- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 06 April 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 9 May 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-1003 by Susan Deacon on 10 September 1999, when it will make the announcement referred to on advice from the UK National Screening Committee on hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy and, if it has already made this announcement, whether it will give details.
Answer
I refer to my answer to question S1W-6079.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 06 April 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 9 May 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is any assessment in Scotland or UK-wide of existing screening methods for hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy.
Answer
I refer to my answer to question S1W-6079.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 06 April 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 9 May 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details by health board area of current screening programmes for hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy.
Answer
No population screening programmes for hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy are currently provided by the NHS anywhere in Scotland. If people are concerned that they might be at risk because of the condition, they can ask their GP to refer them to a cardiologist who would be able to carry out the necessary tests.
I announced on 10 April my decision to accept the expert advice from the National Screening Committee that the NHS in Scotland should not offer a population-wide screening programme for this condition. I wrote to the member that day with a copy of the News Release and the text of the letter which the Department had sent to Scottish Heart at Risk Testing, a voluntary body concerned with promoting awareness of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
The National Screening Committee took the view that on the basis of our present knowledge, screening should not be undertaken because a significant number of those diagnosed by the current tests will go on to live a normal life span and will have been excluded unnecessarily from sporting and other activities. As there would also be employment and insurance consequences following such a diagnosis, the disadvantages outweigh the possible benefits of screening.
There is no precise screening test at present, as there are variable definitions of the degree of enlargement of the heart muscle which constitutes a positive diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Testing by echocardiography (ECG) may miss some young people at risk of sudden death and cause potentially unnecessary distress to those whose life spans will not be affected.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 06 April 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 9 May 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether are any plans to develop an educational programme about hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy to alert those who may be at risk of the need to be screened.
Answer
I refer to my answer to question S1W-6079.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 April 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 9 May 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-4693 by Sarah Boyack on 3 April 2000, whether it maintains data with regard to the environmental impact of low-level flying including complaints from the public, either individually or on a collective basis.
Answer
The Scottish Executive maintains no data on the environmental impact of low-level flying, as aviation matters, both military and civil, are reserved to the UK Parliament.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 06 April 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 26 April 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive how many deaths as a consequence of hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy there have been in each of the last five years and how these figures are compiled.
Answer
The information is in the following table:Numbers of deaths where the underlying cause of death was recorded as hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (ICD 425.1*)
1995 | 11 |
1996 | 11 |
1997 | 5 |
1998 | 6 |
1999 (provisional) | 6 |
*Deaths in Scotland for the years to 1999 were coded to the World Health Organisation's International Classification of Diseases Ninth Revision (ICD9). The Tenth Revision (ICD10) is being used for deaths registered since 1 January 2000.
For every death, a doctor has to complete a medical certificate of cause-of-death. The "informant" (the person, generally a relative of the deceased, who has the duty of giving information to the local registrar of births, deaths and marriages to enable the death to be formally registered) hands over this medical certificate to the registrar who transcribes the cause-of-death details on to the register entry. Local registrars generally capture register-entry information electronically (now 96%) and send it to the Registrar General in Edinburgh, who compiles Scotland's cause-of-death statistics. Cause-of-death figures for 1998 and earlier years are available on the website of the General Register Office for Scotland, http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk. The Registrar General makes an annual report each summer to the Parliament for the preceding calendar year, including cause-of-death information. The Registrar General sent a paper copy of his most recent (1998) Annual Report to each MSP last summer, after it was published on 27 July 1999.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 30 March 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Iain Gray on 13 April 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive which social work departments, in each local authority, carry out mandatory police checks for care staff who work in both residential and home settings.
Answer
This information is not available centrally. The arrangements for accessing police checks presently vary from sector to sector. Checks may be carried out as part of the registration process for independent care providers; and local authorities are able to carry out police checks on certain of their own care staff.
Once the Scottish Social Services Council is set up following the White Paper Aiming for Excellence, priority groups of care staff will be registered on a consistent national basis. This process will involve police checks. We hope to introduce the necessary legislation to set up the Council when parliamentary time permits.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 18 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 3 April 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive how much money has been invested by it and The Scottish Office in the transport infrastructure for the Scottish Borders broken down for each of the last ten consecutive years.
Answer
Scottish Executive and Scottish Office investment in transport infrastructure in the Scottish Borders has been mainly in the trunk road network. Capital expenditure on trunk road improvements and repairs in each of the last three completed financial years (the period for which information is available), is shown below. The figures exclude revenue expenditure on routine cyclical and winter maintenance.
Year | Investment (£ million) |
1996-97 | 6.2 |
1997-98 | 3.7 |
1998-99 | 1.1 |
In addition, a contract has just been placed for the £3.7 million Hawick Traffic Relief Scheme on the A7 trunk road. Funding for this will be shared by the Scottish Executive (61%) and Scottish Borders Council (39%). This scheme is scheduled for completion by the end of this year.The Scottish Executive (and previously The Scottish Office) also provides support for local authority capital investment by way of capital allocations. This is a single allocation covering all services (except housing for which there are separate arrangements) and it is entirely a matter for individual local authorities to allocate the overall amount reflecting local priorities for services. Under the Transport Challenge Fund, a competition administered by the Scottish Office, Scottish Borders Council was awarded additional capital allocations totalling £6.5 million in financial years 1997-98 and 1998-99 for the Kelso Bridge and Bypass project. Since 1998-99 grant of £158,000 per annum has been paid to the Council to aid rural public passenger transport services. This grant is principally to be used for revenue purposes. However, in 1998-99 up to 20% and in 1999-2000 up to 10% of the grant could be used for capital purposes. During 1998-99 a grant of £8,000 was made from the Cycle Challenge Fund to the Forestry Commission (Forest Enterprise South Borders Forest District) for the purpose of creating a historical cycle route from Peebles passing through Glentress Woodland Park.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sarah Boyack on 3 April 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to address the environmental and agricultural implications of low level flying in the Borders.
Answer
The Scottish Executive has no functions in relation to low-level flying. Aviation matters, both civil and military, are reserved to the UK Parliament. The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the United Kingdom Government on a wide range of issues, including aviation matters.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 27 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-1355 by Mr Jim Wallace on 17 January 2000 and to question S1W-3497 by Mr Jack McConnell on 25 January 2000, whether it will now make available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre copies of the written opinions of the UK Law Officers in relation to the Noel Ruddle proceedings and, if not, why not.
Answer
Any copies of the written opinions of the UK Law Officers which were inherited by the Scottish Executive on 1 July 1999 or have come into its possession since that date were or are provided by the UK Government on the basis that these may not be disclosed outwith the Executive.