- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 September 2005
-
Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 15 September 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what assurance it will give that couples currently seeking infertility treatment under the NHS in Argyll and Clyde will have access to the full three cycles of IVF or ICSI treatment recommended by the Expert Advisory Group on Infertility in Scotland when they are transferred to another NHS board following the dissolution of NHS Argyll and Clyde in March 2006.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-18992 on 15 September 2005. 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/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 September 2005
-
Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 15 September 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what assurance it will give that couples currently on the waiting list for infertility treatment under the NHS in Argyll and Clyde will not have to wait any longer for their treatment when NHS Argyll and Clyde is dissolved in March 2006.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-18992 on 15 September 2005. 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/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 05 September 2005
-
Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 15 September 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether a ferry crossing from Orkney to Caithness would be preferable to a crossing from Orkney to Aberdeen in respect of animal welfare.
Answer
In terms of animal welfare during transportation there are a number of factors which need to be taken into consideration, such as the length of the total journey (not just the sea crossing) and the conditions in which the animals are housed during the journey. Livestock transported from Orkney are housed in Goods and Livestock Transporters which give the animals considerably more space than livestock vehicles and the road journey from Aberdeen is likely to be considerably shorter than that from Caithness. There is no evidence to suggest that sea journeys are particularly stressful and it is generally recognised that the most stressful time for animals is during loading and unloading. Provided those involved in the transport of animals comply with the requirements of the Welfare of Animals (Transport) Order 1997, animal welfare problems should not arise during sea transport.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 05 September 2005
-
Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 15 September 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what treatment choices, other than a methadone programme, are available to drug addicts to help them lead a drug-free lifestyle.
Answer
Decisions on treatment interventions and options for addressing other needs are made locally by patients and their medical and social care professionals and depend on individual circumstances.
The treatment process to help individuals sustain drug-free lives can involve a wide range of interventions in both community and residential settings. These may often be offered in combination with each other and include: residential crisis/respite care; residential rehabilitation; community rehabilitation; self-help programmes, and detoxification services.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 September 2005
-
Current Status:
Answered by Allan Wilson on 15 September 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure that active labour market policies are tailored to provide opportunities for people who are excluded from the workplace.
Answer
While the UK Government is responsible for employment policy on jobsearch and support, the Executive has a range of policies in skills and lifelong learning, regeneration, health, child care, advice and information services which can help individuals’ employment prospects. In support of the Closing the Opportunity approach to tackling poverty, the Executive will launch an Employability Framework later this year, aimed at increasing the chances of sustained employment for vulnerable and disadvantaged groups.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 05 September 2005
-
Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 15 September 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the new tender for the Northern Isles ferry service will include a subsidy for livestock or freight to travel across the Pentlands Firth.
Answer
The Invitation to Tender issued on 19 July 2005 invited three companies to tender for a grant to operate passenger and vehicle ferry services between the Scottish mainland and the Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands. Section 3.2 of the Invitation to Tender set out the minimum service requirement, which includes a service across the Pentland Firth between Scrabster and Stromness. The Invitation to Tender also set out in sections 3.9 and 3.10 the requirement for freight, which encompasses livestock, to be included within the tender, as part of the Executive’s policy of securing this lifeline ferry route for the benefit of the islands.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 September 2005
-
Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 15 September 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to ensure that couples who are currently unable to be referred for infertility treatment under the NHS in Argyll and Clyde because the female partner is over 35 will become eligible for referral following the dissolution of NHS Argyll and Clyde in March 2006.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-18992 on 15 September 2005. 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/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 05 September 2005
-
Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 14 September 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average length of time has been for a person to be on a methadone programme in each year since 1999.
Answer
This information is not held centrally.
The redesigned Scottish Drug Misuse Database will enable collection nationally of information about patients receiving methadone as well as other types of treatment.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 05 September 2005
-
Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 14 September 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of people on methadone programmes have moved on to a drug-free lifestyle in each year since 1999.
Answer
This information is not held centrally.
The redesigned Scottish Drug Misuse Database will enable collection nationally of information about patients receiving methadone as well as other types of treatment.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 August 2005
-
Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 13 September 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive how much will be allocated to each local authority over the next year for transitional throughcare for drug rehabilitation and support for prisoners released into the community.
Answer
Funds for voluntary throughcare, which includes the new Throughcare Addiction Service, are allocated to the Criminal Justice Groupings comprising individual local authorities. The following table shows the allocations to each grouping for 2005-06. A total of £2.4 million is being distributed amongst all the groupings and a further £0.4 million has been allocated between three groupings where the levels of known problem drug users are particularly high.
The new “Throughcare Addictions Service” will help prisoners with drug/alcohol related difficulties to continue with treatment on their release from custody and so help them to break the cycle of crime-offending-custody.
Throughcare Phase 2 Allocation 2005-06
| Grouping/Single Authority | Throughcare Phase 2 Allocation 2005-06 | Allocation of £0.4 million to special areas | Total Throughcare Phase 2 Allocation 2005-06 |
| Argyle and Bute-Dumbarton Group | £105,065 | | £105,065 |
| Ayrshire Partnership | £175,069 | | £175,069 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | £58,176 | | £58,176 |
| Fife | £167,555 | | £167,555 |
| Forth Valley | £117,295 | | £117,295 |
| Glasgow | £567,072 | £196,000 | £763,072 |
| Lanarkshire Grouping | £207,636 | | £207,636 |
| Lothian Partnership | £414,556 | £128,000 | £542,556 |
| Northern Partnership | £204,563 | £76,000 | £280,563 |
| Renfrew and Inverclyde Grouping | £214,486 | | £214,486 |
| Tay Partnership | £168,527 | | £168,527 |
| Total | £2,400,000 | £400,000 | £2,800,000 |
Note: Figures subject to rounding.
