Questions and answers

Question reference: S4W-14244

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 12 April 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 25 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on whether NHS Counter Fraud Services is carrying out investigations regarding the State Hospital and what the nature is of the investigations.

Question reference: S4W-14310

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 April 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 25 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the Chief Executive of NHS Scotland sought to amend the Audit Scotland report, Management of patients on NHS waiting lists, as reported in the Sunday Herald on 31 March 2013.

There is an agreed protocol between Audit Scotland and the Scottish Government covering the arrangements for carrying out and clearing performance audit reports undertaken on behalf of the Auditor General for Scotland (AGS) which are published as part of the Scottish Public Finance Manual. The purpose of the protocol is to ensure that all relevant parties in the Scottish Government and Audit Scotland are aware of the arrangements for carrying out performance audits undertaken on behalf of the AGS and clearing draft reports.

The protocol states that in relation to the draft report/key messages:

“The project manager sends a copy of the key messages document and draft report to all project advisory group members, including the SG representative, for comment.”

For formal clearance of the report, the protocol says:

“The AGS sends a formal letter and a copy of the report to the relevant Accountable Officer. The AGS’s letter specifies the date when comments are due back (this is three weeks from the date of the letter) and asks for confirmation of the factual accuracy of the report and any other comments on the presentation and conclusions.”

While the Scottish Government can provide comment on the draft report, the final decision on what to include in the report is solely the responsibility of Audit Scotland. The comments provided were in line with standard procedures where Audit Scotland asked for comments on the draft report. In the interest of accuracy, Audit Scotland accepted a number of points raised and amended the final report accordingly, in exactly the same way as has been done on many other occasions.

Question reference: S4W-14311

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 April 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 25 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the Chief Executive of NHS Scotland asked Audit Scotland to add “helpful” points to the report, Management of patients on NHS waiting lists, as reported in the Sunday Herald on 31 March 2013.

There is an agreed protocol between Audit Scotland and the Scottish Government covering the arrangements for carrying out and clearing performance audit reports undertaken on behalf of the Auditor General for Scotland (AGS) which are published as part of the Scottish Public Finance Manual. The purpose of the protocol is to ensure that all relevant parties in the Scottish Government and Audit Scotland are aware of the arrangements for carrying out performance audits undertaken on behalf of the AGS and clearing draft reports.

The protocol states that in relation to the draft report/key messages:

“The project manager sends a copy of the key messages document and draft report to all project advisory group members, including the SG representative, for comment.”

For formal clearance of the report, the protocol says:

“The AGS sends a formal letter and a copy of the report to the relevant Accountable Officer. The AGS’s letter specifies the date when comments are due back (this is three weeks from the date of the letter) and asks for confirmation of the factual accuracy of the report and any other comments on the presentation and conclusions.”

While the Scottish Government can provide comment on the draft report, the final decision on what to include in the report is solely the responsibility of Audit Scotland. The comments provided were in line with standard procedures where Audit Scotland asked for comments on the draft report. In the interest of accuracy, Audit Scotland accepted a number of points raised and amended the final report accordingly, in exactly the same way as has been done on many other occasions.

Question reference: S4W-14063

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 March 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 25 April 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the appropriateness of the (a) Chief Executive and (b) Medical Director of NHS Tayside sitting on the board of Health Improvement Scotland.

As stated in Parliament on 26 February 2013, serving members of staff of a NHS board will in future not be appointed as board members of a scrutiny body (Healthcare Improvement Scotland or the Care Inspectorate).

The arrangements for the appointment of the chief executive of NHS Tayside as a member of the board of Healthcare Improvement Scotland were made prior to this announcement and in accordance with the rules governing Public Appointments, prior to this announcement. The Medical Director of NHS Tayside is not a member of the board of Healthcare Improvement Scotland.

All members of NHS boards are expected carry out their responsibilities in line with the board member’s Code of Conduct surrounding any potential conflicts of interest and any conflict of interests would be recorded on the Register of Interests. Further details on these can be found on the Healthcare Improvement Scotland website via the following link:

http://www.healthcareimprovementscotland.org/about_us/our_board.aspx.

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-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-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-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.

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