- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 July 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 18 July 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to monitor the effect of the current and future reductions in prescription charges on the number of prescriptions issued.
Answer
We will receive regular reports to ensure that the effects of prescription charge price reductions are effectively monitored. The report will present analysis of a range of data including prescribing trends and volume of prescriptions dispensed. We will also continue to analyse trends in Wales following the abolition of prescription charges in 2007.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 July 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 18 July 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of treatment by either primary angioplasty or thrombolytic treatment being most effective within three hours of the onset of symptoms, what percentage of eligible patients were treated by either of these methods within that period in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-14821 on 18 July 2008. 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.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 July 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 18 July 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive how many school nurses there were in Scotland in (a) 2005, (b) 2006 and (c) 2007.
Answer
The following table provides the number of whole-time equivalent (WTE) school nurses in Scotland in 2005 and 2007 at September of each year. Whole-time equivalent adjusts head count figures to take account of part-time staff.
These figures are collected by ISD Scotland. Figures for 2006 are unavailable due to the non-direct match between Whitley Council grades and new Agenda for Change grades.
Also, the figure for 2007 may not be wholly accurate. This reflects that not all NHS staff have yet been assimilated to Agenda for Change bandings by NHS boards and there may also be anomalies with coding which means that the correct number of staff have not been identified. NHS boards are currently working through a process of cleaning up the data so that we can be assured in the future of high quality data standards.
| | 2005 | 2007 |
| Number of WTE Qualified School Nurses | 305.2 | 221.8 |
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 July 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 18 July 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of hospitals or NHS boards provided thrombolytic treatment for myocardial infarction to eligible patients within 30 minutes of a phone call in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-14821 on 18 July 2008. 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.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 26 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 17 July 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive how many consultant vacancies there were in NHS Lanarkshire in each of the last 12 quarters.
Answer
Information on staff within NHSScotland is held by ISD who collect a variety of information on staff in post across all NHS staff groups, including vacancy information. This data is published online by ISD as at 30 September each year.
While vacancy information for consultant posts is not available for the last 12 quarters, over the last three years, the equivalent period available, the published headcount consultant vacancy rate within NHS Lanarkshire was as follows:
Number of Consultant Vacancies, NHS Lanarkshire (as at 30 September that year)
| Year | |
| 2007 | 59 |
| 2006 | 42 |
| 2005 | 49 |
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 26 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 16 July 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average occupancy rate was of secure accommodation units in (a) 2006 and (b) 2007.
Answer
The average occupancy rate of the secure accommodation estate was 89 per cent in the year 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006 and 90 per cent in the year 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2007.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 26 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 16 July 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive how many children were sent to England in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08 to be securely accommodated and receive appropriate services.
Answer
The information requested is not held centrally.
The placing of children and young people to secure accommodation through the Children’s Hearing system is a matter for the local authority concerned. Only in exceptional circumstances would a young person be placed in secure accommodation in England. Scottish ministers’ powers to place sentenced children in secure accommodation apply only to Scotland.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 26 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 16 July 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in light of its decisions to end the temporary and emergency incarceration of children in prisons, what additional funds it has made available to local authorities to meet the expected £9 million new costs to place these children in secure places other than prison.
Answer
Following the announcement by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice of his intention to abolish unruly certificates, the Scottish Government is currently consulting on the potential impact of this, and on alternative methods of dealing with this small, but challenging, group of young people. Financial implications will be considered as part of the response to this consultation.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 16 July 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what funds have been provided to each area data sharing partnership (a) in 2006-07, (b) in 2007-08 and (c) will be provided in 2008-09.
Answer
The funding allocations to support area data sharing partnerships is set out in the following table:
| Partnership | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 (Proposed) | Total |
| Ayrshire and Arran | £59,210 | £150,000 | £50,000 | £259,210 |
| Borders | £125,000 | £142,550 | £50,000 | £317,550 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | £124,000 | £150,000 | £50,000 | £324,000 |
| Fife | £112,500 | £150,000 | £50,000 | £312,000 |
| Forth Valley | £141,000 | £143,373 | £50,000 | £334,373 |
| Greater Glasgow and Clyde | £150,000 | £290,000 | £100,000 | £540,000 |
| Highland | £147,750 | £143,708 | £50,000 | £341,458 |
| Lanarkshire | £150,000 | £150,000 | £50,000 | £350,000 |
| Lothian | £50,000 | £150,000 | £50,000 | £250,000 |
| Orkney | £145,200 | £150,000 | £50,000 | £345,200 |
| Grampian | £74,150 | £139,073 | £50,000 | £263,223 |
| Shetland | £96,800 | £150,000 | £50,000 | £296,800 |
| Tayside | £164,000 | £185,000 | £50,000 | £399,000 |
| Western Isles | £50,000 | £135,129 | £50,000 | £235,129 |
In 2006-07 and 2007-08 funding to support area data sharing partnerships was provided as part of the ring-fenced Efficient Government Fund. From 2008-09, a small residual sum for area data sharing partnerships to fund the post of a data sharing manager, will continue to be paid out as specific grant, and the remaining funding along with the rest of the Efficient Government Fund has been rolled up in the general block grant allocations to local authorities.
This change in the funding arrangements for 2008-09 is part of the package of measures that accompany the concordat and the greater financial freedoms resulting from the new partnership between the Scottish Government and local government.
The vast majority of the funding allocated by the Scottish Government to local government from 2008-09 will be provided by means of a block grant. This means an end to micro-management and recognition that it is the responsibility of each local authority to allocate the resources available to it on the basis of local needs and priorities having first fulfilled its statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local outcomes including the Scottish Government’s key strategic objectives and other priority commitments.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 15 July 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it has issued to NHS boards to ensure equity and efficiency of primary care and community provision for primary care practices with patients resident in more than one board area and particularly, but not exclusively, with respect to (a) nursing care, (b) equipment and (c) transport to day hospital, where the nearest or most appropriate provision is not in the area covered by the board where the patient is resident.
Answer
No specific guidance has been issued to NHS boards. In general, NHS boards will operate local arrangements to deal with cross-boundary cases on a pragmatic basis to ensure referrals for nursing and other care are appropriately managed.
