- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 1 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-8789 by Sarah Boyack on 28 September 2000, whether any environmental costs of transporting timber from Kielder through the Southern Borders by road as opposed to rail have been considered as part of the assessment of the value of transporting harvested timber by rail; what the reasons are for the inclusion or otherwise of such consideration in this assessment and whether it would commission a supplementary report to the Scott Wilson study if the price of timber was projected to rise.
Answer
The Borders Railway Feasibility Study states that the impact of the railway would be to make it environmentally more acceptable to extract the timber. However, the overriding conclusion of the report remains that under current market conditions a Border railway would be unlikely to improve the competitiveness of Border forests with other sources of timber.
Timber prices are at an historic low point in real terms because of a combination of events: the strong exchange rate, the impact of recycling, the impact of cheap imports from the Baltic countries and consequential effects of the downturn in the Asian economy.
The Scottish Executive has no plans to commission a supplementary study to the Scott Wilson study. Any study to explore further potential markets for the Kielder Forest is a matter for the timber industry.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sam Galbraith on 30 October 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-9838 by Mr Sam Galbraith on 28 September 2000, whether it will make it a duty of the Minister for Children and Education to collect centrally information regarding swimming instruction for primary school pupils.
Answer
No.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 30 October 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive to what extent the public sector is affected by the proposed Climate Change Levy (CCL); whether it took the impact of the CCL into account when arriving at the recent local authority financial settlement and, if so, what criteria were applied.
Answer
The Climate Change Levy will apply to all public and private sector organisations. It is intended to encourage organisations to become more energy efficient. It would be counter-productive to meet the cost of the levy on local authorities. However, there will be an opportunity for CoSLA to discuss this as part of the local government finance settlement consultations if they wish.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 27 October 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-9804 by Ms Wendy Alexander on 8 September 2000, whether the new data collection will enable it to identify the number of households in temporary accommodation which include people of pensionable age.
Answer
No, the new data collection system will not separately identify the number of households in temporary accommodation which include people of pensionable age.
However, information is available from the homelessness applications data collection which separately identifies single person households of pensionable age. This provides information on the number of households placed in temporary accommodation rather than the number in temporary accommodation at any one time.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Frank McAveety on 27 October 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-2328 by Mr Frank McAveety on 28 September 2000, who is being invited to join the group being convened to determine how the central heating initiative will be implemented; what issues the group will consider and what the timetable is for the group's work.
Answer
The members of the implementation group are drawn from the power companies and Transco, CoSLA, Eaga, Scottish Homes, the SFHA, Age Concern, Help the Aged, Energy Action Scotland, the Energy Saving Trust and the Solid Fuel Association. The group's remit is to advise the Scottish Executive on how best to implement the central heating initiative and it will consider a range of issues under that heading. The first meeting was held on 24 October and a second is planned. I cannot yet say when the work will be completed.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Iain Gray on 17 October 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive which local authority takes financial responsibility for the care provision for elderly people when they move from one local authority area in which they have been assessed to another where the care provision is provided and what the statutory basis for this is.
Answer
If a local authority decides, after an assessment of need, that a person requires care and they decide that the care should be provided in another local authority's area, they retain responsibility for the costs of that person's care. The person is regarded as "ordinarily resident" in their area. These arrangements only apply where the decision to provide the care outside their own area is taken by or agreed with the local authority who has assessed the person's need.
The statutory basis for these arrangements is founded on section 86(1) of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968. There is no definition of "ordinarily resident" in the Act, but it is subject to interpretation by the courts. Scottish Executive Circular SWSG1/96, a copy of which has been placed in SPICe, sets out guidance derived from relevant legal proceedings.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 August 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Iain Gray on 12 October 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether local authorities are obliged to complete form SWSG 2/97 in terms of the Community Care Plans (Information) Directions.
Answer
The form referred to is at the Schedule to the Community Care Plans (Information) Directions 1997, which compares projected costs of residential care for older people in council homes and independent sector care homes. Local authorities are required to include the information from the form:
(a) in their Community Care Plans and
(b) annually at the council committee debating the community care budget.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 September 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 9 October 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-8859 by Susan Deacon on 13 September 2000, what the projected figure is for the number of geriatricians at 30 September 2000 and what the projected requirement is for 2000-01.
Answer
Information on all medical grades working in the specialties of geriatrics and old age psychiatry as at 30 September 1999, which is the latest available, are shown in Table 1 below.
Details on projected requirements for staff other than at consultant grade is not held by the Executive and is a matter for individual boards and Trusts. The number of new consultants required to cover expected retirals and developments within the service for 1999-2000 and 2000-01 are shown in Table 2. This however should be taken as an indicator only, as the exact number of new consultants needed to deliver services cannot be predicted with accuracy because it is affected by individual decisions to retire.
The number of trainees who will become fully trained and will be awarded a Certificate of Completion of Specialist Training (CCST) for the years in question is given in Table 2, Annex B of NHS MEL (2000) 24, published on 28 April 2000. A copy of this is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 7379).Table 1 - Staff working in Geriatrics and Old Age Psychiatry employed in the NHS in Scotland by Grade
| Geriatrics | Old Age Psychiatry |
Total | 415 | 123 |
Consultant | 93 | 43 |
Associate specialist | 2 | 2 |
Staff | 17 | 8 |
Specialist registrar | 28 | 15 |
Senior registrar | 2 | 1 |
Senior house officer | 127 | 21 |
House officer | 12 | - |
Hospital practitioner | 12 | 9 |
GMP (Para. 94) | 123 | 24 |
Source: Medical and Dental Manpower Census, ISD Scotland.
Notes:
1. Figures shown are Headcount at 30 September 1999.
2. Includes honorary appointments.
Table 2 - New Consultant Requirements in Geriatrics and Old Age Psychiatry in the NHS in Scotland
| | 1999-2000 | 2000-01 |
Geriatrics | 1 | 1 |
Old Age Psychiatry | 7 | 2 |
Notes:
1. Information supplied by individual health boards.
2. Figures shown are the number of retirements and the number of newly created posts expected from service developments outlined in individual Health Improvement Programmes and Trust Implementation Plans.
3. Funding for all new posts is a matter for health boards.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 September 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 9 October 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-9398 by Sarah Boyack on 13 September 2000, when the Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland will publish the results of their consultation exercise on the condition of local roads.
Answer
This is entirely a matter for the Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 September 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jackie Baillie on 5 October 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive when it anticipates that pensioner poverty will be eradicated.
Answer
In our Social Justice strategy, we have set long-term targets of ensuring older people are financially secure and that increased numbers enjoy independent and healthy lives. We have just announced a £300 million package including a warm deal for all pensioners, a national concessionary travel scheme and a package of care support to deliver early progress towards these targets. In addition we are working closely with the UK Government which has responsibility for tax and benefits policies to improve the incomes of pensioners.
