Mr Bruce McFee

9 Mar 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to including primary biliary cirrhosis on the list of conditions exempt from NHS prescription charges.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The findings of the Scottish Executives review of NHS prescriptioncharges are being given careful consideration. A report containing an analysis of the public consultation carried out in connection with the review was publishedon the Scottish Executive websit…

29 Jan 2007 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with British Airways and the British Airports Authority regarding the impact of the proposed sale of BA Connect to Flybe on local employment and the local economy.

Answer · Tavish Scott: The Scottish Executive, at bothministerial and official level, is in regular contact with airlines and airportoperators about a wide range of matters.</p>

28 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many abandonment orders served on tenants of local authority-owned properties have been fully discharged in each local authority in each year since 1999.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Information is not held centrally on action taken by landlords under sections 17 and 18 of the Housing(Scotland) Act 2001 to secure and take possession of a house let under aScottish secure tenancy which appears to have been abandoned by the tenant.</p>

28 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many abandonment orders served on tenants of local authority-owned properties have been rescinded in each local authority in each year since 1999.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Information is not held centrallyon action taken by local authorities under sections 17 and 18 of the Housing (Scotland) Act2001 to secure and take possession of a house let under a Scottish secure tenancywhich appears to have been abandoned by the tenant.</p>

28 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many abandonment orders have been served on tenants of local authority-owned properties in each local authority in each year since 1999.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested isnot held centrally.</p>

8 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what communication it has had with funeral directors and their trade organisations regarding the cost of funerals and whether it considers that it is good practice for funeral directors to request up-front payments of around £700 to cover funeral costs.

Answer · Allan Wilson: I am not aware of any officialcommunication with funeral directors on this matter. However, I would encourageall businesses to provide the best service possible to their customers. I understandthe Office of Fair Trading has invited the funerals sector to part…

2 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many barrier-free and wheelchair-accessible properties have been built in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested isnot held centrally.</p>

2 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many bungalows have been built in Scotland since 1999 either for social housing or private purchase.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested isnot held centrally.</p>

2 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many properties have been build on regeneration sites since 1999, broken down by type of property, also indicating how many were for (a) social housing and (b) private purchase.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested isnot held centrally.</p>

2 Nov 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many housing developments have been undertaken on regeneration sites since 1999, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Such data are not collected centrally:there is no official statistical definition of “regeneration sites”. However, housingstatistics show that about 50 per cent of new housing in Scotland is currentlybeing built on brownfield sites.</p>

21 Sep 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S2W-27939 and S2W-27940 by Malcolm Chisholm on 13 September 2006, what information and promotional literature has been distributed in (a) Inverclyde and (b) Renfrewshire to inform the local authorities, voluntary groups and the public of the Special Ne…

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster,Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:</p><p>Details on information and promotionalliterature on Homestake distributed to local authorities and others is given inthe following table:</p><…

15 Sep 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what IT procurement systems are used by local authorities; when each system was introduced; how long any contracts for these systems will last, and what the overall costs are of each such contract.

Answer · George Lyon: This information is not heldcentrally.</p>

15 Sep 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what IT procurement system it uses; when the system was introduced; how long any contract for the system will last, and what the overall cost is of such a contract.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The core Scottish Executive usesthe eProcurementScotl@nd service for the electronic approval and ordering of goodsand services. The contract for this service, which includes additional functionalityfor eAuction and eTendering services, was awarded in November…

14 Sep 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many times community wardens have given evidence in court proceedings; how many wardens have given evidence, and how many times this evidence has aided in obtaining a conviction, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Hugh Henry: The information requested isnot held centrally.</p>

1 Sep 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made regarding waste incinerator proposals for the West of Scotland.

Answer · Ross Finnie: We have asked groups of localauthorities to submit Strategic Outline Cases outlining the infrastructure theythink is required to meet the targets in the Landfill Directive on diverting biodegradablemunicipal waste from landfill. The Strategic Outline Cases in…

28 Aug 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many local authorities have (a) been asked for and (b) provided information on the operation of their free personal care schemes and when the Executive expects to receive all such information.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: All local authorities have beenasked to provide information to the independent consultants who are carrying outthe research. Their responses are currently in the process of being collected, collatedand analysed.</p>

28 Aug 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will resolve any financial difficulties experienced by elderly people and their families caused by care costs increasing while the personal care allowance remains fixed.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Work is underway to establishthe actual cost of delivering these services to people in care homes, as part ofour review of the implementation and delivery of free personal care. Funding forfree personal care for those not previously eligible has increased by …

28 Aug 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects its review into free personal care to be completed.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The first phase of this workwas published on 20 June 2006 and the findings are available on the Scottish Executivewebsite at:</p><p><ahref="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/06/29093046/0">http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/06/29093046/0<…

23 Aug 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the money made available to Communities Scotland to fund the Special Needs Capital Grant scheme has been spent in each year since the scheme was established, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster,Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:</p><p>The Special Needs Capital Grantscheme is demand led and resources are provided in response to the development ofeligible projects.</p><p>I ref…

23 Aug 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been made available to Communities Scotland to fund the Special Needs Capital Grant scheme in each year since the scheme was established, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster,Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:</p><p>The breakdown of spend for SpecialNeeds Capital Grant in each local authority area is as follows:</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding…

23 Aug 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been made available by Communities Scotland for its Homestake scheme since August 2005, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:</p><p>The following table sets out those local authority areas where Homestake funding has been provided:</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadd…

10 Aug 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to receive a report of the focus groups set up following the consultation on the review of NHS prescription charges and exemption arrangements, which closed on 30 April 2006.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The report on the outcome of the focus group discussions will form part of a wider report on the earlierwritten consultation. This will be submitted to the Scottish Executive duringthis month, together with a report on an independently conducted survey to gau…

3 Aug 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-27186 by Mr Andy Kerr on 26 July 2006, whether bereaved families have the right to reclaim before 2007 any organs which have been retained at post mortems authorised by procurators fiscal and, if so, by what means it is publishing this right.

Answer · Elish Angiolini: Procurators Fiscal have aduty to investigate all sudden, unexplained, unexpected or suspicious deaths inorder to establish the cause of death.</p><p>A Procurator Fiscal mayrequire an invasive autopsy to be carried out. On rare occasions it may be necessary to…

29 Jun 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive by what means it is publicising bereaved families’ rights to reclaim before 2007 any organs which have been retained by hospitals without consent.

Answer · Andy Kerr: These rights were publicisedwidely in 2002. There are no plans for further publicity.</p>

29 Jun 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that bereaved families wishing to raise issues regarding organ removal and retention in respect of cases of sudden death before 2000 are provided with details of relevant post mortem reports.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Where a death is referred tothe Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, procurators fiscal generallyrelease post mortem reports to the immediate family on request. It is normalpractice to suggest that a copy be sent to the family’s GP as the language canb…

20 Jun 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-25754 by Nicol Stephen on 13 June 2006, whether UCAS was contacted to obtain information about the number of applicants to dental schools; how many successful applicants were accepted because their entrance qualifications were (a) Scottish highers, (…

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The University and Colleges AdmissionsService (UCAS) was not contacted to obtain the information you requested for S2W-25754as they do not release aggregations involving less than six higher educationinstitutions (HEI) without the express permission of the af…

19 Jun 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what public health campaigns it undertakes to inform the public about the specific absorption rate (SAR) values of mobile phone handsets and what action it takes alongside telecommunications companies to ensure that their sales staff communicate information about SAR values to customers.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive, as wellas the other UK Health Departments encourages retailers to make available to customersthe leaflets produced by the UK Government on Mobile Phones and Health.</p><p><strong>Provision of information on the SAR from phones informs …

16 Jun 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether its Health Department has provided guidelines to the mobile telecommunications industry regarding the provision of information at point of sale on the specific absorption rate (SAR) values of mobile phones.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The major manufacturers of mobilephones co-operate on issues related to mobile phone technologies and health throughtheir membership of the Mobile Manufacturers’ Forum (MMF). The MMF states that“SAR information for new model phones will be included with the m…

13 Jun 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on how many crisis loans have been (a) applied for and (b) granted in each of the last five years in each local authority area in Scotland.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive does not holdinformation on crisis loans, which are a reserved matter for which theDepartment for Work and Pensions is responsible.</p>

13 Jun 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken to assist workers threatened with redundancy by Lenovo UK at its Greenock facility.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: Advice and support on retraining,upskilling and employment opportunities are being offered to affected workers usingthe partnerships that already exist between local enterprise companies, local authorities,Jobcentre Plus and Careers Scotland as part of the Ex…