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: S1W-11830

Asked by: Mr Lloyd Quinan, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 December 2000
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 19 January 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans there are to introduce a central register of people diagnosed with autism.

Question reference: S1W-11985

Asked by: Mr Lloyd Quinan, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 December 2000
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 19 January 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive (a) how many internal cases of (i) racial discrimination, (ii) racial harassment, (iii) sexual discrimination and (iv) sexual harassment in the police force were reported; (b) how many of these cases were investigated, and (c) how many of these cases resulted in prosecution in each year since 1995, broken down by police force

Question reference: S1W-12118

Asked by: Mr Lloyd Quinan, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 December 2000
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 17 January 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any employees of the Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health have any declared interests in (a) SmithKline Beecham, (b) SmithKline and French and French Laboratories, (c) Merck Sharpe and Dohme, (d) Pasteur Merieux and (e) Wellcome Foundation and whether it will detail what these interests are.

Question reference: S1W-12008

Asked by: Mr Lloyd Quinan, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 December 2000
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 4 January 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive for what medical reason the licensing of single antigen measles and mumps vaccines is denied.

The vaccination policy in the UK for mumps, measles and rubella is to use the combined MMR vaccine. This policy is strongly supported by the recognised authorities on childhood immunisation, including the World Health Organisation. As a result no manufacturer is producing single antigen vaccine for measles or mumps with a European Medicines Evaluation Authority (EMEA) or a UK licence.

The use of single dose vaccines leaves children at risk of infection while they are waiting for the next single dose vaccine.

Question reference: S1W-12006

Asked by: Mr Lloyd Quinan, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 December 2000
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 4 January 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to raise public awareness of the existence and symptoms of autism and Aspergers Syndrome and to improve performance in diagnosis and assessment.

The Learning Disability Review acknowledged the disparity across Scotland in assessing and diagnosing, and providing services to those with, autism.

The review report, published in May, provides a new lead. It recommends that the Scottish Society for Autism and the National Autistic Society co-ordinate the establishment of a national service network to improve awareness and understanding of the needs of people within the autistic spectrum disorder. The network will provide access to specialist knowledge and training in both health and other fields. The network will be supported by the new Scottish Centre for Learning Disabilities which is also being set up under the review. Work is progressing on these developments.

Autism is a priority area in the Executive's Special Educational Needs (SEN) Innovation Grants Programme. Grants totalling £504,000 have been awarded to six projects covering a range of objectives, including raising awareness and understanding of SEN in relation to autism issues.

In addition, we are funding from the Mental Health and Well Being Development Fund, an innovative Multi-Agency Service for Children with Autism in the Borders which could serve as a model for services throughout Scotland.

Question reference: S1W-12010

Asked by: Mr Lloyd Quinan, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 December 2000
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 4 January 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children in total and as a percentage of the total number of children have received the MMR vaccination in (a) this year and (b) each of the five previous years, broken down by health board.

The information requested has been provided by the Information and Statistics Division of the Common Service Agency of the NHS and is set out in the following tables:Primary Immunisation Uptake Rates of Mumps/ Measles and Rubella at 24 months; by Health Board; by year ¹.

	Year ending
	31 December 1995					31 December 1996				31 March 1997
	Number		Percentage				Number		Percentage			Number			Percentage
Scotland	58,612		94.1			55,634		94.6			55,781			94.4
Argyll and Clyde	4,932		95.5			4,581		95.2			4,762			94.7
Ayrshire and Arran	4,225		92.8			3,902		93.8			3,683			93.5
Borders	1,030		91.2			1,094		95.9			1,084			95.0
Dumfries and Galloway	1,618		92.4			1,566		94.5			1,554			94.2
Fife	4,020		95.7			3,677		94.8			3,775			94.0
Forth Valley	3,184		94.8			3,040		96.1			3,113			95.9
Grampian²	6,167		94.2			6,208		94.1			6,075			93.6
Greater Glasgow	10,529		93.4			9,818		94.1			9,818			94.1
Highland	2,276		89.8			2,191		91.2			2,191			91.2
Lanarkshire	6,691		94.6			6,383		95.2			6,448			95.0
Lothian	8,744		94.3			8,414		95.1			8,461			95.4
Orkney²	242		96.4			229		96.6			231			95.1
Shetland²	293		93.6			309		92.5			298			92.5
Tayside	4,396		95.0			3,938		95.1			4,012			95.2
Western Isles	265		96.0			284		91.6			276			94.2
	31 March 1998					31 March 1999					31 March 2000
	Number				Percentage		Number	Percentage			Number		Percentage
Scotland	54,813				94.0	54,100		92.4			53,620			92.9
Argyll and Clyde	4,652				93.9	4,498		91.7			4,502			92.6
Ayrshire and Arran	3,851				93.3	3,803		91.9			3,760			93.7
Borders	1,093				91.8	1,026		89.9			1,030			92.8
Dumfries and Galloway		1,536		89.7		1,483		87.8			1,515			93.6
Fife	3,615				95.0	3,599		92.8			3,592			92.5
Forth Valley	2,927				95.4	3,050		94.2			3,049			94.6
Grampian²	5,688				94.3	5,587		92.8			5,630			92.3
Greater Glasgow	9,792				93.2	9,474		92.8			9,356			93.8
Highland	2,172				91.6	2,064		88.5			2,131			86.8
Lanarkshire	6,287				94.7	6,288		91.8			6,193			92.9
Lothian	8,387				95.0	8,429		93.8			8,186			93.5
Orkney²	219				94.0	215		95.6			203			98.1
Shetland²	272				90.4	256		91.4			254			91.7
Tayside	4,030				95.9	4,074		93.4			3,991			93.4
Western Isles	292				94.5	254		86.7			228			86.4

¹ 1995 and 1996 figures are based on calendar rather than financial years.

Source: Information and Statistics Division.

Question reference: S1W-12011

Asked by: Mr Lloyd Quinan, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 December 2000
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 3 January 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive which attenuated viruses are used in the creation of the MMR vaccine and for which diseases.

There are two MMR vaccines on the UK contract for childhood vaccines at the present time. The constituents of these vaccines are:

Aventis Pasteur MSD MMR -11 (PL 06745/0076)

Virus Measles live attenuated (Enders line of attenuated Edmonston strain)

Virus Mumps live attenuated (Jeryl Lynn B level strain)

Virus Rubella live attenuated (Wistar RA 27/3 strain)

SmithKline Beecham Priorix (PL 10592/0110)

Virus Measles live attenuated (Schwartz strain)

Virus Mumps live attenuated (RIT 4385 derived from Jeryl Lynn strain)

Virus Rubella live attenuated (Wistar RA 27/3 strain)

Question reference: S1W-12009

Asked by: Mr Lloyd Quinan, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 December 2000
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 3 January 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the current MMR vaccine used by the NHS is the same kind and type as that authorised for use in the USA and which manufacturers are used as suppliers of the vaccine, broken down by health board.

There are currently two brands of MMR vaccine available on the UK contract for childhood vaccines: PRIORIX (PL 10592/0110) manufactured by SmithKline Beecham and MMRII (PL 06745/0076) manufactured by Merck & Co UK and supplied by Aventis Pasteur MSD. Both brands have been supplied to the NHS in Scotland but it is not possible to provide a breakdown by health board.

The Medicines Control Agency has advised that of these two vaccines, MMRII (PL 10592/0110) is identical to that supplied by the manufacturer Merck to the USA market. As far as they can ascertain, Priorix is not authorised for use in the USA at the present time.

Question reference: S1W-12007

Asked by: Mr Lloyd Quinan, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 December 2000
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 3 January 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what the current cost is per child of the MMR vaccine.

Question reference: S1W-11834

Asked by: Mr Lloyd Quinan, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 December 2000
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 21 December 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive how many special educational needs units within state schools have closed from 1997 to 2000.