- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 March 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Frank McAveety on 10 April 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will be represented at the conferences on "Joining Up Local Government" and "Housing Benefit Fraud" in London, to be held on 11 and 14 April respectively, and whether it will provide reports on these conferences.
Answer
No.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 March 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 10 April 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure that all members of its workforce have access to an occupational health service staffed by nurses who are appropriately trained and qualified.
Answer
The Scottish Executive has a contract with Lothian Health Occupational Health Services to provide all occupational health support for its employees. In addition, the Executive runs an annual programme of occupational health promotion activity (e.g. Well Woman clinics) and is presently in the process of applying for accreditation under the Scotland's Health at Work Scheme which recognises employers who attain the highest standards of occupational health promotion.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 6 April 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a specific definition of "modernisation of government" and what performance measures it will use to determine whether its objective of modernising government is being achieved.
Answer
In our Programme for Government, we said that we would work across the Executive to promote modern government. The main themes will be customer-focused policy development and service delivery, making best use of information technology, and revaluing public service. We will encourage working in partnership with other bodies, the best modern management development, and use feedback from the public to improve all we do.A programme of this breadth and variety does not easily lend itself to assessment using individual performance indicators. But the First Minister announced on 30 March his decision that the Executive's target for delivery of 100% of its services electronically by 2008 was being brought forward to 2005. We will be setting further targets and deadlines for achievements; and in general we will look for growing public satisfaction with public services as a measure of effectiveness and quality, and lower transaction costs as a measure of efficiency.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 March 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 4 April 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive how private sector housing capital allocations will be affected when VAT refunds are no longer available.
Answer
Support for the main local authority non-housing capital programmes, including private sector housing, is included within the single capital allocation. VAT is an issue for local authorities in administering improvement and repair grants for private sector housing. It is not an issue in the formula used to determine the single allocation.
It is for individual authorities to determine how much of their single allocation they spend on grants for private sector housing.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 20 March 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 3 April 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-5027 by Mr Jack McConnell on 17 March 2000, what the standard figure for band D council tax will be for 2000-01, and how that figure was arrived at.
Answer
For 2000-01 the difference between adjusted Government Supported Expenditure and Aggregate External Finance will be £1,209.586 million, an amount equal to £657 per band D equivalent property.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 March 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 31 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive how much financial support was given to Victim Support Scotland in 1997-98, 1998-99 and 1999-2000 and how much will be given in 2000-01, in real terms.
Answer
Victim Support Scotland has received the following grant aid through section 9 and section 10 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 from the Scottish Executive:
| | Cash Terms | Real Terms (1999-2000 Prices) |
| 1997-98 | £1,431,239 | £1,511,196 |
| 1998-99 | £1,422,610 | £1,454,619 |
| 1999-2000 | £1,534,428 | £1,534,428 |
In 2000-01 the Scottish Executive has granted Victim Support Scotland:
| | Cash Terms | Real Terms (1999-2000 Prices) |
| 2000-01 | £1,598,890 | £1,559,896 |
In addition, the Scottish Executive has also provided increasing levels of funding to Victim Support to enable them to provide a support service to witnesses in the sheriff courts. Up to £2 million has been set aside for this service to be rolled out in 2000-01 and 2001-02.
Victim Support Scotland also receives funding (in cash and in kind) from local authorities, the private sector and others.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 March 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 31 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive why the percentage of patients waiting eighteen weeks or more for treatment at Glasgow Dental Hospital and School increased by one third between 1998 and 1999 and what steps it will take to remedy this situation.
Answer
I am advised by North Glasgow University Hospitals NHS Trust that a rise in demand for specific specialist services has resulted in an increase in waiting times.
To address this, a major strategic review of dental services is currently being undertaken by the Trust to explore a number of related issues including staffing. A report on the review's findings and recommendations will then be considered by the Greater Glasgow Health Board and the Trust.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 March 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 31 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive why less than half of the patients waiting for orthopaedic surgery in the last year for which figures are available in Lanarkshire and Highland Health Boards were treated with the guarantee period given under the Patients' Charter and what steps it proposes to ensure that all patients requiring orthopaedic surgery are treated within the guarantee period.
Answer
The Scottish Executive has provided £292,000 to Lanarkshire Health Board for orthopaedic services under the waiting lists initiative. This has enabled Lanarkshire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust to appoint an additional consultant and support staff. In the last full year, 64% of orthopaedic outpatients were seen within three months. All patients requiring in-patient or day-case treatment received this within the Charter guarantee throughout 1999.
We have provided £0.5 million to Highland Health Board for orthopaedic services under the waiting lists initiative. This has enabled Highland Acute Hospitals NHS Trust to increase staffing, including staffing at consultant level, and to reduce significantly a backlog of cases that existed until 1999. 64% of people requiring inpatient and day-case treatment and 68% of outpatients are now seen within three months. The Board and the Trust are striving to make further improvements and to bring waiting times to within the Patients' Charter standards. Initiatives include a closer integration of primary and secondary care services in orthopaedics.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 March 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 31 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive why the percentage of outpatients waiting more than 18 weeks for their first appointment has increased in 12 of the 15 health boards between 1998 and 1999 and what steps it will take to remedy this situation.
Answer
In the year ending 31 March 1999, the percentage of patients waiting more than 18 weeks for a first outpatient appointment increased in Scotland in 11 of the 15 health boards. This performance has to be set against an increase in the total number of outpatient appointments of over 32,000 (2.4%) in that year.
It is the total waiting time which is of most importance to patients, and that is why we are working with the NHS in Scotland to establish national maximum waiting times, to be delivered from 31 March 2001, in the clinical priorities of heart disease, cancer and mental health. In addition, the establishment of additional one-stop clinics, the introduction of walk-in/walk-out hospitals and the redesign of services to improve the patient pathway will speed treatment and reduce waiting times.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 March 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 31 March 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive why police forces will have to pay non-domestic rates from 1 April 2000; how much it anticipates each force will have to pay and what proportion this will be of each force's budget.
Answer
Police forces will pay non-domestic rates from 1 April 2000 following the abolition of Crown Exemption from non-domestic rates for all properties. Sufficient additional provision was included in the police Grant Aided Expenditure (GAE) settlement for 2000-01 to cover in full the estimated extra cost to each force. The amount that police authorities estimate they will spend in cash terms as a result of this change and as a proportion of their budget, is shown in the table below.
Force | 2000-01 Budget | Estimate for Non-Domestic Rates (NDR) | NDR as % of 2000-01 Budget |
| | £000 | £000 | % |
| Central Scotland Police | 33,132 | 388 | 1.2 |
| Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary | 21,318 | 247 | 1.1 |
| Fife Constabulary | 41,036 | 676 | 1.6 |
| Grampian Police | 62,935 | 1,073 | 1.7 |
| Lothian and Borders Police | 133,752 | 1,580 | 1.2 |
| Northern Constabulary | 38,214 | 574 | 1.5 |
| Strathclyde Police | 352,183 | 3,940 | 1.1 |
| Tayside Police | 57,598 | 854 | 1.5 |
TOTAL FUNDING | 740,168 | 9,332 | 1.3 |
