Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 1244 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S2W-04674

Asked by: Adam Ingram, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 December 2003
Current Status: Answered by Peter Peacock on 17 December 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive why the Special Educational Needs Advisory Forum was not given the task of being a reference group for legislation covering special educational needs such as the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Bill.

The Education (AdditionalSupport for Learning) (Scotland) Bill proposes a new, broader framework for supportfor learning than that covered by current special educational needs legislation.In the event that the bill is enacted, the Executive will need to involve awider range of stakeholders than that formerly represented in the SpecialEducational Needs Advisory Forum.

We have established anadvisory group, supported by officials from the Scottish Executive, which will developa strategy for implementation of the bill. This group will include sub-groupswhich will involve stakeholders from across the spectrum of additional supportneeds. We will announce further details about the strategy in early 2004.

Question reference: S2W-04525

Asked by: Adam Ingram, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 December 2003
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 16 December 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) specialist and (b) routine training is offered to (i) police forces and (ii) the Scottish Prison Service in respect of dealing with people with mental illness.

All new entrants to the Scottish Police Service (and British Transport Police based in Scotland)attend the Scottish Police College for an Initial Training Course, of 15 weeks’duration, which includes training on mental health issues.

All Scottish Prison Service(SPS) staff who work with prisoners undertake an initial two-day core trainingprogramme on the SPS suicide risk management strategy (ACT and Care). This issupplemented by an annual refresher training module. The training providedincludes identification and risk assessment of people with mental healthproblems that may result in self-harm or suicide.

Approximately 40% of nursesemployed by the SPS are registered at the first level with the Nursing andMidwifery Council as either trained in the nursing of persons suffering frommental illness (RMN) or trained in the nursing of persons with learningdisability (RNMH). All health care professionals employed by SPS or contractedto provide services to prisoners are required to maintain and develop theirknowledge and skills through continuing education programmes and other forms ofcontinuous professional development.

Question reference: S2W-04671

Asked by: Adam Ingram, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 December 2003
Current Status: Answered by Peter Peacock on 15 December 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive what the outcomes were of the Special Educational Needs Advisory Forum.

Discussions at the SpecialEducational Needs (SEN) Forum contributed to the development of Executivepolicy in a range of areas. These included guidance on the Standards in Scotland’sSchools etc. Act 2000, the review of the SEN recording and assessment process,disability accessibility strategies, and the publication of Moving Forward!,setting out the Executive’s framework for support for learning.

Question reference: S2W-04670

Asked by: Adam Ingram, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 December 2003
Current Status: Answered by Peter Peacock on 15 December 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive what the underlying principles are of the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Bill.

The purpose of the Education(Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Bill is to modernise and strengthen the system forsupporting the additional support needs for learning of children and youngpeople. It aims to ensure that the needs of children and young people who havedifficulties, for whatever reason, in accessing and progressing in learning areidentified and addressed. The bill proposes a system that will be lessbureaucratic, will be more outcome focussed, will promote integration ofservices, encourage partnerships with parents and will provide extra safeguardsfor those with the most extensive needs.

Question reference: S2W-04672

Asked by: Adam Ingram, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 December 2003
Current Status: Answered by Peter Peacock on 15 December 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive why the Special Educational Needs Advisory Forum's remit was not extended beyond March 2003.

The forum’s focus was onspecial educational needs. The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland)Bill proposes a new framework for support for learning which extends beyondspecial educational needs. The Executive is examining how it can involve thefull range of stakeholders, across the wider range of additional support needs,in the implementation issues which will arise if the bill is enacted.

Question reference: S2W-03799

Asked by: Adam Ingram, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 31 October 2003
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 15 December 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria were used when drawing up the list of priority areas for the National Programme for Improving Mental Health and Well-Being.

The priority areas and keythemes detailed in the National Programme’s three-year action plan weredeveloped in consultation with the programme’s national advisory group, overthe course of five meetings from January 2002 to February 2003. This processwas carried out within the context of the developing Health ImprovementChallenge document. In addition, the programme’s key themes of suicideprevention and tackling stigma were commitments from Our National Healthand the report of the Millan Committee.

Question reference: S2W-04452

Asked by: Adam Ingram, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 November 2003
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 11 December 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive whether information relating to vaccines that have caused damage is routinely collected and what the reasons are for the position on this matter.

Information on side-effectssuspected to be associated with vaccines or medicinal products is routinelycollected in the UK by the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) andMedicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The system in placeto collect such data is the Yellow Card Scheme. As well as data receivedthrough the Yellow Card Scheme, the CSM and MHRA also use other sources ofinformation to monitor the safety of vaccines and medicines such as formalsafety studies, the published medical literature, information frompharmaceutical companies and other regulatory authorities throughout the world.

Rare side-effects associatedwith vaccines and medicines may not have been identified or characterised inpre-licensing clinical trials. That is why these systems are in place tomonitor safety in routine clinical practice when much larger numbers ofpatients will be exposed to the vaccine or medicine.

Question reference: S2W-04539

Asked by: Adam Ingram, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 November 2003
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 10 December 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-3471 by Malcolm Chisholm on 12 November 2003, how much was spent on (a) atypical antipsychotic drugs, (b) antipsychotic drugs and (c) methylphenidate in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board area.

The information requested isgiven in the following tables. The cost given is the cost of items beforeaddition of any pharmacy fees and deduction of any discount and patientcharges. Data in the tables refer to prescriptions dispensed by communitypharmacists and dispensing doctors, but do not take into account medicinesdispensed by hospitals or hospital-based clinics.

(a) Atypical Antipsychotic Medicines

Atypical Antipsychotic Medicines – Gross IngredientCost (£)

NHS Board	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
Argyll and Clyde	544,436	728,730	1,023,556	1,460,012	1,837,760
Ayrshire and Arran	408,131	577,824	735,521	1,022,543	1,312,898
Borders	51,045	88,583	121,382	189,731	234,741
Dumfries and Galloway	215,226	267,642	384,586	512,273	654,008
Fife	271,104	333,269	469,378	659,045	871,357
Forth Valley	241,059	345,346	490,306	717,601	888,823
Grampian	450,870	639,662	788,940	1,078,566	1,359,273
Greater Glasgow	982,125	1,361,355	1,866,594	2,821,239	3,574,801
Highland	217,177	252,941	336,356	489,923	656,210
Lanarkshire	490,328	717,166	1,034,954	1,472,332	1,874,138
Lothian	724,252	930,581	1,259,510	1,678,998	2,078,745
Orkney	11,137	10,416	18,266	22,875	38,779
Shetland	15,114	37,483	41,726	44,264	53,264
Tayside	409,015	557,846	755,063	1,080,940	1,478,098
Unknown	20,834	1,839	4,620	435	468
Western Isles	32,473	33,879	45,623	60,208	82,694
Prescribed in Scotland	5,084,326	6,884,562	9,376,381	13,310,985	16,996,057

(b) Antipsychotic Medicines

Antipsychotic Medicines – Gross Ingredient Cost (£)

NHS Board	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
Argyll and Clyde	696,180	878,578	1,183,701	1,598,508	1,966,272
Ayrshire and Arran	501,205	679,404	841,015	1,121,984	1,404,738
Borders	95,754	130,933	165,752	232,800	277,439
Dumfries and Galloway	259,046	310,440	434,399	561,625	701,536
Fife	378,841	440,127	584,926	768,868	974,713
Forth Valley	396,790	504,727	651,976	867,937	1,027,348
Grampian	642,086	827,810	973,253	1,261,076	1,539,439
Greater Glasgow	1,324,400	1,729,645	2,237,876	3,154,474	3,873,391
Highland	326,529	368,433	454,205	607,804	768,035
Lanarkshire	720,360	971,433	1,295,207	1,711,601	2,106,489
Lothian	975,399	1,192,690	1,529,702	1,930,131	2,317,162
Orkney	17,981	15,788	24,772	29,297	44,162
Shetland	26,975	46,771	53,258	53,872	60,670
Tayside	558,451	716,571	916,101	1,232,372	1,627,652
Unknown	23,326	2,372	5,467	494	667
Western Isles	52,780	54,640	68,357	78,946	99,667
Prescribed in Scotland	6,996,103	8,870,363	11,419,967	15,211,789	18,789,379

Methylphenidate Hydrochloride – Gross Ingredient Cost(£)

NHS Board	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
Argyll and Clyde	15,722	17,379	22,256	23,196	41,506
Ayrshire and Arran	10,548	16,523	21,023	25,060	50,361
Borders	3,649	4,749	7,861	10,272	15,486
Dumfries and Galloway	2,255	4,549	6,464	8,640	19,271
Fife	39,931	62,425	73,261	84,576	159,889
Forth Valley	11,969	19,927	23,975	26,579	37,626
Grampian	34,266	52,310	63,684	69,722	117,447
Greater Glasgow	24,700	33,371	36,816	37,418	61,403
Highland	6,128	10,548	13,908	16,191	20,985
Lanarkshire	14,653	16,275	19,127	20,280	31,362
Lothian	53,817	67,758	71,283	82,662	102,511
Orkney	193	197	445	485	524
Shetland	1,173	2,324	3,206	3,279	6,227
Tayside	32,329	47,352	63,911	72,009	121,741
Unknown	157	153	559	0	0
Western Isles	329	614	566	173	189
Prescribed in Scotland	251,819	356,454	428,345	480,542	786,528

The information in the tables has been provided by ISD.

Question reference: S2W-04526

Asked by: Adam Ingram, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 November 2003
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Curran on 10 December 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the introduction of the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Bill will have on the Children's Panel system.

Question reference: S2W-04523

Asked by: Adam Ingram, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 November 2003
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 9 December 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive how many, and which, police forces have participated in awareness training in attention deficit hyperkinetic disorder and how many in each force attended the training.

All new entrants to the Scottish Police Service (and British Transport Police based in Scotland)attend the Scottish Police College for an initial training course, of 15 weeks’duration. Training on mental health issues includes recognition of attention deficithyperkinetic disorder and on dealing appropriately with sufferers of the disorder.One of the course modules deals specifically with the difficulties that may beexperienced by police officers when interviewing a witness or suspect who maybe suffering from this type of disorder.