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: S2W-24275

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by Hugh Henry on 23 March 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what appropriate professional help will be made available to people with drug and alcohol addiction if they have needs the service cannot meet, as stated in Standard Statement 7 of Consultation on Draft Quality Standards for substance misuse services.

Question reference: S2W-24097

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 23 March 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what health monitoring takes place of people living in the vicinity of waste incinerators.

The Scottish Executive HealthDepartment is not aware of any specific health monitoring currently in place forpeople living in the vicinity of waste incinerators. This position is in keepingwith the view of the Scottish Executive Health Department that emissions from incineratorsoperating within current regulatory limits do not pose significant health risksto members of the public generally or tosensitive groups.

Question reference: S2W-24096

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 23 March 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any known health risks for people living in the vicinity of a waste incinerator and, if so, whether it will outline the risks involved.

Incinerators emit pollutantsinto the environment and some of these pollutants are known or are considered likelyto cause or exacerbate the symptoms of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.Others, such as dioxins and furans are known or suspected human carcinogens. However,the public health risks associated with these emissions depend on the actual levelsof the emissions and the resultant exposures of members of the public, includingsensitive groups.

Wasteincinerators are now subject to more stringent emission standards in line with theWaste Incineration Directive, the aim of which is to prevent or to limit as faras practicable negative effects on the environment and the resulting risks to humanhealth from the incineration of waste.

APosition Statement on MunicipalSolid Waste Incineration by the UK Health Protection Agency’s Centre for Radiation, Chemical and EnvironmentalHazards concludes that “Incineratorsemit pollutants into the environment but provided they comply with modern regulatoryrequirements, such as the Waste Incineration Directive, they should contribute littleto the concentrations of monitored pollutants in ambient air. Epidemiological studies,and risk estimates based on estimated exposures, indicate that the emissions fromsuch incinerators have little effect on health.”

This advice is consistent withthat from the most authoritative expert advisory groups and the view of the ScottishExecutive Health Department is that emissions from incinerators operating withincurrent regulatory limits do not pose unacceptable health risks to members of the public generally or to sensitive groups.

Question reference: S2W-24098

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 23 March 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the ash from waste incinerators poses any health risks in relation to its transportation and placement in landfill sites.

The UK Health Protection Agency’sCentre for Radiation, Chemical andEnvironmental Hazards has produced a Position Statement on Municipal Solid Waste Incineration which concludes that “The incineration process can result in three main sourcesof emissions, (1) gaseous to the atmosphere, (2) via solid ash residues, and (3)via cooling water. Provided that solid ash residues and cooling water are handledand disposed of appropriately, atmospheric emissions remain the only significantroute of exposure to humans.”

Regulation of the proper handlingand disposal of ash and waste from incinerators is a matter for ScottishEnvironment Protection Agency. We have no evidence of any instance where the handlingand disposal of wastes from incinerators in Scotland has failed to meet the currentregulatory requirements.

Question reference: S2W-24500

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 March 2006
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Executive how many drug addicts who have been assessed and prescribed methadone are waiting to be allocated a methadone dispensing pharmacist, broken down by NHS board area.

Question reference: S2W-23699

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 20 March 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to financially support mountain rescue teams in order to ensure stability of funding and a reliable voluntary service.

Question reference: S2W-24467

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 March 2006
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the ban on smoking in public places would apply to delayed-discharge patients who require to remain in hospital due to a lack of local authority funding to support their return home where they could smoke.

Question reference: S2W-23741

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 15 March 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-22762 by Cathy Jamieson on 1 March 2006, how it plans to extend secure accommodation by 29 places.

A shortlistof five current and potential providers selected was selected on 20 December 2002. They were invited to provide moredetailed proposals and costs to deliver the 29 place increase and modernise thesecure estate overall. Distribution of the additional 29 places was announced on24 March 2003.

GlasgowCity Council, one of the providers announced at that time, announced on 15 October 2004 their intention to withdraw fromthe redevelopment of Kerelaw School. The 12 places Kerelaw would haveprovided will now be provided at the Good Shepherd Centre and at St Phillips.

When completeby 2007 the secure estate will therefore consist of 125 places, distributed as follows:

24 mixedat St Philip’s (opened 6 March 2006)

18 girlsonly at Good Shepherd (due to open June 2006)

18 boysonly at Kibble (due to open spring 2007)

18 mixedat Rossie (due to be redeveloped by December 2007)

31 mixedat St Mary’s (existing provision)

12 mixedin Edinburgh (existing provision)

4 mixedin The Elms (existing provision).

Question reference: S2W-23698

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 March 2006
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 14 March 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how the diabetes framework and the managed clinical network for diabetes have benefited patients with diabetes in each NHS board area.

Managed clinical networks for diabetes and the Scottish Diabetes Framework have made significant progress in developing and improving the standards of diabetes care in Scotland. The networks bring together health care professionals throughout an area to plan services, share best practice and facilitate working across professional boundaries. This is especially important for managing diabetes, which can cause such a variety of complications. The networks also offer direct opportunities for people with diabetes to become involved in planning services.

Specific achievements include the development of diabetes registers and the implementation of the SCI-DC diabetes information system. This allows both individuals and populations to be tracked to make sure they have access to regular monitoring and treatment for the risk factors of diabetes. Diabetes networks have also been instrumental in developing a national diabetes retinopathy screening programme, which will roll out later this month. The framework has supported various initiatives, including improved patient education and targeted work within minority ethnic groups who are at greater risk of developing diabetes.

The Scottish Primary Care Collaborative implemented alongside the Diabetes Framework has helped 31% more patients to achieve good blood glucose control (HbA1c below 7.5 mmol/l), 49% more patients to achieve controlled cholesterol (less than 5mmol/l) and 34% more patients to meet recommended blood pressure levels (less than 140/80).

Question reference: S2W-23343

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 February 2006
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 10 March 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to ensure the long-term funding of mountain rescue teams.

Parliament dissolved ahead of election

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