- Asked by: Adam Ingram, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 18 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-297 by Malcolm Chisholm on 5 June 2003, what the current timescale is for phasing out the use of vaccines containing mercury.
Answer
The Medicines and Healthcareproducts Regulatory Agency (MHRA), responsible for the safety of all medicinesavailable on the UK market, has advised that there is no set timescalefor the removal of thiomersal (ethylmercury) from vaccines. Manufacturers arerequired to ensure that the elimination, reduction or substitution ofthiomersal in vaccines does not affect the safety, quality and efficacy of thefinal product. The MHRA is continuing to work with the vaccine manufacturers tomake every effort to remove or reduce the thoimersal component present invaccines.
- Asked by: Adam Ingram, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 18 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what the incidence of suicide has been amongst drug and alcohol abusers in each of the last five years.
Answer
The information requested isnot held centrally.
- Asked by: Adam Ingram, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 18 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive why the suicide rate in Scotland is double that of England and Wales and whether any research has been commissioned to investigate the factors involved.
Answer
There is no single knownreason to explain why suicide rates in Scotland are higher than those in England and Wales.However, under the work of the National Programme for Improving Mental Healthand Well-Being, plans are in hand to co-ordinate the available evidencerelating to suicide in Scotland and elsewhere. New research will then becommissioned to cover gaps in information and will focus on factors influencingprevalence.
- Asked by: Adam Ingram, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 October 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 18 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive which drugs unlicensed for use by under-18s are prescribed to under-18s, giving the illnesses in respect of which they are prescribed.
Answer
The information requested isnot available as prescription data available centrally are not patient-specificbut relate to the numbers and cost of prescribed items dispensed in thecommunity by community pharmacists and dispensing doctors.
A clinician may prescribe amedicine outside the terms of its licence where they believe it is justifiedand is a matter for clinical judgment, informed by specialist guidance producedby and available to the profession. A doctor may therefore prescribe a medicinefor a child that is licensed only for adults.
- Asked by: Adam Ingram, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 17 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how many male prisoners diagnosed with a mental illness have committed suicide in each of the last five years, broken down by age.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron,Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is asfollows:
The information requested isnot known. Prisoners who are diagnosed as being mentally ill under terms of theMental Health (Scotland) Act 1984 are “sectioned” and transferred fortreatment within NHS premises. While many prisoners suffer from mental healthproblems, very few are diagnosed as being mentally ill.
- Asked by: Adam Ingram, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 17 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how many male prisoners have committed suicide in each of the last five years, broken down by age.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron,Chief Executive of the Scottish PrisonService to respond. His response is as follows:
The following table showsthe number of male self-inflicted deaths in custody in each of the last fiveyears, broken down by age. Year totals are shown on the right hand column.
| Year | Age | Total |
| 1998-99 | 17, 19, 26 x 2, 30 x 2, 37, 41 | 8 |
| 1999-2000 | 20, 21 x 3, 23, 24, 25 x 2, 26, 27 x 3, 30, 33, 34, 46, 48 | 17 |
| 2000-01 | 17 x 2, 19, 22 x 3, 24, 30, 32, 35, 45 | 11 |
| 2001-02 | 19* x 3, 20, 22*, 27*, 30*, 38 | 8 |
| 2002-03 | 19, 27*, 30, 34, 35*, 45* x 2 | 7” |
*Still subject to FAI determination.
- Asked by: Adam Ingram, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Euan Robson on 17 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how many children leaving care have committed suicide in each of the last five years, broken down by age, gender and local authority area.
Answer
The information requested isnot held centrally. Information onsuicides of young people is published in the Social Justice Annual Report (see
Social Justice...a Scotland where everyone matters - Annual Report 2002: contents page),but this does not include information on whether a young person had been incare in the past.
- Asked by: Adam Ingram, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 17 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how many males released from prison have committed suicide within three years of release in each of the last five years.
Answer
This information is not heldcentrally.
- Asked by: Adam Ingram, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 October 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 17 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how many flight routes have been established with the assistance of sponsorship or any fund other than route development funds in the last three years.
Answer
No flight routes have beenestablished, by the Scottish Executive or its agencies, with assistance of sponsorship orany fund other than the interim route development fund in the last three years,other than co-operative promotions and joint marketing activity byVisitScotland and Inverness and Nairn Enterprise. Any assistance given byairports operating in the private sector is a matter for operators themselves.
- Asked by: Adam Ingram, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 October 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 17 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how many operating opencast coal mines there are; where they are located, and what si'e they are.
Answer
There currently are 21licensed open cast coal mines operating across 13 sites in Scotland. Thelocation of these sites is provided in the table. The size of individualopencast coal mines is a matter for individual operators in conjunction withthe appropriate planning authority and this information is not held centrally.
| Site | Location |
| Meadowhill Farm | Forest Hill, Nr Alloa, Clackmannanshire |
| Garleffan | New Cumnock, East Ayrshire |
| House of Water | Whitehill Farm, Dalleagle, New Cumnock, East Ayrshire |
| Chalmerston | Dalmellington, East Ayrshire |
| Rigghead Farm | Boig Road, New Cumnock, East Ayrshire |
| Skares Road | Skares, Cumnock, East Ayrshire |
| Spireslack | Muirkirk, Cumnock, East Ayrshire |
| Begg Farm | Cluny, Kirkcaldy, Fife |
| Colton Remainder | Colton Farm, Wellwood, Dunfermline, Fife |
| Greenbank (St Ninians) | Kelty, Fife |
| Drumshangie | Greengairs Road, Airdrie, North Lanarkshire |
| Broken Cross | Douglas Water, Lanark, South Lanarkshire |
| Glentaggart | Kennox Cottage, Glespin, Nr Douglas, South Lanarkshire |
