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: S3W-21256

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 February 2009
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 3 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what resources it plans to allocate for the treatment of eating disorders in (a) 2009 and (b) 2010, broken down by NHS board.

Spend on eating disorder services will continue to be drawn from the overall funds allocated to NHS boards by the Scottish Government. In this respect the overall Health budget will increase from £11.03 billion in 2009-10 to £11.5 billion in 2010-11.

It is the responsibility of NHS boards to work in partnership and to allocate funds from the total financial resources available to them on the basis of local needs, priorities and agreed targets, including the Scottish Government''s key strategic objectives and commitments.

Question reference: S3W-20692

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 February 2009
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 2 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many times between the age of 15 months and five years a child’s weight is recorded by an NHS professional.

The Scottish Universal Core Programme recommends the recording of a child''s weight within the first 24 hours of life, at 10 days, and six to eight weeks, at two, three, four and 13 months, at three to five years and at entry to primary school. Although there may be additional measurements taken between three to five years, there is no formal reporting process. Practitioners should provide clinical advice based on the weight measurement when appropriate.

Weight is formally recorded and reported as part of P1 CHSP (Child Health Systems Programme “ School) http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/3640.html.

Question reference: S3W-21000

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 February 2009
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 2 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made in providing an appropriate number of in-patient places in child and adolescent psychiatry services.

We are working closely with NHS boards to ensure that the number of specialist in-patient beds match need and demand.

For children, there are nine beds, provided on a national basis, at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children (Yorkhill). For adolescents, a new facility opened on 25 February in the West of Scotland with 24 beds. Consideration of local and regional needs are still underway in the North around plans to increase the current six beds to 12, and in the South East who currently have 12 beds.

We have also offered £2 million of new money on a recurring basis, to be matched by new resources from NHS boards, to accelerate the development of specialist CAMHS in-patient services and supporting intensive community services.

Question reference: S3W-20942

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 February 2009
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 2 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-19341 by Shona Robison on 20 January 2009, whether it will provide an answer that specifically addresses the points raised in the question.

There was extensive consultation during the Crerar Review, which reported in 2007, on the proposals for change to the scrutiny landscape.

I had discussions on the proposals with the Convenor of the Care Commission and the Chairs of the Boards of NHS Quality Improvement Scotland and the Mental Welfare Commission Scotland, both prior to and following the announcement on 6 November 2008 on the creation of new scrutiny bodies for health and social care.

The Scottish Government announced on 13 February that while the Mental Welfare Commission will still be part of the simplification programme we will step back at this time from taking its functions in to either the new health or new social care body.

We will be engaging directly with the bodies and their stakeholders on the way forward while reviewing the Mental Welfare Commission''s operations and how best to take it forward as part of the simplification programme.

Question reference: S3W-20605

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 February 2009
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 2 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive when it plans to publish the Maternity Services Action Group’s neonatal sub-group’s report on the review of neonatal services.

Question reference: S3W-20999

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 February 2009
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 2 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-20227 by Nicola Sturgeon on 28 January 2009, what changes will be made to the inspection regime for all care services as a result of the new targeted and proportionate regulation system currently being introduced.

Question reference: S3W-20606

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 February 2009
Current Status: Answered by Adam Ingram on 2 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how much Cruse Bereavement Care has been given to provide a bereavement service to schoolchildren and how many children have used this service, broken down by local authority.

Cruse Bereavement Care Scotland (CBCS) receive generic funding from the Scottish Government. This comprises:

Funding from the Scottish Government''s Children, Young People and Social Care Directorate through the United Voluntary Sector Fund. Current funding for 2007-10 is £37,650 per year, and is provided for aligning their services with the bereavement related needs of clients, including: establishing a CBCS National Phoneline, which is intended to be live by summer 2009; producing a CBCS manual to guarantee quality of service and efficiency, and securing more consistent and sustainable resources to deliver services on an on-going basis.

£66,965 for three financial years commencing 2008-09 under section 9 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968, also by the Scottish Government''s Children, Young People and Social Care Directorate. This is to develop further e-learning projects, develop training modules about bereavement by murder, and in turn increase capacity to deliver tailored training to external purchasers, to help all client groups affected by bereavement.

£25,000/£23,000/£21,000 over 2007-10 from the Scottish Government''s Mental Health Division to support CBCS''s core administrative functions.

CBCS hold figures of services provided Scotland wide, to school children receiving help on a one to one basis, but have advised that the figures provided do not cover the other varied types of help available to school children, e.g. through email contact. CBCS are not able to provide a breakdown of these figures by local authority.

CBCS''s National Figures are as follows:

Years 2005-08

Relevant Year 1 April to 31 March	No. of Pre-School Children Seen for One-to-One Support	No. of Primary School Children Seen for One-to-One Support	No. of Secondary School Age Children Seen for One-to-One Support	Total
2005-06	1	51	93	145
2006-07	2	38	100	140
2007-08	2	37	91	130

Question reference: S3O-05964

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2009
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 26 February 2009

To ask the Scottish Execuitve what is being done to reverse the decline in livestock numbers on Scotland’s hills.

Question reference: S3W-20401

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 February 2009
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 26 February 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what is being done to increase the number of men being tested for chlamydia.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of tackling chlamydia and is committed to breaking the cycles of transmission and reducing its prevalence in those under the age of 25.

The recent Quality Improvement Scotland Standard on sexual health and young people - available online at http://www.nhshealthquality.org/nhsqis/files/sexualhealth_july2007.pdf -

sets out a target to increase chlamydia testing in under 25s. This includes a specific target to increase the number of young men being offered a test. Every young person who visits a sexual health service is asked if they have put themselves at risk and, if so, offered a test.

In addition, health boards are responsible for putting in place a range of measures which will reach young people in their local area and many are taking innovative approaches to reach young men, such as postal testing kits which can be given directly to young men or to a young woman to pass on to their partner.

Question reference: S3W-20491

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 February 2009
Current Status: Answered by Adam Ingram on 19 February 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many social worker vacancies there are, broken down by local authority.