Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S4W-02696

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 26 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what the survival rate was for (a) male and (b) female lung cancer patients in each of the last five years for which information is available, also broken down by (i) NHS board and (ii) cancer network.

Comparative survival for lung cancer is shown in the following table. It is important to note that survival depends on many factors, including data quality, characteristics of the patients and their tumours (case-mix), and health service factors. Survival estimates are also subject to random variation, especially when based on relatively small numbers of patients.

Lung cancer survival at one year and three years after diagnosis for Scotland, (i) NHS board and (ii) Regional Cancer Network by sex are in the following table.

Cancer of the Trachea, Bronchus and Lung (ICD-10 C33-C34)

Relative Survival¹ (%) at one and three years following Diagnosis for those Diagnosed aged 15 to 99 in 2002-06

Sex

Males Relative Survival at

Females Relative Survival at

Area of Residence	1 year	3 year	1 year	3 year
Scotland	27.4	9.9	30.7	12.1
NHS Cancer Networks²
North of Scotland	27.9	9.8	31.5	12
South East of Scotland	29.1	11.3	32.1	14
West of Scotland	26.4	9.1	29.7	11.3
NHS Board Areas³
Ayrshire and Arran	25.1	7.9	26.9	8.4
Borders	34.8	13.2	25.2	14.5
Dumfries and Galloway	25.6	9.6	26.8	10.2
Fife	26.4	10.2	29.7	11.7
Forth Valley	24.8	7.8	24.8	9.5
Grampian	29.2	10.9	31.1	10.9
Greater Glasgow and Clyde	27.4	9.5	31.1	11.8
Highland and Argyll	24.2	8.5	29.9	11.3
Lanarkshire	25.4	9.7	30.1	12.7
Lothian	30.5	12.1	35.2	15.7
Tayside	28.7	9.7	33.8	13.8

Notes:

Source: UK Cancer Information System; September 2011

1. The relative survival estimates shown above are adjusted for background mortality in Scotland as a whole but not for differences in overall life expectancy in the NHS boards in Scotland (because life tables for NHS boards are not readily available). The survival estimates are not standardised for age or sex.

2. Key to NHS Cancer Networks:

(a) North of Scotland - is defined as a grouping of the following NHS boards:

Grampian; Highland and Argyll; Orkney; Shetland; Tayside; Western Isles.

(b) South East of Scotland - is defined as a grouping of the following NHS boards: Borders; Dumfries and Galloway; Fife; Lothian. (c) West of Scotland - is defined as a grouping of the following NHS Boards: Ayrshire and Arran; Forth Valley; Greater Glasgow and Clyde; Lanarkshire.

3. Separate data are not shown for the Island NHS boards of Orkney, Shetland and Western Isles due to small populations.

4. Note that confidence intervals have been omitted for clarity of reading.

Question reference: S4W-02691

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 26 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in registering (a) support workers, (b) practitioners, and (c) workers with supervisory responsibilities in adult care homes since 2007, expressed as a percentage of the workforce.

Question reference: S4W-02688

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 26 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason the qualification level required by the Scottish Social Services Council for support workers in adult care homes is set at SVQ Level 2.

I refer the member to my response to question S4W-02683 on 26 September 2011 which concerns the process by which decisions on required qualification levels are reached.

Responses to the consultation about type of work and responsibilities of workers in care homes for adults indicated that there were four levels of workers which should be registered and that different levels of qualification requirement should be set for them to reflect the different roles and responsibilities they hold.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/MAQASearch/QAndMSearch.aspx.

Question reference: S4W-02684

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 26 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason the qualification level required for residential childcare workers to register with the Scottish Social Services Council is set at SVQ Level 3.

As noted in the response to question S4W-02683 on 26 September 2011, qualifications levels reflect the type of work and responsibilities held by workers. When the SSSC consulted on and set qualification requirements for residential childcare workers it was very conscious of the need to ensure that these workers have a level of academic ability that ensures they are able to support the children in their care to make the best use of their education and achieve qualifications which will increase their career and life opportunities.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

Question reference: S4W-02496

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 26 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S4W-00967 by Nicola Sturgeon on 29 June 2011, whether there continue be concerns regarding Ranaich House.

Question reference: S4F-00165

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 26 September 2011
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 September 2011

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's position is on reported concerns by the Royal College of Nursing that nurses are at breaking point due to fears over workloads, job security and falling care standards.

Question reference: S4W-02673

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 23 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what the impact on the Scottish budget will be of the proposed UK Government welfare reforms.

Question reference: S4W-02671

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 23 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will change the entitlement criteria for (a) free school meals, (b) clothing grants, (c) education maintenance allowance and (d) kinship carers allowance as a result of the proposed UK Government welfare reforms.

The legislation for free school meals is currently linked to a number of prescribed benefits and it is expected that a number of these will be repealed under the proposed UK Government welfare reforms. The Scottish Government will therefore consider making changes to the entitlement criteria in light of the UK Welfare Reform Bill and its regulations. School clothing grants are not linked to benefits by legislation, they are awarded subject to entitlement criteria set by local authorities.

The proposed UK Government welfare reforms will not change the entitlement criteria for Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA), which are based on household income, age, residency and validity of the student’s course.

Local authorities are best placed to make decisions about the entitlement criteria for the payment of kinship care allowances and the level of the rate paid, taking account of the child’s needs and the carers’ overall financial circumstances. The Scottish Government is working with COSLA to develop a shared understanding of the likely impact of the UK Government’s proposed welfare reforms.

Question reference: S4W-02595

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 09 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 23 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what effect local authority commissioning policies for adult social care have had on the sustainability of Choices Care.

Question reference: S4W-02672

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 September 2011
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 23 September 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what estimates it has made of the financial impact of the proposed UK Government welfare reforms on local government expenditure on (a) housing, (b) social care and (c) other areas.