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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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S4W-05372

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 February 2012
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 27 February 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive whether Scottish Water International Business Development's operations will provide advice and expertise only.

Question reference: S4W-05370

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 February 2012
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 27 February 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are countries in which it is not prepared to allow Scottish Water International Business Development to operate and, if so, which countries.

Scottish Water International Business Development makes its own judgements on the suitability of visiting and operating in particular countries and does so with reference to the published advice available from the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office concerning the advisability of travel to each country and other published advice of the UK and Scottish Governments concerning business links with each country.

Question reference: S4W-05371

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 February 2012
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 27 February 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what Scottish Water International Business Development's operational targets are and how these will be measured.

The governance framework the Scottish Government has put in place with Scottish Water requires the organisation to produce an annual business plan that sets out the overarching business strategy for Scottish Water and its subsidiaries including how it shall exercise its non-core functions through its subsidiaries or otherwise. The governance framework can be found at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/917/0063038.pdf.

Scottish Water’s Business Plan for 2012-13 is expected to be received shortly.

Question reference: S4W-05289

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 27 January 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 8 February 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual cost to Scotland is of the healthy start programme.

The Healthy Start scheme is managed by the Department of Health on behalf of the UK Governments. The administrative costs of running the scheme are met by the Department of Health and are thought to be around £5 million per year. We do not contribute towards the cost of scheme delivery contracts, however we do meet the cost of vouchers redeemed by beneficiaries living in Scotland and we reimburse NHS boards for the cost of vitamins distributed. Based on the information received from the Department of Health, the cost of vouchers redeemed as at 18 December 2011 was £7,628,238.80, with a forecast spend of £10,275,118.32 as at March 2012. To date the total costs claimed by NHS boards for vitamins distributed is £27,208.80.

Question reference: S4W-05290

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 27 January 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 8 February 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of older people living in publicly funded care homes is given regular vitamin D supplements.

Question reference: S4W-05337

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 30 January 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 8 February 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of (a) adults and (b) children have blood levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D below the minimum level of 25 nanomoles per litre.

Question reference: S4W-05291

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 27 January 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 8 February 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to promote additional vitamin D for (a) pregnant women and (b) children.

In September 2010 the Chief Medical Officer for Scotland wrote to all health professionals urging them to explain the importance of vitamin D to patients at risk of deficiency. In June 2011 we produced a leaflet for the general public and health professionals highlighting the importance of vitamin D supplementation for at-risk groups, including pregnant women, young children, older people and those with limited sun exposure. The Chief Medical Officer for Scotland and his counterparts in the UK issued a joint letter to health professionals on 2 February 2012 to restate these messages and give them maximum impact across the UK.

Question reference: S4W-05286

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 27 January 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 8 February 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of (a) adults and (b) children in (i) mainland Scotland and (ii) the Scottish islands have blood levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D below the minimum level of 25 nanomoles per litre.

This information is not currently available. The Food Standards Agency in Scotland and the Scottish Government have funded an analysis of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) in blood samples collected in the 2010 and 2011 Scottish Health Surveys. This data is currently being analysed and is expected to report towards the end of this year. In addition, the Scottish Government are funding the Northern Isles Vitamin D Study - prevalence and impact of hypovitaminosis D in a high risk population which is expected to report in spring this year.

Question reference: S4W-05288

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 27 January 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 8 February 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of Scottish children qualifying for healthy start vitamins actually take up the benefit.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-05287 on 8 February 2012. The information contained in the management information report received from the Department of Health, does not show, as a separate statistic, the proportion of Scottish children who are eligible for the vitamins and actually take them up. 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/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

Question reference: S4W-05287

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 27 January 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 8 February 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what the uptake rate is for Scottish (a) women and (b) children who qualify for vitamins under the healthy start scheme.

Based on the Management Information report received from the Department of Health for the reporting period (21 November to 15 December 2011) there were 50,294 Scottish beneficiaries eligible under the scheme and 38,625 receiving the benefit. This represents an uptake rate of 77%. The information contained in this report does not include data relating to pregnant women aged under 18 nor does it show, as a separate statistic, the uptake rate for Scottish children.