Margaret McCulloch

24 Sep 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to providing a further town centre regeneration fund.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Town Centre Regeneration Fund was always intended to be a one year capital fund. The current Scottish budget constraints preclude a repeat of that. We met our commitment to carry out a national review of Scotland’s town centres. The review report was pub…

3 Sep 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what funding is available for local crime prevention and community safety initiatives through sources other than Police Scotland.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government believes that everyone has the right to be safe and feel safe in their communities. The Scottish Government also firmly believes that prevention is better than cure and is working to tackle the underlying causes of crime. That is why …

29 Aug 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when each (a) NHS board and (b) hospital will achieve the (i) target of 95% and (ii) national waiting time standard of 98% of people attending accident and emergency being admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours.

Answer · Alex Neil: Targets are set at NHS board level. Monitoring of performance is undertaken at board and hospital level and ISD:Scotland publish statistics at both NHS board and hospital level. The 98% 4 hour accident and emergency treatment HEAT Standard is being continued…

29 Aug 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the reasons are for a reported rise in accident and emergency attendances from 1.6 million in 2008-09 to 1.65 million in 2012-13.

Answer · Alex Neil: The increase in total new and unplanned accident and emergency attendances has mainly been at Minor Injury Units. In part this could be accounted for by the rise in Scotland’s population over this time of 2.81%. Older people over 75, who are the services grea…

29 Aug 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many people who quit for four weeks remain smoke free for one year.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The latest national statistics are available within the ISD Scotland NHS Smoking Cessation Service Statistics (Scotland) 1st January to 31st December 2012 at: http://www.scotpho.org.uk/publications/reports-and-papers/1022-nhs-smoking-cessation-service-statis…

29 Aug 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the relative efficacy of using a (a) four and (b) 12 week quit rate as a smoking cessation metric.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The schedule of client follow-up is based on the internationally recognised Russell Standard, a standard for collection of data on the clinical effectiveness of smoking cessation interventions. Further information on the Russell Standard is available at: ht…

29 Aug 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the (a) impact and (b) effectiveness of smoking cessation services.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Numbers of smokers attempting to quit using NHS Scotland smoking cessation services has risen from 46,466 in 2006 to 116,198 in 2012. Numbers of smokers who are recorded as having quit successfully at 1 month has risen from 15,471 in 2006 to 44,261 in 2012. N…

29 Aug 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the number of repeated attendances at smoking cessation services.

Answer · Michael Matheson: No assessment is made of the numbers of repeat attendances at smoking cessation services at a national level.

29 Aug 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what data it (a) collects and (b) plans to collect on the effectiveness of smoking cessation services.

Answer · Michael Matheson: NHS Information Services Division (ISD) produces smoking cessation monitoring analysis which is used to provide evidence of the reach and success of NHS smoking cessation services at both national and NHS board level. These statistics allow progress towards t…

29 Aug 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with NHS Health Scotland regarding its review of smoking cessation services.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Our latest Tobacco Control Strategy, Creating a Tobacco-Free Generation, includes a commitment to commission a review of smoking cessation services. NHS Health Scotland is leading this and work is well underway. The review will inform recommendations to impro…

29 Aug 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many pre-operative patients have been referred to smoking cessation services in each of the last five years.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The number of pre-operative patients who have been referred to smoking cessation services is not recorded nationally.

29 Aug 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many deaths have been related to smoking in each of the last five years.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Smoking status is not recorded on death certificates. The most recent Scottish Public Health Observatory Tobacco Profiles, ScotPHO Tobacco Profiles 2013 NHS Board & CHP Overview suggests that over the period 2001-03 to 2009-11, around 24% deaths in Scotland c…

29 Aug 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to encourage people with long-term conditions to quit smoking.

Answer · Michael Matheson: We recognise that smoking increases the risk of serious clinical complications for people with long term conditions. General Practices are incentivised through the Quality Outcomes Framework (QOF) to record the smoking status and offer treatment and support …

29 Aug 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact of smoking is on NHS services.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The 2012 Scottish Public Health Observatory Smoking Ready Reckoner suggests that costs to the NHS in Scotland from smoking could range from around £320 million to £510 million per annum. The ready reckoner is available at: http://www.scotpho.org.uk/publicati…

29 Aug 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the cost was of hospital admissions related to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the last year for which information is available.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Information on the cost of hospital admissions related to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is not available centrally.

29 Aug 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent assessment it has made of how many people with (a) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, (b) diabetes and (c) asthma smoke.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Responses to the Scottish Health Survey (combined data for 2010 and 2011) suggest that smoking prevalence for people aged over 16 with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is 48.2%. Page 52 of the 2012 Scottish Diabetes Survey indicated that the percentage …

29 Aug 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to encourage GPs to refer patients with (a) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, (b) diabetes and (c) asthma who smoke to smoking cessation services.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) rewards GP contractors for the provision of quality care and helps to standardise improvements in the delivery of primary medical services. There are 4 indicators specific to smoking cessation that reward practices for…

29 Aug 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how an independent Scotland would fund research in universities.

Answer · Michael Russell: Scotland’s universities have an unrivalled record of success in attracting funding from a range of sources, reflecting the excellence and global reputation of our universities, and that will continue in an independent Scotland. Our continuing commitment to s…

17 Jun 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is promoting the Employability Fund to colleges and training providers.

10 Jun 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it provides to support (a) the development of and (b) widening access to tennis training.

Answer · Shona Robison: sportscotland has invested £362,100 into Tennis Scotland for their financial year ending 30 September 2013 through their Scottish Governing Body annual investment process. This investment supports all aspects of the sport and the delivery of Tennis Scotland’s…

10 Jun 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assistance it provides to help companies promote research and development.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Through the enterprise agencies and other intermediary bodies, the Scottish Government delivers a range of programmes to help companies engage in research and development. These include large collaborative research and development grants, discretionary grants…

10 Jun 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-08649 by Nicola Sturgeon 23 July 2012, when it estimates each of the health centres will be (a) completed and (b) open to the public.

Answer · Alex Neil: Outline business case approval was given for each of the health centres in May, and it is currently anticipated that they will be completed and open in summer 2015.

10 Jun 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it offers to bidders that have been unsuccessful when tendering for a public contract.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: For public contracts below the OJEU threshold, unsuccessful suppliers will be notified via an unsuccessful letter. A supplier is entitled to ask for the reasons why their tender was unsuccessful. All feedback will be based on the objective criteria that was u…

10 Jun 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which subsidiaries of primary contractors to its Energy Assistance Package have won tenders from their parent companies.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: As explained in the answer to S4W-15567 on 24 June 2013, the approved primary contractors for the Energy Assistance Scheme are: the Energy Saving Trust, as package administrator, Scottish Gas, as managing agent, and Bierce Technical Services Ltd, to provid…

10 Jun 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government who the approved primary contractors are for its Energy Assistance Package.

Answer · Margaret Burgess: Stage 4 of the Energy Assistance Package ended on 31 March 2013. It has been replaced by the new Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland: Energy Assistance Scheme. For the new Energy Assistance Scheme, the approved primary contractors are: the Energy…

10 Jun 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the report of the Town Centre Review group will be published.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The External Advisory Group of the Town Centre Review, established in September 2012, continues to consider their recommendations. We expect to receive the report in July.

10 Jun 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what key performance indicators it uses to monitor town centre regeneration.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: As part of its framework for monitoring the implementation of the Scottish Government’s Regeneration Strategy Achieving a Sustainable Future, we will look at national and local level indicators to inform progress across a range of outcomes relative to regener…

10 Jun 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the economic resilience of town centres.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government has not undertaken an assessment of the economic resilience of town centres.

10 Jun 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the effectiveness of the Town Centre Regeneration Fund.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-13070 on 8 March 2013. 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/parliamentarybu…

10 Jun 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it defines a town centre in relation to its policy on town centre regeneration.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government does not define a “town centre” in relation to its policy on town centre regeneration. Under Scottish Planning Policy, local authorities are expected to identify a network of city, town and district centres through their development p…