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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

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Question reference: S2W-20435

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 07 November 2005
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 17 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that fewer people die this winter from cold-related illnesses than in previous years, despite the forecast of a particularly harsh winter.

The Scottish Executive is taking action on a number of fronts.

The Chief Medical Officer will issue guidance to older people to keep warm, use the winter fuel payment to ensure their homes are adequately heated and to wear sufficient warm clothing when they go outside. He will also remind neighbours, relatives and carers to check up regularly on older people during cold weather.

The Scottish Executive supports an annual influenza vaccination campaign to vaccinate those aged 65 and over and those in risk groups under 65. This campaign includes a central information letter which is sent to all those aged 65 and over across Scotland reminding them that they are eligible for free flu immunisation.

In addition, the Executive’s central heating and Warm Deal programmes provide free central heating for pensioners who have none or whose system is irretrievably broken; to those over 80 whose systems are partial or inefficient, and insulation measures for all pensioners. The central heating programme also provides energy efficiency advice on keeping warm and keeping bills down, and the offer of a benefits health check to ensure that people are claiming the all the benefits to which they are entitled.

Question reference: S2W-20317

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 November 2005
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 16 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will introduce a fast-track method of prioritising the central heating programme for those with certificated medical needs.

Question reference: S2W-20357

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 November 2005
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 14 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many admissions to hospital for cold-related/aggravated illnesses there have been in each year since 1999, broken down into (a) children, (b) adolescents, (c) adults and (d) elderly people in each NHS board area.

The information is shown in the following table.

Hospital discharges from acute hospitals with a diagnosis of cold related/aggravated illnesses - years ending 31 December 1999-2004 inclusive:

Year/NHS Board of Residence	Age (years)
	0-14 years	15-19 years	20-64 years	65 and over	All Ages
1999
All Areas	17	25	157	209	408
Argyll and Clyde	1	2	15	16	34
Ayrshire and Arran	3	2	19	25	49
Borders	1	-	2	1	4
Dumfries and Galloway	-	6	3	3	12
Fife	2	1	5	12	20
Forth Valley	-	-	-	9	9
Grampian	3	3	8	20	34
Greater Glasgow	-	2	16	56	74
Highland	-	1	15	12	28
Lanarkshire	1	-	13	4	18
Lothian	2	-	9	12	23
Orkney	2	-	-	3	5
Shetland	1	2	2	-	5
Tayside	-	2	25	34	61
Western Isles	-	1	2	1	4
Other	1	3	23	1	28
2000
All Areas	14	18	152	138	322
Argyll and Clyde	-	4	9	4	17
Ayrshire and Arran	1	1	17	33	52
Borders	-	2	2	2	6
Dumfries and Galloway	-	-	2	4	6
Fife	-	-	6	19	25
Forth Valley	-	-	-	7	7
Grampian	1	-	15	9	25
Greater Glasgow	1	2	16	19	38
Highland	3	1	25	11	40
Lanarkshire	3	2	3	2	10
Lothian	1	2	7	7	17
Orkney	-	-	2	1	3
Shetland	1	-	3	3	7
Tayside	3	3	19	14	39
Western Isles	-	-	-	-	-
Other	-	1	26	3	30
2001
All Areas	12	18	137	148	315
Argyll and Clyde	1	2	11	11	25
Ayrshire and Arran	-	1	13	26	40
Borders	-	-	2	2	4
Dumfries and Galloway	-	-	2	10	12
Fife	-	-	10	10	20
Forth Valley	1	-	5	6	12
Grampian	-	1	9	16	26
Greater Glasgow	1	-	17	27	45
Highland	1	2	10	4	17
Lanarkshire	2	1	2	2	7
Lothian	1	4	7	14	26
Orkney	1	2	1	4	8
Shetland	-	-	2	1	3
Tayside	4	3	19	14	40
Western Isles	-	-	6	1	7
Other	-	2	21	-	23
2002
All Areas	14	17	140	118	289
Argyll and Clyde	-	2	11	6	19
Ayrshire and Arran	-	2	12	19	33
Borders	-	-	1	1	2
Dumfries and Galloway	1	-	1	-	2
Fife	-	-	14	8	22
Forth Valley	4	-	4	5	13
Grampian	3	2	8	13	26
Greater Glasgow	-	-	26	20	46
Highland	-	2	12	11	25
Lanarkshire	1	2	5	1	9
Lothian	2	3	5	11	21
Orkney	-	1	2	4	7
Shetland	-	-	3	2	5
Tayside	2	1	14	13	30
Western Isles	-	-	2	1	3
Other	1	2	20	3	26
2003
All Areas	10	6	113	108	237
Argyll and Clyde	1	-	8	4	13
Ayrshire and Arran	2	-	9	13	24
Borders	-	-	-	-	-
Dumfries and Galloway	-	-	5	2	7
Fife	-	1	5	2	8
Forth Valley	-	-	7	2	9
Grampian	1	1	11	8	21
Greater Glasgow	-	-	18	21	39
Highland	2	2	14	13	31
Lanarkshire	1	1	3	9	14
Lothian	1	-	8	16	25
Orkney	-	1	-	3	4
Shetland	-	-	-	-	-
Tayside	2	-	6	11	19
Western Isles	-	-	1	1	2
Other	-	-	18	3	21
2004
All Areas	6	16	117	149	288
Argyll and Clyde	-	6	10	11	27
Ayrshire and Arran	1	1	5	15	22
Borders	-	-	1	1	2
Dumfries and Galloway	-	-	1	5	6
Fife	1	1	10	7	19
Forth Valley	1	-	1	10	12
Grampian	-	-	18	17	35
Greater Glasgow	1	1	11	24	37
Highland	-	-	6	22	28
Lanarkshire	2	1	5	9	17
Lothian	-	1	20	14	35
Orkney	-	1	1	1	3
Shetland	-	-	7	-	7
Tayside	-	1	8	12	21
Western Isles	-	1	-	-	1
Other	-	2	13	1	16

Notes:

1. Up to six diagnoses (one main, five secondary) are recorded on SMR01 returns. All six diagnoses have been used to select episodes for cold related illness. The International Classification of Diseases (ICD10) codes listed below have been used to define cold related/aggravated illnesses:

Frostbite (T33-T35)

Hypothermia (T68)

Other effects of reduced temperature (T69)

Exposure to excessive cold of man-made origin (W93)

Exposure to excessive natural cold (X31)

2. Other includes areas of residence outside Scotland, no fixed abode and unknown.

Question reference: S2W-20356

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 November 2005
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 14 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many admissions to hospital for self-harm there have been in each year since 1999, broken down into (a) adults, (b) adolescents and (c) children in each NHS board area.

The information is shown in the following table.

Hospital Discharges From Acute Hospitals with A Diagnosis of Deliberate Self-Harm - Years Ending 31 December 1999-2004 Inclusive

Year/NHS Board of Residence	Age (Years)
1999
All Areas	321	2,045	13,532	15,898
Argyll and Clyde	27	191	1,090	1,308
Ayrshire and Arran	24	195	1,178	1,397
Borders	4	50	268	322
Dumfries and Galloway	13	60	344	417
Fife	23	139	834	996
Forth Valley	12	85	773	870
Grampian	26	190	1,272	1,488
Greater Glasgow	63	322	2,466	2,851
Highland	4	49	284	337
Lanarkshire	32	175	1,135	1,342
Lothian	46	347	2,445	2,838
Orkney	2	3	25	30
Shetland	1	8	38	47
Tayside	42	190	1,100	1,332
Western Isles	-	3	43	46
Other	2	38	237	277
2000
All Areas	380	2,032	12,846	15,258
Argyll and Clyde	40	209	1,186	1,435
Ayrshire and Arran	30	184	1,153	1,367
Borders	5	38	264	307
Dumfries and Galloway	8	60	328	396
Fife	31	123	846	1,000
Forth Valley	24	99	695	818
Grampian	40	242	1,297	1,579
Greater Glasgow	50	297	2,346	2,693
Highland	14	41	288	343
Lanarkshire	35	186	1,237	1,458
Lothian	46	271	1,629	1,946
Orkney	2	7	25	34
Shetland	4	8	60	72
Tayside	46	221	1,254	1,521
Western Isles	3	11	43	57
Other	2	35	195	232
2001
All Areas	457	1,997	13,094	15,548
Argyll and Clyde	33	184	1,163	1,380
Ayrshire and Arran	25	181	1,280	1,486
Borders	9	47	288	344
Dumfries and Galloway	7	43	341	391
Fife	29	180	849	1,058
Forth Valley	32	119	712	863
Grampian	84	225	1,316	1,625
Greater Glasgow	50	330	2,565	2,945
Highland	18	41	310	369
Lanarkshire	52	220	1,481	1,753
Lothian	64	199	1,354	1,617
Orkney	1	8	21	30
Shetland	-	5	47	52
Tayside	52	181	1,113	1,346
Western Isles	-	6	53	59
Other	1	28	201	230
2002
All Areas	451	2,283	14,428	17,162
Argyll and Clyde	42	167	1,074	1,283
Ayrshire and Arran	38	231	1,360	1,629
Borders	10	55	344	409
Dumfries and Galloway	9	59	310	378
Fife	35	172	917	1,124
Forth Valley	29	104	771	904
Grampian	85	230	1,330	1,645
Greater Glasgow	41	366	2,615	3,022
Highland	8	42	224	274
Lanarkshire	41	182	1,508	1,731
Lothian	63	424	2,458	2,945
Orkney	1	4	20	25
Shetland	2	5	49	56
Tayside	37	207	1,134	1,378
Western Isles	5	12	85	102
Other	5	23	229	257
2003
All Areas	464	1,947	13,399	15,810
Argyll and Clyde	25	127	1,027	1,179
Ayrshire and Arran	49	235	1,238	1,522
Borders	8	43	316	367
Dumfries and Galloway	8	29	331	368
Fife	51	144	922	1,117
Forth Valley	15	63	680	758
Grampian	67	256	1,355	1,678
Greater Glasgow	50	260	2,407	2,717
Highland	24	45	216	285
Lanarkshire	51	155	1,377	1,583
Lothian	75	402	2,274	2,751
Orkney	-	7	19	26
Shetland	1	9	56	66
Tayside	32	144	986	1,162
Western Isles	6	13	53	72
Other	2	15	142	159
2004
All Areas	365	1,805	12,498	14,668
Argyll and Clyde	22	157	1,007	1,186
Ayrshire and Arran	52	246	1,220	1,518
Borders	12	42	341	395
Dumfries and Galloway	3	29	253	285
Fife	28	138	778	944
Forth Valley	12	59	567	638
Grampian	74	178	1,072	1,324
Greater Glasgow	38	248	2,212	2,498
Highland	17	52	503	572
Lanarkshire	30	172	1,250	1,452
Lothian	52	286	2,008	2,346
Orkney	-	3	19	22
Shetland	-	15	56	71
Tayside	19	146	976	1,141
Western Isles	4	18	69	91
Other	2	16	167	185

Notes:

1. Up to six diagnoses (one main, five secondary) are recorded on SMR01 returns. All six diagnoses have been used to select episodes for deliberate self-harm. The International Classification of Diseases (ICD10) codes X60 to X84 have been used to identify deliberate self-harm.

2. Other includes areas of residence outside Scotland, no fixed abode and unknown.

Question reference: S2W-20148

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 October 2005
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 9 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what the most recent figures are on levels of fuel poverty in households.

The most up-to-date information is available from the 2002 Scottish House Condition Survey(SCHS) which showed an estimated 286,000 households (13%) to be in fuel poverty.Since 2002, the House Condition Survey methodology moved towards a continuous reportingmethod. The first data analyses are expected to be available by early 2006. Dataof comparable quality to the SHCS 2002 data are expected by late 2007.

Question reference: S2W-20152

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 October 2005
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 9 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to broaden the eligibility criteria to increase participation in the Warm Deal as an alternative to reducing the existing budget.

Question reference: S2W-20149

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 October 2005
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 9 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to spend the £8 million savings it will make by cutting the resources for future heating programmes for vulnerable groups from £105 million for 2004-06 to £97 million for 2006-08.

The resources allocated for thecentral heating and Warm Deal programmes for 2006-08 in last year’s spendingreview were based first and foremost on an assessment of progress to date in dealingwith the stock of properties without functioning heating systems, and of the scaleof the remaining problem. However, the Executive is of course committed to seekingmaximum impact for its investment in these programmes, as in all its policies, andwill keep efficiency issues firmly in mind in deciding on their future in the lightof the current consultation.

Question reference: S2W-20150

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 October 2005
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 9 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects the number of replacement heating systems installed under the central heating programme to fall from the current average of 1,200 a year.

The level of replacements dependsboth on the assessment of the condition of the existing system and the terms of the scheme. In 2004-05, 5,873 replacement systems were installed, out of a totalof 13,027 systems installed under the programme. The Executive is currently consultingkey stakeholders on the future of the central heating and Warm Deal programmes,including the issue of the terms on which replacement systems should be offered.We will make an announcement on our proposals in due course. Arrangements to monitorand review uptake will be an important element of the new programmes

Question reference: S2W-20151

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 October 2005
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 9 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what proposals it has to raise the threshold on replacing central heating systems when a system is considered to be irreparably broken from £200 and whether it will make representations to Her Majesty’s Government in parallel with any rise in this threshold to ensure that the winter fuel payment is also increased.

Question reference: S2W-20316

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 November 2005
Current Status: Answered by Allan Wilson on 8 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-18492 by Allan Wilson on 7 September 2005, whether it has set a date for publication of its draft energy efficiency strategy.