Stewart Maxwell

3 Dec 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many overseas students are studying at university in Scotland; how many there were in 2010; whether it considers that the changes in the rules governing international student visas since 2010 have impacted on this and, if so, how.

Answer · Michael Russell: Data on the number of overseas (i.e. Non-EU) students at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Scotland is produced by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). The latest data is for academic year 2011-12. The total number of overseas students studyin…

11 Sep 2013 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will make a decision on the location of the proposed national performance centre for sport.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I am pleased to inform parliament that following a detailed assessment of each of the three high quality bids received, I have today invited the bid team from Heriot-Watt University and the City of Edinburgh Council to take forward their proposals to deliver …

9 Sep 2013 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made on implementing an injury surveillance programme.

13 Aug 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many patients have received (a) primary and (b) secondary fracture-preventing medications in each of the last three years, also broken down by (i) gender, (ii) age and (iii) NHS board.

Answer · Alex Neil: The information requested has been lodged with the Scottish Parliament’s Information Centre (SPICe) under Bib number 55180.

18 Jun 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, whether it will provide a breakdown of recorded religious hate crimes in 2012-13 expressed as the number of incidents per 1,000 members of each religious affiliation, also broken down by incidents recorded under section (a) 74 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 and (b) 1 of the…

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The reports titled Religiously aggravated offending in Scotland 2012-13 and ‘Charges reported under the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012 were published on 14 June 2013 and presented information on the number o…

12 Jun 2013 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to encourage golf tourism and what impact this will have on the west of Scotland economy.

8 May 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the results were of the recent ministerial visits to North America.

1 May 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency to rule on the licensing of electronic cigarettes.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has set up an expert group to look at both market and scientific research on nicotine products and is expected to publish its findings in June 2013.

23 Apr 2013 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its consultation on the future use of resources in light of the announcement by the UK Government of its closure of the Independent Living Fund from 31 March 2015.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government will publish its consultation on the future use of resources following the announcement by the UK Government to close the Independent Living Fund. Once there has been a decision by the Administrative Court in England, regarding the Jud…

26 Mar 2013 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government when its new tobacco control strategy will be published.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government’s new Tobacco Control Strategy, Creating a Tobacco-free Generation, is being published on 27 March 2013. The strategy sets out a five year plan for action across the key themes of health inequalities, prevention, protection and cessati…

19 Feb 2013 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the number of incidents of number plate cloning fraud.

4 Feb 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the population is of each NHS board area, broken down by (a) age and (b) gender, also expressed as a percentage.

Answer · Alex Neil: Estimates of the population, numbers and percentages, usually resident in each NHS board area as at 30 June 2011 are shown in the following tables. Table A     Numbers NHS Board Areas   0-15 16-64 65+ Total Ayrshire and Arran M…

29 Jan 2013 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to improve access to the railway network for disabled people.

15 Jan 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what preparations it has made for the Bannockburn celebrations during Homecoming 2014.

8 Jan 2013 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been prosecuted in the last year for smoking in enclosed premises or permitting smoking to take place in enclosed premises.

17 Dec 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what percentage of people have had one or more dental examinations in the last (i) 6, (ii) 12, (iii) 18 and (iv) 24 months, broken down by (A) NHS board, (B) gender and (C) age.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The information requested will be available from Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) under (Bib. number 54676). The tables provide information on the number and percentage of adults (18 years old and over) who have had one or more dental examinati…

17 Dec 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to increase the uptake of fracture-preventing medications.

Answer · Alex Neil: The National Osteoporosis Service in Scotland continues to work with clinicians within NHS boards, including fracture liaison nurses, to deliver education sessions for people with recently diagnosed osteoporosis. These sessions include the provision of inform…

17 Dec 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government  how many patients have received fracture-preventing medications in each of the last three years, also broken down by (a) gender, (b) age and (c) NHS board.

Answer · Alex Neil: Information on the prescribing of fracture preventing medications has been provided in the following tables. The data provided is based on prescribing and dispensing within primary care. 2009-10 Prescribing Health Board Gender Age 0-4 5-14 15-24 25-4…

17 Dec 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to improve the diagnosis of vertebral fractures.

Answer · Alex Neil: Whilst vertebral fractures are one of the most common fracture types related to osteoporosis, a significant proportion do not come to clinical attention on account of several factors, including: The nature of the clinical presentation of vertebral fracture (…

5 Dec 2012 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on Scotland Excel's consultation on a proposed national framework for residential children’s care services.

4 Dec 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-10484 by Michael Russell on 29 November 2012, how many students were eligible to pay the graduate endowment on graduating in (a) 2003-04, (b) 2004-05, (c) 2005-06 and (d) 2006-07.

Answer · Michael Russell: The following table shows the number of students that were eligible to pay the graduate endowment, broken down by the year they graduated. These figures do not include students who have deferred their payments while they complete a postgraduate course. Year …

26 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-07322 by Kenny MacAskill on 6 June 2012 and to the publication of the report, Religiously Aggravated Offending in Scotland 2012, whether it will provide a breakdown of recorded religious hate crimes in 2011-12 expressed as the number of incidents pe…

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The report ‘Religiously aggravated offending in Scotland 2011-12 was published on 23 November 2012 and presented information on the number of religious aggravation charges (from section 74 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003) that were reported to the…

12 Nov 2012 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s position is on the likely impact of the proposed job losses at BBC Scotland.

8 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how often a property classified by VisitScotland under its quality assurance scheme is reinspected.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: All accommodation scheme and EatScotland participants are visited annually. Participants in the visitor attraction scheme are visited every two years. VisitScotland are currently undertaking a pilot with the Association of Scottish Self Caterers regarding sch…

8 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many properties VisitScotland has classified under its quality assurance scheme, broken down by (a) star rating and (b) type of accommodation.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: At present 8,818 businesses take part in the VisitScotland Quality Assurance(QA) scheme. This covers restaurants, attractions, pubs, bars and restaurants as well as accommodation providers. It includes a further 1,280 self-catering properties which are now be…

8 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what percentage of people have had (i) an eye test and (ii) two dental examinations in each of the last three years, broken down by (A) NHS board, (B) gender and (C) age.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The information requested will be available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 54501).

8 Nov 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) deaths and (b) hospitalisations have been caused by so-called legal highs in each of the last three years, broken down by (i) NHS board and (ii) drug.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Information on the number of deaths caused by so-called legal highs is not held centrally. There is no standard definition of legal highs, therefore it is not possible to produce comprehensive statistics for deaths in Scotland where legal highs were implicate…

29 Oct 2012 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the take-up rate of grants for improving the quality of private drinking water supplies has been in the last three years.

25 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many emergency admissions to hospital for asthma in (a) 2006-07, (b) 2007-08, (c) 2008-09, (d) 2009-10, (e) 2010-11 and (f) 2011-12 could have been avoided if preventative medication had been taken properly.

Answer · Alex Neil: This information is not collected centrally.

24 Oct 2012 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many students have paid back their graduate endowment in full or have a balance remaining.

Answer · Michael Russell: As at 31 March 2012, 22,238 graduates had paid the graduate endowment fee in full. This includes 7,220 who made a cash payment and 15,018 who have chosen to either pay through a student loan or a combination of part cash payment part student loan. 669 have an…