Questions and answers

Question reference: S1W-04653

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 February 2000
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 8 March 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what level of funding it is proposing to allocate for research into and prevention of cardiomyopathy.

The Scottish Executive has received no research proposals of a sufficiently high standard on cardiomyopathy recently and therefore does not directly fund research into heart muscle disease at present. However, we would be pleased to receive research applications on any of the three types of cardiomyopathy (dilated, restrictive and hypertrophic), especially as cardiovascular problems remain a priority of the Scottish Executive.We are aware of 129 research projects on cardiomyopathy which are currently taking place in the UK, five of which are taking place in Scotland. The results of the projects undertaken throughout the UK will inform the future direction of research and treatment of this disease.Details of all the UK projects are available from the National Research Register (NRR), a copy of which is in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe).

Question reference: S1W-04596

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 February 2000
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 7 March 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive (a) whether there is "no crisis" in the farming industry as stated in the recent report published by the Cabinet Office, (b) how it determines whether there is a crisis in the industry and (c) what its definition is of an industrial crisis.

Question reference: S1W-04524

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 February 2000
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 2 March 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have left the Scottish Borders since 1998.

Question reference: S1W-04523

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 February 2000
Current Status: Answered by Henry McLeish on 2 March 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive how much inward investment has been attracted to the Scottish Borders by Locate in Scotland for the years 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99 and 1999-2000 and what it estimates the figure will be for 2000-01.

In the Scottish Borders Enterprise area between 1996 and 1999, Locate in Scotland was involved in expansion projects by Mainetti and Viasystems.In the current financial year, the following projects which have been attracted to the Scottish Borders Enterprise area have been announced:

COMPANY	JOBS	DATE OF ANNOUNCEMENT
Mainetti	100	June 1999
Manpower	60	July 1999
Allflex	40	October 1999

Locate in Scotland does not produce estimated figures for individual areas.

Question reference: S1W-04398

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 February 2000
Current Status: Answered by Iain Gray on 1 March 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the social work budget in each local authority was spent on services for the elderly in each of financial years 1994-95, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98 and 1998-99.

Due to the way in which expenditure data are structured, it is difficult to identify exactly how much is spent on older people. There is an element of social work expenditure which cannot easily be allocated to individual client groups. In addition to "services for older people", local authorities record expenditure on "services for all community care client groups" and "social services management and support services"; a proportion of this expenditure will be on services for older people.

The tables below detail the net revenue expenditure by each local authority on (a) older people, (b) all community care client groups, and (c) social services management and support services as a percentage of total social work expenditure. Data are only given for the years 1996-97, 1997-98 and 1998-99 as comparable information is not available prior to April 1996 due to local government reorganisation.

Data for 1998-99 are from a different source than data for earlier years; the categories in table three are therefore slightly different. The apparent large increase between 1997-98 and 1998-99 is largely due to definitional differences.

Some of the variation between authorities may be due to accounting differences rather than differences in the provision of services.

Table 1 Net Revenue Expenditure on Social Work by Local Authorities 1996-7¹ (£ millions)

	Older People	All Community Care Client Groups	Social Services Management and Support Services	Total Social Work	% Older People	% All Community Care Client Groups	% Social Services Management and Support Services
Aberdeen City	6.7	12.7	8.6	52.1	12.9%	24.5%	16.6%
Aberdeenshire	4.5	14.7	5.1	37.8	11.8%	39.1%	13.6%
Angus	7.8	3.5	1.5	21.5	36.1%	16.4%	7.0%
Argyll & Bute²	4.5	2.9	3.6	17.8	25.3%	16.4%	20.1%
Clackmannanshire	1.4	3.3	1.0	9.1	14.9%	36.6%	10.9%
Dumfries and Galloway	4.9	7.5	5.9	26.9	18.1%	28.1%	21.9%
Dundee City	6.2	8.2	4.4	36.8	16.9%	22.4%	12.1%
East Ayrshire	4.5	5.2	4.6	22.8	19.7%	22.8%	20.1%
East Dunbartonshire	0.3	5.2	2.1	12.6	2.0%	41.4%	16.6%
East Lothian	2.6	5.5	2.4	17.6	14.6%	31.0%	13.7%
East Renfrewshire	1.3	4.1	1.5	10.9	11.8%	37.8%	13.9%
Edinburgh City	10.7	21.4	22.4	106.6	10.1%	20.0%	21.0%
Eilean Siar	3.5	3.2	0.3	9.0	38.9%	36.1%	3.4%
Falkirk	2.1	8.9	2.8	28.6	7.3%	31.0%	9.9%
Fife	13.1	21.3	7.6	69.7	18.9%	30.6%	10.9%
Glasgow City	25.4	46.7	30.8	197.2	12.9%	23.7%	15.6%
Highland	9.0	10.3	7.0	36.0	25.1%	28.7%	19.4%
Inverclyde	1.4	6.2	1.1	20.4	7.0%	30.5%	5.2%
Midlothian	1.9	5.1	1.9	15.8	12.1%	32.3%	11.9%
Moray	3.3	4.6	2.1	17.2	19.3%	26.5%	12.0%
North Ayrshire	2.2	7.5	6.9	24.8	8.8%	30.4%	27.9%
North Lanarkshire	14.7	9.8	13.8	56.6	26.0%	17.4%	24.4%
Orkney	1.3	1.5	0.4	5.2	26.0%	28.8%	8.4%
Perth & Kinross	7.1	1.6	3.2	21.2	33.5%	7.5%	15.2%
Renfrewshire	6.7	8.0	1.9	32.3	20.7%	24.8%	5.8%
Scottish Borders	6.3	3.9	1.9	19.6	31.9%	19.9%	9.4%
Shetland	1.7	1.9	1.0	7.1	24.1%	27.0%	13.9%
South Ayrshire	5.6	4.6	2.4	20.9	26.9%	22.0%	11.5%
South Lanarkshire	7.5	11.8	11.8	47.7	15.7%	24.8%	24.7%
Stirling	2.5	5.3	1.4	15.2	16.3%	34.6%	9.5%
West Dunbartonshire	6.9	4.7	0.7	22.7	30.1%	20.6%	3.2%
West Lothian	3.8	8.4	1.5	29.5	12.9%	28.4%	5.2%
Scotland	180.7	269.7	163.9	1,069.0	16.9%	25.2%	15.3%

Source: As reported by Local Authorities on Local Financial Returns (LFR3 Social Work)Notes:1. There have been definitional changes in the LFR3 form between 1996-97 and 1997-98 which may make comparisons difficult. In 1996-97 nursing homes were included in "Services for All Community Care Client Groups" and in 1997-98 they were allocated to individual client groups, including "Services for Older People". Additionally, supported accommodation and senior management and purchasing were included in "Services for Older People" in 1996-97 but not for 1997-98.2. The Argyll & Bute figure for "Social Services Management and Support Services" is estimated.Table 2 Net Revenue Expenditure on Social Work by Local Authorities 1997/8^1,2 (£ millions)

	Older People	All Community Care Client Groups	Social Services Management and Support Services	Total Social Work	% Older People	% All Community Care Client Groups	% Social Services Management and Support Services
Aberdeen City	4.7	20.5	6.6	52.8	8.8%	38.9%	12.5%
Aberdeenshire	8.5	9.6	1.8	37.7	22.6%	25.4%	4.7%
Angus	7.3	4.9	1.1	22.0	33.2%	22.2%	4.9%
Argyll & Bute	5.8	3.1	4.3	22.8	25.5%	13.4%	18.8%
Clackmannanshire	1.2	3.8	0.5	9.8	12.0%	38.4%	5.3%
Dumfries and Galloway	8.2	6.8	2.7	30.8	26.6%	22.1%	8.8%
Dundee City	9.5	7.2	1.4	37.7	25.1%	19.0%	3.7%
East Ayrshire	5.6	4.8	3.9	23.1	24.0%	20.9%	16.9%
East Dunbartonshire	0.5	8.3	1.3	13.8	3.5%	59.8%	9.6%
East Lothian	4.4	4.1	3.1	19.2	23.0%	21.5%	15.9%
East Renfrewshire	3.3	3.0	0.9	12.7	25.8%	23.9%	7.1%
Edinburgh City	18.1	14.6	25.3	105.8	17.1%	13.8%	23.9%
Eilean Siar	3.4	3.3	0.4	9.3	36.1%	35.2%	4.8%
Falkirk	5.0	5.8	2.8	28.6	17.6%	20.2%	9.9%
Fife	16.3	18.9	6.6	68.3	23.9%	27.7%	9.7%
Glasgow City	43.3	23.0	38.7	185.8	23.3%	12.4%	20.8%
Highland	12.9	4.3	9.1	38.3	33.8%	11.2%	23.7%
Inverclyde	4.1	2.5	3.1	19.8	20.7%	12.8%	15.5%
Midlothian	3.6	4.0	1.3	16.6	22.0%	24.2%	8.0%
Moray	4.9	2.4	2.1	17.0	28.8%	14.2%	12.6%
North Ayrshire	5.3	4.7	6.9	25.9	20.5%	18.0%	26.5%
North Lanarkshire	16.4	10.6	13.9	58.4	28.1%	18.2%	23.8%
Orkney	1.6	1.5	0.6	5.6	28.8%	26.7%	10.2%
Perth & Kinross	6.7	2.9	3.5	22.3	30.2%	13.1%	15.7%
Renfrewshire	8.8	9.4	1.7	34.2	25.9%	27.7%	4.9%
Scottish Borders	5.9	4.0	2.9	20.1	29.2%	20.1%	14.3%
Shetland	1.2	3.0	1.0	7.8	15.7%	38.3%	13.1%
South Ayrshire	5.4	4.3	4.2	20.4	26.4%	21.1%	20.6%
South Lanarkshire	12.5	13.4	6.2	53.6	23.3%	25.1%	11.5%
Stirling	2.8	4.3	1.7	15.4	18.1%	28.1%	11.0%
West Dunbartonshire	6.2	4.4	-0.1	21.0	29.6%	21.2%	-0.4%
West Lothian	6.2	6.3	1.4	30.3	20.6%	20.9%	4.7%
Scotland	249.6	222.7	161.2	1,086.7	23.0%	20.5%	14.8%

Source: As reported by Local Authorities on Local Financial Returns (LFR3 Social Work)

Notes:

1. 1997-98 data are provisional and therefore are subject to change.

2. There have been definitional changes in the LFR3 form between 1996-97 and 1997-98 which may make comparisons difficult. In 1996-97 nursing homes were included in "Services for All Community Care Client Groups" and in 1997-98 they were allocated to individual client groups, including "Services for Older People" Additionally, supported accommodation and senior management and purchasing were included in "Services for Older People" in 1996-97 but not for 1997-98.

Table 3 Net Revenue Expenditure on Social Work by Local Authorities 1998-9¹ (£ millions)

	Older People	Unallocated Admin and Casework	Total Social Work	% Older People	% Unallocated Admin and Casework
Aberdeen City	19.2	7.6	53.7	35.8%	14.1%
Aberdeenshire	15.1	1.6	39.8	37.8%	4.0%
Angus	11.4	3.9	23.2	49.1%	16.9%
Argyll & Bute	8.8	0.4	18.6	47.3%	2.0%
Clackmannanshire	4.5	1.6	10.4	43.5%	15.1%
Dumfries and Galloway	13.7	3.5	32.4	42.3%	10.8%
Dundee City	16.6	-	40.3	41.2%	0.0%
East Ayrshire	9.1	7.5	23.8	38.3%	31.6%
East Dunbartonshire	6.4	2.4	15.5	41.2%	15.4%
East Lothian	8.5	2.0	19.3	44.0%	10.6%
East Renfrewshire	5.2	0.9	13.5	38.1%	6.7%
Edinburgh City	32.7	-	108.2	30.2%	0.0%
Eilean Siar	6.2	-	10.1	62.1%	0.0%
Falkirk	6.8	0.5	28.0	24.2%	-1.7%
Fife	27.7	11.3	69.4	39.9%	16.2%
Glasgow City	69.2	4.5	185.9	37.2%	2.4%
Highland	19.0	6.3	39.0	48.7%	16.2%
Inverclyde	9.5	0.4	20.7	46.1%	1.8%
Midlothian	6.1	-	17.0	35.5%	0.0%
Moray	6.5	1.8	18.2	36.0%	10.0%
North Ayrshire	10.7	1.8	26.3	40.7%	6.6%
North Lanarkshire	27.2	0.2	61.0	44.5%	0.4%
Orkney	2.7	0.7	5.5	49.4%	13.1%
Perth & Kinross	12.3	1.4	23.2	52.8%	5.8%
Renfrewshire	16.2	-	36.2	44.8%	0.0%
Scottish Borders	9.4	0.7	22.3	42.3%	3.0%
Shetland	3.8	-	7.8	49.2%	0.0%
South Ayrshire	14.0	-	22.9	61.2%	0.0%
South Lanarkshire	27.3	0.2	54.6	50.0%	0.3%
Stirling	6.0	2.3	16.8	35.5%	13.8%
West Dunbartonshire	10.3	-	23.7	43.5%	0.0%
West Lothian	13.0	-	31.6	41.1%	0.0%
Scotland	455.2	62.5	1,119.0	40.7%	5.6%

Source: As reported by Local Authorities on Provisional Outturn & Budget Estimate (POBE) Returns.

Notes:1. The 1998-99 figures are provisional outturn figures and come from a different source to the 1996-97 and 1997-98 figures, the apparent large increase between 1997-98 and 1998-99 in expenditure on older people is largely due to definitional differences.

Question reference: S1W-04358

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 14 February 2000
Current Status: Answered by David Steel on 29 February 2000

To ask the Presiding Officer whether any applicant of the age 57 or over will be considered for employment by the Scottish Parliament and, if not, whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body regards this as age discrimination and what action it plans to take to address this issue.

Question reference: S1W-04366

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 14 February 2000
Current Status: Answered by Henry McLeish on 28 February 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what future it considers there to be for Borders textiles.

Many Borders textile companies, particularly those specialising in cashmere, achieved good sales growth last year. However, competitive pressures continue to grow in this sector and future prospects will therefore depend largely on companies positioning themselves most advantageously in the specialist markets in which they excel. Scottish Borders Enterprise is undertaking particular initiatives to help companies become more competitive and, with its recently launched website, is helping to market Borders textiles worldwide. Borders textiles companies also benefit from a broad range of support measures available from the Scottish Executive across Scotland.

Question reference: S1W-03687

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2000
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 24 February 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to make funding available to ensure that a comprehensive immunisation programme against flu is in place for the over 65s and vulnerable groups.

The Scottish Executive provides funding for flu immunisation and issues guidance in accordance with medical advice on those who would most benefit from vaccination.The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation is the expert advisory group on vaccination and immunisation to the four UK Health Departments. Their expert advice determines the policy for the flu vaccination programme and that advice recommends that the vaccine is offered to over 75s and other specific vulnerable groups. They do not recommend vaccinating all over 65s. This advice is kept under regular review and is relayed to GPs annually before the time for them to commence flu immunisations.

Question reference: S1W-04310

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 February 2000
Current Status: Answered by Wendy Alexander on 24 February 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has in forthcoming legislation to reform factoring arrangements for the owners of former council housing.

Question reference: S1W-04278

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2000
Current Status: Answered by Iain Gray on 23 February 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive which of the five recommendations of the Scottish Health Advisory Service report Services for older people in the Southern Highlands, published on 5 November 1999, have been actioned; how the recommendations have been actioned; what the timetable is for full implementation and who is responsible for monitoring progress on the recommendations.

At its meeting on 1 February, Highland Health Board discussed and agreed an action plan for implementing each of the five recommendations contained in the Scottish Health Advisory Service report. The plan will be taken forward in partnership with the Highland NHS Trusts and the Highland Council in the context of a local strategy for care of older people. The target dates for implementation of four of the recommendations range between May and August this year. The remaining one (relating to a manpower review) will be completed by April 2001.The Scottish Health Advisory Service will follow up progress on implementation of the recommendations, but the Scottish Executive will also monitor how they are being taken forward. We would expect any plans for improvements to services for older people to be reflected in the Health Improvement Programme for Highland and in the Trust Implementation Plans for 2000-01.

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