- Asked by: Mike Rumbles, MSP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 September 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 20 September 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will direct Highlands and Islands Enterprise to publish the findings of the second economic appraisal of the Cairn Gorm funicular railway.
Answer
This is an operational matter for Highlands and Islands Enterprise.
- Asked by: Mike Rumbles, MSP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 September 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 20 September 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to Railtrack, or any other body, to ensure that the Cairn Gorm funicular railway is subjected to safety checks on the condition of the rails; what safety checks have been made to date, and whether any relevant safety recommendations made in the report into the Kaprun funicular disaster in Austria will be implemented on the Cairn Gorm funicular railway prior to it opening for public use.
Answer
This is an operational matter for Highlands and Islands Enterprise.
- Asked by: Mike Rumbles, MSP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 September 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Peter Peacock on 20 September 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-16947 by Angus MacKay on 8 August 2001, how much of the increase in its grant to Aberdeenshire Council in 2001-02 was ring-fenced for particular purposes.
Answer
Of Aberdeenshire Council's total increase in grant of £18.1 million (8.3%), £3 million has been provided through ring-fenced specific grants.
- Asked by: Mike Rumbles, MSP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 September 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 20 September 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any compensation will be offered to the Glenshee and Lecht Ski companies if they are adversely affected by the operation of the Cairn Gorm funicular railway.
Answer
Each individual ski resort, operating under local environmental conditions, has unique facilities to offer discerning skiing visitors, and will be subject, as with most Scottish businesses, to competing under free market forces. Any future request for assistance by the Glenshee and Lecht Ski companies will be considered in the first instance by the local enterprise companies.
- Asked by: Mike Rumbles, MSP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Monday, 03 September 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 6 September 2001
To ask the First Minister what progress has been made towards achieving the aim of electoral reform for local government.
Answer
The Executive's commitment to electoral reform, made in its Working together for Scotland: A Programme for Government, is underlined by its detailed and continuing considerations of the recommendations made in the Renewing Local Democracy Report.
- Asked by: Mike Rumbles, MSP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Friday, 27 July 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 30 August 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are currently diagnosed as suffering from cystic fibrosis.
Answer
The United Kingdom's Cystic Fibrosis Register is held and managed within the Tayside Institute of Child Health in Ninewells Hospital, Dundee and the latest figures for the year 2000 show that there are 692 cystic fibrosis patients registered on this database, with 348 being 16 or under and 344 over the age of 16.
- Asked by: Mike Rumbles, MSP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Friday, 27 July 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 24 August 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how much public funding Stagecoach UK Bus received in the last financial year to support the operation of bus services in each local authority area.
Answer
The Scottish Executive does not hold the information requested. Allowance for local authority expenditure on subsidised bus services is included within the general local government settlement allocations. Authorities also receive support through the Rural Public Passenger Transport grant. However, the letting of contracts for the provision of socially necessary bus services is entirely a matter for individual local authorities.
- Asked by: Mike Rumbles, MSP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Friday, 27 July 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 24 August 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review the current position whereby patients who suffer from cystic fibrosis must pay prescription charges.
Answer
We have no plans to review the current arrangements. It should also be noted that people with chronic illness, who are not exempt from prescription charges on medical grounds, often qualify for free prescriptions on other grounds.
- Asked by: Mike Rumbles, MSP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Friday, 27 July 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 24 August 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how much public funding was paid in the last financial year to maintain bus services which Stagecoach UK Bus would otherwise not have operated for profitability reasons.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-17272.
- Asked by: Mike Rumbles, MSP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 June 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 22 August 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers when approving new drugs or treatments for use by the NHSiS (a) how much demand there will be within each health board area for such drugs and treatment and (b) what additional resources would be required to meet that demand.
Answer
When a medicine receives a UK marketing authorisation, either from the Medicines Control Agency or the European Medicines Evaluation Authority, it becomes prescribable on the NHS unless it is added to Schedule 10, or in certain circumstances, Schedule 11 to the NHS (General Medical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 1995.Health boards determine their prescribing policy on new medicines, taking into account local needs and advice from their Area Drugs and Therapeutic Committee (AD&TC). A Scottish Medicines Consortium will be established this autumn to support AD&TCs by providing a single Scottish evaluation of new medicines at or near the time of marketing. In addition, some new medicines will be evaluated by the Health Technology Board for Scotland. The advice of the National Institute of Clinical Excellence is also made available publicly.Health boards' unified budgets include provision for the cost of prescribed medicines and are set to allow for the introduction of new medicines and the greater use of existing therapies. As these funds form part of their unified budget, health boards have the flexibility to decide locally how to use them. It is for health boards and Trusts to agree the amount to be set aside for new medicines or treatments.
