Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S2W-09181

Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 June 2004
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 30 June 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Aberdeen City Council regarding the funding of public services and what the outcomes were of such discussions.

I met with Aberdeen City Council at their request on 18 February 2004 to discuss funding gaps that the council had identified, particularly in relation to community care.

Following the meeting, the council have since written to Executive outlining their concerns in relation to children’s services. The Deputy Minister for Education and Young People responded agreeing to meet with representatives from both Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Councils as part of his summer tour.

Question reference: S2W-09178

Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 June 2004
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 30 June 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it issues to local authorities in respect of payment for care home places purchased from the voluntary and independent sectors.

Question reference: S2W-09177

Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 June 2004
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 30 June 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive how many local authorities operate care homes.

All 32 local authorities in Scotland operate care homes. In addition, they place clients in care homes operated by independent sector providers.

At September 2003, local authorities in Scotland provided 272 care homes. This amounts to 17 per cent of the 1,576 care homes; and 16 per cent of the 43,125 care home places. However, local authorities account for around 38% of short-stay and respite care admissions to care homes. The table below shows the breakdown of care home numbers and places, by local authority area, for local authority run care homes.

Local Authority Area	No. of Care Homes	No. of Places
Aberdeen City	15	324
Aberdeenshire	19	367
Angus	6	154
Argyll and Bute	9	144
Clackmannanshire	2	52
Dumfries and Galloway	2	13
Dundee City	10	216
East Ayrshire	6	116
East Dunbartonshire	1	11
East Lothian	4	136
East Renfrewshire	1	34
Edinburgh, City of	29	730
Eilean Siar	14	178
Falkirk	7	178
Fife	12	371
Glasgow, City of	21	872
Highland	24	350
Inverclyde	3	66
Midlothian	3	131
Moray	1	4
North Ayrshire	8	142
North Lanarkshire	13	408
Orkney Islands	4	85
Perth and Kinross	4	145
Renfrewshire	8	244
Scottish Borders	7	213
Shetland Islands	4	62
South Ayrshire	6	112
South Lanarkshire	12	345
Stirling	4	79
West Dunbartonshire	8	227
West Lothian	5	159
Scotland	272	6,668

Source: SEHD SCHC Census.

Question reference: S2W-09174

Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 June 2004
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 30 June 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-7453 by Mr Tom McCabe on 5 May 2004, how many access panels contain a representative who is deaf.

Question reference: S2W-09069

Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 June 2004
Current Status: Answered by Frank McAveety on 28 June 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive how current fee-paying members of area tourist boards (ATBs) will be able to guide local policy on tourism and whether the cost of membership of accreditation schemes will rise as a consequence of removal of such fee-paying membership of ATBs, when ATBs have been absorbed into VisitScotland.

Businesses, including but not limited to those who are currently members of area tourist boards, will be able to engage with the new tourism network through their local tourism hub, which will act as a focal point for area tourism policy and the development of specific initiatives.

The cost of Quality Assurance (QA) accreditation schemes is an operational matter for VisitScotland. However, VisitScotland has confirmed that fees for QA accreditation will not be increased in order to replace area tourist board membership income.

Question reference: S2W-08587

Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 May 2004
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 25 June 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish details of its discussions with the dental profession about the provision of free dental check-ups from (a) NHS and (b) non-NHS dentists.

Question reference: S2W-08660

Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 June 2004
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 23 June 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-7453 by Mr Tom McCabe on 5 May 2004, which local access forums have representation from deaf and hard of hearing people.

Question reference: S2W-08901

Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 June 2004
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 22 June 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what recent research has been undertaken to assess the epidemiology and incidence of myeloma in Scotland and, if such research has been undertaken, what percentage of myeloma patients are (a) men and (b) women; how many people were diagnosed with (a) myeloma and (b) multiple myeloma in (i) 1975, (ii) 1980, (iii) 1985, (iv) 1990, (v) 1995, (vi) 2000 and (vii) 2001; what percentage of myeloma patients are under (a) 30, (b) 40 and (c) 50, and in what areas there are clusters of myeloma patients.

Data on the incidence of, and mortality from, multiple myeloma and malignant plasma cell neoplasms, broken down by age, sex, year of diagnosis/death, and geographic area are published on the website of NHS National Services Scotland, Information Services (ISD) at:

www.isdscotland.org.

Scottish Cancer Registry data indicate that 161 men and 129 women were diagnosed with multiple myeloma in Scotland in the year 2001 (total 290; 56% men, 44% women).

The terms "myeloma" and "multiple myeloma" are generally regardedas synonymous. Solitary tumours of plasma cells can occur, but much less commonlythan multiple myeloma. In the context of the International Classification of Diseases, both conditions come under the general heading of "Multiple myeloma and malignant plasma cell neoplasms".

The number of persons diagnosed with multiple myeloma in Scotland forselected years were as follows:

Year	No. of New Cases
1975	175
1980	262
1985	242
1990	288
1995	323
2000	307
2001	290

In 2001, less than 1% of patients with multiple myeloma were aged less than 30 years at diagnosis. Less than 1% were aged less than 40 years. Only 2.1% were aged less than 50 years.

During the period 1997-2001, the incidence of multiple myeloma and malignant plasma cell neoplasms combined in men did not differ in a statistically significant sense between the 15 Scottish NHS board areas of residence compared to Scotland as a whole. In women, however, compared to Scotland as a whole, incidence was statistically significantly higher in the Grampian and WesternIsles Health Board areas, and significantly lower in the Greater Glasgow and Tayside Health Board areas.

Question reference: S2W-08898

Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 June 2004
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 22 June 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure that the treatment and management of myeloma after diagnosis is adequate if prevention screening is not undertaken and in light of delays in the diagnosis of myeloma.

There are no proven methods of screening for myeloma. The cancer strategy Cancer in Scotland: Action for Change recognises that patients should have clinically effective treatment which is delivered safely. Qualitative assessment of tumour-specific cancer services is underway within some of the multi-disciplinary cancer networks and others are in development.

Referral guidelines are also in place to help identify those patients requiring urgent investigation to confirm a diagnosis of cancer.

Cancer in Scotland includes a commitment that by 2005 the maximum waitfrom urgent referral to treatment for all cancers will be two months.

Question reference: S2W-08900

Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 June 2004
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 22 June 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what recent research and studies it has undertaken regarding the cause of myeloma.