Chamber and committees

Delays in obtaining blood tests have delayed completion of this research. On acceptance and following peer review we shall publish a summary of the report on our website. This normally takes one to two months from receipt of the final report, which is due on 30 September.

We do not publish the full reports of Chief Scientist Office-funded projects, because this can prevent publication in the scientific literature, but we strongly encourage grant holders to disseminate their findings as widely as possible.

Information on the number of children treated in hospital and the associated number of hospital stays where a diagnosis of active rickets due to Vitamin D deficiency was recorded is shown in the following table.

The figures do not include secondary rickets arising due to an underlying disease such as renal disease or abnormal phosphorus metabolism. It also does not include children being treated for the long term sequelae of rickets such as bone deformities.

The figures presented are likely to be an underestimate of the true prevalence of rickets as only those with a diagnosis of the condition and presenting for hospital treatment are counted.

Number of Children (aged 16 or under) and Acute Hospital Stays where a Diagnosis of Active Rickets was Recorded; Scottish Residents only, by Year of Discharge

Source: ISD Scotland, SMR01.

There are a number of research projects we are aware of that are both under way and have been completed on vitamin D in Scotland, two of which concentrate on looking at vitamin D deficiency:

Paul Haggerty

Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health

University of Aberdeen

Vitamin D in pregnancy at high latitude in Scotland,

Which is presently undergoing the peer review process.

The Food Standards Agency are also carrying out research based on blood samples collected from the Scottish Health Survey over two years 2010-11 and 2011-12 the results of which are due to be published at the end of this year.

The following are other pieces of research into vitamin D:

CZG/2/513

Dr James Flett Wilson

Public Health Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Teviot Place,

Edinburgh EH8 9AG

Orkney Complex Disease Study: Northern Isles Vitamin D Study - prevalence and impact of hypovitaminosis D in a high risk population

End date March 2012

CZH/4/470

Dr Miles Witham

Section of Ageing and Health, Ninewells Hospital

Dundee DD1 9SY

Can high-dose vitamin D supplementation reduce blood pressure and markers of cardiovascular risk in older people with isolated systolic hypertension?

End date Jan 2012

CZH/4/529

Professor Harry Campbell

Public Health Sciences/Institute of Genomics and Molecular Medicine

University of Edinburgh, Teviot Place

Edinburgh EH8 9AG

A Mendelian Randomisation study of vitamin D on colorectal cancer risk

End date Dec 2011

The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition have been made aware of all these research projects in relation to their review of vitamin D.

Vitamin D deficiency has a negative impact on bone mineralization leading to Rickets in children. Adults with vitamin D deficiency may experience bone pain and/or osteomalacia (soft bone).

There has been emerging evidence linking vitamin D deficiency into a number of different conditions. The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition will be looking at the evidence in their review of Vitamin D and will make recommendations on their findings.

In line with current competition law, private ferry operators have commercial freedom to set their own fares. The fares of subsidised operators are generally regulated by the authority providing the subsidy.

There are a small number of cases where a “similar crossing” is served both by a subsidised operator and an unsubsidised operator. In these cases there are also important differences. The subsidised routes are longer, as they have a particular socio-economic focus, for example to provide a link between town centres. Subsidised routes also tend to serve established ports with higher berthing and traffic dues. Subsidised operators are required to deliver a range of public service obligations enshrined in public service contracts which do not apply to purely commercial operators.

In practice, current fares on these routes are comparable. For some fare categories the subsidised service is cheaper; for others the unsubsidised service is cheaper.

Joint guidance on Eligibility Criteria for free personal and nursing care was issued by the Scottish Government and COSLA in September 2009. Local authorities were asked to confirm that their local arrangements were compatible with this guidance. All 32 local authorities have confirmed that this was the position by December 2009.

The Scottish Government, in partnership with COSLA also issued guidance on 22 March 2010 to local authorities on Monitoring of National Standard Eligibility Criteria and Waiting Times for free personal and nursing care of older people. A new data collection has been developed that records the eligibility criteria and waiting time of clients receiving a new Free Personal and Nursing Care service. The first data from this new collection was released as ‘Data under development’ on 29 March 2011.

The Scottish Government does not currently collect information on the average cost per hour to provide home care for older people, for each local authority.

Eligibility criteria are defined in the joint guidance issued by the Scottish Government and COSLA on 28 September 2009. In broad terms the criteria are set out by categories of risk under the following headings:

Critical Risk: Indicates that there are major risks to an individual’s independent living or health and wellbeing likely to call for the immediate or imminent provision of social care services. (high priority).

Substantial Risk: Indicates that there are significant risks to an individual’s independence or health and wellbeing likely to call for the immediate or imminent provision of social care services (high priority).

Moderate Risk: Indicates that there are some risks to an individual’s independence or health and wellbeing. These may call for the provision of some social care services managed and prioritised on an ongoing basis or they may simply be manageable over the foreseeable future without service provision, with appropriate arrangements for review.

Low Risk: Indicates that there may be some quality of life issues, but low risks to an individual’s independence or health and wellbeing with very limited, if any, requirement for the provision of social care services. There may be some need for alternative support or advice and appropriate arrangements for review over the foreseeable future or longer term.

A complete copy of the guidance is available on the Scottish Government website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/1095/0087758.doc.

The value of the Freight Facilities Grant (FFG) awards made by the Scottish Government in each of the last five financial years is as follows:

Total Value of FFG Awards¹ (£ million)

Note: 1. Excludes awards made where the applicant subsequently decided not to proceed with the proposed project.

As referred to in answer to question S4W-06003 on 8 March 2012, guidance in the form of a Prostate Cancer Risk Management Pack which supports the Prostate Cancer Risk Management Programme was issued to NHS boards (urologists, histopathologists, PSA testing laboratories) and all general practitioners in Scotland in 2009. The programme provides guidance to medical practitioners on the situations in which it is suitable to offer PSA testing, the information and guidance that should be provided to patients before PSA testing is undertaken, and the support that may be required by men as they deal with the consequences of the PSA test and any resulting diagnosis.

Details of the programme and copies of the Prostate Cancer Risk Management Pack can be found at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Health/health/cancer/publications.

Under the Section 16B Grant Scheme, we have provided funding to Prostate Scotland, over 2009-10 to 2011-12, to deliver a project on the provision of information and advice on the signs, symptoms and treatment of prostate disease. This work includes the development of a range of information leaflets distributed at a variety of health and community outlets, a training pack for primary care staff, materials for local presentations and displays, and an information telephone service. The Prostate Cancer Charity Scotland is also in receipt of a grant for 2011-12. This will be used to pilot the development of a prostate cancer awareness and support network, specifically targeted to men from low socioeconomic backgrounds living in deprived areas of Glasgow.

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/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.