- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 24 November 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jackie Baillie on 8 December 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what it will do to ensure that the new Scottish Household Survey provides information about groups which are vulnerable to poverty including women, lone parents, people with disabilities and ethnic minorities.
Answer
Introduced in 1999, the Scottish Household Survey (SHS) is the largest sample survey ever undertaken in Scotland and currently collects information which can be disaggregated by sex, household type (including lone parents), ethnic origin and whether respondents report any long-standing illness, health problem or disability.The next results bulletin, which will be published in January, will focus on gender disaggregated results.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 24 November 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 8 December 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive how the #22.5 million funding to improve adult literacy and numeracy announced on 25 September 2000 will be spent.
Answer
Decisions on the use of these resources will be informed by the report of the Adult Literacy 2000 Team, which is expected shortly.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 24 November 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Peter Peacock on 8 December 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive why it announced a delay in the 2002 local government elections through an answer to question S1W-11507, before the question had been published in the Business Bulletin and after decision time on the day of a by-election, rather than by a Ministerial statement or following a parliamentary debate.
Answer
Informing Parliament of the Executive's proposals by means of a parliamentary question is a recognised and accepted process. The issue of the term and timing of local government elections is one on which we have already consulted in the response to McIntosh. These proposals will require primary legislation to be brought forward and this will provide a further opportunity for discussion.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 November 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 5 December 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-8264 by Susan Deacon on 25 July 2000, what plans it has to ban tobacco advertising following the European Court of Justice's recent annulment of the Directive 98/43/EC on tobacco advertising, and whether any new legislation in this area will address the issues of brand-stretching and point of sale advertising.
Answer
The Scottish Executive remains committed to introducing a ban on tobacco advertising. The decision by the European Court of Justice means that we can no longer proceed, as proposed, to effect a ban through the introduction of Scottish Regulations under the European Communities Act 1972. Sensibly we can take only limited action in this area in isolation from the rest of the UK. We are in discussion with other UK Health Departments over the best means to effect a ban.It is anticipated that any domestic legislation would substantially cover the measures contained in the Directive 98/43/EC, including brand-stretching and point of sale advertising.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 1 December 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase the number of neurosurgery beds, neurosurgery intensive care beds and specialist staff.
Answer
I have received the report of the short-life working group set up by the Chief Medical Officer and am considering its recommendations.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 26 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 1 December 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what training social work staff receive in identifying and treating survivors of childhood sexual abuse.
Answer
All student social workers, on Diploma in Social Work courses, receive training on the range and impact of physical, social, sexual and emotional neglect and abuse. This should enable qualified social workers to identify sexual abuse in adult survivors. The treatment of survivors of sexual abuse is complex and social workers require training at post-qualifying level to deal with it.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 November 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jackie Baillie on 30 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it accepts the conclusion in Excluded Young People: Report of the Strategy Action Team that "if any major steps are to be made in addressing youth exclusion in Glasgow, there will need to be a major increase in funding available to agencies and organisations working in the city" and what steps it is taking to increase such funding.
Answer
The Scottish Executive agrees that we need to do more to ensure that excluded young people have the opportunity to make a successful transition to adulthood.
We recognise the particular problems of poverty and disadvantage in Glasgow and are investing significant amounts to enable agencies and organisations to address these problems more effectively. Glasgow City Council received a special deprivation payment of £8.7 million in 2000-01 and can also expect to receive real terms grant increases in each of the next three years as a result of the extra £1.2 billion support for local government we announced in the Spending Review. We have committed £12.5 million to resource alternative provision for Glasgow's hostel dwellers, many of whom are excluded young people and Glasgow will benefit from the additional £100 million we have announced for tackling drug misuse. In addition the implementation of the recommendations of the Arbuthnott Report and the £90 million Better Neighbourhoods Fund, will ensure that service providers can access increased resources to tackle deprivation and social exclusion in areas of greatest need, including Glasgow.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 November 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 30 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to produce detailed information about the number of adults and children with learning disabilities.
Answer
The Learning Disability Review Report, launched on 11 May, estimated that there are around 120,000 people with learning disabilities in Scotland, but acknowledged that detailed information about them, and the services they receive, was inadequate.
The report recommends that local authorities and health boards should jointly draw up "partnership in practice" (PiP) agreements by June 2001 which will serve as the strategic planning document for meeting the needs of people with learning disabilities. A key component of these first PiP's should set out how local authorities and health boards will set up and maintain local registers.
Information on the numbers of children with special educational needs is published in the Scottish Executive School Census Statistical Bulletin which can be found on the Scottish Executive website.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 02 November 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Peter Peacock on 30 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to encourage local authority officers and members to commit themselves fully to the Best Value programme.
Answer
Local authorities made a full commitment to Best Value in 1998 by the preparation of implementation plans for its incorporation. This justified the continuance of the moratorium on Compulsory Competitive Tendering by the then Minister for Local Government, Henry McLeish MP. The Scottish Executive has continued to work in partnership with local authorities and others to develop Best Value in local government.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 02 November 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 30 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive which health boards allow doctors to prescribe (a) temo'olomide for the treatment of brain cancer and (b) inrinotecan for the treatment of bowel cancer.
Answer
This information is not held centrally. Details of drug treatments given in hospitals are not available centrally. Data collected centrally relates only to prescribed items dispensed by community pharmacists and dispensing doctors.
