- Asked by: Nicola Sturgeon, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 March 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 18 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what the current level of funding is for the (a) Partnership Support Unit, (b) Scottish Partnership Forum and (c) Human Resources Forum, as referred to in chapter 6 of Partnership for Care: Scotland's Health White Paper, and what funding it will make available in each of the next three years.
Answer
The work of the Scottish Partnership Forum (SPF) is supportive of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Scottish Executive and the STUC. This provides a framework for the development of genuine partnership working between the two organisations and includes a joint commitment to make the best use of resources. The Partnership Support Unit and Human Resources Forum (HRF) have recently been announced and have no allocated funding for 2002-03. They will not be fully operative until after April. The SPF and the associated Partnership Information Network (PIN) were not allocated specific funding in 2002-03, however it is estimated that funding for work associated with these groups amounted to £108,000.Combined funding of £395,000 has been set aside for 2003-04 for the Partnership Support Unit, SPF,HRF and work of the PIN. The two forums and the PIN board will shortly be developing their programme of work for the coming years which may influence future funding arrangements.The new SPF will be able to influence future strategy on a range of health service policy spending issues. The HRF will have the capacity to influence spending on human resources issues.
- Asked by: Nicola Sturgeon, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 March 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 17 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish its health improvement challenge, as referred to in chapter 2 of Partnership for Care: Scotland's Health White Paper.
Answer
Improving Health in Scotland - the Challenge was launched today at the third Healthy Scotland Convention held in Edinburgh. I also refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-34705 today. 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/webapp/search_wa.
- Asked by: Nicola Sturgeon, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 March 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 14 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what funding has been provided to each NHS board to introduce and develop new hospital appointment systems in each year since 1999-2000 and what future funding will be provided, as referred to in chapter 4 of Partnership for Care: Scotland's Health White Paper.
Answer
Information, Management and Technology Strategies are agreed at NHS health board level together with associated local investment plans, which will include provision for systems such as hospital appointments systems. The Health Department intends to investigate with the service new ways of making appointments which will bring a closer involvement for the patient in the appointment process and may involve the use of contact centres for hospitals.
- Asked by: Nicola Sturgeon, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 March 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 14 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how much the amalgamation of the Health Education Board for Scotland and the Public Health Institute for Scotland will cost and what the projected savings are in each year, as referred to in chapter 2 of Partnership for Care: Scotland's Health White Paper.
Answer
The overall financial effect of the integration of the Health Education Board for Scotland and the Public Health Institute of Scotland will be cost neutral.
- Asked by: Nicola Sturgeon, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 March 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 14 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what financial and other support exists for small and medium-si'ed enterprises in dealing with drug and alcohol problems of employees and what support it plans to provide, as referred to in chapter 2 of Partnership for Care: Scotland's Health White Paper.
Answer
The Executive issued a resource pack with information on occupational health to approximately 77,000 small and medium-sized enterprises in December 2001. This includes guidance on the development of workplace drug and alcohol policies.Scotland's Health at Work (SHAW) provides free policy advice and guidance to help and support organisations to develop health promoting workplaces. SHAW will receive funding of £750,000 in 2003-04 and is targeted with doubling the participation of small- and medium-sized enterprises within its scheme.
- Asked by: Nicola Sturgeon, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 March 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 14 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what projects are funded under the Health Improvement Fund and what funding has been provided to each project, as referred to in chapter 2 of Partnership for Care: Scotland's Health White Paper.
Answer
Full details about projects funded by the Health Improvement Fund across Scotland, between 2000-01 and 2003-04, is given in the Investment Report
Putting the Pieces in Place. This is available from the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 19606) or from the Scottish Executive website
www.scotland.gov.uk.
- Asked by: Nicola Sturgeon, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 March 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 13 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how additional costs of teaching funding is divided between each NHS acute hospital where teaching takes place.
Answer
A total of £86.071 million was allocated in 2002-03 to the four Scottish teaching boards to meet the additional costs to the NHS of teaching being carried out in hospitals. It is for the four teaching boards to arrange for distribution of this funding to those hospitals carrying out teaching.
- Asked by: Nicola Sturgeon, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 March 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 13 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive which nursing agencies received a share of the #24,530,733 spent by the NHS on agency nurses in 2001-02, as shown in table E21 of the NHS workforce statistics produced by the Information and Statistics Division of the Common Services Agency.
Answer
The information requested is not held centrally.
- Asked by: Nicola Sturgeon, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 March 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 13 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what funding has been made available for the new research strategy, as referred to in chapter 5 of Partnership for Care: Scotland's Health White Paper.
Answer
The Chief Scientist Office (CSO) will receive £47.5 million in 2003-04 to support research into health and health care needs in Scotland. The strategic direction of that research over the next five years, will be determined by CSO's new research strategy, which is currently the subject of public consultation.
- Asked by: Nicola Sturgeon, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 March 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 13 March 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how much the abolition of NHS trusts will (a) cost and (b) save, as referred to in chapter 7 of Partnership for Care: Scotland's Health White Paper.
Answer
When we set out our proposals in Partnership for Care to dissolve the remaining NHS trusts, our primary objective was not to achieve financial savings, and nor have we identified any direct cost implications. Rather, changes to the governance of local NHS systems should be seen as part of our drive to develop integrated, decentralised health care services that devolve management authority to the front line of patient care.Nevertheless, by consolidating around 15 NHS boards with minimal structural change and disruption, unnecessary bureaucracy will be reduced, and resources will be freed up and redirected towards improved patient care.Specifically, the removal of the remaining trusts will support a whole-system approach to financial management, accountability and planning which maximises the return on additional investment, simplifying the way money flows in the local NHS system and allowing greater flexibility for financial planning over the longer term.
