Chamber and committees

Overall, existing research suggests that the prevalence of Parkinson’s disease in Scotland, although very likely to be higher than the number estimated to consult a general practice in a single year, is unlikely to be more than double that number. Further work would be required to determine more precisely the number of those in Scotland with the disease.

Whatever the exact prevalence, the Scottish Government takes very seriously the needs of people with Parkinson’s disease, and welcomes the fact that NHS Quality Improvement Scotland is developing clinical standards relating to the condition.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

The Scottish Government takes the view that the UK Government should have held a referendum on the EU Reform Treaty. It believes that the Irish referendum outcome demonstrates the impact that small member States can have and that it is important for the European Union to respect the views of all countries no matter what their size. The Scottish Government has urged the UK Government to argue for the removal of the conservation of marine biological resources from the list of exclusive EU competences and to treat this as a red line issue in any renegotiation or amendment of the treaty.

The Scottish Government has not yet estimated the additional revenues which would accrue to HM Treasury as a result of increased receipts from other forms of fuel taxation such as electricity and gas. Such estimates are difficult to obtain without an in depth analysis of detailed energy consumption statistics.

The Arbuthnott Formula allocates resources to NHS boards according to the needs of and costs of supplying services to their populations. The additional needs indices in the formula are built up from care programmes and diagnostic groups, and are not based on the prevalence of specific conditions.

ISD is working closely with five Community Health Partnerships to understand their information needs, particularly in relation to long term conditions. There is a recognition of the need to link to work on community care outcomes and the single shared assessment to provide a holistic approach.

Long-term conditions have also been identified as an important element of the eHealth strategy.

In relation to Parkinson’s disease, the development of the clinical guideline by SIGN and clinical standards by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland will act as a catalyst for data collection.

The Scottish Government is currently updating these earlier estimates. It is anticipated that the full updated estimates will be published soon. A copy will be sent to the member on publication.

The most recent assessment of the cost of smoking to the economy and the NHS was published in a report commissioned by the Scottish Executive, Reducing Smoking and Tobacco-Related Harm (2003). It is estimated that the annual cost of smoking-related time off work in Scotland is £40 million and total productivity losses are put at £450 million. Smoking is estimated to cost NHS Scotland £200 million a year in hospital care. There has been no assessment of the costs of smoking to primary care services.

Robust estimates of the economic and social impacts of illicit drugs in Scotland are not currently available, but based on research from England and Wales the total costs to society are likely to amount to around £2.6 billion per annum. A research project is currently in progress to produce an initial estimate of the size and value of illicit drug markets in Scotland, and of the economic and social costs associated with illicit drug use. The research will also consider the value of extending the estimates to cover alcohol abuse and tobacco consumption, and is due to be completed later this year.

Notes:

This table does not include £2 million per annum for tackling smoking, which is now part of NHS boards'' unified budgets; NRT prescribing (costs approx £7 million per annum) or NHS Health Scotland''s tobacco programme budget (approx £1 million per annum).

From 2008-09 the budget for enforcing smoke-free (£2.5 million in 2007-08) is provided by means of a block grant.

The alcohol misuse funding within this table is that made specifically available for this purpose by the Scottish Government. Significant additional resources are likely to have been made available by NHS boards and local authorities.

The 2007-08 figure for tackling illicit drug use is not directly comparable with 2008-09. In addition to the funding available for tackling drug misuse in the Justice portfolio, a number of other budgets also provide resources for tackling drug misuse including local government, the police and NHS boards'' unified budgets.

Council Tax Collection (Including Council Tax Discounts and Community Charge Residual Costs) Net Revenue Expenditure (£000)

Source: As reported by local authorities on the statistical return LFR 9 Central Services .

Notes:

1. Dumfries and Galloway''s credit figure is 2003-04 due to recovery of cumulative surcharges for previous years

2. West Dunbartonshire''s credit figure in 2003-04 is due to income generated from sales/rents/fees/charges exceeding costs debited to the account.

So far, funding has been allocated to NHS Fife and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde for HLCs in their area.