- Asked by: Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee East, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 February 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 8 March 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what research has been carried out by the Food Standards Agency into any links between trans fats or hydrogenated vegetable oils and coronary heart disease.
Answer
The Food Standards Agencyhas not carried out, and is not currently funding, any research investigatingthe links between trans fats or hydrogenated vegetable oils and coronary heartdisease.
Hydrogenation is a processof turning liquid oil into solid fat. During this process, a type of trans fatmay be formed that raises cholesterol levels in the blood. This increases therisk of coronary heart disease. The Food Standards Agency does therefore advisethat as part of a healthy diet, we should try to reduce the amount of saturatedfats and trans fats we eat and replace them with unsaturated fats.
- Asked by: Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee East, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 February 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Euan Robson on 8 March 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what funding has been allocated to Scottish Training on Drugs and Alcohol in each year since its formation.
Answer
£612,000 a year, £1.8 millionover three years, has been allocated to Scottish Training on Drugs and Alcoholsince its inception in April 2001.
We are committed tomaintaining at least this level of funding for a further three years until 31 March 2007.
- Asked by: Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee East, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 February 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Euan Robson on 8 March 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how many social workers were sponsored to undertake the Diploma in Social Work by their local authority in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.
Answer
This information is not heldcentrally.
- Asked by: Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee East, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 February 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 8 March 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to direct local authorities to improve services for people with sensory impairments, in light of the concerns expressed by the annual report of the Chief Social Work Inspector, Progress with Complexity: The 2003 National Overview Report.
Answer
The Sensory Impairment Action Plan, launched in January, gives the Executive, local authorities andother stakeholders clear goals for improved services for people with a sensoryimpairment. A key recommendation is that a short life working group be set upto produce common sensory impairment service standards for implementation by September 2005.
- Asked by: Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee East, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 February 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 8 March 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have received a community care service from their local authority in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.
Answer
There is no universallyaccepted definition of a “community care service”; however, statisticalinformation on day care, home care, care homes and other services provided bylocal authorities can be found in the publication “Scottish Community CareStatistics 2002”. This publication can be found on the web, at the followingaddress:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00309-00.asp
- Asked by: Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee East, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 February 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Euan Robson on 8 March 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time was for (a) equipment and (b) adaptations for people with physical disabilities, as referred to in the annual report of the Chief Social Work Inspector, Progress with Complexity: The 2003 National Overview Report, in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.
Answer
This informationwas not collected. Local authorities were asked about systems in place tomonitor and improve waiting times as reported in Equipment and Adaptation Services in Scotland: ASurvey of Waiting Times for Social Work Provision, published in December 2001, copies of whichare available in the Parliaments Reference Centre (Bib number 18415).
- Asked by: Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee East, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 February 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 8 March 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how much methadone was prescribed in each year since 1999 and what percentage was sugar-free.
Answer
Methadone hydrochloride can be used as a cough suppressant in terminal disease, an opioid analgesic and as a drug used in substance dependence. It is available in the following formulations: linctus; tablets; powder; injections; and oral solutions.
Only oral solutions used in the treatment of substance dependence are available as sugar free.
The table shows the number of prescribed items for all formulations of methadone hydrochloride for the years ending 31 March 2000 to 2003 inclusive. Data in the tables refer to prescriptions dispensed by community pharmacists and dispensing doctors, but do not take into account medicines dispensed by hospitals or hospital-based clinics.
| | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 |
| Total Prescribed Items | 243,120 | 274,164 | 319,138 | 360,326 |
| Total Sugar Free | 31,753 | 39,050 | 47,469 | 72,482 |
| Percentage Sugar Free | 13.06% | 14.24% | 14.87% | 20.12% |
Source: The information in the table has been provided by ISD.
- Asked by: Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee East, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 February 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 8 March 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how many drug misusers have received a drug treatment and care service in the community in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.
Answer
Information is not held centrally on the total number of drug misusers who have received a drugtreatment service since 1999. However, the Information and Statistics Divisionof the Common Services Agency (ISD Scotland) do publish figures on the numbersof new clients entering drug treatment services each year, based on returns tothe Scottish Drug Misuse Database. These figures are broken down by localauthority area and are available at
www.drugmisuse.isdscotland.org.
- Asked by: Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee East, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 February 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 8 March 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will meet its target of having a 10% increase in the number of drug misusers receiving a drug treatment and care service in the community this year.
Answer
The target of achieving a10% increase in the number of new clients attending drug treatment services ismonitored through returns to the Scottish Drug Misuse Database and figures arepublished annually by financial years.
Data for 2003-04 will not beavailable until the autumn.
- Asked by: Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee East, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 February 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 8 March 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-4807 by Malcolm Chisholm on 19 January 2004, what the difference was in median wait and mean wait, broken down by NHS board and speciality in each quarter.
Answer
The information requestedhas been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 31311).
