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-11122

Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 November 2000
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 5 March 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to eliminate any duplication in work between the Health Technology Board for Scotland and the Drugs and Therapeutics Committees of health boards.

The Chief Medical Officer has had discussions with Professor David Lawson, Vice-President of the Royal College of Physicians in Edinburgh and a leading figure in UK therapeutics, to ask him to take forward work to promote consistency of advice across Scotland's network of Area Drug and Therapeutics Committees (ADTCs).

The work of ADTCs includes providing an evaluation of all new medicines at the point of marketing. This does not conflict with the work of HTBS. The HTBS's remit is to perform high quality health technology assessments. These will normally require accrual of extra evidence particularly in relation to resource usage. So, if deemed appropriate, the HTBS can build on the consortium evaluation at a later stage.

The Health Technology Board for Scotland (HTBS) and ADTCs have a mutual interest in developing strategies for the evaluation of medicines and so HTBS assists and supports the work of the ADTCs. There has been close and regular dialogue between the board and the ADTCs to ensure that information and expertise is shared and work is not duplicated. Indeed, the HTBS Chairman and Director regularly attended meetings with representatives of the ADTCs. The board have also had discussions with Professor Lawson about his work and have offered secretarial and other support.The ADTCs will also provide advice to HTBS about choice of topics, consequences of introducing a technology to NHSScotland and promote local ownership. The HTBS can provide expert methodological advice to the ADTCs and broader advice about international developments. Their relationship is thus seen as complementary and not conflicting.

Question reference: S1W-11124

Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 November 2000
Current Status: Answered by Jackie Baillie on 22 February 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-9789 by Ms Wendy Alexander on 4 October 2000, when it will publish the findings and recommendations of the review of the Tolerable Standard.

The result of the review of the Tolerable Standard was announced in December. The Standard is to be amended to include all the standard amenities as currently set out in the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 but will otherwise remain unchanged. The Executive has also announced publication of a consultation paper on a new measurement of house condition: the Index of Housing Quality. Responses to that paper have been asked for by 30 April.

Question reference: S1W-10461

Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 16 October 2000
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 22 February 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to provide training for epilepsy specialist nurses.

Question reference: S1W-12656

Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 19 January 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 21 February 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions there were in each of the last five years on charges of culpable homicide arising from road traffic deaths.

Question reference: S1W-12657

Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 19 January 2001
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 21 February 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions arising from road traffic deaths there were in the High Court of Justiciary in each of the last five years.

The information requested cannot be separately identified from the data collected centrally. The table contains the available information on prosecutions, which by legal definition, involved fatal road accidents.

Persons proceeded against in the High Court where the main crime was causing death by dangerous driving or by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs, 1995-1999

Crime	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999
Causing death by dangerous driving ⁽¹⁾	1	2	3	1	1
Causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs ⁽²⁾	-	-	-	-	-

(1) Section 1 of the Road Traffic Act 1988(2) Section 3A of the Road Traffic Act 1988

Question reference: S1W-12928

Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 January 2001
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 13 February 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to monitor the effects on staffing levels of a reduction in junior doctors' hours.

Question reference: S1W-12927

Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 January 2001
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 13 February 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are minimum standards of staffing levels in place for hospital trusts.

Minimum levels of staffing for NHS Trusts in Scotland are not prescribed centrally. It is a matter for health boards and trusts to assess and provide for local needs and to determine the staffing levels required for effective service delivery. National recommendations on staffing levels would cut across these responsibilities and would undermine boards' and trusts' ability to provide a modern, flexible service matched to local needs. Boards' and trusts' performance is judged on the services they provide and their effect on health, which will be addressed by a new performance management framework as indicated in Our National Health; a plan for action; a plan for change.

Question reference: S1W-12912

Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 January 2001
Current Status: Answered by Wendy Alexander on 13 February 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive how many Scottish residents applied to (a) Strathclyde University, (b) Glasgow University and (c) Glasgow Caledonian University in each of the last three academic years.

Question reference: S1W-12778

Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 January 2001
Current Status: Answered by Allan Wilson on 7 February 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will support the work of the Scottish Working People's History Trust.

Question reference: S1W-09707

Asked by: Robert Brown, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 September 2000
Current Status: Answered by Angus MacKay on 5 February 2001

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ensure that the consultations section of its website is kept updated to feature details of all consultation exercises being undertaken by it, including any second and subsequent consultations which are not included in the section at present.