Questions and answers

Question reference: S2W-16390

Asked by: Mr Brian Monteith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 May 2005
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 26 May 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how much the NHS has spent on capital equipment since 1990 in (a) cash and (b) real terms, broken down by NHS board.

The NHS expenditure on Capital Equipment since 1990 in (a) cash (b) real terms is shown in the following tables. This is broken down by NHS board from 1993 but we are unable to provide the break down for earlier years.

(a) Cash Terms	1990-91 (£000)	1991-92 (£000)	1992-93 (£000)	1993-94 (£000)	1994-95 (£000)	1995-96 (£000)	1996-97 (£000)
Argyll and Clyde				3,740	5,227	3,138	1,452
Ayrshire and Arran				2,077	1,955	2,219	1,172
Borders				1,331	549	847	641
Dumfries and Galloway				1,114	1,243	647	1,444
Fife				4,565	934	1,705	826
Forth Valley				1,380	2,006	929	1,209
Grampian				1,233	3,716	3,649	3,891
Greater Glasgow				3,114	12,098	10,651	8,040
Highland				1,186	2,390	1,172	2,058
Lanarkshire				3,910	6,152	4,944	4,546
Lothian				4,504	7,143	5,568	2,668
Orkney				273	226	212	183
Shetland				284	436	12	24
Tayside				5,561	4,466	4,312	3,851
Western Isles				674	353	560	575
Specials	8,422	9,554	1,662	28,495	8,693	1,748	949
Total	32,302	68,615	50,479	63,441	57,587	42,313	33,529

(a) Cash Terms	1997-98 (£000)	1998-99 (£000)	1999-2000 (£000)	2000-01 (£000)	2001-02 (£000)	2002-03 (£000)	2003-04 (£000)
Argyll and Clyde	1,171	1,671	692	3,188	2,552	1,263	1,679
Ayrshire and Arran	1,571	2,433	1,458	3,846	3,184	2,690	2,904
Borders	162	456	274	455	966	1,423	681
Dumfries and Galloway	475	579	374	542	1,412	601	1,000
Fife	763	951	773	1,624	3,620	484	3,154
Forth Valley	674	555	531	935	1,559	2,170	769
Grampian	1,147	3,867	2,475	6,374	6,920	5,578	4,545
Greater Glasgow	3,054	3,547	2,109	6,216	8,161	4,743	1,866
Highland	725	747	1,122	2,366	3,413	1,051	1,888
Lanarkshire	1,820	4,117	2,118	13,665	12,833	3,868	2,539
Lothian	3,303	2,559	1,954	6,335	16,933	21,796	3,829
Orkney	162	266	122	764	113	180	307
Shetland	123	53	250	932	148	288	270
Tayside	2,391	3,050	900	1,855	3,276	4,387	3,250
Western Isles	914	171	505	783	1,494	772	888
Specials	1,090	2,162	1,723	5,053	7,545	22,417	21,059
Total	19,545	27,184	17,380	54,933	74,129	73,711	50,628

(b) Real Terms	1990-91	1991-92	1992-93	1993-94	1994-95	1995-96	1996-97
(£000)	(£000)	(£000)	(£000)	(£000)	(£000)	(£000)
Argyll and Clyde				4,804	6,617	3,861	1,729
Ayrshire and Arran				2,668	2,475	2,730	1,395
Borders				1,710	695	1,042	763
Dumfries and Galloway				1,431	1,574	796	1,719
Fife				5,863	1,182	2,098	983
Forth Valley				1,772	2,540	1,143	1,439
Grampian				1,584	4,704	4,489	4,632
Greater Glasgow				4,000	15,316	13,104	9,571
Highland				1,523	3,026	1,442	2,450
Lanarkshire				5,022	7,788	6,083	5,412
Lothian				5,785	9,043	6,850	3,176
Orkney				351	286	261	218
Shetland				365	552	15	29
Tayside				7,142	5,654	5,305	4,584
Western Isles				866	447	689	684
Specials	12,158	13,009	2,191	36,598	11,005	2,151	1,130
Total	46,632	93,426	66,561	81,482	72,904	52,058	39,914

(b) Real Terms	1997-98 (£000)	1998-99 (£000)	1999-2000 (£000)	2000-01 (£000)	2001-02 (£000)	2002-03 (£000)	2003-04 (£000)
Argyll and Clyde	1,359	1,886	764	3,479	2,716	1,300	1,679
Ayrshire and Arran	1,823	2,745	1,610	4,197	3,389	2,768	2,904
Borders	188	515	303	497	1,028	1,464	681
Dumfries and Galloway	551	653	413	592	1,503	618	1,000
Fife	886	1,073	854	1,772	3,853	498	3,154
Forth Valley	782	626	586	1,020	1,659	2,233	769
Grampian	1,331	4,363	2,732	6,957	7,365	5,740	4,545
Greater Glasgow	3,545	4,001	2,328	6,784	8,686	4,880	1,866
Highland	841	843	1,239	2,582	3,632	1,081	1,888
Lanarkshire	2,112	4,644	2,338	14,914	13,658	3,980	2,539
Lothian	3,834	2,887	2,157	6,914	18,022	22,428	3,829
Orkney	188	300	135	834	120	185	307
Shetland	143	60	276	1,017	158	296	270
Tayside	2,775	3,441	993	2,025	3,487	4,514	3,250
Western Isles	1,061	193	557	855	1,590	794	888
Specials	1,265	2,439	1,902	5,515	8,030	23,067	21,059
Total	22,685	30,667	19,188	59,954	78,895	75,847	50,628

Expenditure on capital equipment in 2001-02 and 2002-03 was higher than in previous years due to a number of major developments across NHSScotland that had a significant impact on the overall position. These included:

(a) NHS Lothian - The new Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.

(b) NHS Lanarkshire - The new Hairmyres Hospital and Wishaw Hospital.

(c) Special Health Boards-

1. The Scottish Ambulance Service upgraded its three Emergency Medical Despatch Centres.

2. NHS24 equipped three new Contact Centres.

3. Common Services Agency Einvestment in National IT infrastructure.

Question reference: S2W-16295

Asked by: Mr Brian Monteith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 May 2005
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 17 May 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what research or evaluations have been carried out to establish the effectiveness and impact of individual Safer Routes to Schools road safety initiatives.

The Executive research reports Safely To School: A Study Of Safer Routes To School In The Classroom (2003) and Review Of Safer Routes To School In Scotland (1999) are available from the Scottish Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. numbers 30304 and 3500). Research on the effectiveness of the Executive’s School Travel Co-ordinator (STC) initiative is currently in progress, looking at all aspects of STC activity including Safer Routes to School schemes. A report on this should be published later this year.

Question reference: S2W-16294

Asked by: Mr Brian Monteith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 May 2005
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 17 May 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it holds in respect of traffic volumes and speeds on the B822 between the entrance from the north and the exit to the south of Kippen.

Question reference: S2W-16293

Asked by: Mr Brian Monteith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 May 2005
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 17 May 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many road accidents causing injuries have occurred in each of the last 10 years on the B822 between the entrance from the north and the exit to the south of Kippen.

Data about injury road accidents are collected by the Police and reported to the Scottish Executive using the “Stats 19” statistical report forms.

The Scottish Executive’s road accident statistics database is designed to provide information about the numbers of accidents and casualties for Scotland as a whole, for police force and local authority areas, and for the main roads. It is not designed to provide figures for short stretches of local roads. The statistical report forms do not include police forces’ detailed descriptions of accident locations, which can be used by local authorities to determine whether, for example, an accident which was reported as having taken place on the outskirts of a village actually occurred just outside it, or just within it. Subject to these caveats, the information held in the central statistical database suggests that there were two accidents involving personal injury on the B822 in Kippen in the years from 1994 to 2003 (inclusive): one in 1994 and one in 2002.

It should be noted that these statistics are based upon data which were collected by the police at the time of the accident, and subsequently reported to the Executive. They may differ from any figures which the local authority would provide now, because they do not take account of any subsequent changes or corrections that the local authority may have made to the statistical information, for use at a local level, about the location of each accident, based on its knowledge of the road and the area concerned.

Question reference: S2W-16296

Asked by: Mr Brian Monteith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 May 2005
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 17 May 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what the best ways are of measuring the impact of Safer Routes to Schools road safety initiatives.

The Executive guidance booklet How To Run A Safer Routes To School Scheme gives advice on the essential elements which are necessary for all successful schemes.

A Safer Routes to School Scheme does not involve a single pre-defined approach. Schemes can be implemented for a number of different reasons, for instance to effect a reduction in child road accident casualties or an increase in cycling and walking to school. A successful scheme’s impact will vary according to the outcomes which it was intended to achieve. The impact should, however, always be appropriately measured.

Question reference: S2W-16335

Asked by: Mr Brian Monteith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 May 2005
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 17 May 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to its announcement on 28 April 2005 of £1.1 million funding for the "hydrogen office", how much the office building will cost to maintain and what its lifespan will be.

The Hydrogen Office will have a lifespan of a conventional modern office building. The core renewable electrical generation technologies have a proven lifespan of 20 years. The annualised cost of the hydrogen system will be £11,000. This is expected to decrease over time as the service and maintenance industry develops and fuel cell technology improves.

The Hydrogen Office project is being developed to be financially sustainable and capable of covering the costs of on-going energy system maintenance.

Question reference: S2W-16333

Asked by: Mr Brian Monteith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 May 2005
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 17 May 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to its announcement on 28 April 2005 of £1.1 million funding for the "hydrogen office", whether the hydrogen will be transported to the office building by cable or by road and how it will be converted into electricity when it reaches the building.

All hydrogen will be generated on the site of the Hydrogen Office. The project will use a combination of on site wind turbines and photovoltaic panels to produce electricity. During periods of excess generation some of this electricity will be converted to hydrogen and stored in fuel cells located on site of the Hydrogen Office.

The hydrogen will be generated from electricity by electrolysis. When required, the hydrogen will be passed over the fuel cell through which an electrochemical process generates electricity, heat and pure water.

Question reference: S2W-16334

Asked by: Mr Brian Monteith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 May 2005
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 17 May 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to its announcement on 28 April 2005 of £1.1 million funding for the "hydrogen office", how many fuel cells the office will require; how much each hydrogen fuel cell will cost; what materials they will be made from, and how much energy will be used in the production of each one.

Question reference: S2W-16332

Asked by: Mr Brian Monteith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 May 2005
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 17 May 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to its announcement on 28 April 2005 of £1.1 million funding for the "hydrogen office", how much electricity will be used to obtain the hydrogen from water and what the fuel source of this electricity will be.

The Hydrogen Office will use a renewable energy system to generate hydrogen. This system will consist of two 10 kilowatt (kW) wind turbines, 25 kilowatt-peak (kWp) of roof mounted photovoltaic panels, a 10kW electrolyser, 333 kilowatt-hour (kWh) of hydrogen storage capacity and a 5kW fuel cell.

The maximum electrical consumption of the electrolyser will be 10kW during periods of excess renewable supply.

Question reference: S2W-16391

Asked by: Mr Brian Monteith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 May 2005
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 16 May 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive which NHS boards are using out-of-date CT scanners and other equipment in hospitals.

This information is not held centrally. The replacement of medical equipment, including CT scanners, is a matter for NHS boards.

The Audit Scotland Report Better Equipped to Care? – Follow-up report on managing medical equipment recognised that there were issues around the strategic management of medical equipment.

The Executive responded positively to the Audit Committee on 14 December 2004 to the concerns raised in the Audit Scotland Report and have undertaken a number of procedures to address the issues raised.

Capital is distributed to NHS boards using the Arbuthnott formula adjusted for cross boundary flows and and weighted for the provision of regional specialities. This means that boards can determine, based on their local knowledge or the local needs of the local area how this money should be spent. In 2005-06 £220 million has been distributed to NHS boards by formula, which is an increase of 10% over the 2004-05 formula allocations.

Record levels of capital funding are being made available to NHSScotland with £426 million, £458 million and £532 million being provided in 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 respectively. Within the total capital provision available over this period, £125 million has been specifically identified for the purchase/replacement of medical and diagnostic equipment. £40 million has been made available in the current year with a further £40 million and £45 million distributed in 2006-07 and 2007-08 respectively.

To create better conditions for long term planning NHS boards have been notified of fixed formula allocations for the three year period 2005-06 to 2007-08. This has improved certainty for NHS boards and will allow for the allocation of budgets to budget holders earlier than otherwise would be the case. Capital delegated limits for NHS boards have also been increased from 1 April this year which will allow greater autonomy and will enable capital projects to be taken forward without seeking prior approval from the Health Department for all but the largest projects.

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