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: S2W-04186

Asked by: Stewart Maxwell, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 November 2003
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 2 December 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2O-614 by Malcolm Chisholm on 9 October 2003, how many new-born babies have been cared for in intensive care units in each year since 1996-97, broken down by NHS board area.

The specific informationrequested is not held centrally.

The following table showsthe number of discharges from neonatal units in Scotland, for years ended31March 1997 to 2002 by NHS board area. A neonatal unit is a facility whichprovides neonatal special care (Special Care Baby Unit) and/or neonatalintensive care for sick babies. It is not possible to separate the informationinto care types i.e. intensive or special care.

Numberof Babies Discharged from Neonatal Units¹ by NHS Board of Residence²and Financial Year

NHS Board of Residence	Financial Year
	1996-97	1997-98	1998-99	1999-2000	2000-01	2001-02^P
Argyll and Clyde	943	968	832	842	763	743
Ayrshire and Arran	534	508	548	489	467	429
Borders	262	218	225	250	217	156
Dumfries and Galloway	263	309	277	295	288	218
Fife	463	433	460	452	422	426
Forth Valley	408	513	485	497	445	454
Grampian	786	847	851	938	811	809
Greater Glasgow	1,972	1,693	1,588	1,501	1,548	1,236
Highland	250	276	275	301	287	258
Lanarkshire	1,377	1,209	1,364	1,331	1,171	956
Lothian	905	736	696	785	865	867
Tayside	509	545	493	424	392	407
Island³	49	56	62	65	52	53
Total	8,721	8,311	8,156	8,170	7,728	7,012

Source:SMR11.

Ref:S2W-4186.

Question reference: S2W-04188

Asked by: Stewart Maxwell, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 November 2003
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 2 December 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive how many days of (a) type 1 maximal and (b) type 2 high dependency intensive nursing care have been provided in each NHS board area in each year since 1996-97.

Question reference: S2W-04187

Asked by: Stewart Maxwell, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 November 2003
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 2 December 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2O-614 by Malcolm Chisholm on 9 October 2003, what the average length of stay has been in an intensive care neonatal unit in each year since 1996-97, broken down by NHS board area and reason for admission.

Question reference: S2W-04181

Asked by: Stewart Maxwell, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 November 2003
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 1 December 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions an infant has been transferred due to the unavailability of a free intensive care cot in the appropriate NHS board area in each year since 1996-97, broken down by board.

Question reference: S2W-04180

Asked by: Stewart Maxwell, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 November 2003
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 1 December 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average occupancy rate of intensive care cots has been in each NHS board area in each year since 1996-97.

The specific informationrequested is not held centrally.

Dataare collected centrally on beds and activity for neonatal units. A neonatalunit is a facility which provides neonatal special care and/or neonatalintensive care for sick babies. It is not possible to separate the information intocare types i.e. intensive or special care. The following table shows theaverage occupancy rate of cots in neonatal units for years ended 31st March 1997 to2002 by NHS board area.

Percentage Bed Occupancy in NeonatalUnits by NHS Board and Financial Year

NHS Board	1996-97	1997-98	1998-99	1999-2000	2000-01	2001-02
Scotland	58.2	58.1	55.7	56.6	56.4	56.6
Ayrshire and Arran	54.1	55.1	48.8	47.4	59.2	57.1
Borders	-	-	-	-	42.2	36.5
Argyll and Clyde	54.8	58.9	64.1	68.2	64.9	65.4
Fife	58.1	52.0	51.1	53.6	55.2	48.2
Glasgow	65.3	65.5	65.6	70.3	65.2	63.2
Highland	46.3	48.8	45.6	48.2	47.1	45.9
Lanarkshire	41.1	42.0	41.1	35.3	37.7	44.1
Grampian	69.2	65.3	60.5	68.7	65.3	63.5
Lothian	72.0	63.3	64.1	65.7	59.6	54.5
Tayside	52.1	50.1	44.7	39.2	58.5	73.1
Forth Valley	44.8	42.2	33.4	38.7	42.0	40.8
Dumfries and Galloway	40.6	37.4	36.2	43.5	39.3	40.0

Source: ISD Scotland (FormISD(S)1).

Question reference: S2W-04177

Asked by: Stewart Maxwell, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 November 2003
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 1 December 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost has been of keeping an unoccupied place in a neonatal intensive care unit available in each NHS board area in each year since 1996-97.

The specific information requestedis not held centrally.

A neonatal unit is a facilitywhich provides neonatal special care and/or neonatal intensive care for sickbabies. It is not possible to separate the information into care types i.e.intensive and special care.

Howeverit is possible to calculate the average running cost of a neonatal cot for ayear. The following table shows the average cost of a cot in a neonatal unitfor years ended 31st March 1997 to 2003. This expenditure includes all direct andallocated costs.

AverageRunning Cost of a Cot in a Neonatal Unit in Scotland: by Financial Year

Year	Cost
1996-97	£80,468
1997-98	£85,061
1998-99	£85,581
1999-2000	£91,208
2000-01	£96,450
2001-02	£104,476
2002-03	£113,773

Source:Scottish Health Service Costs.

Question reference: S2O-00614

Asked by: Stewart Maxwell, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 October 2003
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 9 October 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive how many newborn babies are nursed, on average, in intensive care neonatal units each year, how long the average length of stay is in such units and how much it costs per day to treat a baby in such units.

Thefollowing table shows the number of babies discharged from neonatal units in Scotland, theaverage length of stay and the average cost per day to treat a baby in such a unit.

Discharges¹,Average Length of Stay² and Expenditure^3,4 in SCBU: 1996-97to 2001-02

Year	Discharges	Average Stay (Days)	Cost Per Occupied Bed (£)
1996-97	8,752	9.5	381
1997-98	8,345	10.2	414
1998-99	8,186	9.7	419
1999-2000	8,193	9.9	437
2000-01	7,753	10.2	451
2001-02	7,051	9.8	474

Source: SMR11 and ScottishHealth Service Costs.

Notes:

1. Babies discharged from neonatalunits.

2. Total length of stay dividedby the number of babies discharged from neonatal units.

3. Inflation has not been takeninto account.

4. Costs are net of Income Otherbut include income from the Additional Cost of Teaching (ACT).

Question reference: S2O-00414

Asked by: Stewart Maxwell, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 September 2003
Current Status: Answered by Peter Peacock on 18 September 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to reverse the decline in the number of secondary school pupils taking maths and science-based subjects.

It is for education authoritiesand schools to decide on the course options they provide. There areopportunities within the five to 14 curriculum for all pupils to take maths andscience-based subjects. The availability of national qualifications in mathsand science-based subjects enables students of all abilities to work towardschallenging but achievable qualifications. The number of entries for NationalQualifications in maths has risen since 1999, although there has been a slightdecline in some science-based National Qualification subjects.

The Scottish Executive is, however, implementing a range of measures to encourage young peopleto take up school science courses. In line with the Science Strategy, educationauthorities have been allocated an additional £10 million over three years.This new funding will enable teachers to undertake high-quality professionalupdating in science and provide additional equipment and other resources toschools. The Scottish Executive is also undertaking a series of measures to improvenumeracy including issuing to all education authorities and schools NationalStatements on Improving Attainment in Literacy and Numeracy.

Question reference: S2W-01424

Asked by: Stewart Maxwell, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 July 2003
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 31 July 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive it has any plans to ban smoking in public places.

The Scottish Executive has not ruled out introducing legislation to restrict smoking in public places if the Scottish Voluntary Charter on Smoking in Public Places fails to deliver a substantial increase in smoke-free facilities. Action on Smoking and Health (Scotland) and Health Scotland have commissioned an independent survey on behalf of the Scottish Executive on the uptake of the Voluntary Charter across Scotland. The Executive will undertake a detailed review of the Charter when the report becomes available in the next few weeks.

Question reference: S2W-01427

Asked by: Stewart Maxwell, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 July 2003
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 31 July 2003

To ask the Scottish Executive what impact passive smoking has on children.