Parliamentary questions
Alison McInnes
1,004 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
8 May 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions have been brought by each police force since 2009 against owners of tanning salons for failure to enforce the ban on under-18s using sunbeds.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: There have been no prosecutions in Scottish courts under the Public Health etc. (Scotland) Act 2008 Part 8, where this was the main offence, recorded on the Scottish Government Court Proceedings database up to 2010-11, the latest financial year for which data…
1 May 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent (a) in total and (b) per patient on treating (i) lung, (ii) breast, (iii) bowel and (iv) prostate cancer in each year since 1999.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: This information is not routinely collected in this way. However a recent Scottish Government publication Programme Budgeting – Testing The Approach in Scotland, does provide some estimates of the spend on cancer services in 2007-08. This publication is avail…
1 May 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the name and cost are of each pharmacological treatment that (a) has and (b) has not been made available for routine use in the NHS for (i) prostate, (ii) lung, (iii) bowel and (iv) breast cancer in each year since 1999.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The information is not held centrally. Decisions on which medicines should be made routinely available in the NHS in Scotland are taken independently by the Scottish Medicines Consortium. Details of the process undertaken by SMC and information on individual…
1 May 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the NHS budget would have been spent on abiraterone had it been approved by the Scottish Medicines Consortium for routine use on the NHS.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Abiraterone was not recommended for routine use in the NHS in Scotland by the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC). Details of potential costs had it been approved are not available centrally. The SMC do, however, publish limited budget impact information and …
1 May 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the monthly cost has been (a) per patient and (b) to the NHS of the 10 most expensive pharmacological (i) treatments and (ii) treatments for cancer provided via individual patient treatment requests in each year since 1999 and what the associated indications are.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Information on the monthly cost per patient and to the NHS of the 10 most expensive pharmacological treatments and treatments of cancer available for routine use is not available centrally. Treatment, specifically for cancer, can be complex and often involves…
1 May 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the monthly cost is (a) per patient and (b) to the NHS of the 10 most expensive pharmacological (i) treatments and (ii) treatments for cancer available for routine use on the NHS, and what the associated indications are.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Information on the monthly cost per patient and to the NHS of the 10 most expensive pharmacological treatments and treatments of cancer available for routine use is not available centrally. Also, treatment, specifically for cancer, can be complex and often i…
25 Apr 2012 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the impact that proposed amendments to the Water Environment (Controlled Activities) Scotland Regulations 2011 will have on farmers in the north east of Scotland.
24 Apr 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many women have been sent to Cornton Vale prison since (a) 27 January 2010 and (b) 14 June 2011.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: (a) From 27 January 2010 until 26 April 2012 there have been a total of 2,549 individual women admitted to Cornton Vale which equates to 5,470 se…
18 Apr 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of eating disorders in males have been diagnosed in the last five years, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The total number of males diagnosed with eating disorders in Scotland is not available centrally. Practice Team Information records provide national estimates of the number of patients who have consulted either a GP or practice-employed nurse each year where…
18 Apr 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of whooping cough have been diagnosed in the last five years, broken down by (a) NHS board and (b) age of patient.
Answer · Michael Matheson: In Scotland there are two means by which the number of cases of pertussis are counted; clinical notifications and laboratory reports. Clinical notifications are based on the clinical diagnosis of pertussis by a GP or other doctor and do not require the infect…
17 Apr 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S4W-06504 by Michael Matheson on 17 April 2012, what the average waiting time was for prisoners with non-routine dental health issues to access a dentist in the five year period to 1 November 2011.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: SPS did not hold data on non – routine dental health issues separately from data on all dental services issues.
17 Apr 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S4W-06503 by Michael Matheson on 17 April 2012, what frequency of routine dental health check-up, on average, prisoners were offered in the five year period to 1 November 2011, broken down by prison.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: This information is not available.
17 Apr 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S4W-06502 by Michael Matheson on 17 April 2012, what percentage of prisoners received regular routine dental check-ups in each of the five years up to 1 November 2011, broken down by prison.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: This information is not available.
17 Apr 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S4W-06501 by Michael Matheson on 17 April 2012, what statistics it holds on access to dental health services for prisoners before 1 November 2011.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: Information on prisoners waiting times are contained in the SPS Prisoner Surveys. These are published on the SPS website which can be accessed at…
11 Apr 2012 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that all pre-school children have access to a qualified nursery teacher.
30 Mar 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much patients failing to attend hospital appointments costs the NHS and what steps it is taking to reduce the number of patients doing this.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-06186 on 28 March 2012. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybus…
30 Mar 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of dentists is registering new NHS patients, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The information requested is not held centrally. The majority of dentists are independent contractors and are not obliged under their NHS terms of service to advise NHS boards if they are registering new NHS patients. NHS boards will hold information on the …
30 Mar 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the rate of (a) stroke and (b) kidney failure has been for patients with diabetes in each of the last three years, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: This information is not held centrally.
30 Mar 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to tackle the issues that were raised in the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland’s report, Left Behind, regarding (a) patients' concerns about their (i) safety and (ii) treatment by staff, (b) patients queuing for medication and (c) rehabilitation and continuing…
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government sets national direction of policy on mental health and provides funding to agencies, including NHS boards and local authorities, to support implementation of policy. The management of local actions in implementing national policy, and …
30 Mar 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the take-up of cervical screening has been in each of the last three years, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The percentage of women who have a record of a previous screening test taken within the last three and a half years, broken down by NHS board is available on the ISD website at: http://isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Cancer/Cervical-Screening/.
30 Mar 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to increase the availability of speech and language therapy in prisons.
Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) is working in partnership with NHS boards to meet the health care needs of prisoners to support rehabilitation.…
30 Mar 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many speech and language therapists work with prisoners.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The information is not centrally available. However, published information showing the whole time equivalent and headcount of Allied Health Professions including Speech and Language Therapists by NHS board and Region is available on the NHS National Services …
28 Mar 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time is for prisoners with non-routine dental health issues to access a dentist.
Answer · Michael Matheson: This information is not held centrally. Responsibility for healthcare services, including dental services, transferred to NHS boards on 1 November 2011. NHS boards are currently developing systems to report time to treatment.
28 Mar 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what frequency of routine dental health check-up, on average, prisoners are offered, broken down by prison.
Answer · Michael Matheson: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-06502 on 17 April 2012. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybus…
28 Mar 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of prisoners receives regular routine dental check-ups, broken down by prison.
Answer · Michael Matheson: This information is not held centrally. Responsibility for healthcare services, including dental services, transferred to NHS boards on 1 November 2011. The Chief Dental Officer for Scotland has set up a Short-life Working Group to develop a Framework for Pr…
28 Mar 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what statistics it keeps on access to dental health services for prisoners.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Dental services are available to prisoners in Scotland. Responsibility for healthcare services, including dental services, transferred to NHS boards on 1 November 2011. NHS boards are currently developing systems to report time to treatment.
27 Mar 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when further details of the £5 million seed fund that was announced in its digital action plan will be made available.
Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government will set out further details of the seed fund that was outlined in Programme 3 of Scotland’s Digital Future - Infrastructure Action Plan shortly.
23 Mar 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are awaiting an organ transplant and what the average waiting time is for each major organ.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The information requested on the numbers of people in Scotland waiting for an organ transplant is given in the following table. Total Patients Waiting at 31 March 2012 Organ 1, 2 Kidney 482 Kidney/pancreas 16 Pancreas (+ islets) 6 Heart 14 Lun…
23 Mar 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to promote referral to cardiac rehabilitation in light of NHS Information Services Division statistics showing that less than 50% of relevant patients in NHS Grampian and NHS Highland were referred.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Improving access to cardiac rehabilitation is a priority action within the Better Heart Disease and Stroke Care Action Plan. A 2007 audit suggested that 45% of people who had suffered a heart attack, undergone a coronary artery bypass or percutanous coronary…
23 Mar 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what its long-term plans are for the distinction award scheme.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government remains fully committed to full scale reform of the distinction awards scheme for NHS consultants and has taken the lead on the UK reform of these schemes. The Scottish distinction award scheme is currently frozen pending a decision …