- Asked by: Trish Godman, MSP for West Renfrewshire, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 04 February 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 18 February 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any representations to the Strategic Rail Authority concerning overcrowding on ScotRail services.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the Strategic Rail Authority on a wide range of issues including overcrowding on ScotRail services.
- Asked by: Trish Godman, MSP for West Renfrewshire, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 04 February 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 18 February 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in the (a) Renfrewshire and (b) Inverclyde local authority areas waited more than 15 weeks to see a hospital consultant in (i) 2000 and (ii) 2001.
Answer
Information on waiting times is compiled centrally from data provided by hospitals and NHS trusts.In the years ending 30 September 2000 and 30 September 2001, the number of NHS Argyll and Clyde residents who waited longer than 15 weeks for a first outpatient appointment with a Consultant, following referral by a General Medical Practitioner or General Dental Practitioner were 13,494 and 13,290 respectively. These represent 16.1% and 17.5% of the total number of NHS Argyll and Clyde residents who attended a first outpatient consultant clinic, following such a referral, during these periods.
- Asked by: Trish Godman, MSP for West Renfrewshire, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 04 February 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 18 February 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) residential and (b) nursing care homes were (i) opened and (ii) closed in the Renfrewshire local authority area in each of the last three years.
Answer
In the Renfrewshire local authority area, (a) (i) two Residential Care Homes opened in 1999; and (ii) one home closed in 2001. (b) Information on openings and closures of Nursing Care Homes is not held centrally.
- Asked by: Trish Godman, MSP for West Renfrewshire, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 January 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 12 February 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how much money was spent by the NHS on hiring private sector nurses, midwives and health visitors in (a) 1999-2000 and (b) 2000-01.
Answer
The term "hiring private sector nurses, midwives and health visitors" has been taken to mean the cost of using agency nurses in NHSScotland. In 2000-01 the cost of agency nurses was £19,028,372. Information for 1999-2000 is not available.
- Asked by: Trish Godman, MSP for West Renfrewshire, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 January 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 11 February 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how many telecommunications masts have been constructed in (a) Renfrewshire and (b) Scotland in each of the last three years.
Answer
The information requested is not held centrally.You may be interested to know that the Radiocommunications Agency have a "sitefinder" facility through which information on individual sites can be obtained. It is accessed via the internet at
www.radio.gov.uk.
- Asked by: Trish Godman, MSP for West Renfrewshire, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 January 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Iain Gray on 6 February 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what guidelines are issued to local authorities concerning the siting of waste incinerators.
Answer
Current guidance to planning authorities on the siting of incinerators is contained in National Planning Policy Guideline (NPPG) 10: Planning and Waste Management. A copy of NPPG 10 is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 1084).We will shortly be publishing further advice to planning authorities in Planning Advice Note 63: Waste Management Planning.
- Asked by: Trish Godman, MSP for West Renfrewshire, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 January 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 6 February 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are being taken to reduce bed blocking in (a) Renfrewshire and (b) Scotland as a whole.
Answer
On 9 January 2002, we announced a £20 million package for local authorities and NHSScotland to make a significant reduction in the number of patients experiencing delayed discharge from hospitals across Scotland. This is over and above the recurring £10 million already provided to local authorities for the purpose through their Grant Aided Expenditure settlements. Additionally, an expert group, led by NHSScotland Chief Executive, Trevor Jones, has been looking in detail at delayed discharge and the reasons for it. Next month, I will announce an Action Plan based on the work of this group, and including the distribution arrangements for the new resources, to help drive down the delayed discharge figures.
- Asked by: Trish Godman, MSP for West Renfrewshire, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 January 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Simpson on 6 February 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what guidelines have been given to fire brigades concerning the provision of free smoke alarms to households in their regions.
Answer
The Scottish Executive has not issued guidance to fire brigades. However, the Scottish Executive and all fire brigades strongly encourage the installation and maintenance of smoke alarms. Advice is offered to the public by all brigades through their Community Fire Safety departments. In addition, the Scottish Executive has funded a number of initiatives on the importance of smoke alarms, including recent TV and radio advertising, posters on buses and the regular press supplement "Fire Safety Scotland" which we produce in partnership with the Scottish Fire Service.
- Asked by: Trish Godman, MSP for West Renfrewshire, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 January 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Simpson on 6 February 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has funded any research projects that aim to assess the effectiveness of free distribution of smoke alarms as a way of reducing fire fatalities and injuries related to household fires.
Answer
The Scottish Executive has not funded any such research projects but smoke alarm ownership in Scotland is relatively high with 88% of dwellings having smoke alarms. However, we have recently undertaken a comprehensive advertising campaign to further raise people's awareness of the benefits of installing and maintaining smoke alarms, involving the use of TV and radio advertising, posters on buses and advertising boards at football grounds. In addition, we have undertaken a survey on the impact of the regular press supplement "Fire Safety Scotland" which we produce in partnership with the Scottish Fire Service. The survey confirmed the effectiveness of the supplement in targeting the most vulnerable groups. I will write to the member with more detail on the survey and also place a copy in the Parliament's Reference Centre.
- Asked by: Trish Godman, MSP for West Renfrewshire, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 January 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 6 February 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what targets it has set for the recycling of waste over the next 10 years.
Answer
No targets for the recycling of waste have been set to date. The introduction of targets will be informed by the findings of the Area Waste Plans currently being developed as part of the National Waste Strategy. This will ensure that the Best Practicable Environmental Option for dealing with waste in each area has been taken into account before targets are established.
