- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 08 April 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 3 May 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether free oral examination for people aged over 60 is available in all NHS board areas and how people who are eligible for such examination will be made aware of all local practitioners offering the service.
Answer
Free oral health assessments for those aged 60 or over have not yet been introduced. The introduction of such checks will be supplemented by a publicity programme.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 15 April 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 29 April 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will issue guidelines for funeral directors handling infected cadavers similar to recent Department of Health advice.
Answer
The Department of Health guidelines on handling infected cadavers has been referred to an expert group to consider whether they should be adopted for use by NHSScotland. The group are holding on-going discussions on this issue.
The specific issue of advice to funeral directors will be examined as part of a wide ranging review of burial and cremation legislation in Scotland being conducted by a group chaired by Mr Robert Brodie CB. These two groups will link to ensure any future policy/guidelines are developed in tandem.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 14 April 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 28 April 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the provisions of the Housing (Scotland) Bill will apply to tied houses and tenanted crofts.
Answer
The parts of the bill which relate to the tolerable standard and which allow local authorities to require owners to repair or improve sub-standard houses will apply equally to tied houses and to dwelling houses situated on crofts as they do to other houses. The same is true of the provisions relating to houses in multiple occupation, where the house meets the definition of a house in multiple occupation.
Other provisions apply to any tenancy of a house let for human habitation except Scottish Secure Tenancies and certain other exceptions which are not relevant here. Those provisions are the landlord’s obligation to meet the repairing standard and the landlord’s obligation not to refuse unreasonably to consent to works by the tenant to make the house suitable for a disabled occupant
Those provisions will apply to a tied house if in the individual case the terms of the contract between the employer and the employee are such that a house made available under that contract is the subject of a tenancy. Similarly, they will apply to a dwelling house on a croft if in the individual case the house itself is the subject of a tenancy.
The tenant of a croft is to be treated in the same way as an owner for the purpose of the scheme of assistance for housing purposes, subject to provisions avoiding duplication of assistance under the bill and compensation under the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993. The eligibility of a tenant of a tied house for grant or loan will be the same as that for other tenants in terms of section 89 of the bill.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 15 April 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 27 April 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what the current policy is regarding funeral workers handling cadavers infected with HIV, hepatitis B and tuberculosis.
Answer
I refer the member to the answerto question S2W-12373 on 3 December 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availableon 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
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Date lodged: Thursday, 14 April 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 25 April 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it would support the compulsory redundancy of academic staff at Inverness College in order to assist the college to balance its budget.
Answer
Any redundancies are regrettablewherever they might occur. Employment issues within further education colleges,which are autonomous bodies in terms of the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act1992, are solely for college boards of management to address. I am confident thatany board would pursue the option of redundancy only as a last resort.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 15 April 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 25 April 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken in each local authority area to protect gravestones in cemeteries and old churchyards.
Answer
Responsibility for the management,regulation and control of burial grounds rests with local authorities. The ScottishExecutive does not hold information on action being taken by local authorities inthis regard.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 14 April 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 25 April 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what measures will be taken to ensure that the Scottish Ambulance Service gives its staff rest breaks and working hours in accordance with the working time regulations.
Answer
Patient safety is of paramountimportance and no NHS employee should be working when they are overtired. Employeesof the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) can voluntarily sign an opt-out from theWorking Time Regulations if they wish. Without signing the opt-out, employees of the SAS work no more than an average of48 hours per week over a 17 week period and also receive rest in accordance withthe regulations.
The SAS has systems in placefor monitoring the number of hours worked by all staff and ambulance controllersare in constant contact with staff throughout their shift to ensure appropriatebreaks are taken. It should, however, be remembered that the SAS is an emergencyservice and that staff may have to delay breaks to deal with emergency calls.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 15 April 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 25 April 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance is issued to local authorities to address health and safety issues relating to gravestones.
Answer
Responsibility for the management,regulation and control of burial grounds rests with local authorities, which alsohave responsibility for taking reasonable precautions where there is a foreseeablerisk to either persons at work or members of the public. Guidance issued by theHealth and Safety Executive to local authorities on this issue can be found on theirwebsite at
www.hse.gov.uk.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 14 April 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 25 April 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review the number of places available for construction students at further education colleges in order to allow more young people to train in the building and construction industry.
Answer
It is for the board ofmanagement of each college to determine how best to provide suitable and efficientfurther education in the area served by the college. It is the responsibility of the board of management to prioritise delivery appropriate to local needs and circumstancesand within the resources provided by the Scottish Further Education Funding Council.
I recognise the importance ofproviding appropriate training opportunities for students wishing to enter the constructionindustry and understand that three colleges in the north of Scotland haveapplied to the funding council for funding to secure additional construction places.I fully expect the funding council to consider that approach very carefully.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 15 April 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 25 April 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive who is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of gravestones in cemeteries.
Answer
Responsibility for the management,regulation and control of burial grounds rests with local authorities.
