- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 January 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 7 February 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to address any shortage of skilled nurses to manage the caseloads of patients with hepatitis C.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is committed to building nursing capacity within NHSScotland and is on track to achieve the Partnership Agreement target of attracting 12,000 nurses and midwives to NHS Scotland by 2007.
In addition, the Facing the Future initiative for recruitment and retention of nurses is supporting and promoting a range of measures to boost the number of qualified nurses in NHSScotland, which is now at an all time high of 39,000 whole-time equivalents (WTE).
Information on clinical nurse specialists employed in NHSScotland was collected for the first time at 30 September 2003. Across Scotland nurse specialists who treat and care for patients with hepatitis C can beidentified under the following titles: gastro-intestinal specialist nurses, hepatology specialist nurses and substance misuse specialist nurses. Information on staff in post by NHS board and clinical area of work is published in the report Clinical Nurse Specialists – Results from the Pilot Data Collection. This report is published on the Scottish Health Statistics website under Workforce Statistics, at www.isdscotland.org/workforce.
Information on Clinical Nurse Specialists is now collected annually at 30 September each year and compliments other intelligence and data for workforce planning purposes.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 January 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 7 February 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the launch of its hepatitis C action plan will be accompanied by a financial commitment and, if so, whether this will be new funding and whether it will be ring-fenced.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-13828, on 7 February 2005. 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/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 January 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 7 February 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has put audit processes in place to assess the effectiveness of hepatitis C prevention and harm-reduction measures.
Answer
Current processes include:
- monitoring by Health Protection Scotland of the prevalence of hepatitis C among injecting drug users. This surveillance activity is designed to monitor trends so that the effectiveness of interventions can be evaluated.
- a study, funded by the Effective Interventions Unit, to evaluate the effectiveness of the raising of the limits on the numbers of needles and syringes made available to injecting drug users; a report on the findings of this study will be published in 2005.
- a study, funded by the Chief Scientist Office, to evaluate the impact of methadone maintenance on high risk behaviours among injecting drug users, which was completed last year. A final report has been submitted to the Chief Scientist Office and a scientific publication is likely in 2005.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 7 February 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what the population was in (a) 1999 and (b) 2004 and what the projected population figures are for 2010, broken down by Scottish parliamentary constituency.
Answer
Sub-national population estimates and projections are not calculated for Scottish parliamentary constituencies. Information for local authority and health board areas is available on the General Register Office for Scotland website at
http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/library/index.html.Results from the 2001 Census, published by the Registrar General on 25 March 2003, show that the resident population at 29 April 2001 for each Scottish parliamentary constituency was:
| Parliamentary Constituency | Total Population |
| Aberdeen Central | 70,104 |
| Aberdeen North | 69,935 |
| Aberdeen South | 72,086 |
| Airdrie and Shotts | 77,762 |
| Angus | 77,083 |
| Argyll and Bute | 63,443 |
| Ayr | 71,382 |
| Banff and Buchan | 76,871 |
| Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross | 52,405 |
| Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley | 81,388 |
| Central Fife | 75,092 |
| Clydebank and Milngavie | 67,517 |
| Clydesdale | 81,888 |
| Coatbridge and Chryston | 66,789 |
| Cumbernauld and Kilsyth | 64,552 |
| Cunninghame North | 69,124 |
| Cunninghame South | 66,693 |
| Dumbarton | 76,074 |
| Dumfries | 80,595 |
| Dundee East | 76,557 |
| Dundee West | 68,512 |
| Dunfermline East | 70,115 |
| Dunfermline West | 65,508 |
| East Kilbride | 83,893 |
| East Lothian | 76,365 |
| Eastwood | 89,311 |
| Edinburgh Central | 74,270 |
| Edinburgh East and Musselburgh | 74,555 |
| Edinburgh North and Leith | 75,571 |
| Edinburgh Pentlands | 73,963 |
| Edinburgh South | 81,413 |
| Edinburgh West | 82,575 |
| Falkirk East | 75,956 |
| Falkirk West | 69,235 |
| Galloway and Upper Nithsdale | 67,170 |
| Glasgow Anniesland | 63,385 |
| Glasgow Baillieston | 64,106 |
| Glasgow Cathcart | 61,847 |
| Glasgow Govan | 61,555 |
| Glasgow Kelvin | 64,472 |
| Glasgow Maryhill | 64,628 |
| Glasgow Pollok | 62,756 |
| Glasgow Rutherglen | 65,720 |
| Glasgow Shettleston | 55,926 |
| Glasgow Springburn | 69,324 |
| Gordon | 78,720 |
| Greenock and Inverclyde | 62,478 |
| Hamilton North and Bellshill | 70,817 |
| Hamilton South | 60,743 |
| Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber | 85,390 |
| Kilmarnock and Loudoun | 79,562 |
| Kirkcaldy | 63,598 |
| Linlithgow | 72,160 |
| Livingston | 86,554 |
| Midlothian | 64,327 |
| Moray | 79,003 |
| Motherwell and Wishaw | 65,630 |
| North East Fife | 75,116 |
| North Tayside | 78,651 |
| Ochil | 74,826 |
| Orkney Islands | 19,245 |
| Paisley North | 61,100 |
| Paisley South | 66,358 |
| Perth | 78,400 |
| Ross, Skye and Inverness West | 71,119 |
| Roxburgh and Berwickshire | 57,480 |
| Shetland Islands | 21,988 |
| Stirling | 69,272 |
| Strathkelvin and Bearsden | 81,252 |
| Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale | 65,898 |
| West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine | 79,217 |
| West Renfrewshire | 67,134 |
| Western Isles | 26,502 |
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 January 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 7 February 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether funding has been identified for further preventative innovations to combat the spread of hepatitis C.
Answer
In addition to their unified budgets, the Executive already gives over £8 million per year to NHS boards in earmarked resources for work to prevent bloodborne viruses, including hepatitis C. NHS boards use these resources in a variety of ways taking account of local need, including awareness-raising initiatives and needle exchange schemes.
In October 2004, linked to SR2004, it was announced that an additional £6 million per annum would be provided for drug treatment and rehabilitation services in 2005-06. This brings the total to £32.5 million per annum, an increase of 23% on 2004-05.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 January 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 7 February 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are sufficient resources available to ensure that people with hepatitis C are treated and counselled (a) inside and (b) outside hospital.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-13609, on 31 January 2005. 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/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 January 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 7 February 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are substantial support services available for people diagnosed with hepatitis C.
Answer
Since 2002, the Executive has made available resources for the establishment and ongoing activities of the UK Hepatitis C Resource Centre in Scotland, which is based in Glasgow and offers advice on testing and treatment to those affected by hepatitis C. The services provided by the centre are in addition to those made available through individual NHS boards.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 10 January 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Johann Lamont on 3 February 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what concerns it has that local authorities may have moved funding from handyman services and aids and adaptations for tenants in the socially-rented sector in order to provide the required contributions to funding the Care and Repair Scheme.
Answer
Aids and adaptations andhandyman services for tenants in the social rented sector are funded from rentsand specific grants from Communities Scotland. This funding would not beeligible to be used to support Care and Repair services, which work to improvehousing conditions in the private sector.
Additional information onCare and Repair funding is available in the report “Care and Repair NationalIndicators 2003-04” published by Communities Scotland:
http://www.communitiesscotland.gov.uk/web/FILES/carerepair2004.pdf.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 10 January 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Johann Lamont on 3 February 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether providing capital funding for works undertaken by the Care and Repair Scheme, which may include aids and adaptations and a handyman service, through the private sector housing grant disadvantages those in the socially-rented sector from accessing such services.
Answer
We are committed to meetingthe housing needs of people in all tenures across Scotlandincluding owner occupiers. Care and Repair projects help older owner-occupiersand private sector tenants to arrange repairs and adaptations to their homes,and may also provide handyman services for small household jobs. Clients mayapply for grants from the local authority, funded by Private Sector Housing Grant,to help with the capital costs of major works.
In the social rented sector,repairs and adaptations will be arranged by the landlord, and are funded fromrents and specific grants available from Communities Scotland. RegisteredSocial Landlords can provide handyman services for their older tenants if theywish, to help with jobs that would normally be the tenant’s responsibility. Insome areas agreement may be reached for one agency to provide handyman servicesto people in all tenures. This should be arranged with appropriate financialcontributions from all partners.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 24 January 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 2 February 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the objectives in its Financial Inclusion Action Plan of January 2005, what target it has for people living in "vulnerable and disadvantaged groups" working in sustained employment.
Answer
There is information on the Executive’s closing the opportunity gap website,
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/topics/people/social-inclusion/17415/opportunity about targets relating to sustained employment for workless people dependent on Department of Work and Pensions benefits in key areas, 16 to 19-year-olds not in education, training or employment, employees of public sector and large employers on low wages, young people leaving care and residents of the most deprived neighbourhoods.
