- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 24 May 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 6 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive how many children under 14 were sent to Stoke Mandeville Hospital in 2005 from Scotland.
Answer
Between 1 April 2005 and 31 March 2007, fourScottish children were seen at Stoke Mandeville. As there have been no newreferrals of Scottish children to Stoke Mandeville since 1994, each of the fourchildren concerned received a short-stay review of their rehabilitation care,rather than a full initial assessment, resulting in nine admissions in totalfrom Scotland to the unit.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 May 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 6 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what practical steps it will take to improve educational attainment in schools that significantly underperform in terms of academic attainment.
Answer
We are committed to workingwith education professionals to stretch every child to achieve their fullpotential and will be considering at an early stage our particular commitmentto raising the achievement of the poorest performing 20% of school pupils, withincreased intervention and support.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 May 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 6 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what additional resources have been provided to the police to detect and deter migrant criminals from entering Scotland following the enlargement of the European Union in 2007.
Answer
The police budget for2007-08 is over £1 billion. Chief constablesare responsible for planning the use of the resources available to them to deliver the full range of policingactivities including dealing with the detection and deterrence of migrantcriminals from other member states.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 May 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 6 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what impact it estimates the cost of gaining the Chartered Teacher qualification has on discouraging teachers from commencing and continuing with the modules.
Answer
Progression on the six-pointChartered Teacher salary scale typically involves one-off costs of around £1,200in return for an automatic increase of between £774 and £1,436 per annum inpensionable salary - overall £7,161 above the top of the unprompted teachers’scale. While no comprehensive survey has been conducted into the relativeimpact of cost or other factors in relation to uptake, Audit Scotland(2006) found that 74% of recently qualified teachers said they were likely toparticipate in the scheme.
Cost issues will beconsidered as part of the current review of the Chartered Teacher project.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 May 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 6 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what it considers to be the reason that applications to fill vacant head teacher posts have declined in recent years and what action it will take to encourage more applications for such vacancies.
Answer
The recruitment of head teachers is a matter for local authorities asemployers, however the changing demographics of the teaching profession and thesocietal expectations of public sector leaders will both have been contributoryfactors in changing levels of applications for head teacher posts.
All head teachers andprospective head teachers need to demonstrate they are performing in line withthe standard for headship (SfH).). The most common means of demonstratingperformance in line with the SfH is via the Scottish Qualification for Headship(SQH). The 2006 teacher census shows that there were 310 non head teachers whohad gained the SQH compared with 248 in 2005. There were also another 390 onthe programme.
The Scottish Executiveprovides local authorities with £4 million a year to help teachers achieve theSfH and also funds more general leadership programmes and activities tosupplement funding which local authorities target to this area.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 May 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 6 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of eligible cancer patients in the west of Scotland are being treated with Herceptin; how this compares with other regions of Scotland, and what steps it will take to (a) end any area-based disparity and (b) monitor the outcome of any such action.
Answer
Information on the use of specificdrugs in individual patients or patient groups is not held centrally.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 24 May 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 6 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to open a paediatric spinal assessment facility or recruit specialist staff to the Queen Elizabeth National Spinal Injury Unit at the Southern General Hospital, Glasgow.
Answer
The Queen Elizabeth NationalSpinal Injury Unit is able to assess and manage children aged 12 or over whoare admitted with acute spinal injuries. It also offers support, through itsliaison and outreach services, to all children in Scotlandwith spinal injuries.
The evidence suggests thatthe number of children in Scotland with highly complex spinal injuries is so small thata Scottish equivalent of the National Spinal Injuries Centre at StokeMandeville would not be viable.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 24 May 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 6 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what disruption it considers is caused to the families of children sent from Scotland to Stoke Mandeville Hospital for treatment.
Answer
The Government is well awareof the difficulties families experience when a seriously ill or injured childis treated at a considerable distance from home. Everything possible is done toensure that the disruption caused is kept to a minimum. An initial assessmentat the National Spinal Injuries Centre can last up to eight weeks, but ifannual reviews are arranged, these are for a much shorter period. As much of the child’s rehabilitation as possible should be provided locally.
Children and their parentscan also benefit from referral to the centre, particularly through peer supportgained from the other children and their parents attending the centre.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 24 May 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 6 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive why there is no spinal assessment facility in Scotland for young people under the age of 14.
Answer
Children under 12 with acutespinal injuries but no neurological damage are managed either in the RoyalHopsital for Sick Children, Edinburgh, or the Royal Hospital for Sick Childrenat Yorkhill, Glasgow, with input from the Queen Elizabeth National SpinalInjuries Unit at the Southern General Hospital, Glasgow.
Children under 12 with bothacute spinal injuries and neurological damage are managed at Yorkhill, againwith input from the National Spinal Injuries Unit.
Children aged 12 or overwith acute spinal injuries can be admitted to the Queen Elizabeth NationalSpinal Injuries Unit.
In each of these cases, anassessment can be made of whether the children would benefit from referral tothe National Spinal Injuries Centre at Stoke Mandeville Hospital,Buckinghamshire. The centre provides not only initial assessments but can alsoundertake annual reviews, depending on the child’s progress and clinical needs.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 24 May 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 6 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost of sending young people under 14 years to Stoke Mandeville Hospital for treatment was in the last financial year, including the cost of flights, meals and accommodation, and how much it would have cost to provide specialist paediatric staff at the Queen Elizabeth National Spinal Injury Unit at the Southern General Hospital, Glasgow.
Answer
The clinical costs of such referrals in 2006-07 was £18,909. Information on the associated costs of travel, meals and accommodation is not available centrally, as it is the responsibility of the NHS board of residence of each child to fund these costs.
The most recent review of the spinal injuries service in Scotland did not suggest any extension of its services to cover those currently provided by the National Spinal Injuries Centre at Stoke Mandeville. No estimate has therefore been made of the cost associated with employing the specialist staff who would be required.
