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-21913

Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 December 2005
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 18 January 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what the allocation and distribution of NHS budgets has been in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

Details are as follows:

NHS Board	Actual Allocation 1999-2000 £m	Actual Allocation 2000-01 £m	Actual Allocation 2001-02 £m	Actual Allocation 2002-03 £m	Actual Allocation 2003-04 £m	Actual Allocation 2004-05 £m	Actual Allocation 2005-06 £m
Argyll and Clyde	399.945	429.153	454.343	476.764	509.567	571.174	610.630
Ayrshire and Arran	340.764	367.498	386.696	412.956	446.036	508.342	540.772
Borders	101.248	106.946	111.389	117.690	127.071	145.324	155.803
Dumfries and Galloway	148.004	153.781	162.489	173.251	185.178	209.764	225.833
Fife	297.928	320.117	334.372	353.873	382.916	435.686	469.016
Forth Valley	243.711	264.599	276.361	294.722	312.759	348.077	373.948
Grampian	455.518	488.023	502.968	539.080	576.841	626.984	663.707
Greater Glasgow	910.908	972.687	1,034.981	1,118.237	1,176.202	1,307.122	1,382.724
Highland	197.843	213.226	231.063	246.927	266.721	307.357	330.381
Lanarkshire	477.668	513.363	554.346	574.003	624.011	696.493	746.439
Lothian	681.295	729.672	771.940	775.075	886.270	943.836	998.246
Orkney	21.427	22.375	24.498	25.696	27.033	30.796	32.072
Shetland	24.782	26.636	28.239	30.974	33.308	35.736	37.106
Tayside	396.642	425.536	459.060	473.887	496.043	551.146	583.870
Western Isles	36.903	39.791	43.869	46.515	50.265	54.528	57.707

Question reference: S2W-21698

Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 December 2005
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 17 January 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-12071 by Rhona Brankin on 24 December 2005 and in light of the conference on autism held in Aviemore in November 2005, how many (a) parents of autistic children and (b) delegates in total attended the conference.

Question reference: S2W-21675

Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 December 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 17 January 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will take separate legal advice with regard to the abolition of Rule 85 of the local government pension scheme, in light of conflicting legal advice reported by the UK Government, COSLA and UNISON.

The Scottish Executive consulted on proposals for the amendment of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) in Scotland in September 2004. The proposals were intended to deal with the sustainability and affordability of the scheme as part of the on-going development of the LGPS and also to ensure that the scheme complied with EC Employment Directive 2000/78/EC, which establishes a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation.

The Rule of 85 allows members of the LGPS to access full pension if they leave employment at age 60 or more but before the scheme’s normal retirement age of 65, if their age and length of service (including any period since leaving local government employment) total at least 85.

The Minister for Local Government in England and Wales announced, on 2 December 2005, that the UK Government had concluded that the Rule of 85 is to be removed from 1 October 2006 by amendments to the scheme regulations in England and Wales. The announcement stated that this was necessary in order to implement the terms of the EC Directive.

The Scottish Executive has given careful consideration to the legal opinion presented by COSLA on the question of the removal of the Rule of 85 from the Local Government Pension Scheme in Scotland and also that presented to the UK Government by UNISON. The Executive has concluded that retaining the rule would be incompatible with the Directive on age discrimination and that therefore it will require to be removed from the Local Government Pension Scheme with effect from October this year, in accordance with the UK Government’s timetable for implementing the Directive.

The Executive therefore intends that the Rule of 85 will be removed with effect from 1 October 2006 by amending the Local Government Pension Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 1998 in order to ensure compliance with the EC Directive and help maintain the sustainability and affordability of the Scottish scheme. Where it can be objectively justified consideration will be given to providing transitional protection to those existing scheme members who might have qualified to receive an unreduced early pension under the rule if it was not removed, and who may not have sufficient time to make alternative savings plans for their retirement. As was set out in the Executive’s consultation paper in September 2004, it is proposed that protection be provided to those existing scheme members who would satisfy the current Rule of 85 and attain age 60 by 31 March 2013. However, during the period of consultation the Executive will wish to discuss such proposals further with representatives of the local employers and unions representing LGPS members.

The Executive will prepare draft Regulations to implement the removal of the rule and publish these for consultation shortly.

Question reference: S2W-21699

Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 December 2005
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 17 January 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-12071 by Rhona Brankin on 24 December 2004 and in light of the conference on autism held in Aviemore in November 2005, what the total cost to the taxpayer was of the conference and how many delegates were in receipt of complimentary (a) travel and (b) overnight accommodation.

Question reference: S2W-21697

Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 December 2005
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 17 January 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-12071 by Rhona Brankin on 24 December 2004 and in light of the conference on autism held in Aviemore in November 2005, what the full range of medical interventions considered for people on the autistic spectrum was and how many of these medical interventions will now be recommended for people on the autistic spectrum as a result of the conference.

This conference, organised by the Scottish Health Service Centre Management Centre on behalf of the Scottish Executive, is part of the implementation of the recommendations in the Public Health Institute of Scotland report on the needs of those with autism spectrum disorders. This report, commissioned by Scottish ministers, highlighted the need to disseminate research findings to health and social care professionals so that they could consider and apply these in their own localities where they thought it appropriate to do so.

The Scottish Executive ASD Reference Group set up a conference planning group of experts in the field to plan the day. The programme included psycho-social interventions and the development of cognitive behaviour therapy; dietary interventions; pharmacological treatments; genetic counselling; improved assessment and diagnosis, and the individualised treatment of medical disorders often associated with autism.

Question reference: S2W-21700

Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 December 2005
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 17 January 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-12071 by Rhona Brankin on 24 December 2004 and in light of the conference on autism held in Aviemore in November 2005, how many (a) gastroenterologists and (b) immunologists were invited to speak at and/or attend the conference.

Invitations to the conference were distributed widely to health professionals; 97 of the delegates were from health professions. It is not possible to give a precise breakdown of the specialisms of those professionals who were invited to attend. Whilst a prominent immunologist was invited to speak, he had to withdraw at the last minute. However, a full conference report will be issued which will include sources of information on immunology to address this gap.

Question reference: S2W-21689

Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 December 2005
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 16 January 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how a patient can contact the Scottish Health Council.

Question reference: S2W-21701

Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 December 2005
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 16 January 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of recently published research by the University of Reading showing that children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder have a higher incidence of the Clostridium histolyticum group (Clostridium clusters I and II) of bacteria than healthy children, what steps it will take to ensure comprehensive bowel examination of all autistic children whose parents request it to establish the extent of their gastroenterological problems and which dietary modulations will now be made accessible to parents to improve the gut microflora profile of autistic children.

Question reference: S2W-21690

Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 December 2005
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 16 January 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in implementing the measures in respect of Patient Focus and Public Involvement and the establishment of the new structures and protocols for the Scottish Health Council.

NHS boards are required to have in place a local sustainable framework and action plan for the delivery of their Patient Focus and Public Involvement (PFPI) responsibilities. The Scottish Health Council is now responsible for quality assuring NHS boards’ delivery of these responsibilities.

Building a Better Scotland specifically requires NHS boards to show year-on-year improvement in their delivery of PFPI as assessed by the Scottish Health Council. These assessments will inform the NHS board annual review process.

Question reference: S2W-21695

Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 December 2005
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 11 January 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will take advice from bodies and individuals, such as trade unions and academics, in respect of the matters discussed at the conference on NHS Scotland and the independent healthcare sector, held on Monday 3 October 2005 at the Beardmore Hotel.