Questions and answers

Question reference: S3W-15515

Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 August 2008
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 3 September 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive in what circumstances a Scottish Ambulance Service paramedic would be able to administer prescribed rescue medication for seizures.

The Joint Royal College''s Ambulance Liaison Committee guidelines cover the management of epileptic seizures and the care of patients during grand mal seizures. Only Health Professions Council registered paramedics are legally entitled to administer rectal diazepam in the management of status epilepticus.

Special arrangements are also in place within the Scottish Ambulance Service for cases where medazalan has been prescribed by a specialist for individual patients, though once again support in management of these patients will be confined to registered paramedics.

Question reference: S3W-15514

Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 August 2008
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 3 September 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what instructions are given to Scottish Ambulance Service crews and paramedics when attending to a patient who has had an epileptic seizure.

Question reference: S3W-15516

Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 August 2008
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 3 September 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what the basic epilepsy training standards are for Scottish Ambulance Service crews.

All Scottish Ambulance Service crews receive training in the management of epilepsy. This includes training on:

the main causes of convulsions;

the three common types of convulsions;

an understanding of the four stages of a seizure;

the management of a grand mal epileptic seizure;

the management of status epilepticus;

identifying the clinical signs of infantile convulsions, and

the management of infantile convulsions.

The following is the original answer (published on 3 September 2008); see below

All Scottish Ambulance Service crews receive training in the management of epilepsy. This includes training on:

The main causes of epilepsy;

The three common types of epilepsy;

An understanding of the four stages of a seizure;

The management of a grand mal epileptic seizure;

The management of status epilepticus;

Identifying the clinical signs of infantile convulsions, and

The management of infantile convulsions.

Question reference: S3W-15517

Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 August 2008
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 3 September 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what the basic epilepsy training standards are for Scottish Ambulance Service paramedics.

Question reference: S3W-15526

Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 August 2008
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 29 August 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive when a fully transparent complaints procedure concerning the Scottish Judiciary will be in place and what the details of that procedure will be.

The Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Bill, currently being considered by the Parliament, recognises the Lord President as head of the judiciary in Scotland with responsibility for the training, welfare, deployment and conduct of the judiciary.

The bill sets out a framework of powers to deal with inappropriate judicial conduct leaving it to the Lord President to determine the details in rules which will be published. The bill also provides for both the complainer and the member of the judiciary being complained about to have the right to have an independent person review the administration of the case to ensure that the set procedures have been followed. That independent person, who will be appointed by the Scottish ministers, will be called the Judicial Complaints Reviewer.

The bill completed stage 2 in June 2008, stage 3 is scheduled for September 2008. Once enacted, it will be for the Lord President to establish a transparent and easily accessible judicial complaints procedure to deal with any matter concerning the conduct of a member of the judiciary.

Question reference: S3W-12459

Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 April 2008
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 16 May 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what estimates have been made of (a) sea-based flooding, (b) coastal flooding and (c) the effects of sea level rise and storm surge in the (i) Forth, (ii) Tay and (iii) Clyde estuaries.

A research project is currently underway to scope coastal flood risk in Scotland. The effects of sea level rise and storm surge are being considered as an element of this work.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency published in November 2007 an Indicative Flood Map of the number of properties at risk of coastal flooding (where the risk is judged to be greater than 0.5%). The Scottish Government has tabulated the data by local authority area in the following table.

Properties Inside 1/200 Coastal Flood Zone, by Local Authority, Excludes Properties Protected by Existing Flood Prevention Schemes

				Coastal Flooding (Properties Affected)
Local Authority	Area (Km²)	Properties	Prop/Area	Commercial	Dwelling	Properties	Properties (%)
Aberdeen City	186	114,265	615	30	44	74	0.1
Aberdeenshire	6,318	108,927	17	67	379	446	0.4
Angus	2,185	54,807	25	51	857	908	1.7
Argyll and Bute	7,008	48,754	7	241	1,202	1,443	3.0
Clackmannanshire	159	23,315	147	2	19	21	0.1
Dumfries and Galloway	6,437	73,683	11	36	362	398	0.5
Dundee City	60	75,528	1,264	134	1,013	1,147	1.5
East Ayrshire	1,270	56,373	44	0	0	0	0.0
East Dunbartonshire	175	45,343	260	0	0	0	0.0
East Lothian	679	43,806	64	78	2,360	2,438	5.6
East Renfrewshire	174	37,852	218	0	0	0	0.0
Edinburgh City	263	240,849	915	190	1,681	1,871	0.8
Eilean Siar	3,098	14,134	5	53	389	442	3.1
Falkirk	297	71,255	240	169	6,046	6,215	8.7
Fife	1,325	172,183	130	123	1,408	1,531	0.9
Glasgow City	175	309,626	1,773	18	1,434	1,452	0.5
Highland	26,162	112,167	4	276	1,024	1,300	1.2
Inverclyde	162	40,985	253	52	488	540	1.3
Midlothian	355	35,669	100	0	0	0	0.0
Moray	2,238	43,036	19	9	108	117	0.3
North Ayrshire	885	67,320	76	49	683	732	1.1
North Lanarkshire	472	149,424	316	3	2	5	0.0
Orkney Islands	1,012	10,339	10	52	274	326	3.2
Perth and Kinross	5,384	69,917	13	3	69	72	0.1
Renfrewshire	262	85,344	326	104	1,276	1,380	1.6
Scottish Borders	4,739	57,003	12	23	47	70	0.1
Shetland Islands	1,467	10,674	7	60	66	126	1.2
South Ayrshire	1,224	55,497	45	204	1,275	1,479	2.7
South Lanarkshire	1,774	143,923	81	20	77	97	0.1
Stirling	2,253	40,623	18	3	248	251	0.6
West Dunbartonshire	177	45,541	257	179	1,121	1,300	2.9
West Lothian	429	74,906	175	0	0	0	0.0
Scotland	78,805	2,533,068	32	2,229	23,952	26,181	1.0

Question reference: S3W-12496

Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 April 2008
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 16 May 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to measure the vulnerability of the population to flooding, broken down by area.

The Scottish Government, through its in-house Geographic Information Service, has used data from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency''s Indicative Flood Map 2007 to produce an analysis showing the impact of flooding, which can be found on:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/09/20092209/0.

The Scottish Government has identified the number of residential properties and commercial premises at risk of fluvial and coastal flooding broken down by local authority area, set out in the following tables.

Table 1, Properties Inside 1/200 Fluvial Flood Zone, by Local Authority, Excludes Properties Protected by Existing Flood Prevention Schemes

				Fluvial Flooding (Properties Affected)
Local Authority	Area (Km²)	Properties	Prop/Area	Commercial	Dwelling	Properties	Properties (%)
Aberdeen City	186	114,265	615	176	865	1,041	0.9
Aberdeenshire	6,318	108,927	17	135	1,982	2,117	1.9
Angus	2,185	54,807	25	86	935	1,021	1.9
Argyll and Bute	7,008	48,754	7	49	553	602	1.2
Clackmannanshire	159	23,315	147	46	1,082	1,128	4.8
Dumfries and Galloway	6,437	73,683	11	119	1,522	1,641	2.2
Dundee City	60	75,528	1,264	24	290	314	0.4
East Ayrshire	1,270	56,373	44	310	3,107	3,417	6.1
East Dunbartonshire	175	45,343	260	271	1,608	1,879	4.1
East Lothian	679	43,806	64	120	767	887	2.0
East Renfrewshire	174	37,852	218	44	807	851	2.2
Edinburgh City	263	240,849	915	386	6,278	6,664	2.8
Eilean Siar	3,098	14,134	5	2	72	74	0.5
Falkirk	297	71,255	240	108	4,181	4,289	6.0
Fife	1,325	172,183	130	142	2,250	2,392	1.4
Glasgow City	175	309,626	1,773	241	11,508	11,749	3.8
Highland	26,162	112,167	4	255	2,021	2,276	2.0
Inverclyde	162	40,985	253	68	552	620	1.5
Midlothian	355	35,669	100	19	332	351	1.0
Moray	2,238	43,036	19	268	3,239	3,507	8.1
North Ayrshire	885	67,320	76	267	3,264	3,531	5.2
North Lanarkshire	472	149,424	316	38	1,152	1,190	0.8
Orkney Islands	1,012	10,339	10	2	14	16	0.2
Perth and Kinross	5,384	69,917	13	321	3,671	3,992	5.7
Renfrewshire	262	85,344	326	313	4,680	4,993	5.9
Scottish Borders	4,739	57,003	12	577	4,128	4,705	8.3
Shetland Islands	1,467	10,674	7	8	7	15	0.1
South Ayrshire	1,224	55,497	45	40	764	804	1.4
South Lanarkshire	1,774	143,923	81	68	1,085	1,153	0.8
Stirling	2,253	40,623	18	87	2,909	2,996	7.4
West Dunbartonshire	177	45,541	257	216	2,110	2,326	5.1
West Lothian	429	74,906	175	15	757	772	1.0
Scotland	78,805	2,533,068	32	4,821	68,492	73,313	2.9

Table 2, Properties Inside 1/200 Coastal Flood Zone, by Local Authority, Excludes Properties Protected by Existing Flood Prevention Schemes

				Coastal Flooding (Properties Affected)
Local Authority	Area (Km²)	Properties	Prop/Area	Commercial	Dwelling	Properties	Properties (%)
Aberdeen City	186	114,265	615	30	44	74	0.1
Aberdeenshire	6,318	108,927	17	67	379	446	0.4
Angus	2,185	54,807	25	51	857	908	1.7
Argyll and Bute	7,008	48,754	7	241	1202	1,443	3.0
Clackmannanshire	159	23,315	147	2	19	21	0.1
Dumfries and Galloway	6,437	73,683	11	36	362	398	0.5
Dundee City	60	75,528	1,264	134	1013	1,147	1.5
East Ayrshire	1,270	56,373	44	0	0	0	0.0
East Dunbartonshire	175	45,343	260	0	0	0	0.0
East Lothian	679	43,806	64	78	2360	2,438	5.6
East Renfrewshire	174	37,852	218	0	0	0	0.0
Edinburgh City	263	240,849	915	190	1681	1,871	0.8
Eilean Siar	3,098	14,134	5	53	389	442	3.1
Falkirk	297	71,255	240	169	6046	6,215	8.7
Fife	1,325	172,183	130	123	1408	1,531	0.9
Glasgow City	175	309,626	1,773	18	1434	1,452	0.5
Highland	26,162	112,167	4	276	1024	1,300	1.2
Inverclyde	162	40,985	253	52	488	540	1.3
Midlothian	355	35,669	100	0	0	0	0.0
Moray	2,238	43,036	19	9	108	117	0.3
North Ayrshire	885	67,320	76	49	683	732	1.1
North Lanarkshire	472	149,424	316	3	2	5	0.0
Orkney Islands	1,012	10,339	10	52	274	326	3.2
Perth and Kinross	5,384	69,917	13	3	69	72	0.1
Renfrewshire	262	85,344	326	104	1276	1,380	1.6
Scottish Borders	4,739	57,003	12	23	47	70	0.1
Shetland Islands	1,467	10,674	7	60	66	126	1.2
South Ayrshire	1,224	55,497	45	204	1275	1,479	2.7
South Lanarkshire	1,774	143,923	81	20	77	97	0.1
Stirling	2,253	40,623	18	3	248	251	0.6
West Dunbartonshire	177	45,541	257	179	1121	1,300	2.9
West Lothian	429	74,906	175	0	0	0	0.0
Scotland	78,805	2,533,068	32	2,229	23,952	26,181	1.0

Question reference: S3W-12525

Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 April 2008
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 16 May 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive how many homes are at risk of flooding in the (a) Forth, (b) Tay and (c) Clyde estuaries.

The Scottish Government has identified the number of homes in each local authority area which are within the 1/200 fluvial and coastal flood zones shown on the Scottish Environment Protection Agency''s Indicative Flood Maps. These are tabulated below.

Table 1, Properties Inside 1/200 Fluvial Flood Zone, by Local Authority, Excludes Properties Protected by Existing Flood Prevention Schemes

				Fluvial Flooding (Properties Affected)
Local Authority	Area (Km²)	Properties	Prop/Area	Commercial	Dwelling	Properties	Properties (%)
Aberdeen City	186	114,265	615	176	865	1,041	0.9
Aberdeenshire	6,318	108,927	17	135	1,982	2,117	1.9
Angus	2,185	54,807	25	86	935	1,021	1.9
Argyll and Bute	7,008	48,754	7	49	553	602	1.2
Clackmannanshire	159	23,315	147	46	1,082	1,128	4.8
Dumfries and Galloway	6,437	73,683	11	119	1,522	1,641	2.2
Dundee City	60	75,528	1,264	24	290	314	0.4
East Ayrshire	1,270	56,373	44	310	3,107	3,417	6.1
East Dunbartonshire	175	45,343	260	271	1,608	1,879	4.1
East Lothian	679	43,806	64	120	767	887	2.0
East Renfrewshire	174	37,852	218	44	807	851	2.2
Edinburgh City	263	240,849	915	386	6,278	6,664	2.8
Eilean Siar	3,098	14,134	5	2	72	74	0.5
Falkirk	297	71,255	240	108	4,181	4,289	6.0
Fife	1,325	172,183	130	142	2,250	2,392	1.4
Glasgow City	175	309,626	1,773	241	11,508	11,749	3.8
Highland	26,162	112,167	4	255	2,021	2,276	2.0
Inverclyde	162	40,985	253	68	552	620	1.5
Midlothian	355	35,669	100	19	332	351	1.0
Moray	2,238	43,036	19	268	3,239	3,507	8.1
North Ayrshire	885	67,320	76	267	3,264	3,531	5.2
North Lanarkshire	472	149,424	316	38	1,152	1,190	0.8
Orkney Islands	1,012	10,339	10	2	14	16	0.2
Perth and Kinross	5,384	69,917	13	321	3,671	3,992	5.7
Renfrewshire	262	85,344	326	313	4,680	4,993	5.9
Scottish Borders	4,739	57,003	12	577	4,128	4,705	8.3
Shetland Islands	1,467	10,674	7	8	7	15	0.1
South Ayrshire	1,224	55,497	45	40	764	804	1.4
South Lanarkshire	1,774	143,923	81	68	1,085	1,153	0.8
Stirling	2,253	40,623	18	87	2,909	2,996	7.4
West Dunbartonshire	177	45,541	257	216	2,110	2,326	5.1
West Lothian	429	74,906	175	15	757	772	1.0
Scotland	78,805	2,533,068	32	4,821	68,492	73,313	2.9

Table 2, Properties Inside 1/200 Coastal Flood Zone, by Local Authority, Excludes Properties Protected by Existing Flood Prevention Schemes

				Coastal Flooding (Properties Affected)
Local Authority	Area (Km²)	Properties	Prop/Area	Commercial	Dwelling	Properties	Properties (%)
Aberdeen City	186	114,265	615	30	44	74	0.1
Aberdeenshire	6,318	108,927	17	67	379	446	0.4
Angus	2,185	54,807	25	51	857	908	1.7
Argyll and Bute	7,008	48,754	7	241	1202	1,443	3.0
Clackmannanshire	159	23,315	147	2	19	21	0.1
Dumfries and Galloway	6,437	73,683	11	36	362	398	0.5
Dundee City	60	75,528	1,264	134	1013	1,147	1.5
East Ayrshire	1,270	56,373	44	0	0	0	0.0
East Dunbartonshire	175	45,343	260	0	0	0	0.0
East Lothian	679	43,806	64	78	2360	2,438	5.6
East Renfrewshire	174	37,852	218	0	0	0	0.0
Edinburgh City	263	240,849	915	190	1681	1,871	0.8
Eilean Siar	3,098	14,134	5	53	389	442	3.1
Falkirk	297	71,255	240	169	6046	6,215	8.7
Fife	1,325	172,183	130	123	1408	1,531	0.9
Glasgow City	175	309,626	1,773	18	1434	1,452	0.5
Highland	26,162	112,167	4	276	1024	1,300	1.2
Inverclyde	162	40,985	253	52	488	540	1.3
Midlothian	355	35,669	100	0	0	0	0.0
Moray	2,238	43,036	19	9	108	117	0.3
North Ayrshire	885	67,320	76	49	683	732	1.1
North Lanarkshire	472	149,424	316	3	2	5	0.0
Orkney Islands	1,012	10,339	10	52	274	326	3.2
Perth and Kinross	5,384	69,917	13	3	69	72	0.1
Renfrewshire	262	85,344	326	104	1276	1,380	1.6
Scottish Borders	4,739	57,003	12	23	47	70	0.1
Shetland Islands	1,467	10,674	7	60	66	126	1.2
South Ayrshire	1,224	55,497	45	204	1275	1,479	2.7
South Lanarkshire	1,774	143,923	81	20	77	97	0.1
Stirling	2,253	40,623	18	3	248	251	0.6
West Dunbartonshire	177	45,541	257	179	1121	1,300	2.9
West Lothian	429	74,906	175	0	0	0	0.0
Scotland	78,805	2,533,068	32	2,229	23,952	26,181	1.0

Question reference: S3W-12494

Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 April 2008
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 15 May 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what policy it has developed to ensure that support schemes are simple and responsive in order to ensure immediate action to protect life and limb in any flooding emergency.

Contingency planning is primarily a matter for local responders, as defined under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004.

After the flooding in parts of England during the summer of 2007, the Minister for Environment wrote out to each of the eight regional strategic co-ordinating group (SCG) asking for confirmation that they were adequately prepared to respond to similar events, should they occur in Scotland. All SCGs indicated they had assessed the flooding risk in their area, and had undertaken planning for such eventualities.

As part of this planning, SCGs and responders will be expected to consider the needs of their local population and put in place appropriate support structures.

Question reference: S3W-12465

Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 April 2008
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 15 May 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on its Inquiry Reporter permitting development on land that is already artificial landfill on the coast of the River Forth and in an area designated by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency as being at high risk of flooding.

Once a reporter, appointed by Scottish ministers, from the Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals has issued a decision on an appeal the decision is final and neither the reporter he/she Thursday, July 29, 1999 nor Scottish ministers have any further jurisdiction on the matter. You will appreciate that it is not therefore possible to comment on the merits of an appeal other than to say that a reporter''s decision is based on the evidence before him or her.

Chamber and committees