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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-20357

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 November 2005
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 14 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many admissions to hospital for cold-related/aggravated illnesses there have been in each year since 1999, broken down into (a) children, (b) adolescents, (c) adults and (d) elderly people in each NHS board area.

The information is shown in the following table.

Hospital discharges from acute hospitals with a diagnosis of cold related/aggravated illnesses - years ending 31 December 1999-2004 inclusive:

Year/NHS Board of Residence	Age (years)
	0-14 years	15-19 years	20-64 years	65 and over	All Ages
1999
All Areas	17	25	157	209	408
Argyll and Clyde	1	2	15	16	34
Ayrshire and Arran	3	2	19	25	49
Borders	1	-	2	1	4
Dumfries and Galloway	-	6	3	3	12
Fife	2	1	5	12	20
Forth Valley	-	-	-	9	9
Grampian	3	3	8	20	34
Greater Glasgow	-	2	16	56	74
Highland	-	1	15	12	28
Lanarkshire	1	-	13	4	18
Lothian	2	-	9	12	23
Orkney	2	-	-	3	5
Shetland	1	2	2	-	5
Tayside	-	2	25	34	61
Western Isles	-	1	2	1	4
Other	1	3	23	1	28
2000
All Areas	14	18	152	138	322
Argyll and Clyde	-	4	9	4	17
Ayrshire and Arran	1	1	17	33	52
Borders	-	2	2	2	6
Dumfries and Galloway	-	-	2	4	6
Fife	-	-	6	19	25
Forth Valley	-	-	-	7	7
Grampian	1	-	15	9	25
Greater Glasgow	1	2	16	19	38
Highland	3	1	25	11	40
Lanarkshire	3	2	3	2	10
Lothian	1	2	7	7	17
Orkney	-	-	2	1	3
Shetland	1	-	3	3	7
Tayside	3	3	19	14	39
Western Isles	-	-	-	-	-
Other	-	1	26	3	30
2001
All Areas	12	18	137	148	315
Argyll and Clyde	1	2	11	11	25
Ayrshire and Arran	-	1	13	26	40
Borders	-	-	2	2	4
Dumfries and Galloway	-	-	2	10	12
Fife	-	-	10	10	20
Forth Valley	1	-	5	6	12
Grampian	-	1	9	16	26
Greater Glasgow	1	-	17	27	45
Highland	1	2	10	4	17
Lanarkshire	2	1	2	2	7
Lothian	1	4	7	14	26
Orkney	1	2	1	4	8
Shetland	-	-	2	1	3
Tayside	4	3	19	14	40
Western Isles	-	-	6	1	7
Other	-	2	21	-	23
2002
All Areas	14	17	140	118	289
Argyll and Clyde	-	2	11	6	19
Ayrshire and Arran	-	2	12	19	33
Borders	-	-	1	1	2
Dumfries and Galloway	1	-	1	-	2
Fife	-	-	14	8	22
Forth Valley	4	-	4	5	13
Grampian	3	2	8	13	26
Greater Glasgow	-	-	26	20	46
Highland	-	2	12	11	25
Lanarkshire	1	2	5	1	9
Lothian	2	3	5	11	21
Orkney	-	1	2	4	7
Shetland	-	-	3	2	5
Tayside	2	1	14	13	30
Western Isles	-	-	2	1	3
Other	1	2	20	3	26
2003
All Areas	10	6	113	108	237
Argyll and Clyde	1	-	8	4	13
Ayrshire and Arran	2	-	9	13	24
Borders	-	-	-	-	-
Dumfries and Galloway	-	-	5	2	7
Fife	-	1	5	2	8
Forth Valley	-	-	7	2	9
Grampian	1	1	11	8	21
Greater Glasgow	-	-	18	21	39
Highland	2	2	14	13	31
Lanarkshire	1	1	3	9	14
Lothian	1	-	8	16	25
Orkney	-	1	-	3	4
Shetland	-	-	-	-	-
Tayside	2	-	6	11	19
Western Isles	-	-	1	1	2
Other	-	-	18	3	21
2004
All Areas	6	16	117	149	288
Argyll and Clyde	-	6	10	11	27
Ayrshire and Arran	1	1	5	15	22
Borders	-	-	1	1	2
Dumfries and Galloway	-	-	1	5	6
Fife	1	1	10	7	19
Forth Valley	1	-	1	10	12
Grampian	-	-	18	17	35
Greater Glasgow	1	1	11	24	37
Highland	-	-	6	22	28
Lanarkshire	2	1	5	9	17
Lothian	-	1	20	14	35
Orkney	-	1	1	1	3
Shetland	-	-	7	-	7
Tayside	-	1	8	12	21
Western Isles	-	1	-	-	1
Other	-	2	13	1	16

Notes:

1. Up to six diagnoses (one main, five secondary) are recorded on SMR01 returns. All six diagnoses have been used to select episodes for cold related illness. The International Classification of Diseases (ICD10) codes listed below have been used to define cold related/aggravated illnesses:

Frostbite (T33-T35)

Hypothermia (T68)

Other effects of reduced temperature (T69)

Exposure to excessive cold of man-made origin (W93)

Exposure to excessive natural cold (X31)

2. Other includes areas of residence outside Scotland, no fixed abode and unknown.

Question reference: S2W-20152

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 October 2005
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 9 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to broaden the eligibility criteria to increase participation in the Warm Deal as an alternative to reducing the existing budget.

Question reference: S2W-20149

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 October 2005
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 9 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to spend the £8 million savings it will make by cutting the resources for future heating programmes for vulnerable groups from £105 million for 2004-06 to £97 million for 2006-08.

The resources allocated for thecentral heating and Warm Deal programmes for 2006-08 in last year’s spendingreview were based first and foremost on an assessment of progress to date in dealingwith the stock of properties without functioning heating systems, and of the scaleof the remaining problem. However, the Executive is of course committed to seekingmaximum impact for its investment in these programmes, as in all its policies, andwill keep efficiency issues firmly in mind in deciding on their future in the lightof the current consultation.

Question reference: S2W-20150

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 October 2005
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 9 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects the number of replacement heating systems installed under the central heating programme to fall from the current average of 1,200 a year.

The level of replacements dependsboth on the assessment of the condition of the existing system and the terms of the scheme. In 2004-05, 5,873 replacement systems were installed, out of a totalof 13,027 systems installed under the programme. The Executive is currently consultingkey stakeholders on the future of the central heating and Warm Deal programmes,including the issue of the terms on which replacement systems should be offered.We will make an announcement on our proposals in due course. Arrangements to monitorand review uptake will be an important element of the new programmes

Question reference: S2W-20151

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 October 2005
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 9 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what proposals it has to raise the threshold on replacing central heating systems when a system is considered to be irreparably broken from £200 and whether it will make representations to Her Majesty’s Government in parallel with any rise in this threshold to ensure that the winter fuel payment is also increased.

Question reference: S2W-20148

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 October 2005
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 9 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what the most recent figures are on levels of fuel poverty in households.

The most up-to-date information is available from the 2002 Scottish House Condition Survey(SCHS) which showed an estimated 286,000 households (13%) to be in fuel poverty.Since 2002, the House Condition Survey methodology moved towards a continuous reportingmethod. The first data analyses are expected to be available by early 2006. Dataof comparable quality to the SHCS 2002 data are expected by late 2007.

Question reference: S2W-20071

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 October 2005
Current Status: Answered by Hugh Henry on 8 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many bankruptcies there have been in each year since the Abolition of Poindings and Warrant Sales Act 2001 came into force, broken down by sheriff court district.

The Abolition of Poindings andWarrant Sales Act 2001 never came into force as it was repealed by the Debt Arrangementand Attachment (Scotland) Act 2002, which came into force on 30 December 2002.

The Accountant in Bankruptcy(AiB) maintains the Register of Insolvencies in Scotland. Details of the numbersof bankruptcies awarded by Sheriffdoms by financial year are compiled by AiB andincluded in the annual report.

The table below gives the numberof bankruptcies for the financial years 2003-04 and 2004-05, and for the financialyear 2005-06 up to 31 October 2005.

Further information on bankruptciesis available in the Accountant in Bankruptcy’s Annual Report which is availableat www.aib.gov.uk.

Sheriffdom (Sheriff Court)	1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004	1 April 2004 to 31 March 2005	1 April 2005 to 31 October 2005
Tayside, Central and Fife
Alloa	35	38	21
Arbroath	43	42	20
Cupar	58	61	46
Dundee	162	182	314
Dunfermline	128	156	125
Falkirk	125	172	112
Forfar	31	36	14
Kirkcaldy	164	212	162
Perth	107	122	115
Stirling	50	41	45
Total awards for Sheriffdom	903	1062	974
South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway
Airdrie	103	124	213
Ayr	89	85	67
Dumfries	51	37	39
Hamilton	232	215	204
Kirkcudbright	19	22	11
Lanark	39	41	33
Stranraer	15	22	20
Total awards for Sheriffdom	548	546	587
North Strathclyde
Campbeltown	7	9	6
Dumbarton	95	85	66
Dunoon	13	18	7
Greenock	49	44	40
Kilmarnock	158	133	103
Oban	22	13	8
Paisley	120	133	134
Rothesay	5	8	4
Total awards for Sheriffdom	469	443	368
Grampian, Highland and Islands
Aberdeen	202	254	178
Banff	19	21	9
Dingwall	25	12	20
Dornoch	5	7	4
Elgin	60	78	44
Fort William	13	19	18
Inverness	38	58	39
Kirkwall	10	4	12
Lerwick	12	9	5
Lochmaddy	2	4	5
Peterhead	68	70	43
Portree	4	9	3
Stonehaven	29	39	17
Stornoway	10	8	16
Tain	6	10	8
Wick	17	13	16
Total awards for Sheriffdom	520	615	437
Lothian and Borders
Duns	5	12	7
Edinburgh	262	243	231
Haddington	105	81	58
Jedburgh	28	29	21
Linlithgow	124	112	108
Peebles	6	10	2
Selkirk	17	19	26
Total awards for Sheriffdom	547	506	453
Glasgow	322	349	365
Total Awards	3,309	3,521	3,184
Court of Session (included in the total)	414	528	424

Question reference: S2W-20069

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 October 2005
Current Status: Answered by Hugh Henry on 8 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many money advisers there have been in each year since the implementation of the Debt Arrangement Scheme, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

Question reference: S2W-20070

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 October 2005
Current Status: Answered by Hugh Henry on 8 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many debt arrangement schemes there have been in each year since the Abolition of Poindings and Warrant Sales Act 2001 came into force, broken down by sheriff court district.

Question reference: S2W-20316

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 November 2005
Current Status: Answered by Allan Wilson on 8 November 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-18492 by Allan Wilson on 7 September 2005, whether it has set a date for publication of its draft energy efficiency strategy.