- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 June 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 16 June 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what the impact of the national registration scheme for private landlords will be on the payment of housing benefits to tenants.
Answer
The registration scheme allows for a rent sanction to be applied if a landlord who ought to be registered is not registered or has not applied to be registered. The sanction is that rent is not payable. In those circumstances the tenant is not liable to pay rent and housing benefit is accordingly not payable.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 June 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 16 June 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what measures will be introduced to ensure that tenants are protected against harassment or illegal eviction by landlords who are refused registration or are removed by a local authority from the proposed national registration scheme for private landlords.
Answer
The refusal or removal of a landlord’s registration does not affect the tenant’s rights under the lease, the common law or housing law. The Rent (Scotland) Act 1984 makes unlawful eviction and harassment a criminal offence, and behaviour such as harassment and intimidation can lead to criminal prosecution under the common law.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 June 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 16 June 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance will be provided for local authorities on how to administer the national registration scheme for private landlords as agreed at stage 2 of the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Bill.
Answer
As we indicated during the course of the stage 2 debate the Executive will issue guidance on a variety of matters to ensure the effective implementation of the registration scheme within the framework provided by the bill. The content of that guidance will be developed in consultation with local authorities and other key stakeholders.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 May 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 15 June 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the annual medical check-up for over-75s will be included in the new GP contract.
Answer
Yes. The National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts) (Scotland) Regulations 2004, which came into effect on 1 April, provide that all patients aged 75 or over are entitled to a consultation with a general practitioner each year.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 March 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 15 June 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether NHS boards can access any of the funds allocated for personal care for elderly people to meet the need for specialist and general care in podiatry.
Answer
No. The funds allocated for personal and nursing care are linked to the provision of services by or for local authorities not to services provided by the NHS which are already free at the point of delivery.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 24 May 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 14 June 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what information is being provided to GPs to ensure that they are aware of available infertility services and understand the need to refer patients quickly to specialist clinics before age becomes a barrier to treatment.
Answer
Copies of the report of the ExpertAdvisory Group on Infertility Services in Scotland, which provides a robust evidence base for the managementand delivery of infertility services, was distributed to all health boards uponits publication in 2000. The distribution of the report within the boards was theresponsibility of the boards. However, I would expect that all primary caretrusts, now operating divisions, would have received copies at that time.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 May 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Allan Wilson on 11 June 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated costs are of relocating the Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) headquarters from Edinburgh to Inverness in terms of (a) redundancy payments, (b) the cost of the new headquarters office in Inverness and (c) other relocation costs.
Answer
The Executive has approved aproject plan as the basis for SNH to take forward the relocation project. Theelements of the plan will need to be developed in further detail beforereliable cost estimates can be agreed between SNH and the Executive and budgetsset.
SNH is making significantprogress with the relocation project. In March this year the Executive approvedSNH proposals which aim to encourage staff to relocate to Inverness. Consultationon those proposals is currently under way between SNH management and its trade unions.The cost of payments to staff will depend on the response which individualmembers of staff make to the terms which are being offered. SNH expect to issuetender invitations for the provision of their new headquarters building in Inverness inthe near future.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 May 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 10 June 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive why local authority care homes are allocated between #150 and #200 per person per week more than care homes in the independent sector.
Answer
Local authorities are requiredunder Section 22 of the National Assistance Act 1948 to set gross fees for localauthority care home places at an amount equivalent to the full cost to the authorityof providing them.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 May 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Colin Boyd on 10 June 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-7501 by Colin Boyd QC on 10 May 2004, what action is being taken to sei'e assets under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 in respect of crime relating to alcohol and cigarettes.
Answer
The Criminal ConfiscationUnit and the Civil Recovery Unit have undertaken an extensive trainingprogramme to raise awareness of the new powers amongst law enforcement agenciesand to encourage suitable referrals which includes crimes relating to alcoholand cigarettes.
Since my answer to questionS2W-7501 on 10 May 2004, one case relating to the importation of cigaretteshas been reported by Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise for restraint. ARestraint Order was granted at Glasgow sheriff court on 2 June 2004. Thevalue of the assets restrained is approximately £40,000.
The sum of £13,675.36relating to contraband cigarettes is currently detained in one case under thecash seizure provisions Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. Since my answer to questionS2W-7501 on 10 May 2004, however, no assets have been seized in respect ofcrime relating to alcohol and cigarettes.
The Civil Recovery Unitconsiders cases which are referred to it by law enforcement agencies throughthe Criminal Confiscation Unit. The unit assesses referrals for suitabilityagainst the statutory criteria set out in Part 5 of the Proceeds of Crime Act2002.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 May 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 10 June 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to address the 16% rise in Chlamydia and 40% rise in genital herpes between 2002 and 2003.
Answer
The proposed National SexualHealth Strategy, which has been the subject of consultation, will address the risein sexually transmitted infections, which include Chlamydia and genital herpes.
Healthy Respect, the health demonstrationproject in Lothian, has developed a Chlamydia testing programme which makes an innovativepostal testing kit available free at music stores, pharmacies and other retail outletsto promote and facilitate testing for infection. To date, 10,000 testing kits havebeen distributed.
More generally, NHS Health Scotland hasa range of activities on sexual health across all its programme areas, includinga high profile TV campaign, which targets teenagers to warn of the increasing riskof sexually transmitted infections in Scotland.
