Chamber and committees

The information requested is not held by the Scottish Government. Matters such as the appointment criteria for members of governing bodies fall within the governance responsibilities of each individual higher education institution.

The General Register for Scotland (GROS) collects information on the number of deaths which have occurred as a result of Clostridium difficile in Scotland on an annual basis, by NHS board and by hospital. The full information for 2007 has not yet been published by GROS. However, information from December 2007 to May 2008 was published in the Report on the Review of Clostridium Difficile Associated Disease Cases and Mortality, and can be found on the Health Protection Scotland (HPS) website.

Information for NHS Lothian, for the number of deaths recorded where clostridium difficile was the underlying cause from December 2007 to May 2008 is provided in the following table:

Number of Deaths Resulting from C-Diff in NHS Lothian Hospital

	Year
	December 2007 to May 2008
Astley Ainslie Hospital	-
Corstorphine Hospital	-
Ellen’s Glen House	-
Findlay House	-
Liberton Hospital	-
Royal Hospital for Sick Children	-
Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh	1
Royal Victoria Hospital, Edinburgh	-
St John’s Hospital	3
Western General Hospital	2
Total	6

Source: Report on Review of Clostridium Difficile Associated Disease Cases and Mortality (July 2008).

Mandatory surveillance on the total number of cases of clostridium difficile reported by NHS board was introduced in September 2006. This information is collected by Health Protection Scotland (HPS) and is published in quarterly reports on their website. This information is not be broken down by hospital. However, individual hospitals collect this information and it is available from the NHS board on request.

Information for NHS Lothian since October 2006 is provided in the following table;

Source: Health Protection Scotland (HPS).

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-15122 on 12 August 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search

All bonuses paid to staff in the Scottish Government are related to performance.

Information about bonuses relating to the most recent performance appraisal year ended 31 March 2008 is not yet available. 833 civil servants in the core Scottish Government received bonuses for their performance during the appraisal year ended 31 March 2007. The total cost of these bonuses was £1.814 million.

Special bonuses are also paid to staff who have made noteworthy contributions to the work of the Scottish Government. During the year ended 31 March 2008, 324 staff in the core Scottish Government received special bonuses totalling £0.124 million.

Within the Scottish Government main bargaining unit staff are paid on pay ranges appropriate to their job. These pay ranges have a minimum and maximum rate of pay and a number of intermediate pay steps. If staff are assessed as performing to an effective standard they progress through their pay range by one pay step each year. This arrangement applies to both women and men.

The Scottish Government does not have investments in companies in Zimbabwe, nor does it offer financial assistance to companies in Zimbabwe.

Public and other official appointments are not subject to an upper age limit, with the exception of appointments to the Parole Board. Schedule 2 of the Prisoners and Criminal Proceedings (Scotland) Act 1993 states that an appointment of a person as a member of the Parole Board shall not extend beyond the day when the person reaches the age of 75.

The Scottish Government staff handbook makes it clear that staff incurring car parking fines for parking illegally whilst on official business will not be reimbursed from official funds.

However there are occasions when circumstances arise which are beyond the control of officials and which prevent officials returning to parked vehicles in time to avoid incurring parking fines. Such occasions are very rare but do sometimes arise. An example would be where there is a meeting between a minister and the public, supported by an official, which overruns the scheduled time allocated.

Since May 2007, four occasions have arisen where the Scottish Government has reimbursed officials for car parking fines incurred, at a total cost of £110. A clear audit trail outlining the individual reasons for applying for reimbursement is held on file for audit inspection.

Information about parking fines is contained in the following table.

Year	Number of Parking Fines	Area	Total Costs Incurred
From May 2007	3	Edinburgh (2) and Glasgow	£80
2008 to date	1	Edinburgh	£30

 

The following is the original answer (published on 6 August 2008); see below

The Scottish Government staff handbook makes it clear that staff incurring car parking fines for parking illegally whilst on official business will not be reimbursed from official funds.

However there are occasions when circumstances arise which are beyond the control of officials and which prevent officials returning to parked vehicles in time to avoid incurring parking fines. Such occasions are very rare but do sometimes arise. An example would be where there is a meeting between a minister and the public, supported by an official, which overruns the scheduled time allocated.

Since May 2007, five occasions have arisen where the Scottish Government has reimbursed officials for car parking fines incurred, at a total cost of £171.50. A clear audit trail outlining the individual reasons for applying for reimbursement is held on file for audit inspection.

Information about parking fines is contained in the following table.

Year	Number of Parking Fines	Area	Total Costs Incurred
From May 2007	4	Edinburgh, Perth, Glasgow	£141.50
2008 to Date	1	Edinburgh	£30

 

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-13276 on 3 June 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search