Questions and answers

Chamber and committees

Question reference: S2W-17872

Question reference: S2W-17832

Question reference: S2W-17833

Question reference: S2W-17885

Question reference: S2W-17664

Question reference: S2W-18130

Question reference: S2W-17660

Question reference: S2W-17809

Question reference: S2W-17808

Question reference: S2W-17806

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 July 2005
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 4 August 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of MRSA there were in each hospital in each of the last five years for which statistics are available.

A national mandatoryhealthcare associated infection surveillance system was introduced in 2001 tomonitor MRSA bacteraemias (blood infections). The surveillance is operated byHealth Protection Scotland (HPS) and it produces quarterly reports about theincidence (per thousand bed days) of blood borne MRSA. In the current HPSlaboratory reporting system, rates are based on data from reporting laboratoriesand not for individual hospitals: one laboratory may therefore be reportinginformation for several hospitals.

From January 2005 a newsystem for reporting was introduced in Scotland and this has resulted in more accurate and completereporting of MRSA bacteraemias. Overallthe Scottish picture remains one of stability, with no significant increase inMRSA.

Data on the above areavailable at:

http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/scieh/infectious/hai/MRSA_Scot.htm

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 July 2005
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 4 August 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many families were housed in temporary accommodation in each local authority (a) in 1997 and (b) on the last date for which figures are available.

Temporary accommodation provided under Section 29 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 is that which is used by local authorities when carrying out their duty to provide accommodation to people who apply as homeless while their applications are being assessed, until a final decision has been made on their application. This duty to provide accommodation continues during the process of review if one is requested. Where the authority’s decision is that it has a duty to provide permanent accommodation, the duty to provide temporary accommodation continues until the duty to provide permanent accommodation is discharged.

Temporary accommodation may also be provided under section 31 of the 1987 Act, where a household with children is assessed as being intentionally homeless. In these cases temporary accommodation must be provided for a period which gives he household a reasonable opportunity to secure their own accommodation.

The Scottish Executive collects snapshot summary data on the number of households placed in temporary accommodation by local authorities under the Homeless Persons’ legislation as at the end of each quarter. Data on households with dependent children have only been collected as part of this time series since March 2001 and are available on-line in the publications section of the housing statistics branch reference website

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/housing/hsbref.

The Scottish Executive also collects case-based homelessness data and, as part of this collection, councils are asked to indicate whether the applicant household was placed in temporary accommodation in the course of the application process. Data on housing outcomes, which may consist of temporary accommodation, are also collected. These data are currently available to September 2004, figures up to March 2005 will be published at the end of October 2005. Data shown below are for the most recent calendar year available (2003).

Table 1 shows the numbers of homelessness applications from households with dependent children reported as having been placed in temporary accommodation in the course of the application process for 1997 and 2003.

Table 2 shows the numbers of homelessness applications from households with dependent children reported as having been offered and taken up temporary accommodation as a final outcome for 1997 and 2003.

Table 1: Homelessness applications from households with dependent children and use of temporary accommodation in the course of application: 1997 and 2003

	1997		2003
	Households with children applying as homeless	Temporary accommodation used	Households with children applying as homeless	Temporary accommodation used
Scotland	14,500	4,900	14,935	3,502
Aberdeen City	470	30	306	31
Aberdeenshire	490	210	449	136
Angus	420	60	438	37
Argyll and Bute	220	40	209	81
Clackmannanshire	230	50	337	43
Dumfries and Galloway	450	170	416	140
Dundee City	490	250	422	3
East Ayrshire	280	120	282	77
East Dunbartonshire	260	90	228	19
East Lothian	420	110	310	62
East Renfrewshire	150	30	123	19
Edinburgh (City of)	1,520	340	1,107	322
Eilean Siar	50	20	58	7
Falkirk	..	..	..	..
Fife	1,070	340	1,182	314
Glasgow City	2,540	1,180	2,864	610
Highland	550	140	558	167
Inverclyde	140	60	196	29
Midlothian	140	40	200	5
Moray	150	20	213	36
North Ayrshire	350	130	474	144
North Lanarkshire	710	260	1,017	475
Orkney	50	30	51	15
Perth and Kinross	330	50	504	45
Renfrewshire	340	210	490	170
Scottish Borders	230	100	257	24
Shetland	60	40	40	14
South Ayrshire	250	190	254	90
South Lanarkshire	810	200	831	159
Stirling	320	180	219	80
West Dunbartonshire	400	70	376	78
West Lothian	430	130	524	70

Source: HL1 returns from local authorities to Scottish Executive Development Department Analytical Services Division (Housing Statistics).

Notes:

1. Figures are based on applications during the period, and time spent in temporary accommodation may therefore occur outwith the reference period.

2. Data prior to 2002 have been estimated due to missing returns. Figures for 1997 are rounded to the nearest 100 for Scotland level data, and to the nearest 10 for local authority level data. Therefore the Scotland total may differ slightly from the sum of the local authority estimates.

3. Due to technical reasons, data on use of temporary accommodation are missing in approximately 0.5% of cases for 2003.

4. Due to technical reasons, 2003 data for West Lothian are for January-September only. Most recent data for Falkirk have been corrupted and Falkirk is therefore omitted from these analyses.

5. The following symbols are used in the tables

- nil

* less than 0.5%

.. missing.

Table 2: Temporary accommodation for households with dependent children secured by local authority as final action: 1997 and 2003

	1997		2003
	Households with children applying as homeless	Accepting offer of temporary accommodation	Households with children applying as homeless	Accepting offer of temporary accommodation
Scotland	14,500	700	14,935	387
Aberdeen City	470	20	306	1
Aberdeenshire	490	-	449	58
Angus	420	-	438	-
Argyll and Bute	220	-	209	14
Clackmannanshire	230	-	337	2
Dumfries and Galloway	450	-	416	19
Dundee City	490	10	422	-
East Ayrshire	280	30	282	12
East Dunbartonshire	260	-	228	-
East Lothian	420	-	310	16
East Renfrewshire	150	-	123	11
Edinburgh (City of)	1,520	-	1,107	4
Eilean Siar	50	-	58	1
Falkirk	..	..	..	..
Fife	1,070	10	1,182	56
Glasgow City	2,540	90	2,864	45
Highland	550	40	558	47
Inverclyde	140	-	196	2
Midlothian	140	70	200	6
Moray	150	-	213	1
North Ayrshire	350	-	474	2
North Lanarkshire	710	20	1,017	15
Orkney	50	-	51	9
Perth & Kinross	330	20	504	-
Renfrewshire	340	-	490	5
Scottish Borders	230	-	257	-
Shetland	60	-	40	2
South Ayrshire	250	70	254	4
South Lanarkshire	810	170	831	2
Stirling	320	10	219	16
West Dunbartonshire	400	-	376	4
West Lothian	430	110	524	33

Source: HL1 returns from local authorities to Scottish Executive Development Department Analytical Services Division (Housing Statistics).

Notes:

1. Figures are based on applications during the period, and time spent in temporary accommodation may therefore occur outwith the reference period.

2. Data prior to 2002 are estimates due to missing returns. Figures for 1997 are rounded to the nearest 100 for Scotland level data, and to the nearest 10 for local authority level data. Therefore the Scotland total may differ slightly from the sum of the local authority estimates.

3. Data on final action by local authorities are missing in approximately 20% of cases for 1997 and 10% of cases for 2003.

4. Due to technical reasons, 2003 data for West Lothian are for January-September only. Most recent data for Falkirk have been corrupted and Falkirk is therefore omitted from these analyses.

5. At present, interim outcomes are not recorded separately on the HL1 return, and it may be that in some cases temporary accommodation has been recorded as a final action when it is in fact an interim solution pending an offer of permanentaccommodation.

6. The following symbols are used in the tables

- nil

* less than 0.5%

.. missing.

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 July 2005
Current Status: Answered by Allan Wilson on 4 August 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many students from (a) China and (b) India took courses in (i) science and (ii) engineering at higher education institutions in Scotland at (1) undergraduate and (2) postgraduate level in each year from 1994 to 2004.

The tables below give the numbers of students domiciled in China and India attending courses at Scottish higher education institutions in the academic years 1994-95 to 2003-04.

(a) China

Students domiciled in China attending Scottish Higher Education Institutions (excluding those studying outside the UK) with main subject of study in listed subject areas 1994-95 to 2003-04

Year	Subject area	Postgraduate	Undergraduate
1994-95	Biological Sciences	10	0
	Physical Sciences	35	0
	Engineering and Technology	75	0
1995-96	Biological Sciences	15	0
	Physical Sciences	30	0
	Engineering and Technology	55	0
1996-97	Biological Sciences	20	0
	Physical Sciences	25	0
	Engineering and Technology	60	0
1997-98	Biological Sciences	20	0
	Physical Sciences	30	0
	Engineering and Technology	55	0
1998-99	Biological Sciences	20	0
	Physical Sciences	30	0
	Engineering and Technology	80	5
1999-00	Biological Sciences	20	5
	Physical Sciences	30	5
	Engineering and Technology	80	5
2000-01	Biological Sciences	15	15
	Physical Sciences	25	5
	Engineering and Technology	85	10
2001-02	Biological Sciences	25	20
	Physical Sciences	20	5
	Engineering and Technology	100	25

Year	Subject area	Postgraduate	Undergraduate
2002-03	Biological Sciences	45	25
	Physical Sciences	20	10
	Engineering and Technology	130	40
2003-04	Biological Sciences	55	40
	Physical Sciences	40	15
	Engineering and Technology	145	60

Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency

Note: All numbers are rounded up or down to the nearest 5.

(b) India

Students domiciled in India attending Scottish Higher Education Institutions (excluding those studying outside the UK) with main subject of study in listed subject areas 1994-95 to 2003-04

Year	Subject area	Postgraduate	Undergraduate
1994-95	Biological Sciences	10	0
	Physical Sciences	5	0
	Engineering and Technology	20	0
1995-96	Biological Sciences	5	0
	Physical Sciences	5	0
	Engineering and Technology	25	5
1996-97	Biological Sciences	5	0
	Physical Sciences	5	0
	Engineering and Technology	25	5
1997-98	Biological Sciences	5	0
	Physical Sciences	5	0
	Engineering and Technology	25	10
1998-99	Biological Sciences	10	0
	Physical Sciences	5	0
	Engineering and Technology	35	25
1999-00	Biological Sciences	5	0
	Physical Sciences	5	0
	Engineering and Technology	60	15
2000-01	Biological Sciences	15	0
	Physical Sciences	10	0
	Engineering and Technology	60	25
2001-02	Biological Sciences	25	5
	Physical Sciences	20	0
	Engineering and Technology	100	30
2002-03	Biological Sciences	55	5
	Physical Sciences	20	0
	Engineering and Technology	180	40
2003-04	Biological Sciences	120	5
	Physical Sciences	30	0
	Engineering and Technology	235	35

Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency

Note: All numbers are rounded up or down to the nearest 5.

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 July 2005
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 4 August 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive which drugs are blacklisted from NHS prescriptions; why each drug was blacklisted, and when each drug was blacklisted.

Over 3,300 products are blacklistedand these are now set out in Schedule 1 to the Directions as to the Drugs,Medicines or Other Substances which may, or may not, be Ordered for Patients inthe Provision of Primary Medical Services under a General Medical ServicesContract. A copy has been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib.number 37094).

Drugs are blacklisted takinginto account whether there are other products which meet clinical needs equallyeffectively or, for certain borderline substances such as foodstuffs andtoiletries, whether or not they have demonstrated a therapeutic value.

The blacklist wasestablished in 1985 and, except for 1996, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004 and 2005 thusfar, additions have been made in each year since.

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 June 2005
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 4 August 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of (a) gonorrhoea, (b) syphilis, (c) chlamydia and (b) thrush have been diagnosed in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board.

The information requested isshown in the following tables. Table 1 shows information on number of cases ofgonorrhoea, syphilis and chlamydia based on laboratory reports by NHS board oftesting in the last five years. Table 2 shows estimated number of contacts andincidence contacts for Candidal Vulvovagitis and other Urogenital Candiasis(thrush), based on Practice Team Information (PTI). This information is basedon a sample of General Practitioners which is not of sufficient size to allowfor a breakdown by NHS board.

Table 1

Laboratory Reports ofSelected Sexually Transmitted Infections by NHS Board¹, 2000-2004.

Genital chlamydia

NHS Board	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
Argyll and Clyde	375	522	832	1,011	1,134
Ayrshire and Arran	275	356	813	888	887
Borders	51	51	48	189	259
Dumfries and Galloway	282	328	408	386	502
Fife	512	524	858	1,002	1,199
Forth Valley	354	442	373	595	608
Grampian	1,160	1,235	1,348	1,427	1,800
Greater Glasgow	1,689	2,406	2,295	3,102	3,487
Highland	500	531	626	630	788
Lanarkshire	400	728	890	885	982
Lothian	1,206	2,432	2,742	2,971	3,016
Orkney	10	41	45	55	51
Shetland	8	24	33	41	50
Tayside	822	953	1,069	1,189	1,281
Western Isles	0	0	3	9	25
Unspecified	0	56	0	0	0
Scotland	7,644	10,629	12,383	14,380	16,069

Gonorrhoea

NHS Board	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
Argyll and Clyde	36	39	47	24	41
Ayrshire and Arran	10	21	31	16	10
Borders	0	0	7	1	5
Dumfries and Galloway	40	21	13	26	27
Fife	35	28	9	33	27
Forth Valley	41	33	18	31	30
Grampian	92	82	74	78	69
Greater Glasgow	266	264	239	247	309
Highland	33	43	33	13	36
Lanarkshire	45	46	31	31	27
Lothian	194	184	254	282	220
Orkney	1	0	0	2	0
Shetland	0	0	0	0	0
Tayside	51	55	64	35	44
Western Isles	0	0	0	1	0
Unspecified	0	0	0	0	0
Scotland	844	816	820	820	845

Infectious Syphilis

NHS Board	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
Argyll and Clyde	n/a	1	3	3	1
Ayrshire & Arran	n/a	0	1	0	0
Borders	n/a	0	0	0	0
Dumfries and Galloway	n/a	0	0	0	0
Fife	n/a	3	1	0	0
Forth Valley	n/a	1	0	0	2
Grampian	n/a	n/a	n/a	6	8
Greater Glasgow	n/a	8	24	39	78
Highland	n/a	0	0	0	0
Lanarkshire	n/a	0	0	4	7
Lothian	n/a	n/a	14	15	84
Orkney	n/a	0	0	0	0
Shetland	n/a	0	0	0	0
Tayside	n/a	0	0	3	6
Western Isles	n/a	0	0	0	0
Unspecified	n/a	0	0	2	0
Scotland		13	43	72	186

Notes:

1. NHS Board refers to theboard in which the patient was sampled for testing, rather than the NHS boardof residence.

Source: Health Protection Scotland –July 2005

Table 2

Candidal Vulvovagitis andOther Urogenital Candidiasis

Estimated Contacts¹,incidence and rates per 1000 population for Scotland^2,3; yearsending March 2000-2004

	Gender	Year Ending	Estimated contacts for Scotland⁴	Contact rate per 1000 population	Estimated number of incidence contacts for Scotland⁴	Incidence rate per 1000 population
GP Only¹	Male	March 2000	5,150	1.90	4,850	1.79
		March 2001	4,500	1.66	3,950	1.47
		March 2002	4,900	1.80	4,300	1.59
		March 2003	5,000	1.89	4,500	1.71
		March 2004	4,150	1.57	3,800	1.45
	Female	March 2000	32,150	11.44	28,450	10.13
		March 2001	26,050	9.30	23,550	8.42
		March 2002	23,800	8.51	21,450	7.66
		March 2003	21,550	7.96	19,350	7.15
		March 2004	19,300	7.15	17,550	6.51
Full PTI¹	Male	March 2004	4,250	1.62	3,900	1.49
	Female	March 2004	20,450	7.58	18,350	6.81

Source: Practice TeamInformation (PTI).

Ref: IR2005-01972.

Notes: Read codes used todefine this condition are AB21., AB22. and all read codes under these.

1. Prior to April 2003 datawere collected only from GPs (Continuous Morbidity Recording (CMR)). From 1 April 2003 Datacollection was extended to encompass patient contacts with practice nurses,district nurses and health visitors (Practice Team Information (PTI).

2. Based on 52, 60, 67, 64and 45 practices which collected and submitted GP-only data, years ending 2000to 2004 respectively.

3. Based on 45 practiceswhich collected and submitted PTI data (which includes information from GPs,practice nurses, district nurses and health visitors) for year ending March2004.

4. Figures have been roundedto the nearest 50.

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 July 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 4 August 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it will spend on indoor (a) bought and (b) hired plants in 2005-06.

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 June 2005
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 3 August 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many calls to NHS 24 regarding access to an NHS dentist there have been in (a) total and (b) each NHS board in each month since 2002, broken down into (i) emergency, (ii) urgent, (iii) routine and (iv) other calls.

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 July 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 3 August 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many public sector IT projects budgeted to cost over £1 million are currently in progress.

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 July 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 3 August 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many public sector IT projects costing over £1 million have been (a) completed within 10% of the original budget, (b) completed outwith 10% of the original budget and (c) abandoned in each year since 1999.

The Scottish Executive does not hold a central register of all public sector IT projects and therefore could only provide the information requested at disproportionate cost. This answer covers IT projects approved by the Scottish Executive Information Systems Steering Group.

Since 1999 eight IT projects costing over £1 million have been completed within 10% of the original budget; two completed outwith 10% of the original budget (both under-budget); and none abandoned.

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 July 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 3 August 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many public sector IT projects costing over £1 million have been started in each year since 1999.

The Scottish Executive does not hold a central repository of all public sector IT projects that have been started in each year since 1999 and the information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The following figures refer specifically to IT projects approved by the Scottish Executive Information Systems Steering Group.

There were 12 such projects started since 1999 as detailed.

IT Projects costing over £1 million started since 1999
Financial Year:	1999-00	2000-01	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05
Number:	2	1	2	3	3	1

IT Projects costing over £1 million completed within/without 10% of budget

(a) within 10%

(b) outwith 10%

(c) abandoned