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: S3W-27117

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 September 2009
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 24 September 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated economic cost is of the road closure on the A83 due to the recent landslip at the Rest and be Thankful.

An economic evaluation of the recent two day closure has not been undertaken. Transport Scotland estimated that the previous twelve day closure in 2007 had a national economic cost, measured in terms of the changes in transport costs, of around £300,000 in 2008 prices. Measured on the same basis and accounting for seasonal factors the likely cost of the two day closure will be in the range of £50,000 to £100,000.

Question reference: S3O-07904

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 September 2009
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 24 September 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive whether IVF treatment will be subject to a waiting time guarantee.

Question reference: S3W-26811

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 31 August 2009
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 23 September 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive whether war pensions are counted as income when considering applications for student bursaries and, if so, whether this has always been the case.

Question reference: S3W-27148

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 September 2009
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 23 September 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason a person sectioned under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 is not allowed to change their responsible medical officer or seek private mental health care instead.

NHS boards have procedures in place to allow for a change of Responsible Medical Officer (RMO) and for seeking second opinion medical reports.

The Compulsory Treatment Order (CTO) made by the Mental Health Tribunal will specify the hospital for treatment or the care package in the community; this may include, where appropriate, an independent health care facility. Volume 2, Chapter 3 of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 Code of Practice provides guidance on potential conflicts of interest where treatment in an independent health care service is proposed.

Question reference: S3W-27128

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 September 2009
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 23 September 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-22912 by Nicola Sturgeon on 6 May 2009, whether each inspection team will have a former infection control nurse.

Question reference: S3W-27131

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 September 2009
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 23 September 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-26853 by Nicola Sturgeon on 9 September 2009, when the proposed expert group on infertility services is expected to (a) begin and (b) complete its work.

Question reference: S3W-27119

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 September 2009
Current Status: Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 23 September 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what work has been identified in the Strategic Transport Review to improve the A82 and when this work will commence.

The Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR) has recommended a targeted programme of measures to improve road standards on the A82 between Glasgow and Oban/Fort William and reduce accident severity rates between Fort William and Inverness.

In addition to a general upgrade of the route, the measures would include:

carriageway widening at selected locations between Tarbet and Inverarnan and Corran Ferry and Fort William, and

physical works including climbing lanes at Loch Tulla, overtaking lay-bys aimed at providing safer overtaking opportunities and improving journey time reliability and safety targeted measures such as hard strips, junction improvements and local realignment.

On the section between Fort William and Inverness, measures recommended to reduce accident severity include physical works aimed at providing safer overtaking opportunities, hard strip provision for agricultural vehicles and junction improvements.

A timetable for undertaking this work will be set in the context of overall affordability and our commitments to other STPR proposals.

Within the current programme work is progressing to deliver improvements at Pulpit Rock and a new Western bypass at Crianlarich. We are currently engaging with interested stakeholders, including Hitrans and SPT to discuss a vision for the A82.

Question reference: S3W-27126

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 September 2009
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 23 September 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-22914 by Nicola Sturgeon on 6 May 2009, whether the pilot visits have been evaluated and, if so, whether the evaluation will be published.

Question reference: S3W-27149

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 September 2009
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 23 September 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it collects information on the number of people who (a) felt that had they benefited from and (b) complained about being sectioned under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003.

This information is not collected centrally. Complaints from individuals about being subject to compulsory measures of treatment under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 are made locally to the appropriate NHS board.

For short term detention certificates (STDCs), statistics in relation to those who challenge their having been made subject to the certificate may be inferred by the numbers who appeal to the Mental Health Tribunal against the STDC. An individual can appeal to the Mental Health Tribunal for a revocation of a STDC, and Volume 2, Chapter 2 of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 Code of Practice provides guidance on this. Approximately 100 applications for revocation of a STDC are made each quarter, of these around 50% are withdrawn before being heard and between 10 to 25% are revoked. Source Mental Health Tribunal quarterly statistics:

http://www.mhtscotland.gov.uk/mhts/files/Quarterly%20Report%20April%20to%20June%202009.pdf.

For Compulsory Treatment Orders (CTOs), these longer term orders may be made directly by the tribunal on the application of a mental health officer, and following a Tribunal hearing at which the patient will have been involved to give their view. Again, the most recent Mental Health Tribunal quarterly statistics (for April to June 2009) provide an indication of the percentages of CTOs made by the tribunal (around 77%) of those applied for. Thereafter, statistics in relation to those who continue to object to the CTO having been granted by the Tribunal might be inferred from the number of appeals made to the Sheriff Principal under the statutory mechanisms. In the period September 2008 to August 2009 inclusive the tribunal was served with 14 appeals to sheriff principals, not all of which went to full hearings having been dismissed as incompetent or because the appellant no longer wished to appeal; it should also be noted that not all of those appeals from the tribunal will have been made by patients, some may have been made by health boards.

Question reference: S3W-27157

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 September 2009
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 23 September 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers it possible that some psychiatrists might occasionally misdiagnose a person as having a psychotic condition.

There are, at present, two established international classification systems for mental disorders - ICD.1O and DSM-IV which have specific criteria laid down which have to fulfilled to enable a diagnosis to be made.

Sometimes a diagnosis may change e.g. an individual may appear to have a psychotic condition such as schizophrenia, due to drug taking, which then disappears after treatment and drug withdrawal.

Also throughout a lifetime an individual''s diagnosis may change as different symptoms emerge.

If an individual has concerns that they have been misdiagnosed then there are a range of options open to them, including that: they may ask for a second opinion; they may apply to the tribunal for revocation of the order; or they may contact the Mental Welfare Commission to look into their complaint.