Chamber and committees

The Energy Savings Trust publish information from the Home Energy Efficiency Database (HEED) using a standard report system on their website. There is no record held centrally of who accesses this data and for what purpose.

The Surveys Branch within the Communities Analytical Services Division also holds a copy of the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) dataset for existing buildings.

The dataset was obtained for two purposes:

to quality assure the Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS) Data, and

to provide case-level weights which could be used to gross up the EPC dwelling data to counter bias in the EPC distribution to provide a national picture of the energy efficiency of the Scottish Housing stock. It is hoped to do this annually to derive a time series of energy efficiency trends - with a longitudinal element to determine rates of improvements by specific dwelling types.

The surveys branch has also made some use of HEED data when comparing the SHCS estimated level of installations in an area with the level of HEED recorded installations. As the SHCS data is from a survey, the HEED data may on occasion record rare energy characteristics which were not picked up by the SHCS.

The two sources complement each other as the SHCS seeks to provide a statistically representative picture and the HEED data is more indicative of the level of activity in an area.

This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court Service (SCS) corporate body. The questions has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCS who will reply in writing.

Generally, no. However, there could be disadvantages if a register was adopted which was not robust and cost-effective, particularly in demanding financial circumstances.

A register could be useful in the delivery of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive 2010/31/EU recast. A public consultation on implementation of this European legislation will be issued in the first half of 2011.

There is no legislation that specifically requires a register for non-domestic energy performance certificates. However, officials are currently exploring the options for a register.

No, but officials will explore this as an option.

Assessment of the approximate carbon emissions and energy consumption of non-domestic buildings is undertaken using the National Calculation Methodology (NCM) which ensures that such assessments comply with European Directive 2002/91/EC Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD).

The gross ingredient cost of acamprosate calcium (Campral EC) and disulfiram (Antabuse) used in the treatment of alcohol dependence in NHS Lothian is given in the following table. The costs shown relate to items dispensed by community pharmacists and dispensing doctors and exclude the cost of drugs dispensed to patients from hospitals or hospital-based clinics. (Gross ingredient cost is the cost of an item before any discounts are applied. It excludes adjustments and broken bulk fees.)

Financial Year	Gross Ingredient Cost (£)
2007-08	136,288
2008-09	142,880
2009-10	136,661
Total	415,829

 

Benzodiazepines can also be used to treat withdrawal symptoms of alcohol dependence. These products can be used to treat a variety of other conditions and it is not possible to identify from prescribing data collected centrally the reason why a particular product has been prescribed.

The reduction in the gross ingredient cost between 2008-09 and 2009-10 is due to a price change for acamprosate calcium.

The information in the table has been provided by NHS National Services Scotland.

It is not possible from centrally held information to identify how many people have been treated for (a) drug and (b) alcohol addiction.

From the Scottish Drug Misuse Database (SDMD) it is possible to provide information on the number of people receiving an initial assessment of their drug misuse care needs before entering treatment at drugs services. Table 1 shows the number of patients/clients receiving an initial assessment of their drug misuse care needs by NHS board of treatment in 2007-08 and 2008-09, the latest year for which information is currently available.

Table 1: New Individual Patients/ Clients¹ Reported to the Scottish Drugs Misuse Database by NHS Board of Treatment²: 2007-08 and 2008-09^3,4

	2007-08R	2008-09R
Scotland	12,780	11,955
Ayrshire and Arran	953	1,098
Borders	257	294
Dumfries and Galloway	204	205
Fife	1,845	888
Forth Valley	530	563
Grampian	1,058	941
Greater Glasgow and Clyde	3,101	3,176
Highland	507	315
Lanarkshire	872	823
Lothian	2,141	2,280
Orkney	*	*
Shetland	42	45
Tayside	1,299	1,373
Western Isles	27	23
Unknown	*	*

^RRevised.

Source: ISD Scotland (SMR25 Interim Database).

Notes:

1. New patient/ client is any person who, at the time of presenting, is not currently in contact with a service that provides specialist assessment of a client''s drug misuse care needs.

2. Individuals are included once within each NHS board area but may appear in the figures for more than one health board. Therefore the sum of local area data may not equal the Scotland figure.

3. From April 2006 the new SMR25a form was introduced. Changes to the data collection mean that figures are not directly comparable with those published from the SMR24 form i.e. prior to April 2006.

4. General practitioner data has not been included in this analysis.

*Indicates values that have been suppressed due to the potential risk of disclosure.

ISD does not hold data on the number of people entering alcohol services for treatment. The Scottish Alcohol Needs Assessment research report published in August 2009 estimated that, across Scotland in 2006-07, approximately 17,000 people accessed alcohol treatment services. From acute hospital discharges it is possible to provide the number of people discharged from general acute hospitals with a diagnosis of alcohol dependence. Table 2 shows the numbers of patients discharged from general acute hospitals with a diagnosis of alcohol dependence by NHS board of treatment in 2007-08 and 2008-09, the latest year for which information is currently available.

Table 2: General Acute Hospital¹ Inpatients with a Diagnosis of Alcohol Dependence^2,3 by NHS Health Board of Treatment^4,5: 2007-08 and 2008-09.

	2007-08	2008-09
Scotland	3,665	3,790
Ayrshire and Arran	272	231
Borders	50	35
Dumfries and Galloway	60	62
Fife	162	169
Forth Valley	183	252
Grampian	382	514
Greater Glasgow and Clyde	993	949
Highland	289	341
Lanarkshire	157	187
Lothian	674	646
Orkney	55	48
Shetland	14	11
Tayside	249	245
Western Isles	130	106
National Facility	16	13

Source: ISD Scotland (SMR01)

1. Excludes mental illness hospitals, psychiatric units and maternity hospitals.

2. Caution is necessary when interpreting these figures. The recording of alcohol dependence may vary from hospital to hospital. Where alcohol dependence is suspected but unconfirmed it may not be recorded by the hospital.

3. Diseases recorded using the World Health Organization''s International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision (ICD10). Alcohol dependence: F10.2. Up to six diagnoses are recorded. All six diagnoses have been used to identify alcohol dependence.

4. Figures in the table only relate to those individuals who are treated as inpatients or day cases. They do not include individuals managed as outpatients or individuals attending accident and emergency who are not subsequently admitted.

5. Individuals are included once within each NHS board area but may appear in the figures for more than one health board. Therefore the sum of local area data may not equal the Scotland figure.

I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

As of 22 September 2010 there were 23 prisoners within HMP Edinburgh with an offence of Offensive Weapon.