- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 January 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 26 January 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHSiS patients each NHS Hospital Trust has had treated privately in each of the last three years and what the cost was of such treatment.
Answer
The independent healthcare sector in Scotland has some 670 beds, compared with over 36,000 beds (1998-99) in the NHSScotland. NHSScotland Boards and Trusts make limited use of these beds when necessary to address particular pressures. Boards and Trusts are required to ensure that they secure value for money from these arrangements. The amounts spent by NHSScotland in each of the last three years on referring patients for independent healthcare are set out in the table:
| Year | Health Board Purchases £000 | GP Fund Holders Purchases2 £000 | Total Purchases from Private Sector £000 | Total Expenditure on HCH1 £000 | Purchases from Private Sector as % of HCH |
| 1995-96 | 23,367 1 | - | | 2,804,2781 | 0.83% |
| 1996-97 | 26,748 1 | - | | 2,857,3251 | 0.94% |
| 1997-98 | 30,871 1 | 1,457 2 | | 2,966,0421 | 1.09% |
| 1998-99 | 32,995 1 | 2,213 2 | | 3,092,6451 | 1.145% |
| 1999-20003 | 33,198 | - | | 3,377,5271 | 0.98% |
Notes: 1. From the NHS (Scotland) Summarised Accounts 1995-96 to 1998-99, copies of which are available in SPICE.2. From the published Annual Accounts of individual health boards and included in the total GP Fundholders and Primary Care providers line as reported in the NHS (Scotland) Summarised Accounts 1995-96 to 1998-993. From the published Annual Accounts of individual health boards as presented to Parliament.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 January 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 24 January 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance it has made available to the paper manufacturing industry in each of the last three years.
Answer
In 1997-98, 1998-99 and 1999-2000, offers of Regional Selective Assistance by the Scottish Executive, valued at £0.17 million, £1.30 million and £2.47 million respectively were accepted by paper manufacturing companies. Assistance provided under other Scottish Executive programmes or by its agencies to particular industrial sectors is not available.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 January 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 23 January 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how many drivers in each of the last three years have been charged with driving under the influence of drugs and how many have been convicted, broken down in each case by police force area.
Answer
The available information on the number of offences of driving while unfit through drink or drugs which were proceeded against in court is given in the table. Information is not available separately on those driving while unfit through drugs.
Offences of driving while unfit through drink or drugs proceeded against in Scottish courts, by police force area, 1997-99
| Offences proceeded against | Offences proved |
| Police force area | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 |
| Central | 8 | 11 | 16 | 4 | 8 | 13 |
| Dumfries & Galloway | 5 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 4 |
| Fife | 28 | 30 | 38 | 17 | 24 | 24 |
| Grampian | 84 | 70 | 69 | 54 | 45 | 47 |
| Lothian & Borders | 57 | 75 | 81 | 48 | 62 | 70 |
| Northern | 16 | 13 | 15 | 10 | 7 | 7 |
| Strathclyde | 485 | 229 | 257 | 378 | 191 | 197 |
| Tayside | 37 | 71 | 50 | 31 | 61 | 39 |
| Scotland | 720 | 508 | 533 | 546 | 404 | 401 |
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 23 January 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will investigate the level of provision of hospital dental services in the Grampian health board area and what plans it has to reduce waiting times for such services.
Answer
The provision of hospital dental services in the Grampian Health Board area is primarily a matter for Grampian Health Board and the Grampian NHS Trusts.At a national level, the Executive is increasing investment in the NHS and is improving workforce planning. The reduction of waiting times is a priority for the NHS across Scotland.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 22 December 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sam Galbraith on 22 January 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how many employees have been employed in each water authority in each year since their establishment to date.
Answer
The average employee numbers for each authority for each year from 1996-97 to 1999-2000 is given in the following table:
Year | West of Scotland Water Authority | East of Scotland Water Authority | North of Scotland Water Authority |
| 1996-97 | 2,888 | 1,968 | 1,947 |
| 1997-98 | 2,710 | 2,013 | 1,911 |
| 1998-99 | 2,661 | 1,850 | 1,876 |
| 1999-2000 | 2,634 | 1,767 | 1,837 |
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 December 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 22 January 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how many bilateral meetings it had with member states of the EU in the run-up to December's EU Fisheries Council, when these meetings were held, who represented the Executive and member states and what the purpose was of each meeting.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-11918 on 19 January.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 December 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 22 January 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has been consulted by the Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food or the other devolved administrations about proposals to introduce a new fishing fleet decommissioning scheme and what the outcome was of any such consultation.
Answer
The Fisheries Departments have been in close touch on a range of matters, including calls from the industry for financial aid. Further discussion is envisaged in light of the outcome of Council negotiations in particular on whitefish TACs and quotas.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 December 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Sam Galbraith on 19 January 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-10333 by Mr Sam Galbraith on 20 November 2000, whether any water authority sought advice from or made representations to the Executive regarding exemption from the Competition Act 1998, and whether public authorities seeking such exemption apply directly to Her Majesty's Government or whether all applications are made through the Executive.
Answer
The water authorities have not sought advice from or made representations to the Executive about exemptions under the Competition Act 1998. The Executive and the authorities are proceeding on the basis that, within the framework of legislation that the Water Services Bill will establish, competition will work to the benefit of the authorities' customers by delivering innovation, greater efficiency and improved services.As a matter of principle, public bodies for which the Executive is accountable to the Scottish Parliament would not seek exemptions without the Executive's agreement.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 December 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 19 January 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have died in ambulances en route for emergency admission to hospital in each of the last three years, broken down by ambulance control room, and in how many of these cases was it concluded that a delay in ambulance response was a factor in the death.
Answer
These figures are not held centrally. I am aware that the Chief Executive of the Scottish Ambulance Service has arranged a meeting at which he will be able to discuss these matters with you.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 December 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 19 January 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average time taken to answer a 999 call was in each ambulance control room in each of the last three years.
Answer
These figures are not collected. I refer the member to the answer to S1W-11822.
