Carolyn Leckie

14 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-7507 by Mr Andy Kerr on 10 May 2004, what evidence South Lanarkshire Council has presented in respect of its preparation of a business case for a crematorium at Sydes Brae, High Blantyre.

Answer · Mary Mulligan: The papers accompanying the planningapplication, as notified to the Scottish ministers by South Lanarkshire Council,include an assessment of demand for cremations in South Lanarkshire for the period2004 to 2018 having regard to death level and population proj…

14 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will call in South Lanarkshire Council's application for a crematorium at Sydes Brae, High Blantyre, due to the level of public concern.

Answer · Mary Mulligan: The planning application hasbeen notified to the Scottish ministers and is currently being considered. Whilstall relevant issues will be considered, including the level of public concern, itwould be premature at this stage to indicate whether or not the Scott…

26 May 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-8040 by Malcolm Chisholm on 24 May 2004, whether it will provide a breakdown of the costs of (a) management and administration staff paid on the A&C scale up to grade 4, (b) management and administration staff on the senior managers' scale, (c) manag…

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The information required to providea breakdown of management and administration staff costs by grades is not collectedby the Health Department. It is therefore not possible to provide the analysis ofcosts requested.</p>

26 May 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to use "mystery shopping" as a system of quality control accross NHS services.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: “Mystery shopping” as asystem of monitoring and improving quality began operation with NHS 24 on 1 June 2004.</p>

26 May 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what changes have been made, or are planned to be made, to the quality control procedures at NHS 24 and what consultation has taken place on such changes.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: A number of measures are inplace to monitor and improve the quality of the NHS 24 service. NHS 24 is developing a businessimprovement approach with staff which is focused on operational and clinical improvementof the service, and is introducing “mystery shopp…

26 May 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-8105 by Nicol Stephen on 21 May 2004, in what sense it considers the toll regime for the Skye Bridge to be "discredited".

Answer · Nicol Stephen: Ministers regard the tollregime for the Skye Bridge to be “discredited” in every sense.</p>

25 May 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-8107 by Nicol Stephen on 21 May 2004, on what statutory basis organisations, other than the road authority or a concessionaire with lawfully assigned powers, are permitted to demand or collect tolls on the Skye Bridge.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: No other organisations arepermitted to demand or collect tolls on the Skye Bridgeunless operating as contractors or agents.</p>

19 May 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take in response to initial reports from Agenda for Change early implementers regarding the impact on NHS staff earnings.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Initial findings from the earlyimplementer sites in England and the four project sites in Scotland arecurrently being fed into a UK review of Agenda for Change being carried out in partnershipwith the relevant trades unions. This review is due for completion …

19 May 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what resources it will make available to ensure that young people in Wishaw have access to skatepark facilities.

Answer · Frank McAveety: Responsibility for ensuring theprovision of local leisure facilities such as skateparks lies with local authorities.However, the Executive made available to local authorities Quality of Life fundingfor the three years to 2005-06 totalling £180 million. This f…

19 May 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the projections are for the number of GPs who will need to be employed directly by NHS boards for the provision of primary medical services.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Primary Medical Services(Scotland) Act 2004 places NHS boards under a new duty to provide, or secure the provisionof, primary medical services. It is a matter for NHS boards to determine whetheror not general medical practitioners will need to be employed…

19 May 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many, and which, maternity units are currently operating under the appropriate staffing establishments.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive Health Department has endorsed, in principle, the recommendations madein the <i>Nursing and Midwifery Workload &amp; Workforce Planning Project</i>.Action on these recommendations is being taken forward both at NHS board andnational lev…

19 May 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with COSLA in relation to the nursery nurses dispute.

Answer · Peter Peacock: The Executive is in regular contactwith COSLA regarding a range of important issues.</p>

19 May 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the wage rates paid to security staff employed by Reliance Secure Task Management Ltd are sufficient to ensure the safety of the public.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:</p><p>Wage rates are a matter for thecompany.</p>

19 May 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Deloitte and Touche with regard to the selection of workers to be made redundant at TransBus International in Falkirk.

Answer · Jim Wallace: Since entering administrationmatters concerning the day to day operation of TransBus have been the responsibilityof the administrators Deloitte and Touche. This includes responsibility for theemployees and for establishing redundancy selection criteria. It wo…

19 May 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions the Minister for Finance and Public Services has had with the Minister for Education and Young People about making resources available in addition to the current Education Department's budget to support the establishment of a national framework for nursery nurses' pay and…

Answer · Peter Peacock: Local authorities are the employersof nursery nurses and are responsible for their pay and conditions.</p>

19 May 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when its national review of early years will begin and whether it will include the pay and career structure of nursery nurses.

Answer · Peter Peacock: The full remit of the reviewis still being considered and an announcement will be made shortly.</p>

14 May 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase the amount of affordable social housing in the central region and, in particular, whether any discussions have taken place between it and South Lanarkshire Council on the issue, especially relating to East Kilbride.

Answer · Margaret Curran: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her reply is asfollows:</p><p>Communities Scotland isin regular discussion with South Lanarkshire Council and neighbouringauthorities about the provision of affordable social …

12 May 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the exact geographical locations were of each laboratory-confirmed case of measles in (a) 2002 and (b) 2003.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Within the constraints of medicalconfidentiality and the need to avoid the inadvertent identification of individualpatients, the information is as follows: </p><p>2002</p><p>There was a total of four laboratory-confirmedcases, with: three in Fife, and one in …

12 May 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-7671 by Malcolm Chisholm on 5 May 2004, whether it will provide further details of the scientific research and evidence to support the statement that the DTwP-Hib vaccine has been demonstrated to give more effective protection against whooping cough …

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The reasons for preferring highquality DTwP products over DTaP vaccine for primary immunisation are fully exploredin the paper <i>Overview of Recent Clinical Trials of Acellular Pertussis Vaccines(Miller E</i>) published in Biologicals (1999) Vol. 27; 79-86. …

7 May 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, given that only the road authority or a concessionaire with lawfully assigned powers might properly charge and collect tolls, on what statutory basis other organisations are permitted to charge tolls on the Skye Bridge.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: No other organisations are permittedto charge tolls on the Skye Bridge.</p>

7 May 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive by what statutory authority it permits the charging of road tolls on the A87 at the Plock of Kyle and how this is consistent with the prohibition on tolling in Inverness-shire granted by William I, King of Scots, in perpetuity in 1180.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The power to charge tolls atthe Skye Bridge is set out in section 27 of the New Roads and StreetWorks Act 1991, and is implemented by The Invergarry - Kyle of Lochalsh Trunk Road(A87) Extension (Skye Bridge Crossing) Toll Order 1992. The interpretation and ap…

7 May 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether #23.64 million, the agreed cost of the Skye Bridge at July 1990 prices, has been collected in tolls and, if not, when it estimates that this figure will be reached.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The agreed costs have not yetbeen recovered through tolling. Information on this issue and the detailed termsof the contract itself, are now the subject of commercially confidential negotiationswith Skye Bridge Limited, with a view to ending the discredited t…

7 May 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-7038 by Malcolm Chisholm on 1 April 2004, whether it will list all cases where thiomersal has been removed from vaccines as a precautionary measure.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The regulation and safety ofmedicines is reserved and is the responsibility of the Medicines and Healthcareproducts Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The MHRA has advised that since October 2003the following vaccines have had thiomersal removed from the manufacturing…

6 May 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-7643 by Mr Malcolm Chisholm on 4 May 2004, what guidance it issues to NHS boards to prevent Agenda for Change being used for the purpose of achieving savings.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Agenda for Change is about bothinvesting in NHS staff to recognise the contribution they make to NHSScotland, andprogressing the modernisation and reform of key public services. </p><p>No guidance has been issued bythe Scottish Executive to NHS boards in rela…

30 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what contact it has had with North Lanarkshire Council regarding the ability of Craigneuk Development and Support Unit to continue its work in the community.

Answer · Margaret Curran: I have asked Angiolina Foster,Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to reply. Her response is as follows:</p><p>As members of the North LanarkshirePartnership Board, Communities Scotland and North Lanarkshire Council have beenin regular contact about the w…

22 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-7038 by Malcolm Chisholm on 1 April 2004, under what circumstances thiomersal would be removed from childhood vaccines as a precautionary measure and whether there are any plans to use the mercury-free vaccine, Infranrix, as an alternative to thiomer…

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: As set out in the answer to questionS2W-7038 UK Health Departments are advised by a number of expert committees on mattersrelating to vaccination and immunisation and their advice, which has full regardto issues of safety and effectiveness is, and will contin…

21 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in light of the introduction of the Mercury-Free Vaccines Act of 2004 in the US House of Representatives on 2 April 2004 and the conclusions of Geier and Geier's 2003 study Thimerosal in childhood vaccines, neurodevelopment disorders and heart disease in the United States, all va…

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answergiven to question S2W-7038 on 1 April 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’swebsite, the search facility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp…

21 Apr 2004 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to develop waste land for the benefit of young people.

Answer · Mary Mulligan: Local authorities plan for thedevelopment of their land to take account of the needs of local communities, includingyoung people. There are Executive funded programmes related to this such as theBetter Neighbourhood Services Fund which has supported teenage r…

20 Apr 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether NHS board funding deficits will affect the outcome of job evaluation exercises under Agenda for Change.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: No.</p><p>The cost of Agenda for Changewill be met through NHS boards’ general allocations. Boards have received recordfunding in this spending round and the costs of Agenda for Change will be subsumedwithin the very significant overall real terms uplift rece…

19 Mar 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, under the new consultants' contract, consultants carrying out private work during their NHS contracted time will have their NHS salaries amended accordingly.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Under the new contract consultants are not permitted to carry out private practice during time contracted to the NHS, with the exception of a defined list of fee paying work outlined at Appendix 5 (a) to the contract. At the discretion of the employer,the con…