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: S4W-14250

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 12 April 2013
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 24 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how long an applicant should expect to wait for an application to become a foster carer to be determined by a local authority.

National Care Standard 6 against which foster care agencies are inspected, states that applicants should be made aware that the assessment will be completed within 6 months from the date of receipt of their application unless unforeseen circumstances prevent this.

It further states that prospective foster carers will receive regular feedback on the progress of their application (at least once a month) and that there are clear indications given of any work that is needed to further the process.

Question reference: S4W-14252

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 12 April 2013
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 24 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications to become foster carers in each of the last two years were determined in less than a year, broken down by local authority.

Question reference: S4W-14247

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 12 April 2013
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 24 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it provides to local authorities about the system of application for becoming a foster carer.

Local authorities are responsible for having foster carer procedures in place which will be inspected against National Care Standards by the Care Inspectorate. The Care Inspectorate is responsible for the registration and inspection of foster care services.

Standard 5 states that “you know you will be fully assessed by the agency before being accepted as a foster carer” and Standard 6 states that “you can be confident that the agency treats applications to become a foster carer fairly and without unnecessary delay.”

Question reference: S4W-14249

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 12 April 2013
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 24 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it monitors the performance of local authorities in dealing with applications to become a foster carer.

The Care Inspectorate are responsible for inspecting foster care services against national care standards which cover recruitment, assessment and approval of foster carers. As part of those duties they examine the processes and practices of dealing with applications to foster. This includes formal processes and support.

The Care Inspectorate in their holistic inspection of children’s services consider the outcomes for children who are assessed as requiring fostering services which includes how local authorities commission fostering services.

Question reference: S4W-14248

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 12 April 2013
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 24 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether there are key national eligibility criteria for determining the suitability of applicants to become foster carers.

<>There are no key national eligibility criteria for determining the suitability of applicants to become foster carers. Guidance on the Looked After Children (Regulations) no longer specifies the categories of people with whom a child may be fostered. Applications to foster may come from a wide range of different family structures and many authorities make a point of reflecting this openness in recruiting new carers. Each case will be assessed on its own merits.

Question reference: S4F-01316

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 22 April 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 April 2013

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s position is on reports that nurses spend around 279,000 hours a week on non-essential paperwork.

Question reference: S4W-13808

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 25 March 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 17 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government on what date it decided to appoint Dr Frances Elliot to its Directorate for Chief Medical Officer and Public Health.

Following initial discussions in late 2012 and early 2013 about the need to strengthen national senior clinical capacity within Scottish Government to drive the priority agenda around Health and Social Care Integration, unscheduled care, primary care and improving services for people with multiple and long term conditions, it was agreed that additional senior medical capacity was required to support the Chief Medical Officer with specific expertise and national recognition in these areas. Dr Frances Elliot was identified in mid-January 2013 as having this unique set of appropriate skills and experiences.

Question reference: S4W-14011

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 March 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 17 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government under what circumstances the Scottish Ambulance Service charges patients for journeys.

The Scottish Government fully funds the Scottish Ambulance Service to deliver its core responsibilities in support of NHSScotland. These responsibilities include the Accident & Emergency (999) Service, the Air Ambulance Service and the Patient Transport Service. This means transporting patients to, from, and between NHS Healthcare facilities and providing the clinical care and support required on that journey.

The Scottish Ambulance Service is permitted to generate income by operating in a private capacity as long as this does not impact adversely on the delivery of their core responsibilities. Under these circumstances they would therefore be providing care and / or undertaking journeys that do not fall within their core NHS responsibilities. Examples of when this could happen include:

Journeys between two private residences or facilities, for example from a private residence to a Nursing Home or between two Nursing Homes.
If the journey was to provide a service for an NHS Trust in England, for example transporting a non-Scottish resident home or to an English healthcare facility.
Providing medical cover at a private event, for example football matches, music festivals and other privately organised events.

Under these examples there are likely to be very few occasions where a patient is charged by the Scottish Ambulance Service, rather the cost is likely to be charged to a local authority, an NHS Trust in England or the organisation running the private event. However patients, or their families or carers, are free to ask the Scottish Ambulance Service to undertake journeys in a private capacity should they wish to do so.

Question reference: S4W-14012

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 March 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 17 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is aware of reports that the Scottish Ambulance Service may charge a pregnant woman £30 for a journey in the case of false labour.

Question reference: S4W-13803

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 25 March 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 15 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many vacancies have arisen in the Healthcare Environment Inspectorate in each of the last 12 months and whether they were advertised externally.