Parliamentary questions

Stewart Maxwell

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

15 Jun 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Dietary Target to reduce the average daily intake of salt to 100mmol by 2005 has been met.

Answer · Andy Kerr: There is no reliable information available on the salt consumption of the Scottish population. Unfortunately salt consumption cannot be measured by the same methodology of other nutrients as the databases are too inaccurate. Measurement of salt consump…

15 Jun 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Dietary Target to reduce the average daily intake of saturated fat to 11% of food energy by 2005 has been met.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The information is not available as yet, however progress is being made as follows. The Food Standards Agency Scotland (FSAS) will be publishing a report this autumn reviewing the progress made by 2003 towards the Scottish Diet Action Plan targets. Due…

15 Jun 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Dietary Target to reduce the average daily intake of total fat to 35% of food energy by 2005 has been met.

15 Jun 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Dietary Target to increase the average daily intake of breakfast cereals to 34 grams by 2005 has been met.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The information is not available as yet, however progress is being made as follows. The Scottish Health Survey 2003, which will be published later this year, will contain qualitative information on the consumption of breakfast cereals.The Food S…

15 Jun 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Dietary Target to increase the average daily intake of bread by 45% by 2005 has been met.

15 Jun 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Dietary Target to double the average daily intake of fruit and vegetables to more than 400 grams per day by 2005 has been met.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The information is not available as yet, however, progress is being made as follows. The Scottish Health Survey 2003, which will be published later this year, will contain some quantitative information on the consumption of fruit and vegetables.…

15 Jun 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many active school clusters have been established to date.

Answer · Peter Peacock: The organisation of schools area matter for local authorities to determine. Information on cluster arrangementsis not collected centrally.

2 Jun 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many DEXA scanners there are in each NHS board area.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The information requested is provided in the following table. The Golden Jubilee also has access to a DEXA scanner two days a week. This facility is available to all NHS boards. It is for NHS boards to determine how to allocate resources to local services.</p…

31 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, following the successful pilot study and publication in November 2001 of Report on Nutrition in the Elderly Study, it intends to collect and publish statistics on the nutritional status of the patients in continuing and long-term care using the renamed Scottish Health Resource Ut…

Answer · Rhona Brankin: The report showed that it was feasible to gather information on Body Mass Index (BMI) status from long-stay wards, alongside the SHRUGs interviews carried out by ISD once a year. The limitations inherent in using this annual snapshot approach to measure BMI, …

30 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether exercise therapy can be prescribed by GPs for patients diagnosed with osteoporosis.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Evidence suggests that exerciseis a useful intervention for people with osteoporosis and is recommended in theSIGN Guideline 71. GPs can refer patients diagnosed with osteoporosis for an appropriateexercise programme as suggested in the SIGN Guideline.

25 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to monitor the uptake of calcium and vitamin D supplementation, particularly among women living in residential care, in light of the recommendation of Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network 71 - Management of Osteoporosis: A National Clinical Guideline that f…

Answer · Rhona Brankin: The implementation of SIGN guidelines, which are good practice clinical guidelines rather than mandatory standards of care, is a matter for NHS boards and is not monitored directly by the Executive. NHS boards’ clinical governance committees are expected to t…

25 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-13635 by Mr Andy Kerr on 31 January 2005 and following the publication of Health in Scotland 2004 in March 2005 which states that there is an HAI surveillance project to monitor catheter-associated urinary tract infections, whether it is now possible…

Answer · Andy Kerr: Data on the number of hospital-acquired urinary tract infections (UTI) and the rate of infection in each NHS board are not yet available, as the catheter-associated UTI surveillance programme is still under development. Data on healthcare-associated UT…

19 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any mobile DEXA scanners currently in use in Scotland.

Answer · Andy Kerr: There are no mobile Dexa Scanners currently in use in Scotland.

19 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time for a DEXA scan has been in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Andy Kerr: This information is not held centrally. This particular scan does not have a specific code which allows it to be identified from national data.

18 May 2005 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the operating costs were of the Strathclyde Safety Camera Partnership in 2003-04.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Audited figures for 2003-04 show that expenditure for the Strathclyde Safety Camera Partnership was £2,739,688.

12 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2O-6584 by Cathy Jamieson on 4 May 2005 and given that the Prince2 methodology will have identified which resources were used and for how long, whether it is now in a position to state what the cost to date has been of the criminal history system replac…

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Police Information Strategy and the Scottish Criminal Record Office are working to identifying their respective costs to date on the replacement project. I will write to the member with the information once it is available.

11 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of recent reports that the incidence of low birth weight is increasing and in view of the evidence that effective smoking cessation interventions in pregnancy reduce the prevalence of low birth weight, whether the Executive has any plans to set targets for reducing smoking in pr…

Answer · Rhona Brankin: As part of the Spending Review in 2004 the Scottish Executive announced new targets aimed at increasing the rate of health improvement for the most deprived communities. This includes a target to reduce smoking during pregnancy for mothers in deprivation quin…

11 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-16163 by Cathy Jamieson on 10 May 2005, what the cost will be of the preparations undertaken for a procurement exercise to replace the criminal history system database.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The preparations for procurement have been carried out so far by Scottish Executive officials as part of their day-to-day work.

11 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-16162 by Cathy Jamieson on 10 May 2005, what stages of the new project to replace the criminal history system database will be led by project managers hired from outwith the Scottish Police Information Strategy.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Additional input will be secured following a tendering exercise involving companies appointed to the Framework for IT Services Scotland contracts. The additional input will focus on performance testing, the development of a revised project initiation document…

5 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-16033 by Mr Andy Kerr on 29 April 2005, what funding will be provided for comprehensive pain management services.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The Executive prefers to maximise the unified budgets made available to NHS boards for the treatment of all chronic conditions, rather than hold back funds for specific conditions. In the current financial year unified budgets have been increased by an averag…

5 May 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-16033 by Mr Andy Kerr on 29 April 2005, whether the purpose of the proposed conference on pain management is to establish a national strategy on pain management and, if not, what steps the Executive is taking to produce a national strategy on pain ma…

Answer · Andy Kerr: The conference will discuss the recent report by Professor James McEwen, Emeritus Professor in Public Health, on Chronic Pain Services in Scotland. We hope to hold the conference in early July. Service planning is, as far as possible, devolved t…

25 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-15561 by Cathy Jamieson on 22 April 2005, what the total cost of the criminal history system replacement project has been to date, including consultancy costs.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The criminal history system replacement project was progressed in-house by the Scottish Police Information Strategy and they did not define a separate budget.

25 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-15561 by Cathy Jamieson on 22 April 2005, what the cost of the procurement exercise will be which will run in parallel with the first phase of the new criminal history service replacement project.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: A procurement exercise is not being run in parallel with the work to generate a revised project initiation document and the performance testing of the criminal history system replacement project being undertaken by the Scottish Police Information Strategy. As…

25 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-15561 by Cathy Jamieson on 22 April 2005, whether either of the consultancy firms which carried out the reviews of the criminal history service replacement project has any involvement with the new stages of the project and, if so, in what way.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Currently, there are no consultancy firms involved in the criminal history system replacement project being undertaken by the Scottish Police Information Strategy. Further input will be required to deliver the replacement project, particularly fresh project m…

25 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-15561 by Cathy Jamieson on 22 April 2005, which consultancy firm carried out the further review of the criminal history service replacement project in January 2005 and what the cost of the review was.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Following a tendering exercise Real Time Engineering Ltd were commissioned in January 2005 to develop a plan which identified key outputs and milestones for the successful delivery of the criminal history system replacement project being developed by the Scot…

25 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-15561 by Cathy Jamieson on 22 April 2005, which consultancy firm carried out the initial review of the criminal history service replacement project after March 2004; what the (a) cost and (b) remit was of the review, and whether the consultants were …

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: In March 2004, Logica CMG carried out consultancy work to assess whether the project being undertaken by the Scottish Police Information Strategy would deliver a replacement criminal history system by June 2004. The cost was £3,375 plus VAT. Assessing the per…

15 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the finding of Professor James McEwen's review of the provision of chronic pain services that pain clinics generate direct health service savings equal to twice their running costs, what plans there are to (a) produce a national strategy for pain services and (b) fund the pro…

Answer · Andy Kerr: This was not a finding of Professor McEwen’s review but a quotation from one of the published studies he used as references. In recommendation 10 of his report, Professor McEwen said that it should be noted that the evidence from economic evaluations indicate…

12 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many antisocial behaviour orders were issued in each local authority area in each of the last five years up to the end of the financial year 2004-05.

Answer · Hugh Henry: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-11134 on 28 October 2004. This answer provides the requested information up to the end of 2003-04. A survey will be undertaken in the summer which will identify the number of antisocial behaviour orders issued …

12 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many Did Not Attends (DNAs) there were for (a) in-patient appointments and (b) out-patient appointments in each of the last three years, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Information on “did not attend” (DNA) rates for new out-patient appointments for the three latest available financial years is shown in the table below. Information on DNA rates for inpatient appointments is not collected centrally at present. New Out-…

8 Apr 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in the last five years have been found to have been driving with a blood alcohol concentration from 50mg to 79mg per 100ml, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The information requested is not collected centrally.