- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 25 April 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 5 May 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what rules and guidelines cover the attendance of MSPs at media conferences held by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons.
Answer
The decision to hold a media conference to launch an HM Chief Inspector of Prisons report is made by the Chief Inspector.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 April 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 5 May 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide an updated version of annexe 15 to HM Chief Inspector of Prisons' report on an inspection of HM Prison Kilmarnock in March 2002.
Answer
The Chief Inspector no longer produces this annex.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 01 April 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 3 May 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS boards have chosen not to fund minor injuries services through general practices in their area under the new GP contract.
Answer
There are no figures held for NHS boards opting not to fund the enhanced payments scheme for provision of minor injuries services through general practices in their area under the new GP contract. To underpin the new UK-wide GMS contract there is a Patient Services Guarantee to ensure that patients receive a consistent range of high quality services throughout the UK The new contract ensures that patients have access to a wide range of services delivered in primary care settings and it is the responsibility of the NHS board to provide such services as minor injury within their region if the local need requires, whilst ensuring that the Patient Service Guarantee is delivered by guaranteeing patients at least the range of services that they enjoyed under the previous contract.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 April 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 3 May 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive in which NHS board areas there is a shortage of consultant pathologists; how many consultant pathologist posts are currently filled by locum staff, and what plans are in place to address any current shortage.
Answer
Pathology is included within a number of specialties which are grouped by ISD Scotland under the heading “Clinical Laboratory Specialties”.
Within this group, the number of consultants in post had increased by almost 3% between 1999 and 2004. At 30 September 2004, the vacancy rate for the consultant posts was 7.1%. This was below the average for “all specialties” in Scotland which was 7.4% at the same date.
Information on the number of vacancies by NHS board is published on the Scottish Health Statistics website under Workforce Statistics, at www.isdscotland.org/workforce.
At 30 September 2004, there were three (2.4 whole-time equivalent) NHS employed locums. These locums will not necessarily be filling vacant posts but may be covering for staff on, for example, annual or sick leave. Information on the use of agency locums is not available centrally.
The Scottish Executive Health Department, NHS Education Scotland and NHS Boards are working closely together to increase consultant capacity and hard to fill vacancies are being targeted.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 April 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 3 May 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive how many histopathology units there are in each NHS board area; how many it projects that there will be in (a) five years and (b) ten years, and what plans are in place to provide additional resources to clinical laboratories to meet the demands of waiting list and waiting time initiatives.
Answer
The information requested about existing laboratories and plans for further developments is shown in the following table. It is for NHS boards to determine how to allocate resources to local services.
| Board Area | Number of Histopathology Laboratories | Additional Comments |
| NHS Argyle and Clyde | 1 | A review of Laboratory services across NHS Argyle and Clyde has just been completed and its recommendations are under consideration. |
| NHS Ayrshire and Arran | 1 | The board is planning investment to meet anticipated demand in 2005–06. |
| NHS Borders | Nil | Histopathology services for the Borders are provided by NHS Lothian. |
| NHS Dumfries and Galloway | 1 | It is likely that this will remain the number for the foreseeable future. |
| NHS Fife | 1 | The Board is developing clinical links with Dundee and Aberdeen. |
| NHS Forth Valley | 1 | Workload expected to expand significantly in next 5-10 years |
| NHS Grampian | 1 | No plans to increase the number of laboratories |
| NHS Greater Glasgow | 4 | In the short-term it is intended to create a single management structure for histopathology. Over a 6-10 year timescale, it is proposed that a single large histopathology centre for Greater Glasgow be established on a common site. The board has made significant investments in all services connected to the delivery of waiting times targets. A strategy is being developed to modernise clinical laboratory provision in Greater Glasgow. |
| NHS Highland | 1 | No significant changes planned. |
| NHS Lanarkshire | 3 | Moving to two within this year by amalgamating Wishaw and Hairmyres. There may in due course be a further reduction within the next five years to a single histopathology lab. |
| NHS Lothian | 3 | The Pan-Lothian Laboratory Review is considering whether the current histopathology service could be provided centrally from the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. |
| NHS Orkney | Nil | Service will continue to be commissioned from NHS Grampian and other Boards as appropriate. |
| NHS Shetland | Nil | Board will continue to commission service from NHS Grampian. |
| NHS Tayside | 1 | The Board has recently invested in pathology with the appointment of an additional two pathologists. |
| NHS Western Isles | Nil | Board will continue to commission service from NHS Highland. |
Source: NHS boards, April 2005.
The Executive is also supporting, through the regional planning groups, the development of a Managed Clinical Network in Histopathology which will be responsible for developing a framework for the introduction of new technologies and new ways of working. In particular, the network will implement the PathAlba project, a telemedicine initiative funded by the Executive, which will ensure that specialist pathology expertise is available for the benefit of patients across Scotland irrespective of geographical location.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 April 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 3 May 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what it considers to be adequate overnight ambulance cover for areas outwith the immediate vicinity of accident and emergency services.
Answer
The Scottish Executive has invested in the Scottish Ambulance Service at a level designed to enable it to employ more front-line staff and deliver a more responsive service for patients. Between March 2001 and March 2004 the ambulance service employed 220 additional paramedics and technicians on accident and emergency units. Demand analysis information is continuously monitored and is used by the ambulance service to ensure that resources are deployed where they will have the maximum impact on patient care.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 31 March 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 27 April 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what its end-year flexibility (EYF) levels have been in each year since 1999, expressed also as a percentage of the total block grant, and what the estimated EYF levels are for each of the next five years.
Answer
The following table detailsthe end-year flexibility (EYF) levels for the Scottish Executive including its armslength bodies for each year since 1999:
| Year | Executive Portfolios EYF | Arms Length Bodies EYF | % of Total Budget |
| 1999-2000 | £435 million | - | 2.6% |
| 2000-01 | £718 million | - | 4.0% |
| 2001-02 | £477 million | £166 million | 3.2% |
| 2002-03 | £332 million | £62 million | 1.9% |
| 2003-04 | £403 million | £220 million | 2.5% |
Notes:
1.It has not been possibleto obtain separate data for the arms length bodies EYF figures for 1999-2000 or2000-01.
2.The % of Total Budgetcalculation is based on the total level of EYF for each year (i.e. column 2 andcolumn 3 of the table).
The Scottish Executive doesnot forecast estimated levels of EYF and does not therefore have figures foreach of the next five years.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 March 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 27 April 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive how many households have received a (a) 25% council tax rebate, (b) 50% council tax rebate or (c) qualified for 100% council tax benefit in each of the last five financial years, broken down by local authority.
Answer
The table giving the numberof households, broken down by local authority, which were in receipt of 25% and50% discounts as at September in each of the last five years is available fromthe Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 36273). Information on the numberof households who qualify for 100% council tax benefit is not held centrally,as benefits are a reserved issue administered by the Department of Work andPensions and individual local authorities.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 April 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 26 April 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-12471 by Mr Jim Wallace on 7 December 2004, what percentage of the workforce would have to be employed to meet its definition of "full employment".
Answer
There is no widely accepted employment rate that corresponds to full employment. The Executive’s definition of full employment is employment opportunity for all, which is only achievable by ensuring opportunities for people in the whole of society throughout their working lives.
- Asked by: Alex Neil, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 01 April 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 25 April 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive how often primary care staff in NHS Lanarkshire left their employment and were not replaced with a full-time equivalent in each year since 1999 and how many positions it estimates will be vacated and not replaced in each of the next three years.
Answer
The specific informationrequested is not held centrally. Currentdata on NHS staff collected by ISD does not allow the explicit identification ofstaff working in primary care settings. Information on most staff groups is availableby specialty and work area, rather than by health care setting.
Information on staff employedin NHS Scotland is published on the Scottish Health Statistics website under Workforce Statistics, at www.isdscotland.org/workforce.
