Parliamentary questions

Carolyn Leckie

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

23 Oct 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to guarantee the availability of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation to infants under four weeks clinically deemed to require it.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Although extracorporealmembrane oxygenation (ECMO) is provided at Yorkhill, it is designated andfunded through National Services Division (NSD) as a national service. I wouldexpect any proposals emerging from NHS Greater Glasgow’s review of maternity services…

23 Oct 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what capital expenditure will be necessary to implement fully the legislation in relation to disability access in Part 3 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, broken down by NHS board and trust, and whether such expenditure will be met from within existing budgets.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: This information is not held centrally but at NHS board/trust level.Any expenditure necessary toimplement measures to comply with the requirements of Part 3 of the DisabilityDiscrimination Act 1995 will be met by prioritisation within NHS board and tru…

23 Oct 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether NHS boards and trusts will meet their obligations in relation to the code of practice under Part 3 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 on time.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: NHS boards and trusts areexpected to meet their statutory obligations under Part 3 of the DisabilityDiscrimination Act 1995.

23 Oct 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made by NHS boards and trusts in implementing the code of practice under Part 3 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: This information is not heldcentrally.

23 Oct 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding is available to NHS boards for implementation of the code of practice under Part 3 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Record levels of funding toNHS boards are increasing over the spending review period in terms of bothrevenue and capital.Any expenditure necessary toimplement measures to comply with the requirements of Part 3 of the DisabilityDiscrimination Act 1995 w…

23 Oct 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the recommendations of the NHS Quality Improvement Scotland's report into ultrasound scanning in pregnancy will be implemented across all NHS boards and trusts and, if so, how long it expects full implementation of the recommendations to take.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The NHS Quality ImprovementScotland report on routine ultrasound scanning before 24 weeks of pregnancy iscurrently a consultation document. The Executive will consider the guidance inthe report when it is finalised together with any advice from the UK Nationa…

23 Oct 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made on the Agenda for Change negotiations, with particular reference to (a) protection arrangements, (b) part-time workers and (c) those who predominantly work nights and weekends.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Agenda for Changenegotiations were completed last year and early implementation of the new paysystem is now under way in England. In Scotland, the protection arrangements under Agenda for Changehave been enhanced to ensure that no member of staff suffers …

23 Oct 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to meet travel costs of patients and carers travelling for (a) specialist treatment, (b) palliative care and (c) cancer treatment.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: There are currently twostatutory schemes which allow full or partial reimbursement of travellingexpenses of patients, and where medically necessary, their escorts, which arenecessarily incurred when attending a hospital for the purpose of patientsavailing the…

2 Oct 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether training in the use of equipment is adequate in the NHS.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Health and Safety atWork Act 1974 requires that employees must be properly trained in the use ofany equipment they are required to use.Audit Scotlandpublished a report, Equipped to Care in March 2001. This provided NHS boardswith recommendat…

2 Oct 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether equipment is adequately maintained in the NHS.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: It is for management in NHS boardsand trusts to ensure equipment is adequately maintained in the NHS and also to makesure that there is clarity about delegated responsibilities for maintenance.Audit Scotlandpublished a report, Equipped to Care i…

2 Oct 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether equipment levels in the NHS are commensurate with the needs of the service and whether NHS staff can access appropriate equipment when they require it.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: It is for individual NHS boardsto determine annually the level of funding required for new and replacementmedical equipment taking into account other local priorities. NHS boards canuse both capital and revenue resources to meet equipment costs.In addi…

2 Oct 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has conducted research into the re-use of single-use equipment in the NHS.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: There has been no researchconducted by the Scottish Executive into the re-use of single-use equipment in the NHS. The guidance from the Medicines & HealthcareProducts Regulatory Agency (MHRA, previously the Medical Devices Agency, MDA)in their Device Bull…

2 Oct 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much NHS equipment has been purchased through charitable donations and what proportion of overall equipment expenditure these purchases represent.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: This is a matter for NHS boardsand NHS trusts. The information requested is not held centrally.

17 Sep 2003 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether current public sector wage levels are adequate.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive considers that current public sector wage levels are adequate and fair.In practice the vast majority of directly employed public sector workers earn aboveminimum wage levels, with minimum rates in large parts of the sector now above £5a…

10 Sep 2003 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what efforts it has made to assist with the resolution of the nursery nurses' industrial action.

Answer · Euan Robson: The Scottish Executive will continue to encourage the local authorities and unions to keeptalking, in order to reach a settlement that is fair for the nursery nurses andfinancially sustainable for the local authorities.Pay and conditions are amatter fo…

20 Aug 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-1447 by Euan Robson on 6 August 2003, whether any of the increased funding for local authorities to meet the costs of educating children with additional support needs in mainstream schools has been diverted from other special needs education budgets …

Answer · Peter Peacock: The Executive’s increasedfunding to support the costs of children with additional support needs inmainstream schools is new money. I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-2364 today, for information on local authority netexpenditure on s…

19 Aug 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-1453 by Cathy Jamieson on 18 August 2003, whether it will direct that information on how many people with an autistic spectrum disorder are held in prison or secure accommodation is collected, collated and published.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive’s annual statistical collection on children in secure establishments is reviewed regularly. I have asked my officials to consider including informationon the nature of the learning disability, as part of the next review of thesestatisti…

31 Jul 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many planned home births were not possible in 2002 due to staff shortages or rotas, broken down by NHS board area.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is not held centrally.

31 Jul 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many women who planned home births were delivered in hospital in 2002 and, of these, how many women disagreed with the decision to give birth in hospital, broken down by NHS board area.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is not held centrally.

31 Jul 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many, and what percentage of, births in 2002 were planned home births, broken down by NHS board area.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is not held centrally.

24 Jul 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-1163 by Mr Tom McCabe on 16 July 2003, whether its target of making ambulatory oxygen cylinders available on GP prescription by the end of the summer will be achieved.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Yes. We intend to make ambulatory oxygen cylinders a GP prescribable item by the end of the summer.

18 Jul 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the timetable is for a decision on the proposed closure of Craighead School by South Lanarkshire Council.

Answer · Peter Peacock: This is a matter for South Lanarkshire Council unless and until the proposed closure is referred to the Scottish ministers.

15 Jul 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether section 9 of the Homelessness etc. (Scotland) Act 2003 provides a power to ban the provision of bed and breakfast accommodation for homeless families.

Answer · Mary Mulligan: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-1534 today, which is available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at <A HREF="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa">http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/web…

15 Jul 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is regarding the placing of homeless families in bed and breakfast accommodation.

Answer · Mary Mulligan: We expect all local authorities to end the inappropriate use of bed and breakfast accommodation for homeless families with children and progress is being monitored closely. As recommended by the Homelessness Task Force, existing guidance, developed in consult…

15 Jul 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish regulations on unsuitable accommodation under the Homelessness etc. (Scotland) Act 2003.

15 Jul 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to legislate to ensure that women can access pregnancy termination services free from harassment by anti-abortion campaigners.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: It is unacceptable that any woman exercising her right to seek a legal abortion within the Abortion Act 1967, or to ask for the prescription of legally licensed emergency contraception, should be obstructed or intimidated. However, there is already provision …

15 Jul 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will include proposals in its national sexual health strategy to ensure there is equal access to pregnancy termination services across Scotland.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-1529 today, which is available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at <A HREF="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa">http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/web…

15 Jul 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide support and confidential access to contraception, including the morning-after pill, to schoolchildren.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Young people, where consideredcompetent to give consent to medical treatment, can already have confidential accessto contraceptive advice and supply from a number of sources, including general practitionersand sexual health clinics. The provision of sexual he…

15 Jul 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will include proposals in its national sexual health strategy to fund the cost of providing free access to the morning-after pill at dispensing points.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The expert group, set up to take forward the development of a National Sexual Health Strategy for Scotland, are in the final stages of their work. We expect to receive their final report soon. We will then go out to wide public consultation on the report in t…

9 Jul 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people with an autistic spectrum disorder are held in (a) a prison or (b) secure accommodation.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The number is not known. This information is not collected in (a) prisons or (b) secure accommodation.