12 Feb 2009 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to secure an agreement over funding between St Margaret of Scotland Hospice and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: 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/sor0212-01.htm">http://www.scot…

12 Feb 2009 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister, in light of the decision to prevent local authorities from charging pensioners for assistance with food preparation, what guarantees the Scottish Government will offer that charges hitherto levied will be refunded.

Answer · Alex Salmond: 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/sor0212-01.htm">http://www.scott…

5 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will track the impact of the extension of chlamydia testing as part of the new community pharmacy contract.

Answer · Shona Robison: Chlamydia tests undertaken by the NHS are processed by NHS laboratories with statistics on the number of tests and positive diagnoses collated and analysed by Health Protection Scotland. Chlamydia tests which are undertaken as part of the community pharmacy c…

5 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken by NHS boards to increase the availability and ease of testing for chlamydia, particularly in relation to young men.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government has published sexual health outcomes for 2008-11. One of these outcomes, being led by NHS boards and local authorities, is the provision of young people''s drop-in services in or near every school in Scotland offering general health ad…

5 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to raise awareness of the importance of testing for chlamydia.

Answer · Shona Robison: NHS boards, through their Health Promotion Departments, undertake local targeted work on the risks of contracting sexually transmitted infections and on the importance of testing and treatment. In addition the government is in the process of developi…

5 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the known reinfection rate is for chlamydia, broken down by (a) age group, (b) gender and (c) NHS board.

Answer · Shona Robison: The information requested is not held centrally.

5 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of any research indicating that chlamydia can have an impact on male fertility and, if so, what impact this has on its targets for the testing of men.

Answer · Shona Robison: Human Reproduction and The Lancet medical journals published Swedish research in spring 2008 which stated that there is a robust and independent association between failure to conceive and chlamydia antibodies in men, independent of semen qual…

5 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made toward meeting targets on chlamydia testing.

Answer · Shona Robison: The most recent figures for chlamydia testing published by Health Protection Scotland are for 2007. Data is not yet available showing progress made toward meeting targets on chlamydia testing. NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (NHS QIS) published targets for c…

5 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many tests have been conducted for chlamydia, broken down by (a) age group and (b) gender and what proportion of the population this represents, from January to September in each year since 2006.

Answer · Shona Robison: The available information is given in the following table (2007 is the year for which the latest data is available): Genital Chlamydia Infection, Scotland 2006 and 2007; Laboratory Tests and Proportion of Population by Gender and Age Group <tabl…

5 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive to what it attributes any changes in the numbers of diagnoses for chlamydia since 2006.

Answer · Shona Robison: Data is only currently available until 2007. The most recent data on positive diagnosis show that in 2006 there were 17,926 diagnoses of genital chlamydia, compared with 17,928 in 2007. There has therefore been no significant change in the number of …

5 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many positive tests for chlamydia have been reported, broken down by (a) age group, (b) gender and (c) NHS board, from January to September in each year since 2006.

Answer · Shona Robison: The available information is given in the following tables (2007 is the year for which the latest data is available): Genital Chlamydia Infection, Scotland 2006 and 2007; Laboratory Diagnoses by Gender and Age Group <table border=0 cellspacing=…

5 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many tests have been conducted for chlamydia, broken down by (a) age group, (b) gender and (c) NHS board, from January to September in each year since 2006.

Answer · Shona Robison: The available information is given in the following tables (2007 is the year for which the latest data is available): Genital Chlamydia Infection, Scotland 2006 and 2007; Laboratory Tests by Gender and Age Group <table border=0 cellspacing=0 ce…

4 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) employed and (b) volunteer drivers there have been in the Scottish Ambulance Service in each year since 1999.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The following table details the number of volunteer ambulance car drivers since 2004, broken down by NHS board area. Information is not held for the years prior to 2003-04. <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <thead> <tr > <td width=186…

4 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many days were lost in the Scottish Police Service through sickness absence in each year since 1999, broken down by police force.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: Police working days lost due to sickness absence 1999-2000 to 2007-08 <table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <tr > <td valign=bottom > Force </td> <td nowrap valign=bottom > 1999-2000 </td…

4 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many days were lost in the Scottish Ambulance Service through sickness absence in each year since 1999, broken down by division.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: To ensure comparability of data the Scottish Ambulance Service record sickness absence rates as a percentage which allows benchmarking against other health boards. Sickness absence information is based on hours lost to take account of part-time workers whose …

4 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many days were lost in the NHS through sickness absence in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Information on sickness absence rates is based on hours lost at a national level and is available from 2001 onwards. NHS board level information is available from 2005 onwards: <a href="http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/servlet/FileBuffer?namedFile=Sic…

4 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many days were lost in local authorities through sickness absence in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · John Swinney: This information is not held centrally. The management of sickness absence within local authorities is a matter for individual local authorities as employers. Local authorities are required by law to provide Audit Scotland with information on sicknes…

2 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of meningitis B there have been in each year since 1999.

Answer · Shona Robison: The number of meningitis B cases reported to Health Protection Scotland (HPS) each year from 1999 is set out in the following table. Figures reflect the number of reported cases of meningitis B to the end of December each year. Number of Meningitis B…

2 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of meningitis B there have been in the last three months for which information is available and how many there were over the same period in 2008.

Answer · Shona Robison: From 1 October 2008 to 31 December 2008 (the last three full months for which data is available), Health Protection Scotland is provisionally aware of 14 cases of Meningitis B infection. This compares to 16 cases of meningitis B from 1 October 2007 to 31 Dec…

2 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many senior staff charge nurses it expects to be operating within the senior charge nurse framework in (a) six months’, (b) 12 months’ and (c) 18 months’ time.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-20427 on 24 February 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/…

2 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of its press release of 14 October 2008, how many senior charge nurses are operating within the senior charge nurse framework.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: All senior charge nurses (SCN) in hospitals across NHS Scotland will be working within the context of this revised role by the end of 2010. At present, around 700 SCNs have either completed or are undertaking training, which includes one to one facilitation, …

2 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many inspections have been carried out by the Care Environment Inspectorate since November 2008; where they have been carried out, and what conclusions have been reached.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The NHS Care Environment Inspectorate will provide robust, external inspection of NHS facilities, including unannounced visits. This is intended to enhance safety, assurance and public confidence. Following a period of consultation which closed on 12…

2 Feb 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the UK Government’s decision to pilot a scheme allowing patients with long-term conditions to access direct payments to purchase their own medical and care services, whether the Scottish Government will consider launching a similar pilot and, if not, what its reasons are for …

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government is committed to increasing the uptake of self-directed support (SDS) as a way of giving those receiving social care choice, flexibility and control over the services they receive. We are funding three test sites (Dumfries and Galloway,…