- Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 February 2006
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 2 March 2006
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will clarify its funding policy in respect of organic farming.
Answer
Our fundingpolicy is, within the resources available, to support the development of a sustainableorganic farming industry that makes a strong contribution to the management of Scotland’s agricultural land and water resources.The Organic Action Plan, which was published in 2003, sets out the severalstrands of our funding policy: support for farmers converting to and maintainingorganic farming methods; support for marketing and processing of organic products;advisory support and provision of market information to organic farmers, and supportfor organic research and development.
- Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 18 November 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Duncan McNeil on 19 January 2006
To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what the cost has been of processing freedom of information requests from journalists and broadcasters, broken down by (a) journalist or broadcaster and (b) publication or broadcasting organisation.
Answer
The SPCB has spent an estimated 6,979 hours processing freedom of information requests received from journalists and broadcasters completed between 1 January 2005 and 25 November 2005 at a cost of £139,570. The details referring to eachjournalist/broadcaster and to each publication/broadcasting organisation are set out in the enclosed table.
The number of hours is based on the figures provided by the FOI Action Officers and FOI Decision Takers in each office together with an estimate of the time spent by the Information Access Team, Directorate of Legal Services and the Media Relations Office. Staff costs are calculated using an average hourly rate of £20. The number of hours does not include the substantial number of management hours involved in replying to FOI requests nor the cost of servicing requests for reviews or appeals or overheads such as photocopying, printing and postal charges.
In replying to this question we have fully considered our obligations under the Data Protection Act and have concluded that the names of journalists and broadcasters who have identified themselves to us by supplying their job title, business addressee or work e-mail as part of the request will be included in this reply.
| Publication | Requester | Total Hours | Total Cost |
| The Sunday Herald | Matthew Magee | 7 | £130 |
| Paul Hutcheon | 1,630 | £32,598 |
| The Sunday Herald Total | 1,636 | £32,728 |
| Scotland on Sunday | Eddie Barnes | 627 | £12,541 |
| Murdo MacLeod | 605 | £12,093 |
| Scotland on Sunday Total | 1,232 | £24,634 |
| The Sunday Times | Carlos Alba | 447 | £8,930 |
| Jason Allardyce | 79 | £1,580 |
| Jonathan Lessware | 218 | £4,354 |
| Kathleen Nutt | 228 | £4,570 |
| The Sunday Times Total | 972 | £19,434 |
| The Herald | Robbie Dinwoodie | 7 | £133 |
| Tom Gordon | 963 | £19,256 |
| The Herald Total | 969 | £19,390 |
| Edinburgh Evening News | Chris Mooney | 2 | £60 |
| Ian Swanson | 512 | £10,248 |
| Edinburgh Evening News Total | 515 | £10,308 |
| The Scotsman | Hamish Macdonell | 465 | £9,304 |
| The Scotsman Total | 465 | £9,304 |
| The Press and Journal | Paul Gallagher | 423 | £8,465 |
| The Press and Journal Total | 423 | £8,465 |
| Daily Mail | Ian Smith | 87 | £1,732 |
| Stuart Nicolson | 86 | £1,720 |
| Daily Mail Total | 173 | £3,452 |
| Freelance | Toby MacDonald | 166 | £3,320 |
| Freelance Total | 166 | £3,320 |
| Scottish Mail On Sunday | Mark Aitken | 162 | £3,249 |
| Scottish Mail On Sunday Total | 162 | £3,249 |
| Scottish Press Association | Andrew Black | 81 | £1,620 |
| Russell Fallis | 3 | £60 |
| Scottish Press Association Total | 84 | £1,680 |
| Scottish Mirror | Frank Hurley | 76 | £1,520 |
| Siobhan MacFadyen | 4 | £73 |
| Scottish Mirror Total | 80 | £1,593 |
| Aberdeen Journals | Simon Johnson | 79 | £1,580 |
| Aberdeen Journals Total | 79 | £1,580 |
| The Daily Telegraph | Tom Peterkin | 7 | £133 |
| The Daily Telegraph Total | 7 | £133 |
| Daily Record | Dave King | 4 | £70 |
| Paul Sinclair | 3 | £60 |
| Daily Record Total | 7 | £130 |
| CBS News | Doug Pasternak | 5 | £90 |
| CBS News Total | 5 | £90 |
| BBC Scotland | Bob Wylie | 4 | £80 |
| BBC Scotland Total | 4 | £80 |
| Grand Total | 6,979 | £139,570 |
- Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 November 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 25 November 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost has been of freedom of information requests from journalists and broadcasters, broken down by (a) journalist or broadcaster and (b) publication or broadcasting organisation.
Answer
Responding to requests for information is regarded as part of routine business for all Executive staff we do not, therefore, hold information on the costs of complying with each individual request, nor do we ask staff to record on a routine basis the estimated costs of complying with requests for information.
The Executive’s Disclosure Log on the Executive’s website www.scotland.gov.uk includes information about the requests made to the Executive by journalists and broadcasters, with details of their employing organisations.
- Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 November 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 25 November 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost has been to date of processing freedom of information requests from (a) members of the public and (b) journalists and broadcasters, broken down into (i) staff time and (ii) other costs.
Answer
Responding to requests for information is regarded as part of routine business for all Executive staff we do not, therefore, hold information on the costs of complying with each individual request, nor do we ask staff to record on a routine basis the estimated costs of complying with requests for information.
Of those freedom of information requests which are monitored centrally, those from journalists and broadcasters make up approximately 60% of the total.
- Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 18 November 2005
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Current Status:
Awaiting answer
To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what the cost has been to date of processing freedom of information requests from (a) members of the public and (b) journalists and broadcasters, broken down into (i) staff time and (ii) other costs.
Answer
Awaiting answer
- Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 October 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 27 October 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what proposals it has for the disposal of sewage sludge and other municipal waste, in particular in respect of further support for energy projects offering disposal solutions.
Answer
Scottish Water is responsible for dealing with sewage sludge; local authorities have a similar responsibility for municipal waste. In both cases, the Scottish Executive supports recovery and recycling where this can be done satisfactorily.
- Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 September 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 28 September 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time for a DEXA scan is in each NHS board area.
Answer
The information requested is not held centrally.
- Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 09 September 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 22 September 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the European Commission in respect of its Report on osteoporosis in the European Community: Action for Prevention, published in 1998.
Answer
The Executive has had no such discussions.
- Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 September 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 21 September 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether an audit of the local delivery plans of NHS boards has been undertaken to identify whether an integrated falls service has been established in each board's area.
Answer
The Executive carried out an audit of falls prevention services in the autumn of 2002. This resulted in the holding of a falls prevention conference in November 2002, and a conference report which was issued widely by NHS Health Scotland in March 2003.
- Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 September 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 21 September 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether hospitals notify GPs of fracture patients who receive preventive treatment for osteoporosis in hospital of patients' requirement for ongoing treatment.
Answer
It is standard practice for a patient who is leaving hospital to be given a letter to his or her GP detailing the treatment given and any continuing care required. The involvement of GPs in the aftercare of elderly people with hip fracture, whether or not they have a diagnosis of osteoporosis, is identified as having of particular importance in the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network good practice clinical guidelines on the Prevention and Management of Hip Fracture in Older People and on the Management of Osteoporosis.
