- Asked by: Ben Wallace, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 March 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 4 April 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has set up an expert advisory group to advise its Health Department on the outcomes of research into chemo-prevention of cancer and, if so, how many times it is scheduled to meet in the next year, what the membership of the group is and what reports it has produced to date.
Answer
It is felt that the most appropriate way to look at the issues surrounding chemo-prevention, is to establish an annual seminar involving a range of national and international experts, including epidemiologists and others undertaking specific cancer research, to review the published evidence and make recommendations to the Scottish Cancer Group (and through them to ministers and the Scottish Executive Health Department) on any action deemed necessary in the light of that evidence.It is hoped to hold the first annual seminar in the late summer or early autumn of 2002.
- Asked by: Ben Wallace, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 March 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by Mary Mulligan on 4 April 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive (a) what progress it is making towards its targets to (i) double the average consumption of fruit and vegetables; (ii) increase by nearly half the intake of bread (mainly wholemeal); (iii) double the daily intake of breakfast cereals; (iv) reduce the proportion of total fat and of saturated fat by over 5%; (v) reduce average salt intake by over a third; (vi) halve child intake of non-milk sugar; (vii) increase the intake of non-sugar carbohydrates by a quarter; and (viii) double the consumption of oily fish as referred to in its report Cancer in Scotland: Action for Change, and (b) what the current level of intake is in each of these categories.
Answer
The Scottish Health Surveys conducted in 1995 and 1998 show that:(i) the proportion of population who eat fresh fruit once a day or more increased between 1995 and 1998. The proportion who eat green vegetables five or more times a week has decreased. Figures are not yet available to allow average consumption to be calculated.(ii) the proportion who eat four or more slices of bread a day has increased slightly between 1995 and 1998. (iii) the proportion who eat breakfast cereal has increased slightly. (iv) fat intake includes many sources including butter and saturated fat margarines, fat in frying and frequency of eating fried foods, dairy produce and meat. There was no comparable information in the 1995 and 1998 Scottish Health Surveys which would allow us to look at consumption of these foods over time. (v) the proportion of adults who usually or generally add salt to food at the table has decreased between 1995 and 1998.(vi) in 1995 the Scottish Health Survey only contained information on persons aged between 16 and 64 years. In the 1998 survey this was extended to persons aged between two and 74. Therefore trend data are not available from this source. The next Scottish Health Survey will provide comparable data. (vii) consumption of potatoes, pasta or rice has increased between 1995 and 1998.(viii) consumption of oily fish has decreased between 1995 and 1998.(b) This information will become available with the publication of the Food Standard Agency's National Diet and Nutrition Survey in early 2003.
- Asked by: Ben Wallace, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 March 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by Mary Mulligan on 4 April 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual adult rates of smoking were in each year from 1995 to date.
Answer
The following table shows the percentage of adults aged between 16-64 years who were regular cigarette smokers in 1995 and 1998. These data are from the Scottish Health Survey, which is carried out periodically and is used as the source for monitoring progress against the smoking reduction target set in
Towards a Healthier Scotland. The next Scottish Health Survey is scheduled for 2002 and should be published in 2004.
| Year | Males | Females | Total |
| 1995 | 34% | 36% | 35% |
| 1998 | 36% | 33% | 34% |
- Asked by: Ben Wallace, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 March 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 4 April 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it is making in reaching its target to reduce the standardised mortality rate from all cancers in people under 75 years old by 20%.
Answer
The average standardised mortality rate from all cancers in people aged under 75 years during 1995-97 (the defined baseline) was 167.1 per 100,000 population. For 2000, the latest year for which data are available, the standardised mortality rate was 153.3 per 100,000 population. This equates to a reduction of 8.25%.
- Asked by: Ben Wallace, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 March 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by Mary Mulligan on 4 April 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what method it is using to record people's dietary activity.
Answer
Formal reporting mechanisms include The Scottish Health Survey and publications from the Food Standards Agency, HEBS and The Public Health Institute for Scotland and from Scottish Executive funded initiatives to improve Scotland's diet.
- Asked by: Ben Wallace, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 March 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by Mary Mulligan on 4 April 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what funding has been allocated to the National Diet Action Co-ordinator over the next three years and what major initiatives are planned.
Answer
The Scottish Food and Health Co-ordinator was appointed to support implementation of the Scottish Diet Action Plan's recommendations including work to encourage retailers, manufacturers, primary producers and caterers to play their part in implementing the SDAP recommendations. The Executive supports the implementation of the Scottish Diet Action Plan (SDAP) with dedicated resources of £1 million per annum. Food and health action is also funded from the £26 million Health Improvement Fund. Among actions under way and planned are the establishment of an expert panel to make recommendations for wide ranging improvements in the nutritional standards and delivery of school meals and the establishment of a Breakfast Services Challenge Fund to expand services targeted on vulnerable children who are most in need of a breakfast service.
- Asked by: Ben Wallace, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 March 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 4 April 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how the monies from the annual extra tobacco tax revenues have been spent in each year to date and what plans it has for spending these revenues in future.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-5895 on 18 May 2000, which confirms hypothecation to the Health Improvement Fund (HIF), and to question S1W-23630 on 4 March 2002, which directs MSPs to the report on the use of the HIF.
- Asked by: Ben Wallace, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 March 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by Mary Mulligan on 4 April 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made in developing a co-ordinated IT system to improve the call/recall arrangements for cervical cancer screening.
Answer
A Scottish Cervical Screening Programme Call/Recall Project Board was established in August 2001 to look at IT options and the development of a national call/recall system.Work is progressing well and it is expected that the introduction of the system will begin by late spring 2003.
- Asked by: Ben Wallace, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 March 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 4 April 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how many times the Scottish Cancer Group has met since its inception, what its remit is and what advice it has issued to date.
Answer
Since it was restructured in July 2001 the Scottish Cancer Group (SCG) has met six times. On 6 November 2001, the first annual implementation/investment plan was published. This is available from the Scottish Executive website at: www.scotland.gov.uk or from the NHSScotland website at: www.show.scot.nhs.uk. Copies were also placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 17445). The remit of the SCG is as follows:
1. Advise ministers, the department and the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) on the implementation of Cancer in Scotland: Action for Change including;- Preparation of an implementation plan
- Bringing forward annual investment plans for cancer services
- Monitoring implementation and improvements in services, ensuring sharing of good practice and learning across Scotland
2. Working with the Clinical Standards Board for Scotland, advise on key aspects of service quality which should be monitored at national level.3. Identify and prioritise those areas in which research and audit are required and to monitor the entry of cancer patients into clinical trials.4. Evaluate the clinical effectiveness programme in cancer to determine its effect on clinical practice and the delivery of care, taking full account of the patients' perspective.5. Using local, national and international sources of information to advise on trends in incidence, mortality and morbidity of various forms of cancer and their implications for prevention and service provision.6. Identify scientific advances relevant to cancer services and advise on their service implications (e.g. the future application of cancer genetics).7. Advise on the implementation of nationally agreed initiatives for the delivery of cancer services, programmes of prevention and screening.8. Provide the CMO with an annual report of the work of the Scottish Cancer Group.9. Provide ad hoc advice on such other matters as may be requested by CMO and/or the Scottish Executive Health Department.
- Asked by: Ben Wallace, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 March 2002
-
Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 4 April 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of (a) men and (b) women between the ages of 16 and 64 were (i) moderately active and (ii) vigorously active, as referred to in Cancer in Scotland: Action for Change, in (1) 1997, (2) 1998, (3) 1999, (4) 2000 and (5) 2001.
Answer
The physical activity levels referred to in the document Cancer in Scotland- Action for Change are collated from the Scottish Health Survey. A survey was carried out in 1995 and 1998, and it is anticipated that it will also be carried out in 2002.The 1998 survey extended the upper age limit for adults from 64 to 74. In 1998 the number of men and women between the ages of 16 and 74 who were moderately active was 38% and 27% respectively. In 1998 the number of men and women between the ages of 16 and 74 who were vigorously active was 14% and 5% respectively.Information is not available for 1997, 1999, 2000 or 2001.
