- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 October 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 22 October 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will legislate on the pricing of alcohol and alcohol promotions in retail outlets.
Answer
The Scottish Governmentis considering the most suitable approach to alcohol pricing and irresponsible promotions.We will decide in due course which legislative measures are appropriate to achieveour policy objectives.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 October 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 22 October 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive how many council-owned houses in each local authority area are not expected to achieve the Scottish Housing Quality Standard by 2015.
Answer
I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows.
All of the localauthorities that have submitted Standard Delivery Plans (SDPs) outlining how theywill reach the Scottish Housing Quality Standard have indicated that they are ableto achieve the Standard by the end of 2015. As part of achieving the Standard, councilscan apply for exemptions from certain energy efficiency criteria where theseare not technically feasible or involve disproportionate cost.
South Ayrshire Counciland Orkney Islands Council have received exemptions for 133 and 99 homes respectively.Highland Council is seeking exemptions for 4,250 homes but this is still being assessedalong with other aspects of the council’s SDP by Communities Scotland. Edinburgh, West Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire and Stirling Councils are still workingto complete their SDPs.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 October 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 19 October 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive when Agenda for Change is due to be completed.
Answer
Confirming an exactdate for concluding assimilation is not possible but we already have over 136,000staff on the new pay scales and 110,000 have also been processed for payment ofarrears. Some boards have concluded the exercise and the majority of otherboards have very small numbers remaining. Many of these have had a pay band appliedto them and are in the process of being assimilated by payroll departments.
There are still around18,000 staff requiring to be assimilated and we are working with and supportinghealth boards to conclude this process as early as possible. We are confident thateverything possible is being done and are optimistic that implementation will beconcluded by December 2007.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 September 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 18 October 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will amend Planning Advice Note (PAN) 65: Planning and Open Space in relation to the section entitled “Council or developers making arrangements with a suitable third party, for example, the Scottish Greenbelt Company, for long term maintenance”, in light of the concerns raised in Trish Godman’s Members’ Business debate on 6 September 2007 (Official Report c. 1565) on this subject and by Jim Devine MP at Westminster.
Answer
PAN 65 was publishedin January 2003. The advice supports the policy set out in National PlanningPolicy Guideline (NPPG) 11: Sport, Physical Recreation and Open Space (published1996), which will shortly be replaced by SPP 11: Open Space and Physical Activity.The majority of the content of PAN 65 continues to be regarded as useful and ithas not been our intention to review the PAN at this stage. However, as we moveto publication of the finalised SPP 11 we will consider the implicationsfor PAN 65.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 September 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 18 October 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive which patient groups and treatments are not included in waiting times targets.
Answer
Current waiting timestargets for first out-patient consultations and hospital in-patient and day casetreatment cover consultant-led acute specialities, excluding mental health, learningdisabilities, obstetrics and homeopathy.
I have already announcedour intention to develop and publishby the end of this year an action plan for health and wellbeing which will set outthe government’s health care strategy and key actions for the next three years.Public consultation to inform the development of this action plan is currently underway.Our action plan will include a new and ambitious target for NHS waiting times: anew whole journey waiting time target of 18 weeks from general practitioner referralto treatment. The action plan will set out how we intend to meet the target by December2011, and the range of services to which it will apply. We will also look very closely at how we can furtherdrive down waiting times for any patient groups that may sit outside this target.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 October 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 18 October 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to merge any NHS boards.
Answer
No.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 October 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 18 October 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to screen for heart disorders in families known to be at risk from heart disease.
Answer
Close relatives ofthose with inherited heart disease are already offered access to screening services.We are currently discussing with cardiologists and clinical geneticists the developmentof a more integrated approach to the management of inherited cardiac conditions.
As part of the currentrevision of our Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) and Stroke Strategy, we are consideringthe emerging research evidence associated with the screening of the families ofthose with premature CHD.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 October 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Maxwell on 18 October 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people use direct payments, broken down by qualifying category and local authority area.
Answer
This information isavailable from the latest statistics release,
Direct Payments Scotland 2007,which was published on the internet on 25 September 2007. The document can be found using the link below
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Health/Publications.A copy is also availablein the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 43799).
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 September 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 15 October 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive which patient groups and treatments are currently being considered for inclusion in waiting times targets.
Answer
I have already announcedour intention to develop and publish,by the end of this year, an action plan for health and wellbeing which will setout the government’s health care strategy and key actions for the next three years.Public consultation to inform the development of this action plan is currently underway.
Our action plan willinclude a new and ambitious target for NHS waiting times: a new whole journey waitingtime target of 18 weeks from general practitioner referral to treatment. The actionplan will set out how we intend to meet the target by December 2011, and the rangeof services to which it will apply.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 October 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 12 October 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients from Scotland have been treated elsewhere in the European Union under the E112 scheme in each of the last five years.
Answer
Patients mayreceive treatment in other member states of the European Economic Area and in Switzerland through the E112 referral scheme, in accordance withRegulation (EEC) 1408/71. This regulation coordinates the social security andhealthcare schemes of the member states.
Informationabout patients is only available on an England, Scotland and Wales basis and the number of people referred abroad using the E112 procedureis shown in the following table:
| Year | Number |
| 2002 | 1,120 |
| 2003 | 1,052 |
| 2004 | 353 |
| 2005 | 228 |
| 2006 | 357 |
Note: The drop in referrals from 2004 is due tothe change in European Commission healthcare rules that took place that year.Since 1 June 2004, patients no longer need an E112 for theon-going care of pre-existing medical conditions. This is now covered on theEuropean Health Insurance Card.
