Chamber and committees

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service have not received any criminal reports regarding the inappropriate disposal of baby ashes in any crematoria.

The Scottish Government is launching the “Transforming Care after Treatment Programme” soon. The overall aim is to ensure that people diagnosed with cancer are prepared for and supported to live with the consequences of the diagnosis and its treatment.

Centrally National Services Division (NSD), a Division of NHS National Services Scotland (NSS), manages the funding of cross border specialist healthcare services on behalf of NHS Scotland.

The number of cancer referrals going elsewhere in the UK to access treatment is small and mainly relate to those patients with eye tumours accessing low intensity proton beam radiotherapy at Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Trust.

There is also a shared cross-border process in place for all other cancer referrals to access other specialist cancer treatment elsewhere in the UK.

The Scottish Government does not collect information on patients who relocate to England to seek alternative cancer treatment without referral.

SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT

WRITTEN ANSWER

28 May 2013

Index Heading: Governance and Communities

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-14486 by Margaret Burgess on 8 May 2013, on how many other occasions the minister has (a) met and (b) written to a UK minister regarding welfare reform and when.

(S4W-14851)

The following corrected answer was issued on 31 May 2013

Margaret Burgess: Scottish Ministers meet with and write to UK Ministers on a regular basis.

The Minister for Housing and Welfare has met with UK Ministers on three occasions to discuss welfare reform. These meetings took place on 19 September 2012,
17 December 2012 and 6 March 2013.

The Minister has also written to UK Ministers on: 13 December 2012; 20 December 2012; 9 January 2013; 10 February 2013; 15 February 2013; 27 February 2013;
26 March 2013; 28 March 2013; 15 April 2013; and 23 May 2013 in relation to welfare reform matters.

As explained in the answer to question S4W-14488 on 8 May 2013, total costs involved in rehousing homeless households are variable and depending on a range of individual and local circumstances. It is not possible for the Scottish Government to produce meaningful estimates of national figures on such costs.

During the appointment process Mr Houston had to demonstrate an understanding of what the residents of Edinburgh and the Lothians expect of Lothian NHS Board. Mr Houston is currently undertaking a full induction programme that will see him meet senior Scottish Government officials, board members and senior management within NHS Lothian.

The first contact I had with Mr Houston was during the process of finalising my decision on the appointment of the new Chairperson of NHS Lothian.

The criteria for appointing a chairperson to an NHS board varies depending on the challenges and needs of the recruiting board. The skills of leadership, organisational change, strategy development and improvement alongside ensuring effective Performance are most commonly used as the basis of assessment.

Yes. All territorial NHS boards require applicants to live or work within the NHS Board Area. Special Health Boards require applicants to live or work within Scotland.

The following tables provide data on laboratory confirmed measles cases recorded in Scotland each year from 2007 to date, broken down by NHS board area.

Notes:

*data for 2013 is up until 17 May 2013

Laboratory confirmed cases - is a case which has been diagnosed clinically,

a sample has been taken and it has tested positive.

Probable cases - is a case which has been diagnosed clinically and which is epidemiologically

linked to a laboratory confirmed case, but for which no sample was taken and no test result is available.