Questions and answers

Question reference: S4W-18775

Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 16 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government (a) what discussions it has had and (b) whether it has reached agreement with the Department of Health on the implementation of the new Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme for branded medicines used by the NHS in Scotland.

The parts of the PPRS agreement that relate to Scotland are around pricing which is reserved to the UK Government. A large amount of the document relates to England only as the UK Government negotiate with the ABPI for matters that are reserved (pricing) but also for NHS in England.

The key aspect for the Scottish Government is ensuring that the mechanism in the scheme agreed by the UK Government and ABPI provides a fair return for Scotland. Discussions are ongoing between the four nations and have not yet concluded.

Question reference: S4W-18779

Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 16 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what work in addition to the review of access to medicines is being done to ensure that the new Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme works effectively for patients.

The Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS) will come into force on 1 January 2014. The scheme was agreed by the Department of Health in England and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI). Devolved Administrations requested inclusion in the negotiations but were refused.

The parts of the PPRS agreement that relate to Scotland are around pricing which is reserved to the UK Government. A large amount of the document relates to England only as the UK Government negotiate with the ABPI for matters that are reserved (pricing) but also for NHS in England.

The key aspect for the Scottish Government is ensuring that the mechanism in the scheme agreed by the UK Government and ABPI provides a fair return for Scotland.

Question reference: S4W-18778

Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 16 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact of the new Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme will be on patients' access to the latest medicines.

The Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS) will come into force on 1 January 2014. The scheme was agreed by the Department of Health in England and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI). Devolved Administrations requested inclusion in the negotiations but were refused.

The parts of the PPRS agreement that relate to Scotland are around pricing which is reserved to the UK Government. A large amount of the document relates to England only as the UK Government negotiate with the ABPI for matters that are reserved (pricing) but also for the NHS in England.

The Scottish Government’s approach to access to new medicines is clear from our response to the Scottish Parliaments Health and Sport Committee, we want to see improved access within the NHS in Scotland to newly licensed medicines that represent the best in therapeutic value and are cost effective.

Question reference: S4W-18777

Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 16 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether there will be savings to the NHS from the implementation of the new Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme.

The Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS) will come into force on 1 January 2014. The scheme was agreed by the Department of Health in England and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI). Devolved Administrations requested inclusion in the negotiations but were refused.

The PPRS and the statutory scheme will operate differently from the current voluntary and statutory schemes.

Companies will currently be deciding whether to join the voluntary scheme. We anticipate it will take some time until a judgement can be made about the financial implications of the scheme for Scotland.

Question reference: S4W-18579

Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 November 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 13 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many pupils sat Higher German in each of the last 10 years for which information is available.

The number of pupils who were presented for a Higher in German in Local Authority schools in each of the last 10 years is shown in the following table:

Academic Year	Number of Presentations for Higher German in Local Authority schools
2002-03	1,631
2003-04	1,535
2004-05	1,443
2005-06	1,143
2006-07	1,375
2007-08	1,276
2008-09	1,088
2009-10	970
2010-11	898
2011-12	920
2012-13	890

Question reference: S4W-18581

Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 November 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 13 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many state schools have presented pupils for examination for a national qualification in German in each of the last 10 years.

The number of local authority school centres which presented pupils for examinations for a national qualification in German in each of the last 10 years is shown in the following table:

Year	Number of Local Authority school centres presenting pupils for national qualifications in German
2003	276
2004	271
2005	265
2006	251
2007	240
2008	230
2009	214
2010	205
2011	198
2012	197
2013	191

Question reference: S4W-18582

Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 November 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 13 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many German-speaking foreign language assistants there have been in schools in each of the last 10 years.

The number of German-speaking foreign language assistants in Scottish schools in each of the last 10 years is shown in the following table.

Scottish Government is encouraged to see that the overall number of Foreign Language Assistants (FLAs) has stabilised and increased (from 59 in 2011-12, to 70 in 2012-13 and 73 in 2013-14).

Year	Number of German Foreign Language Assistants in Scottish schools
2003-2004	68
2004-2005	58
2005-2006	55
2006-2007	53
2007-2008	52
2008-2009	45
2009-2010	26
2010-2011	19
2011-2012	11
2012-2013	10
2013-2014	9

Question reference: S4W-18580

Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 November 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 13 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many pupils have sat a national qualification in German in each of the last 10 years.

The number of pupils who were presented for a national qualification in German in Local Authority schools in each of the last 10 years is shown in the following table:

Academic Year	Number of Presentations for a national qualification in German in Local Authority schools
2002-03	15,681
2003-04	14,466
2004-05	13,445
2005-06	13,117
2006-07	12,345
2007-08	10,991
2008-09	9,352
2009-10	8,463
2010-11	8,076
2011-12	7,300
2012-13	6,470

Question reference: S4W-18699

Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 13 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will uprate the applicable amounts and premiums set out in the Council Tax Reduction (Scotland) Regulations 2012 and, if so, (a) when and (b) by how much.

The Scottish Government laid the Council Tax Reduction (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2013 and the Council Tax Reduction (State Pension Credit) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2013 in February of this year to uprate the applicable amounts and premiums set out in the Council Tax Reduction (Scotland) Regulations 2012 for the period 2013-14. Discussions with our Local Government partners regarding developments beyond this period are on-going, final decisions will be confirmed in due course.

Question reference: S4W-18572

Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 November 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 10 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the analysis of Financial Service Authority product sales by HM Treasury that suggests that 70% of all pension products bought by consumers in Scotland are from firms based in the rest of the UK.

HM Treasury analysis of FSA product sales data reveals a highly integrated market for financial services between Scotland and the rest of the UK, as reflected by the fact that 25% of pension products bought by consumers in the rest of the UK are from firms based in Scotland.

The Scottish Government’s White Paper Scotland’s Future – Your Guide to an Independent Scotland sets out a framework for the continuation of a single market in financial services and products across the Sterling Area.

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