Chamber and committees

There are various possible models for tenancy deposit schemes and we are examining their merits before considering the form of such a scheme in Scotland.

Representations were received in September and October 2002 from a member of the public about parking restrictions imposed at a Hospital during a visit in September 2002 by a member of the Royal Family. The response given at that time noted that the restrictions had been put in place by the local police for the day of the visit, that the individual concerned had taken the matter up with the chiefconstable of that force, and that he had received a reply from the force.

In addition to question S2W-14474, answered on 1 March 2005. I have answered parliamentary questions in connection with the Royal Family from the following members during Session 2 of the Parliament:

S2W-9199 on 13 July 2004;

S2W-9200 on 13 July 2004;

S2W-10023 on 14 September 2004;

S2W-10025 on 14 September 2004;

S2W-10026 on 16 September 2004, and 

S2W-11447 on 10 November 2004.

All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility forwhich can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament/webapp/wa.search.

I refer the member to the answerto question S2W-14476 on 15 March 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availableon the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

The Scottish Executive does not hold the information for agencies or other public bodies. A proportionof Scottish Executive staff time is spent in administering visits by membersof the Royal Family but we cannot provide yearly breakdowns as records of this typeare not held. We estimate that, for 2004, the cost of staff time was approximately£2000 to £2500.

The Executive also runs and paysfor a small number of events most years where members of the Royal Family are inattendance. The information we hold on cost and location is set out below.

Year	Cost £000	Location
1999	2	Stirling
2000	1	Edinburgh
2002	0
2003	33	Edinburgh
2004	1	Edinburgh

 

The 2003 figure of £33,000 relatesto the Union of the Crowns Dinner, attended by The Queen, the Dukeof Edinburgh and the Duke of York and hosted by the First Minister.

There is no precise legal definition in Scots law on what constitutes elder abuse, nor is there a statutory or operational requirement for the Executive to collect such information.

In developing our proposals for additional protections for vulnerable adults, however, we will continue to work with a broad range of stakeholders like Age Concern Scotland and Help the Aged to ensure these measures are as comprehensive and inclusive as possible.

To date, extra-parliamentary representations regarding progress on a Vulnerable Adults Bill have been received from a range of organisations and individuals, and as a result of the Help the Aged’s New Years Resolution campaign.

We will take all such representations into account as we develop our legislative proposals.

The table gives the percentage of the total prescribing expenditure for drugs used in treatment of obesity (as defined in Section 4.5 of the British National Formulary) and drugs used in diabetes (as defined in Section 6.1 of the British National Formulary) for the financial years 2000-01 to 2003-04, and April to November 2004. The data refer to prescriptions dispensed by community pharmacists and dispensing doctors, but do not take into account medicines dispensed by hospitals or hospital based clinics. The cost of the drugs is before deduction of discount and patient charges and addition of dispensing fees.

The data reflect the costs of medicines used to treat obesity and diabetes directly and do not include drugs prescribed to treat other conditions associated with these disease states.

	2000-01	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04	April to November 2004
Percentage Total Expenditure	Percentage Total Expenditure	Percentage Total Expenditure	Percentage Total Expenditure	Percentage Total Expenditure
Drugs used in the Treatment of Obesity	0.111%	0.337%	0.412%	0.364%	0.375%
Drugs Used In Diabetes	3.498%	3.730%	3.921%	4.182%	4.510%

Information for all NHS boards in Scotland is not currently available. For those NHS areas where data is available, the following tables show the levels of obesity amongst pre-school children (aged 3 to 3.5 years) and school children (at primary 1, primary 7 and secondary 3).

High BMI Distribution (>=95th Centile) In Pre-School Children: Those Born In 2000 Who Have Received a 39-42 Month Review¹

NHS Board	Year of Birth = 2000
No. Examined	Obese (>=95th centile)
Number	%
Total	32,314	2,663	8.2
Argyll and Clyde	2,937	261	8.9
Ayrshire and Arran	2,373	204	8.6
Borders	784	63	8.0
Dumfries and Galloway	1,120	87	7.8
Fife	2,668	217	8.1
Forth Valley	2,296	220	9.6
Greater Glasgow	6,389	517	8.1
Lanarkshire	4,199	357	8.5
Lothian	6,400	514	8.0
Tayside	3,148	223	7.1

Source: CHSP-Pre School ISD Scotland February 2005.

Note: 1. A routine review of child's development usually carried out by Health Visitor/GP at around 39 to 42 months.

High BMI Distribution (>=95th Centile) In School Children: Those who Have Received a Review² At P1(4 to 5yrs), P7(11 to 12yrs) And S3 (14 to 15yrs) During School Year 2003-04

NHS Board	Class Year	School Year = 2003/04
No. Examined	Obese (>=95th centile)
Number	%
Total	P1	15,046	1,380	9.2
	P7	12,176	2,238	18.4
	S34	8,334	1,427	17.1
Argyll and Clyde	P1	402	43	10.7
	P7	384	70	18.2
	S33	N/A	N/A	N/A
Borders	P1	1,024	79	7.7
	P7	1,289	224	17.4
	S3	1,088	203	18.7
Fife	P1	3,394	315	9.3
	P7	3,725	681	18.3
	S3	2,825	477	16.9
Lanarkshire	P1	6,270	579	9.2
	P7	6,612	1,208	18.3
	S3	4,421	747	16.9
Tayside	P1	3,956	364	9.2
	P7	166	55	33.1
	S33	N/A	N/A	N/A

Source: CHSP-School ISD Scotland February 2005.

Notes:

2. A routine review of child's development usually carried out by School Nurse/Doctor.

3. S3 information for Argyll and Clyde and Tayside NHS Boards is not available.

4. Excludes Argyll and Clyde and Tayside NHS Boards.

The Executive is making revenue funding of £112,000 available to each of the four regional neurology centres in Scotland. Following bidding we are currently finalising details with the centres for the distribution of capital funding of £2.5 million.

Drawing on the successful “Action-On” methodology used in England and Wales, this revenue funding will support clinical leads and project managers to redesign  outpatient services and introduce new ways of working. Capital funding will enable the centres to refurbish premises and purchase additional equipment to support the redesigned services. We are making the funding available on the understanding that it will deliver clear benefits for patients, particularly in terms of reduced waiting times.

The number of patients in Scotland with obesity and those specifically with morbid obesity who have had surgery to aid weight reduction is presented in the table.

Number of Patients¹ Diagnosed in Scotland with Obesity and Morbid Obesity who Have Had Surgery to Aid Weight Reduction

Year ending 31-Mar	Number of Patients with Obesity	Number of Patients with Morbid Obesity
All Years	208	112
2002	52	16
2003	46	20
2004	69	49
2005p	41	27

^PProvisional.

Note:

1. These statistics are derived from data collected on discharges from non-obstetric and non-psychiatric hospitals (SMR01) in Scotland. The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Other Health Related Problems, tenth revision (ICD10) code E66 has been used to identify Obesity and E66.8 has been used to identify Morbid Obesity. The Office of Populations Censuses and surveys Version 4 (OPCS4) code G30 has been used to identify Plastic Operations on the Stomach.