- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 May 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 24 May 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-6845 by Allan Wilson on 29 April 2004, whether it will review the eligibility criteria for the exemption scheme in respect of circumstances where an applicant is debarred from the scheme unless the premises had relief from water charges as at 31 March 1999 and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.
Answer
The exemption scheme was createdto assist organisations that had been in receipt of discretionary relief on theirwater and sewerage charges and were likely to be most affected by the withdrawalof that relief. As the criteria for the scheme reflect this objective, there areno plans to review them.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 May 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 24 May 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-1778 by Ms Margaret Curran on 19 August 2003, what Communities Scotland's investment in real terms will be in 2004-05 and what investment is projected for 2005-06.
Answer
I have asked Angiolina Foster,Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:
The amount of planned investment by Communities Scotland in 2004-05 will be £264 million, with £182 million invested in urban housing, £65 million in rural housing and the remainder not attributed to a single distinct geographical area. In addition, a further £20 million has also been set aside to be available to respond to any immediate requirements emerging from the affordable housing review.
The investment programme for2005-06 will be agreed in late 2004/early 2005.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 May 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 24 May 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has concerns about the operation of a points system for applications for housing by housing associations.
Answer
I have asked Ms Angiolina Foster,Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:
The Housing (Scotland) Act1987 establishes statutory requirements in relation to the allocation of housesby Registered Social Landlords. Landlords are required to give reasonable preferencein allocations to the statutory categories of priority need.
There is a range of acceptableapproaches that landlords can take in order to achieve this; a points based systemfor housing applications is one of these. A landlord is free to adopt its preferredsystem as long as it can demonstrate that it is complying with the requirementsof the legislation and the performance standards published jointly by CommunitiesScotland, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and the Scottish Federationof Housing Associations.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 May 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 24 May 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what concerns it has that services to methadone patients, particularly in Glasgow and Edinburgh, may be withdrawn partly or wholly due to a dispute by GPs over payments for such treatment and what action it will take to address any such concerns.
Answer
Negotiations are taking placeacross Scotland between NHS boards and GPs on the provision and fundingof enhanced services (including services for drug misusers) under the new GeneralMedical Services contract. We are monitoring the position, but we do not believethat it would be appropriate to intervene in local negotiations at this point.
Our understanding is that agreementhas been reached between health authorities and GPs in Glasgow for aone year period, and that a review will be undertaken during that period of howservices for drug misusers will operate beyond then. Transitional arrangements arebeing put in place in Lothian to cater for patients from GP practices which havedecided to opt out of providing services for drug misusers.
The new contract incorporatesa Patient Service Guarantee, which will ensure that patients will receive at leastthe range of services they currently receive, although these may not necessarilybe delivered in the same way. The new contract is being supported by an unprecedented33% increase in investment in primary care services, which will see spending ongeneral medical services rise to £575 million in 2005-06. The Executive has alsoinvested an additional £34 million over the three years 2001-02 to 2003-04 in improvingdrug treatment and rehabilitation services.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 May 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 24 May 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of GP practices in each NHS board area prescribe methadone.
Answer
The table shows the number and percentage of all GP Practices, by NHS bard, that prescribed methadone (all formulations) in December 2003.
Number and Percentage of GP Practices Prescribing Methadone
NHS Board | December 2003 |
Methadone | Total | % |
Argyll and Clyde | 62 | 102 | 60.78 |
Ayrshire and Arran | 8 | 62 | 12.90 |
Borders | 10 | 24 | 41.67 |
Dumfries and Galloway | 16 | 37 | 43.24 |
Fife | 51 | 63 | 80.95 |
Forth Valley | 22 | 63 | 34.92 |
Grampian | 61 | 88 | 69.32 |
Greater Glasgow | 166 | 221 | 75.11 |
Highland | 29 | 75 | 38.67 |
Lanarkshire | 92 | 110 | 83.64 |
Lothian | 116 | 141 | 82.27 |
Orkney | 0 | 15 | 0.00 |
Shetland | 2 | 10 | 20.00 |
Tayside | 57 | 72 | 79.17 |
Western Isles | 0 | 14 | 0.00 |
All NHS Boards | 692 | 1097 | 63.08 |
The table does not present the full picture of methadone prescribing services across Scotland, since specialist drug services also prescribe methadone, both in community and residential settings.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 May 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 24 May 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-3112 by Ms Margaret Curran on 21 October 2003, how the #57 million for rural affordable housing was distributed, broken down by local authority area.
Answer
I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:
In 2003-04, the planned investment for rural affordable housing by local authority was broken down as follows:
| £ Million |
Aberdeenshire | 7.622 |
Angus | 2.177 |
Argyll and Bute | 4.138 |
Dumfries and Galloway | 5.215 |
East Ayrshire | 1.339 |
Fife | 3.094 |
Highland | 10.678 |
Moray | 1.639 |
North Ayrshire | 0.025 |
Orkney | 1.746 |
Perth and Kinross | 3.589 |
Shetland | 0.900 |
South Ayrshire | 3.933 |
South Lanarkshire | 3.723 |
Stirling | 2.238 |
The Scottish Borders | 3.266 |
Western Isles | 2.199 |
Note:
Planned expenditure figures are used in this table as year-end expenditure reconciliation is ongoing. Figures exclude social and environmental grants provided in rural areas.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 May 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 19 May 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has regarding policies in other European nations with regard to local people purchasing or renting rural properties in their local area and how such information may be used to inform its policy-making processes.
Answer
Through the Land Reform (Scotland) Act2003 the Executive has promoted sustainable development throughout rural Scotland, diversityin land ownership and the involvement of local communities in decisions that affecttheir futures. The proposals in the act were informed by studies of current practicesin relation to land ownership in a number of European member states, and by responsesto consultation from outwith Scotland.
The Executive will continue tomonitor practices in other countries when developing its future land reform policies.It does not routinely collect information on European practice in relation to morespecific and detailed aspects of buying and renting land and property.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 May 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 18 May 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance will be given to claimants in completing the forms for application to the Skipton Trust.
Answer
Officials are working with patientgroup representatives to ensure that the applications forms are user friendly andfit for purpose. Comprehensive guidance will be provided with the application formand the Skipton Fund will operate a telephone helpline.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 May 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 18 May 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how the Skipton Trust will be configured and who will be appointed as its trustees and by what selection process.
Answer
The Skipton Fund was incorporatedas a company limited by guarantee on 25 March 2004.No substantive appointments have as yet been made.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 May 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 18 May 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what process will be established for representation at appeals when a claim is rejected by the Skipton Trust and whether assistance will be provided with such representation and, if so, what form this will take.
Answer
An appeals process will be establishedbut this is still under discussion.