- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 March 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 19 March 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive which NHS boards have needle exchange programmes and what measures are being taken to ensure that all NHS boards operate such programmes.
Answer
All areas of Scotlandhave needle exchange services, but services are provided from a wide range ofsources, such as community pharmacies, voluntary groups and outreach services,as well as from NHS facilities.
The benefits from providingsterile injecting equipment, particularly in respect of reducing transmissionof blood-borne viruses, are well known. In December 2002, the Lord Advocateincreased the limits on the numbers of needles and syringes which could beissued by needle exchange services, and this information was widelydisseminated to NHS boards and other providers of services for drug misusers.It is for local service commissioners and providers to deliver servicestailored to local needs and circumstances.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 March 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Euan Robson on 19 March 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to Forgotten Children, Addressing the Health Issues of Looked After Children and Young People, what steps will be taken to follow the recommendations on training issues for care service staff, in particular (a) that health and social work departments need to work together to ensure adequate training for staff in health issues, (b) that health-related training should be an essential part of residential care practitioner training, (c) that training in mental health issues is given a high priority within care practitioner employee development, (d) to ensure ongoing training in recognition of drug and alcohol abuse and (e) that more emphasis should be given to addressing the underlying root causes of mental and emotional ill health as part of training packages.
Answer
The Scottish Institute forResidential Childcare ensures that residential childcare staff have access tothe skills and knowledge they require to meet the needs of the child in theircare, including health needs. Scottish Training on Drugs and Alcohol undertakeswork with professional staff to improve their skills when addressing drug andalcohol misuse and ensure that interventions are based on evidence of whatworks. We are also looking for other examples of best practice and willconsider how training links can be developed.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 February 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 18 March 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to Helping Homeless People: Delivering the Action Plan for Prevention and Effective Response - Homeless Monitoring Group First Report - January 2004, whether East Lothian Council's homelessness strategy has been fully assessed against the recommendations of the Homelessness Task Force and, if so, what conclusions have been reached in respect of the adequacy of the strategy.
Answer
A cross sector panel isassessing all homelessness strategies against a common framework drawn up byCommunities Scotland in consultation with the homelessness monitoring group.
East Lothian’s homelessness strategy has been assessed by thepanel and feedback has been given to the council. Scottish Executive officials will liaise with the Council regarding its response to thisfeedback and its review of the strategy in light of the recommendationscontained within the homelessness section of the pathfinder inspection reportpublished by Communities Scotland in January.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 March 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 18 March 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance it provides to those wishing to access the pensioner credit scheme, in light of the impact of the scheme on services it provides to pensioners.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a wide range of issues,including pension credit, and issupporting the implementation in Scotland by disseminating information andencouraging applications by a variety of means, including: benefitshealthchecks through our central heating programme; publishing agenda newsletterfor older people; and advising the pension service on the content anddistribution of the Scottish version of the pensioners' guide.
This is in addition to the UKgovernment’s current uptake campaign and application advisory services.Applicants are recommended to apply through, and get advice from, the pension creditapplication helpline on freephone 080099 1234. The Minister for Finance and Public Services welcomed the latest uptake campaign on 1 March 2004. Acopy of his statement can be read at:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/pages/news/2004/03/SENW1047.aspx
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 March 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 18 March 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has with regard to the uptake of the pensioner credit scheme, in light of the impact of the scheme on services it provides to pensioners.
Answer
This information is in thepublic domain, available from the Department of Work and Pensions at:
www.pensioncreditinfo.gov.uk/communication.asp.As of 31st January 2004,around 229,000 individuals in Scotland were receiving pension credit, with an average awardof £42 per week.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 March 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 18 March 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to Her Majesty's Government with regard to the complexity of the application form for the pensioner credit scheme, in light of the impact of the scheme on services the Executive provides to pensioners.
Answer
None.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 23 February 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 18 March 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to review the funding structure of the Sleep Centre in Edinburgh and return to the previous arrangement of central government funding rather than the current structure of funding by individual NHS boards.
Answer
There are no plans to returnto the previous arrangement of national NHS funding. The criteria for anational service include low volume and high unit costs. As the sleep service doesnot meet these criteria, it cannot be considered as a national service. Fundingof the Sleep Centre is a matter for NHS Lothian, to be considered with otherservice priorities in the board area.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 February 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 17 March 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to section 12AA of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 as amended by the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002, how many requests there have been by carers to local authorities for an assessment for accessing services in (a) 2002-03 and (b) 2003-04 to date.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-6151 on 17 March 2004.All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliamentwebsite, the search facility for which can be found at:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 February 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 17 March 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how carers are made aware of their entitlement to an assessment of their support needs under section 12AB of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 as amended by the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002.
Answer
The Community Care andHealth (Scotland) Act 2002 places a duty on local authorities to notify carerswho appear to them to be eligible to have an assessment of their support needsas a carer, that they may be entitled to have such an assessment. The act alsoprovides powers to require health boards to draw up NHS Carer InformationStrategies that will set out how NHS staff will similarly inform carers oftheir right to an assessment. Executive guidance to the NHS on the format andcontent of NHS Carer Information Strategies will be available later this year.Authorities and boards must be able to demonstrate compliance with any legislativeduties placed on them. The Executive is committed to monitoring the impact ofits Carers Strategy, including the new legislative measures to support carers. From2004-05 the Executive will be collecting data from local authorities on thenumbers of carers’ assessments being carried out. Other performance indicatorsand outcome measures will be developed in due course. These are expected tolook at the time intervals between an assessment being requested, theassessment being carried out and the provision of services.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 March 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 17 March 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any NHS boards do not participate in the Scottish Hip Fracture Audit and, if so, which boards and what steps it is taking to ensure Scotland-wide participation.
Answer
Participation in the ScottishHip Fracture Audit is on a hospital basis and full coverage in all board areasis expected from 1 April 2004.
