- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 August 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 29 September 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how many quality contract schemes have been established under the Transport (Scotland) Act 2001.
Answer
No quality contract schemes haveso far been established.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 August 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 29 September 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how it monitors the implementation of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2001 and, in particular, the sections relating to quality partnership schemes.
Answer
As outlined in A Partnershipfor a Better Scotland, the Executive is committed to monitoring whetherthe quality partnership powers included in the Transport (Scotland) Actare adequate to protect and enhance evening, weekend and rural bus services. Workis progressing on a detailed report on the impact of partnership working, includingaction on quality partnerships. The next steps will be decided in light of thatreport.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 22 September 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 23 September 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive when the child witness support guidance pack will be issued.
Answer
The first two documents in aseries of guidance documents making up a Child Witness Support Guidance Packare being issued today. They will cover “Interviewing Child Witnesses” and “QuestioningChildren in Court” and are the outcome of detailed consultation with a widerange of relevant interests.
Copies of the documents havebeen placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 29349).
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 August 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 23 September 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will conduct a review of local government boundaries and, if so, what the timescale for conducting such a review will be.
Answer
The Executive indicated in theWhite Paper Renewing Local Democracy: The Next Steps that there would beno major review of local authority administrative boundaries in the foreseeablefuture. We continue to take that view, although views are being sought in the consultationon the Local Governance (Scotland) Bill as to whether the Local Government Boundary Commissionfor Scotland should be allowed to consider changes or merger proposalswhere these have been agreed by all the local authorities involved.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 August 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 23 September 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-1614 by Cathy Jamieson on 18 August 2003, where information on contact orders by non-resident fathers can be obtained; why this information is not available centrally, and whether it has any plans to collect such information centrally in future.
Answer
Information on contact ordersby non-resident fathers is located within the individual court records where theorders were sought. Easily accessible, in-depth national information on contactorders (and, more broadly, civil actions) is not available centrally. Only top-lineinformation is collated and published annually in the form of Civil Judicial Statistics.
However, the Executive is currentlysetting up a project to review the practical use of statistical data collected andpublished in the form of Civil Judicial Statistics. This is with a view to ensuringthat what is collected is of practical use in shaping and informing the performanceof the civil justice system in Scotland. This will include consideration of contact order data.
In the meantime, the Executiveis planning to conduct research to examine contact applications in a sample of Scottishcourts. This is primarily to address the recommendations of the National Group toAddress Violence Against Women. This research will focus upon fathers applying forcontact orders where there have been allegations of domestic violence. It will generatea “snapshot” of information at the time of research. Although the research willgenerate evidence to help assess how best to monitor contact orders, plans to collecton-going national data centrally will fall primarily within the remit of the CivilJudicial Statistics Review.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 September 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 19 September 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will remove any threat of defamation action against a young person who reports a concern to an appropriate authority where that authority takes no action against the person about whose conduct the complaint is made; whether legislation will be required to achieve this, and, if so, what legislative process it will use.
Answer
The Scottish Executive takes child protection very seriously and is committed to protectingchildren and young people from all forms of abuse. We have made firmcommitments to improving child protection services in Scotlandthrough a programme of reform over the next three years.
At the same time, we have aresponsibility to individuals who may be accused falsely and maliciously ofabuse. To remove wholly the threat of a defamation action – by giving youngpeople absolute privilege, for example – could raise issues under the EuropeanConvention on Human Rights since it would impact upon the rights of apotentially defamed person.
At present, a person whoreports concerns to an appropriate authority because they have a moral orsocial duty to do so will benefit from the protection of qualified privilege.Qualified privilege will protect a person from a claim of defamation unless itcan be proved that the person making the defamatory statement was motivated bymalice.
Our view is that anyunderlying concerns in this area are best addressed through guidelines on thehandling of situations in which young people allege abuse, rather than byattempting to reconcile the divergent interests of accused and accuser throughamendments to defamation law.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 August 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 3 September 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how many meetings were held by Argyll and Clyde NHS Board with Greater Glasgow NHS Board in relation to the review of maternity services; what the names and designations were of those present at the meetings; what issues were discussed, and what specific conclusions were agreed by both boards.
Answer
While I am aware that there have been a number of meetings between NHS Argyll and Clyde and NHS Greater Glasgow in relation the former’s review of maternity services, I have asked the Chief Executive of Argyll and Clyde NHS Board to write with the details. A copy will be placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 August 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 2 September 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it expects NHS boards to work across administrative boundaries in the delivery of services, in the interest of patients, and, if so, how it monitors compliance with this approach.
Answer
Yes. The health department issuedguidance to NHS boards on regional planning in March 2002. The guidanceincluded advice on planning and provision of services across NHS boardboundaries. A copy can be found at:
http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/sehd/mels/HDL2002_10.pdf.Other recent guidance to theNHS has emphasised the importance of collaborative planning and provision ofservices – for example, guidance dated September 2002 on establishing ManagedClinical Networks (MCNs), which may offer services across more than one boardarea. The guidance on MCNs can be found at:
http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/sehd/mels/HDL2002_69.pdf.In June 2003 the Executivepublished a draft bill, the NHS Reform (Scotland) Bill, which proposes that NHS boards should begiven a new statutory duty to co-operate with each other, and with the SpecialHealth Boards, to secure and advance the health of the people of Scotland.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 August 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 2 September 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what influence local communities and patients have in any consultation with local health boards and in what circumstances, if an overwhelming view is expressed by a local community, that view can be ignored.
Answer
We expect NHS boards tofollow national guidance on public engagement and consultation. One of the keyprinciples of effective engagement with individuals and local communities overproposals for service change is that NHS boards are explicit about why changeis necessary and what the options and restrictions are for future change.Issues around patient safety are paramount.
The views of all localstakeholders should be taken into account in coming to a decision at the end ofa consultation process.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 21 July 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 18 August 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how many contact orders applied for by non-resident fathers were not granted by the courts in each year since 1999.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-1614 today. 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.uk/webapp/search_wa.
