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-10794

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 November 2012
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 13 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-09911 by Alex Neil on 25 October 2012, whether there are practising doctors who have a (a) sexual offence or (b) child pornography conviction and, if so, how many.

Question reference: S4W-10292

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 13 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government whether transcatheter aortic valve implantation treatment is available routinely on the basis of clinical decision or whether it is subject to an individual patient treatment request.

As the national Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) service is now operational, NHS boards are able to routinely refer patients to the national service in Edinburgh. All new referrals should therefore be directed to the national TAVI service at the Royal Infirmary Edinburgh.

However, there may be some patients who have been assessed as requiring TAVI who had an existing individual patient treatment request approved prior to the launch of the national TAVI service. For these patients, it will be a matter for the patient, their clinician and the national TAVI service to make a judgement on whether it is appropriate for the individual to have the procedure in Edinburgh, or whether this should be carried out in another UK TAVI centre as previously planned.

Question reference: S4W-10291

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 13 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government when transcatheter aortic valve implantation treatment will be available at the Golden Jubilee National Hospital.

As I announced on 11 September, I have taken the decision to introduce a Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) service in Scotland. This decision was based on the advice of the TAVI Short Life Group, who recommended that there should be a single centre providing TAVI for patients across Scotland, and that centre should be in Edinburgh.

The new service will be closely monitored over the next six to 12 months, and consideration will be given to expanding the provision of TAVI elsewhere in Scotland, as required.

Question reference: S4W-10290

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 13 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had about the location of transcatheter aortic valve implantation treatment centres in the last four years.

The Scottish Government has worked together with NHS Scotland, through the National Planning Forum (NPF), to gather expert advice and evidence from clinicians, health professionals and planners from Scotland and elsewhere in the UK on the potential provision and location of a transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) service in Scotland.

On 11 September, I announced the decision to introduce TAVI in Scotland, based on the advice of the TAVI Short Life Group, who recommended that there should be a single centre providing TAVI, and that centre should be in Edinburgh.

Question reference: S4W-10772

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 November 2012
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 12 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-03874 by Nicola Sturgeon on 15 November 2011, whether there is a central surplus asset register for all NHS boards.

Question reference: S4O-01466

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 November 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government how many transcatheter aortic valve implantation procedures have been performed in Scotland since the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing announced that these would be made routinely available.

Question reference: S4W-10439

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 7 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S4W-09775, S4W-09805, S4W-09806, and S4W-09807 by Nicola Sturgeon on 22 October 2012, whether the Scottish Government Defence Policy Unit has a work programme and, if so, (a) what this is, (b) what work it is doing and (c) what its justification is for this in light of the cabinet secretary's response that "decisions on defence budgets in an independent Scotland are subject to future consideration and approval by the Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament".

The work programme of the Defence Policy Unit, which is a part of Resilience Division, provides support to Ministers, to our Armed Forces and Veterans and to our communities across a range of defence activity in Scotland. This includes: ensuring that Scotland’s personnel, their families and veterans can access inclusive, quality services as outlined in the Scottish Government’s “Our Commitments” paper; supporting the relationship between defence bases and the communities that host them; supporting Scottish Ministers in developing defence policies for the constitutional options open to the people of Scotland; and liaising with the UK Government and the armed forces on defence issues and impacts in Scotland.

Question reference: S4W-10437

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 7 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-09775 by Nicola Sturgeon on 22 October 2012, what the (a) grades and (b) responsibilities are of each of the officials in the Scottish Government Defence Policy Unit.

The Defence Policy Unit, which forms part of Resilience Division, currently comprises seven officials whose respective grades are C2, C1, 3 B3s, B2 and B1. The work of any one official will contribute to a number of strands of the Unit’s work. For details of the work programme of the Defence Policy Unit, I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-10439 on 7 November 2012. 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/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

Question reference: S4W-10541

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 6 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what the underspend in its 2011-12 budget was, broken down by directorate.

The Scottish Government Consolidated Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2012 were laid in the Scottish Parliament and published on the Scottish Government website on 27 September 2012.

www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2012/09/1505.

These accounts report the financial performance for 2011-12 in terms of the budget approved by the Scottish Parliament and demonstrate the effectiveness stewardship of resources in limiting underspend to less than one per cent of the budget.

Within the accounts, individual Outturn statements for each portfolio report the variances of programme expenditure against the operating budgets which were approved at the 2011-12 Spring Budget Revision. Detailed analysis and explanation of these variances is provided in the Analysis of Major Variances statement. The capital expenditure and associated receipts, along with explanations of variances, are reported in note 5.

Question reference: S4W-10389

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 6 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-09794 by Alex Neil on 22 October 2012, when the Adult Health and Social Integration Bill will be introduced.