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-19694

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 January 2009
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 21 January 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what basic child health reviews and health checks for every child up to the age of five entail.

Basic child health reviews and health checks are set out in the Health for All Children (Hall 4) Guidance. http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/04/15161325/13390.

The guidance recommends that all children should have contact with health professionals within the first 24 hours for a full physical health check; within the first 10 days of life for a blood spot test for particular illnesses and a general check to ensure there is no cause for concern; new-born hearing screening is offered to all babies within the first four weeks of life unless born prematurely or ill; at six to eight weeks for a full physical health and development check, including weight; at two, three and four months for immunisation and to check weight; at 12 months for immunisation; at 13 months for immunisation and to check weight; between the ages of three to five years for immunisation and to check weight; between four and five years for an eye sight test, usually at pre-school, and between the ages of four to six, usually in school year primary 1, for a full physical health check including height, weight and dental check.

Question reference: S3W-19284

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 19 December 2008
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 January 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will propose a quality outcome framework for GPs to help identify the earliest signs of unhealthy weight in children.

Identifying the earliest signs of unhealthy weight in children is the responsibility of a range of services through schools, nurseries and community nursing as well as GP practices. There are currently no plans for the Scottish Government to propose this area for inclusion on the Quality and Outcomes Framework for GMS practices.

The Scottish Government published a three-year action plan to improve diet, increase physical activity and tackle obesity in June 2008. NHS Health Scotland has also developed guidance to support boards to deliver against HEAT targets for the delivery of behaviour change programmes for overweight children between five and 15 years old and their families.

Question reference: S3W-19285

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 19 December 2008
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 January 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what is being done to identify overweight children under the age of five.

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.

Practitioners should provide clinical advice based on the weight measurement when appropriate.

Healthy Eating, Active Living, the Scottish Government''s three year action plan to improve diet, increase physical activity and tackle obesity was published in June 2008 and NHS Health Scotland has developed guidance to support NHS Scotland boards to deliver against the HEAT target for the delivery of behaviour change programmes for overweight children between five and 15 years old and their families (April 2008).

Question reference: S3W-19341

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 December 2008
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 January 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any consultation was carried out with the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland prior to the announcement of its merger with NHS Quality Improvement Scotland and the Care Commission and, if not, what the reasons were.

The proposals supporting the First Minister''s statement to the Scottish Parliament on 30 January 2008 on Delivering More Effective Government indicated that the future of Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland (MWCS) would be reviewed as part of the consideration of the scrutiny and complaints landscape. The follow-up announcement on 6 November by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth announcing the outcome of this consideration enables discussions on the proposed changes to be undertaken to with the bodies and external stakeholders.

Question reference: S3W-19351

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 December 2008
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 January 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will outline what health screening, development checks, surveillance and health promotion is provided to children up to the age of five.

The routine screening, surveillance and health promotion checks which children and young people receive is set out in the Health for All Children (Hall 4) Guidance which is available on the Scottish Government website at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/04/15161325/13390.

The Scottish Universal Core Programme of contacts includes contact with a health professional within the first 24 hours of life, within the first 10 days, at six to eight weeks, at two, three and four months, at 12 and 13 months and at three to five years. Newborn hearing screening is offered to all babies within the first four weeks of life unless born prematurely or ill.

The Scottish child health programme includes routine checks to detect any health problems and to ensure that children get any care or treatment they need as soon as possible, including immunisations. Up until school entry, information and advice on a range of health promotion topics should be provided such as weaning, nutrition, child development, safety and dental health. Most of the core programme is undertaken by health visitors/public health nurses, however some of contacts listed above are undertaken by other health professionals.

Question reference: S3W-19582

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 January 2009
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 January 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how much additional funding has been allocated to each local authority up to 2010-11 to achieve the target of 10,000 extra weeks of respite care.

The Scottish Government is providing an extra £4.19 million to local authorities “ on top of the overall settlement “ to enable local authorities to deliver in full by 2010-11 the commitment in the concordat to progress towards delivering 10,000 extra respite weeks per annum. This additional funding will be provided to local authorities in 2009-10 and 2010-11.

The allocations for 2009-10, broken down by authority, are provided in the following table. The allocations for 2010-11 are not yet available.

The whole 2009-10 local government finance settlement is provisional until the Parliament approves both the overall 2009-10 Scottish Budget Bill and the Local Government Finance Order 2009.

Additional Allocation to Deliver 10,000 Additional Respite Weeks (this is Additional to Concordat Funding for this Commitment)

Local Authority	£ Million
Aberdeen City	0.053
Aberdeenshire	0.056
Angus	0.031
Argyll and Bute	0.027
Clackmannanshire	0.012
Dumfries and Galloway	0.044
Dundee City	0.044
East Ayrshire	0.033
East Dunbartonshire	0.025
East Lothian	0.026
East Renfrewshire	0.021
Edinburgh (City of)	0.118
Eilean Siar	0.009
Falkirk	0.039
Fife	0.098
Glasgow City	0.165
Highland	0.057
Inverclyde	0.024
Midlothian	0.020
Moray	0.023
North Ayrshire	0.038
North Lanarkshire	0.082
Orkney Islands	0.006
Perth and Kinross	0.040
Renfrewshire	0.045
Scottish Borders	0.032
Shetland Islands	0.006
South Ayrshire	0.034
South Lanarkshire	0.081
Stirling	0.022
West Dunbartonshire	0.026
West Lothian	0.035
Scotland	1.370

Question reference: S3W-19573

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 January 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 20 January 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is in respect of the comments made by senior members of the Scottish Police Services Authority (SPSA) at the Grampian Joint Police Board meeting on the 31 October 2008 when they said that the outcome of the consultation, should it deliver a majority of responses in favour of retaining the Aberdeen forensic science laboratory, will not be the recommendation of the SPSA.

The Scottish Police Services Authority is currently undertaking consultation on the delivery of forensic services to the North and North East of Scotland. The Convener of the SPSA Board has been asked to review all the information available and the views expressed, as well as consider any additional and relevant information before any advice is submitted to ministers on the way forward. The Scottish Government will carefully consider that advice when it is received.

Question reference: S3W-19287

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 19 December 2008
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 19 January 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider a pilot study of the self-referral of patients for physiotherapy services with a view to reducing the recurrence of pain and time off work.

Self referral of patients for physiotherapy services was piloted in Scotland between 2003 and 2005. Patients across Scotland can now self-refer into physiotherapy services. The Scottish Government is also funding the Working Health Services pilot in Dundee. Employees of small and medium-sized enterprises can self-refer for assessment and treatment through services such as physiotherapy, assisting recovery and minimising time off work.

Similar services are being setup in NHS Borders and NHS Lothian.

Question reference: S3W-19580

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 January 2009
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 19 January 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Agenda for Change assimilation process has been completed for all staff.

Significant progress on assimilation has been made during 2008. End of December figures indicate that over 138,000 substantive NHSScotland staff have now been assimilated to Agenda for Change. Health boards are continuing to work very hard to complete the assimilation process but some 960 substantive staff around the country remain to be placed on Agenda for Change scales.

A proportion of those left to assimilate are cases where there is some difficulty with identifying the correct banding or where a special job evaluation process is required. Boards have left these posts till last and will be working through any issues which need to be addressed in assimilating these staff over the next few months in partnership with trade union and professional organisations.

Question reference: S3W-19583

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 January 2009
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 19 January 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many additional weeks of respite care are being provided by each local authority in 2008-09.

We have agreed with COSLA that local authorities will provide an additional 2,000 respite weeks in 2008-09. These additional weeks will be measured using the baseline of Audit Scotland''s Statutory Performance Indicators figures on respite in 2007-08.

We have also agreed with COSLA that they will monitor the delivery of the additional respite weeks and will report to the Scottish Government with total Scotland-wide figures.

The Audit Scotland Performance Indicator figures showing the baseline for each local authority for 2007-08 were published in December 2008. The break-down of additional respite weeks to be provided by each authority in 2008-09 is not yet available. COSLA officials are liaising with local authorities regarding the arrangements for collecting information to monitor the delivery of the commitment.