- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 January 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 9 February 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will undertake a review of substitution treatment and the dosage supplied in order to develop its effectiveness in addressing injecting drug misuse and in reducing the transmission of hepatitis C.
Answer
These matters are covered in the Drug Misuse and Dependence - Guidelines on Clinical Management, published jointly in 1999 by the Department of Health and Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish counterparts. The Executive is currently in discussion with the Department of Health and others in scoping the work required to update these guidelines.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 January 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 9 February 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider increasing substitution treatment as an alternative to needle exchange in respect of tackling hepatitis C in prisons.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:
The Scottish Prison Service is steadily increasing its commitment to substitution treatment. While such treatment reduces the demand for injecting drugs, it does not remove the risk of spread of blood borne infection from sharing needles. International experience is that operating needle exchange schemes can be an effective additional measure to protect the population, rather than as a replacement for substitution. The Scottish Prison Service is currently considering its approach to measures such as making needle exchanges available to prisoners. It has not reached a decision.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 January 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 9 February 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what level of paraphernalia has been distributed in needle and syringe exchanges following amendments to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and whether any financial restrictions have had an impact on the amount of additional paraphernalia that needle exchange programmes can distribute as a preventative measure against blood-borne viruses.
Answer
This information is not currently available. The Executive is currently in the process of commissioning research, jointly with the National Treatment Agency in England, to undertake a national survey of needle exchange services in Scotland and England. The findings will give a clear indication of the extent and nature of paraphernalia distribution by needle exchanges, including pharmacy schemes.
In addition to specific allocations for Blood Borne Viruses and drug treatment, health boards are given a unified budget to meet the health care needs of their resident population. It is for boards to decide how best to utilise this funding to meet local and national priorities.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 January 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 9 February 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what estimates it has made in respect of the numbers of sterile injecting equipment required for each episode of illicit drug injecting in each of the last five years.
Answer
The Scottish Executive has published research which estimates that the numbers of injecting drug users in Scotland in 2000 and 2003 were 22,805 and 18,737 respectively. The frequency of injecting by any drug user will vary considerably. However, by assuming that the number of injecting episodes varies between one and three per day, the estimated numbers of sterile injecting equipment required per year were 8 to 25 million in 2000 and 7 to 20.5 million in 2003.
The reports of the National Prevalence Studies in 2000 and 2003 can be viewed at:
http://www.drugmisuse.isdscotland.org/publications/abstracts/prevalence.htm
http://www.drugmisuse.isdscotland.org/publications/abstracts/prevalence3.htm.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 January 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 9 February 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive how many needles and syringes were distributed to illicit drug injectors last year and how it will address any shortfall in the number of needles and syringes being provided.
Answer
Information provided by drug and alcohol action teams in the annual Corporate Action Plans indicates that 3,937,553 needles and syringes were distributed across Scotland in 2003-04.
The Lord Advocate’s guidance on needle exchange was changed in December 2002 to allow needle exchange facilities to give out a greater number of needles and syringes, per individual per transaction. The impact of this change is currently being evaluated by the Executive under the Scottish Drug Misuse Research Programme. The final report of the study will be made available later this year.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 January 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 9 February 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that pharmacies, drug misuse and harm-reduction services are not punitive in their outlook when working with those involved in drug misuse.
Answer
Staff attitudes are central to effective engagement with drug users and it is recognised that punitive and/or judgemental attitudes are counterproductive. The Scottish Executive has published research which describes good practice in prescribing, and clearly explains the risk to public health of re-using and sharing injecting equipment. A range of training programmes delivered by Scottish Training on Drugs and Alcohol addresses attitudes towards drug use and drug users.
The Right Medicine - A Strategy for Pharmaceutical Care in Scotland acknowledges the contribution that pharmacists can play in delivering services to drug misusers in Scotland.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 7 February 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what the population was in (a) 1999 and (b) 2004 and what the projected population figures are for 2010, broken down by Scottish parliamentary constituency.
Answer
Sub-national population estimates and projections are not calculated for Scottish parliamentary constituencies. Information for local authority and health board areas is available on the General Register Office for Scotland website at
http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/library/index.html.Results from the 2001 Census, published by the Registrar General on 25 March 2003, show that the resident population at 29 April 2001 for each Scottish parliamentary constituency was:
| Parliamentary Constituency | Total Population |
| Aberdeen Central | 70,104 |
| Aberdeen North | 69,935 |
| Aberdeen South | 72,086 |
| Airdrie and Shotts | 77,762 |
| Angus | 77,083 |
| Argyll and Bute | 63,443 |
| Ayr | 71,382 |
| Banff and Buchan | 76,871 |
| Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross | 52,405 |
| Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley | 81,388 |
| Central Fife | 75,092 |
| Clydebank and Milngavie | 67,517 |
| Clydesdale | 81,888 |
| Coatbridge and Chryston | 66,789 |
| Cumbernauld and Kilsyth | 64,552 |
| Cunninghame North | 69,124 |
| Cunninghame South | 66,693 |
| Dumbarton | 76,074 |
| Dumfries | 80,595 |
| Dundee East | 76,557 |
| Dundee West | 68,512 |
| Dunfermline East | 70,115 |
| Dunfermline West | 65,508 |
| East Kilbride | 83,893 |
| East Lothian | 76,365 |
| Eastwood | 89,311 |
| Edinburgh Central | 74,270 |
| Edinburgh East and Musselburgh | 74,555 |
| Edinburgh North and Leith | 75,571 |
| Edinburgh Pentlands | 73,963 |
| Edinburgh South | 81,413 |
| Edinburgh West | 82,575 |
| Falkirk East | 75,956 |
| Falkirk West | 69,235 |
| Galloway and Upper Nithsdale | 67,170 |
| Glasgow Anniesland | 63,385 |
| Glasgow Baillieston | 64,106 |
| Glasgow Cathcart | 61,847 |
| Glasgow Govan | 61,555 |
| Glasgow Kelvin | 64,472 |
| Glasgow Maryhill | 64,628 |
| Glasgow Pollok | 62,756 |
| Glasgow Rutherglen | 65,720 |
| Glasgow Shettleston | 55,926 |
| Glasgow Springburn | 69,324 |
| Gordon | 78,720 |
| Greenock and Inverclyde | 62,478 |
| Hamilton North and Bellshill | 70,817 |
| Hamilton South | 60,743 |
| Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber | 85,390 |
| Kilmarnock and Loudoun | 79,562 |
| Kirkcaldy | 63,598 |
| Linlithgow | 72,160 |
| Livingston | 86,554 |
| Midlothian | 64,327 |
| Moray | 79,003 |
| Motherwell and Wishaw | 65,630 |
| North East Fife | 75,116 |
| North Tayside | 78,651 |
| Ochil | 74,826 |
| Orkney Islands | 19,245 |
| Paisley North | 61,100 |
| Paisley South | 66,358 |
| Perth | 78,400 |
| Ross, Skye and Inverness West | 71,119 |
| Roxburgh and Berwickshire | 57,480 |
| Shetland Islands | 21,988 |
| Stirling | 69,272 |
| Strathkelvin and Bearsden | 81,252 |
| Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale | 65,898 |
| West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine | 79,217 |
| West Renfrewshire | 67,134 |
| Western Isles | 26,502 |
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 January 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 7 February 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether funding has been identified for further preventative innovations to combat the spread of hepatitis C.
Answer
In addition to their unified budgets, the Executive already gives over £8 million per year to NHS boards in earmarked resources for work to prevent bloodborne viruses, including hepatitis C. NHS boards use these resources in a variety of ways taking account of local need, including awareness-raising initiatives and needle exchange schemes.
In October 2004, linked to SR2004, it was announced that an additional £6 million per annum would be provided for drug treatment and rehabilitation services in 2005-06. This brings the total to £32.5 million per annum, an increase of 23% on 2004-05.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 January 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 7 February 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are sufficient resources available to ensure that people with hepatitis C are treated and counselled (a) inside and (b) outside hospital.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-13609, on 31 January 2005. 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/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 January 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 7 February 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are substantial support services available for people diagnosed with hepatitis C.
Answer
Since 2002, the Executive has made available resources for the establishment and ongoing activities of the UK Hepatitis C Resource Centre in Scotland, which is based in Glasgow and offers advice on testing and treatment to those affected by hepatitis C. The services provided by the centre are in addition to those made available through individual NHS boards.
