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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

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S2W-23223

Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 February 2006
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 13 March 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-22386 by Tavish Scott on 31 January 2006 and given that the Skye Bridge concessionaire required to be in possession of an assignation statement, why the intended concessionaire received only an unsigned and undated seven-page document whose year of issue could not be identified.

Question reference: S2W-23005

Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 February 2006
Current Status: Answered by Hugh Henry on 9 March 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will agree to meet representatives of the Fire Brigades Union to discuss pensions.

Question reference: S2W-23631

Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 February 2006
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 8 March 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the analysis of the responses to its consultation on the implementation of the private landlord provisions of the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004.

Question reference: S2W-23242

Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 February 2006
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 8 March 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any registration scheme in respect of doctors registering interests in pharmaceuticals will involve a contractual commitment.

The existing arrangements were set out in 2003 in the guidance A Common Understanding which required that all NHS employees and independent contractors record with their health board any financial interest which might impact on NHS funding.

If it were decided to go further than this and require general practitioners to keep a register of financial interests it could be achieved by amendment of the NHS (General Medical Services Contracts)(Scotland) Regulations 2004. This in turn would be reflected in the individual contracts they have with their health boards.

Question reference: S2W-23241

Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 February 2006
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 8 March 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what its plans are with regard to doctors registering interests in pharmaceuticals.

All doctors are bound by professional guidance from the General Medical Council which requires that their prescribing is not affected by any interests they may have in pharmaceutical companies.

As far as general practitioners in the NHS are concerned, a new contract for the delivery of medical services came into effect on 1 April 2004. The regulations which give effect to the contract require general practitioners to exercise professional judgement and care when providing general medical services for patients or in prescribing for them. These provisions are kept under review but there are at present no plans to change them.

Question reference: S2W-23331

Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 February 2006
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 7 March 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to review the statutory framework in respect of reporting of upheld complaints by the Care Commission to relevant public bodies in light of the case of Mrs Alma Murray, whilst a patient in an NHS-contracted bed at the BUPA Hatton Lea Nursing home in Bellshill.

We have no immediate plansto review the statutory framework in respect of the reporting of complaintsupheld by the Care Commission to other relevant public bodies. The currentframework already allows for such reports to be made when necessary.

The Care Commission’s(revised) complaints procedure was published in September 2004 under theRegulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 (the Act) with the approval of ministers.

Underthat procedure the Care Commission reports on the outcome of a complaint to thecomplainant and to the care provider. Beyond that the commission has thediscretion to decide if and when to notify other agencies. Itis currently developing agreements with local authorities and health boardswhich set out arrangements for sharing information including information oncomplaints and enforcement.

The complaints procedure includes arrangements to fast-trackcomplaints where there are indications of abuse or neglect or allegations of anoffence that present a clear risk of actual or probable harm to the serviceuser. In these circumstances the commission will inform the relevant agenciesimmediately on receipt of the complaint. In addition, where the outcome of acomplaint – whether or not it is fast tracked - leads to formal enforcementaction this will be included in the care service provider’s next inspectionreport and will be followed up by the commission as part of the inspectionprocess. The commission also has a duty under the Act to copy all formal improvementnotices to the local authority where the service is provided.

Separately, aspart of the Adult Support and Protection Bill, ministers will be bringingforward proposals that place a requirement on all agencies to collaborate andshare information where it is thought that an adult is at risk in whateversetting.

Question reference: S2W-23001

Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 February 2006
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 7 March 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to the potential for local authorities to be subject to legal challenge as a result of breach of contract if the Rule of 85 in the Local Government Pension Scheme is abolished and to the capacity of local authorities to defend such a challenge, given that the Executive has decided not to publish the legal advice it has obtained on the abolition of the rule.

Assuming the current rule of85 provisions are removed, as planned, from the Local Government Pension Schemeby amendments made to the Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations(Scotland) 1998 (as amended) then it is likely that a local authority, as an employercomplying with the legislation passed by the Scottish Parliament, would respondto such a legal challenge from an employee, by claiming that it is obliged toact in the way it had done by virtue of the regulations.

Question reference: S2W-23269

Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 February 2006
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 6 March 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the public statements by England’s Chief Medical Officer and supported by the Department of Health, what peer-reviewed and published scientific evidence there is to substantiate the statement that “science shows that a baby’s immune system can cope with thousands of vaccines.”

I refer you to the officialjournal of the American Academy of Pediatrics Pediatrics and the paperentitled Addressing Parents’ Concerns: Do Multiple Vaccines Overwhelm orWeaken the Infant’s Immune System? P. A. Offit, J. Quarles, M. A. Gerber,C. J. Hackett, E. K. Marcuse, T. R. Kollman, B. G. Gellin and S. Landry (2002) Pediatrics;109 124-129. The online version of this article, along with updated informationis available at http://www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/109/1/124.

Question reference: S2W-23070

Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 February 2006
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 6 March 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-22559 by Mr Andy Kerr on 30 January 2006, whether it will publish its written and oral evidence to the independent pay review bodies covering doctors and dentists (DDRB) and nurses and other health professionals (NOHPRB) in respect of the 2006 pay award for NHS staff.

Written evidence from the HealthDepartments for Great Britain is published on the Department of Health website. Evidencefrom the Scottish Executive Health Department is contained in Chapter 7 of the Nursingand Other Health Professions (NOHPRB) document and at Chapter 8 of the Doctors’and Dentists document. The evidence can be accessed through the following weblink:http://www.dh.gov.uk/PolicyAndGuidance/HumanResourcesAndTraining/ModernisingPay/AgendaForChange/AgendaForChangeArticle/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4120934&chk=kIsZnp.

Oral evidence is not published.

Question reference: S2W-22989

Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 February 2006
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 6 March 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the Deputy Minister for Health and Community Care's speech to the conference on autism held in Aviemore in November 2005.