- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 May 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 14 May 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to extend NHS Ayrshire and Arran’s hospital electronic prescribing and medicines administration system to other NHS boards.
Answer
The Scottish Government has commissioned a consortium of NHS boards to procure a Patient Management System which includes a hospital electronic prescribing and medicines administration system as an option. This procurement is due to get to award of contract stage by autumn 2009, at which point NHS boards will have the opportunity to consider the business case for implementing the selected electronic prescribing system.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 May 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 14 May 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to develop workforce planning in pharmacy services in the NHS.
Answer
The development of workforce planning for pharmacy, which will include national supply and demand modelling to inform future manpower planning, is being taken forward as part of on-going work in the Action Plan for Pharmacy and Medicines.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 May 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 14 May 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what the protocol is for visits to prisons by MSPs.
Answer
I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:
The Scottish Prison Service positively welcomes visits by MSPs and any MSP wishing to visit a prison is encouraged either to make contact with my office or the governor of the prison concerned so that arrangements can be made.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 May 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 14 May 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions ministers or officials have had with the UK Government regarding the implications for Scotland of the draft Constitutional Renewal Bill.
Answer
Officials have been in regular contact with counterparts in the UK Government about the content of the Constitutional Renewal Bill and ministers have exchanged correspondence in relation to a range of issues.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 May 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 13 May 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what action is it taking to reduce the amount of branded drugs used in the NHS and to increase the use of generic medicine.
Answer
The Scottish Government encourages the prescribing of generic medicines where clinically appropriate. However, where a branded medicine is still protected by patent generic copies are not available to be dispensed. Also, in certain circumstances, the use of the branded medicine is necessary for clinical reasons. Prescribing advisers within NHS boards and Community Health Partnerships support prescribers to make effective use of generic medicines.
Information on generic prescribing can be found on the NHS National Services Scotland website www.isdscotland.org.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 May 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 13 May 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what the Scottish Medicines Consortium has done to develop its work on estimating the anticipated budget impact of new medicines.
Answer
Budget impact information is provided to NHS boards by the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) for all new medicines assessed. These estimates are intended to give NHS boards an indication of the financial implications if the product is accepted for use within NHSScotland. The SMC also carries out horizon scanning to provide early intelligence on new medicines and support local financial planning.
Following a recent SMC Evaluation, the SMC is working with the pharmaceutical industry through a Short Life Working Group to review the relevant processes to enable consistency in the standard and presentation of budget impact information. The group expects to report to the SMC in the autumn 2009.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 May 2009
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Current Status:
Awaiting answer
To ask the Scottish Executive what efficiency savings have been made by the Office of the First Minister since May 2007.
Answer
Awaiting answer
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 May 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 13 May 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to encourage the development of credit unions.
Answer
Funding is available to encourage credit union development through the £30 million Scottish Investment Fund and the £12 million Third Sector Enterprise Fund (which incorporates the Third Sector Credit Union Fund). Funding may also be available through the Fairer Scotland Fund which is deployed and managed by Community Planning Partnerships.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 May 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 12 May 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what political affiliations were declared by serving members of the Scottish Legal Aid Board at the time of their appointment, subsequently and currently.
Answer
The Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies in Scotland requires successful candidates to declare any political activity in the five years prior to the appointment, in so far as that information is already in the public domain. This information is included in the public announcements of such appointments. Appointees are not asked to provide private information such as membership of political parties or voting preferences.
Of the current board members, Mrs Ellen Morton has been an elected local councillor (Liberal Democrat) for Argyll and Bute since 1999. None of the other members declared any political activity upon appointment or re-appointment.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 May 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 12 May 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive how many prisoners have absconded from custody since May 2007 and how many of these have not been caught.
Answer
I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:
There have been a total of 81 absconds from custody since May 2007. There are currently two absconders who are still unlawfully at large. Data as of 7 May 2009.
