Questions and answers

Question reference: S2W-13423

Asked by: Brian Adam, MSP for Aberdeen North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2005
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 25 January 2005

The Scottish Executive has awarded over £126 million in grant support between all 32 Scottish local authorities for financial years 1999-2000 to 2004-05. These awards are summarised in the following table:

Council	1999- 2000	2000-01	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05
Aberdeen City	0	106,000	69,697	331,770	1,895,614	1,691,243
Aberdeenshire	0	188,000	74,962	1,272,608	3,350,000	4,890,000
Angus	0	75,000	36,022	231,138	359,000	1,706,000
Argyll and Bute	0	80,000	1,131,767	1,896,816	1,653,710	2,880,710
Clackmannanshire	0	25,000	15,990	182,531	1,148,700	235,243
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar	0	29,000	8,970	52,379	125,000	1,943,000
Dumfries and Galloway	0	123,000	48,105	128,295	130,000	3,613,000
Dundee City	0	72,000	47,085	224,212	0	973,000
East Ayrshire	0	66,000	39,802	205,469	324,000	2,560,000
East Dunbartonshire	0	53,000	36,547	166,281	212,400	2,147,600
East Lothian	0	53,000	30,120	164,555	195,696	721,000
East Renfrewshire	0	42,000	29,625	552,717	665,000	633,000
City of Edinburgh	0	223,000	149,602	701,132	464,000	6,483,000
Falkirk	0	73,000	47,617	333,212	2,601,000	2,844,413
Fife	0	187,000	115,612	582,286	2,289,400	4,581,158
Glasgow City	0	302,000	201,052	944,484	1,010,500	4,111,500
Highland	0	190,000	68,827	579,211	0	3,443,575
Inverclyde	0	41,000	27,915	128,193	0	1,882,961
Midlothian	0	43,000	27,120	115,919	0	1,363,831
Moray	0	58,000	28,027	170,032	107,000	2,853,071
North Ayrshire	0	76,000	45,810	236,144	314,000	2,031,000
North Lanarkshire	0	158,000	108,097	851,951	618,250	4,749,000
Orkney	0	21,000	6,427	62,415	0	410,000
Perth and Kinross	0	101,000	44,085	309,147	585,000	2,177,000
Renfrewshire	0	87,000	58,387	272,758	0	2,425,000
Scottish Borders	0	83,000	35,272	253,244	0	2,080,950
Shetland	0	25,000	7,402	75,309	0	587,808
South Ayrshire Council	0	69,000	37,590	213,317	501,000	3,427,000
South Lanarkshire	0	165,000	101,422	893,568	2,747,000	3,927,000
Stirling	0	59,000	28,117	349,381	2,916,670	1,559,965
West Dunbartonshire	0	46,000	31,215	137,250	0	2,400,200
West Lothian	0	81,000	51,697	1,551,320	930,000	3,314000
Total	0	3,000,000	2,789,985	14,169,044	25,142,940	80,646,228

Question reference: S2W-13417

Asked by: Brian Adam, MSP for Aberdeen North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2005
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 25 January 2005

Data available from the Accounts Commission are:

Total Number of Tonnes of Household Waste Collected

Local Authority	1999-2000	2000-01	2001-02	2002-03
Aberdeen City	124,094.9	102,117.1	93,312.0	106,201.3
Aberdeenshire	104,789.7	107,052.2	105,041.0	129,220.6
Angus	48,126.48	42,363.5	46,553.3	59,309.4
Argyll and Bute	50,331.84	44,249.0	48,907.3	55,473.1
Clackmannanshire	27,126.25	27,300.0	29,843.0	29,264.4
Dumfries and Galloway	68,000.54	69,452.0	*70,885.0	73,111.0
Dundee City	74,397.21	61,043.1	63,596.0	69,356.0
East Ayrshire	50,802.2	49,457.9	50,654.4	53,628.6
East Dunbartonshire	53,270.08	57,290.0	61,376.0	59,408.0
East Lothian	51,399.44	48,525.5	50,168.5	51,779.0
East Renfrewshire	49,133.06	46,524.0	51,599.8	53,714.2
Edinburgh, City of	221,750.8	200,484.0	200,973.0	208,986.2
Eilean Siar	14,866	14,796.7	13,565.2	14,661.3
Falkirk	76,371.05	73,261.0	74,365.0	70,233.0
Fife	167,624.3	168,029.3	199,247.3	210,768.0
Glasgow City	236,012	229,132.4	227,775.0	232,940.3
Highland	101,535.5	102,152.5	90,612.8	101,080.1
Inverclyde	30,394.68	28,643.9	30,090.0	31,002.6
Midlothian	45,052.86	44,888.1	49,728.8	49,358.3
Moray	51,963.6	48,610.9	43,651.8	42,663.0
North Ayrshire	53,729.76	66,717.0	73,827.4	71,485.8
North Lanarkshire	148,961.6	134,255.6	145,158.0	165,658.4
Orkney Islands	10,165.97	9,650.0	7,876.0	8,819.0
Perth and Kinross	57,641.98	77,196.0	79,739.6	80,579.9
Renfrewshire	87,123.6	83,211.5	85,362.0	94,041.6
Scottish Borders	41,515.5	39,495.2	40,372.0	41,812.5
Shetland Islands	12,243	9,613.0	10,388.0	12,066.0
South Ayrshire	58,681.7	53,198.0	56,493.0	51,933.0
South Lanarkshire	131,679.1	128,691.0	129,644.8	167,750.6
Stirling	44,565.44	44,357.3	42,582.0	40,602.9
West Dunbartonshire	34,144.11	30,347.0	34,819.4	32,569.2
West Lothian	73,780.8	73,988.0	80,269.0	91,157.5
Scotland	2,401,275	2,316,092.7	2,317,591.4	2,560,634.8

Data for 1999-2000 was not collected directly and has been calculated by multiplying the average amount of waste per household by the number of households in each authority. Consequently there may be inaccuracies in the 1999-2000 figures. The data supplied by Dumfries and Galloway for 2001-02 was unreliable. It has not been included in the all Scotland total for 2001-02.

Audit Scotland data for 2003-04 has not yet been published. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency figures detailing the amount of household waste collected by each local authority in 2003-04 are available at www.sepa.org.uk/nws/data/local.htm.

Figures for 2004-05 are not yet available.

Question reference: S2W-13420

Asked by: Brian Adam, MSP for Aberdeen North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2005
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 25 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what research it has carried out on pyrolysis or gasification as a means of disposing of domestic and commercial waste.

Question reference: S2W-12904

Asked by: Brian Adam, MSP for Aberdeen North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 December 2004
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 25 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether consideration has been given to requiring radiology trainees to commit themselves to working in Scotland for a set period on completing their training.

The Executive remains committed to building the capacity of the NHSScotland workforce and is pursuing several initiatives on behalf of the health service which will enable NHS boards to improve their ability to recruit and retain consultant staff for all specialities, including radiologists. These include:

A Partnership Agreement commitment to increase the number of consultants within NHS Scotland;

An action plan to take forward a range of options and measures to improve recruitment and retention in the short and medium term;

An on-line recruitment website for NHSScotland, and

A regional consultant role which is currently being developed.

Also, to assist NHSScotland employers meet local health needs, the department has set up a national planning exercise to address these issues and the impact of staff shortages across the whole of the NHSScotland workforce.

Question reference: S2W-13159

Asked by: Brian Adam, MSP for Aberdeen North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 December 2004
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 25 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of the findings of the latest British Medical Journal report on radon and, if so, what new measures it intends to implement to combat radon build-up in homes.

The Executive is aware of this important article which provides a combinedanalysis of the data from 13 case-control studies of residential radon and lungcancer in nine European countries. The results of this analysis confirmthat radon gas is an important public health hazard, the second most importantcause of lung cancer so far identified, after smoking and, in particular,estimates that radon in homes currently accounts for about 9% of deaths from lung cancer and hence 2% of all cancer deaths in Europe.

The National Radiological Protection Board will consider the implications of this study on current guidelines for radon preventative and remedial measures and give advice if necessary. A sub-group of the board’s independent advisory group on Ionising Radiation is currently conducting a review of the risks of radon exposure which will include this new study. The board will receive advice from this sub-group and will then consider, consult and issue advice on any changes that should be made to the UK scheme for controlling radon exposures.

In addition, the Executive has commissioned the board to complete its survey of radon, in housing across Scotland, at a cost of £303,000 and to update its advice on the radiological significance of levels of radon in Scotland accordingly. The survey findings will be available later in the year.

Both the existing UK housing stock and new homes are considered in measures to control the radon risk to the population in areas where radon concentrations are likely to be high. The Building Regulations require that in certain parts of the country anti-radon preventative measures must be incorporated into new houses as they are being built. Public and private initiatives have involved testing almost half a million homes in the UK with a recommendation that remedial measures areundertaken if radon levels are found to be above the action level of 200becquerels per cubic metre for radon in homes. Local authorities can assistwith grant, owners who cannot afford to meet the cost of remedial works.

Question reference: S2W-13105

Asked by: Brian Adam, MSP for Aberdeen North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 December 2004
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 25 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what action will be taken to alleviate the impact of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route on Camphill.

We are looking at a range of options for crossing the River Dee. I expect to invite feedback on the results next month.

A specialist study into potential impacts on the pupils and residents at Camphill has been commissioned. This report will give advice on measures which can be taken to minimise the impact, should the preferred route pass between Camphill and Newton Dee. In addition, physical mitigation measures will be set out in the environmental statement.

Question reference: S2W-13428

Asked by: Brian Adam, MSP for Aberdeen North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2005
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 24 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive which science centres received grants from it in 2004-05; how much each centre received; which centres will receive grants in 2005-06, and what the value of each grant will be.

The latest estimates for Scottish Executive funding to Scottish science centres in 2004-05 are:

Glasgow Science Centre	£127,000
Our Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh	£838,256
Satrosphere, Aberdeen	£630,945
Sensation, Dundee	£544,000
Total	£2,140,201

Planned expenditure by the Scottish Executive in 2005-06 for the Science Centres Programme is £2.9 million. The allocation of this budget to individual centres will be decided on the basis of business plans yet to be submitted.

Question reference: S2W-13561

Asked by: Brian Adam, MSP for Aberdeen North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 January 2005
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 24 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients infected with hepatitis C are currently not being treated with antiviral agents.

Question reference: S2W-12538

Asked by: Brian Adam, MSP for Aberdeen North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 November 2004
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 24 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it allocates to NHS boards to employ staff whose job is primarily to tackle MRSA.

Infection control is accepted by all NHS boards as a vital component of their work and the budgets they set make provision for this.

The Scottish Executive has not allocated specific funding for infection control but funding has been provided for additional training of 3,000 cleanliness champions, one for every ward and clinical unit in Scotland. They will promote best practice and the highest standards of cleanliness and hygiene in clinical areas.

I expect to make a further announcement regarding hospital-acquired infection soon.

Question reference: S2W-13535

Asked by: Brian Adam, MSP for Aberdeen North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 January 2005
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 24 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many maxillofacial units there are in the NHS and where they are located.

A list of the 41 hospitals undertaking maxillofacial in-patient and day case treatment during the year to 30 September 2004 is provided in the following table.

NHSScotland: Hospital Undertaking Maxillofacial¹ In-Patient and Day Case Treatment During the Year Ending 30 September 2004^P

NHS Board	Location
Argyll and Clyde:	Inverclyde Royal Hospital
	Lorn and Islands District General Hospital
	Royal Alexandra Hospital
	Vale of Leven District General Hospital
Ayrshire and Arran	Crosshouse Hospital
Ayrshire and Arran	The Ayr Hospital
Borders	Borders General Hospital
Dumfries and Galloway	Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary
Dumfries and Galloway	Garrick Hospital
Fife	Queen Margaret Hospital
Fife	Victoria Hospital
Forth Valley	Falkirk and District Royal Infirmary
Forth Valley	Stirling Royal Infirmary
Grampian	Aberdeen Royal Infirmary
	Dr Gray’s Hospital
	Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital
Greater Glasgow	Canniesburn Hospital
	Glasgow Dental Hospital and School
	Glasgow Royal Infirmary
	Royal Hospital for Sick Children
	Southern General Hospital
	Stobhill Hospital
	Victoria Infirmary
	Western Infirmary/Gartnavel General
Highland	Belford Hospital
	Caithness General Hospital
	Raigmore Hospital
Lanarkshire	Hairmyres Hospital
	Monklands Hospital
	Wishaw General Hospital
Lothian	Roodlands General Hospital
	Royal Hospital for Sick Children
	Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh at Little France
	St John's Hospital At Howden
	Western General Hospital
Orkney	Balfour Hospital
Shetland	Gilbert Bain Hospital

NHSScotland: Hospital Undertaking Maxillofacial¹ In-Patient and Day Case Treatment During the Year Ending 30 September 2004^P

Tayside	Ninewells Hospital
	Perth Royal Infirmary
	Stracathro Hospital
Western Isles	Western Isles Hospital

^PProvisional.

Note: 1. Operations defined using the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys 4th Revision Classification of Surgical Operations and Procedures (OPCS4). Maxillofacial surgery is defined using OPCS4 F08-F18 AND V01-V21 recorded as primary operations.

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