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Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S2W-09686

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 July 2004
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 9 August 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in relation to the review of access rules referred to in Article 19 of Council Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002, it will seek to justify the continued existence of the principle of relative stability in terms of conservation and sustainable exploitation objectives.

Question reference: S2W-09377

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 June 2004
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 21 July 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-4172 by Mr Tom McCabe on 1 December 2003, how many delayed discharges there were in each local authority area and NHS partnership as of April 2004 and, if this data is not available, when these figures will be published.

The information requested is shown in the following tables 1 and 2:

Table 1

NHS – Patients Ready for Discharge – Numbers by Local Authority Area¹; as at April 2004

Local Authority	Total²	Number of Patients Outwith the Six Week Discharge Planning Period³
Scotland	1,785	1,036
Argyll and Bute	48	34
West Dunbartonshire	45	29
Inverclyde	71	47
Renfrewshire	62	51
Scottish Borders	38	30
East Ayrshire	51	35
North Ayrshire	42	25
South Ayrshire	50	21
Dumfries and Galloway	8	3
Fife	122	70
Clackmannanshire	4	-
Falkirk	77	59
Stirling	16	13
Aberdeen City	127	70
Aberdeenshire	64	26
Moray	28	21
East Dunbartonshire	22	10
Glasgow City	216	106
East Renfrewshire	19	11
Highland	54	43
North Lanarkshire	57	24
South Lanarkshire	89	42
Edinburgh, City of	228	129
East Lothian	40	25
Midlothian	21	14
West Lothian	26	9
Orkney	3	-
Shetland	1	1
Angus	19	5
Dundee City	68	38
Perth and Kinross	46	28
Eilean Siar	11	8
Local Authority not identified	12	9

Notes:

1. Local authority is based on those patients resident in each local authority area. This will include patients who were not considered to have social work involvement in their discharge planning process or in their post‑hospital care arrangements. A patient ready for discharge is not considered to have social work involvement in their discharge planning process if the principal reason for delay is in the Healthcare groups; or principal reason for delay is the Patient/ Carer/ Family – related categories and a date of referral for Social Care Assessment has not been recorded.

2. Number of patients ready for discharge, in all specialties, reported as at April 2004 census.

3. Number of Patients ready for discharge with a duration over six weeks (43 days or more), i.e. the common period for local discharge planning agreement timescale across Scotland.

Table 2

NHS – Patients Ready for Discharge – Numbers by NHS Board Area of Treatment; as at April 2004 Census

NHS Board Area of Treatment	Total¹	Number of Patients Outwith the Six Week Discharge Planning Period²
Scotland	1785	1036
Argyll and Clyde	218	162
Ayrshire and Arran	143	81
Borders	38	30
Dumfries and Galloway	8	3
Fife	121	69
Forth Valley	98	72
Grampian	221	118
Greater Glasgow	293	139
Highland	54	43
Lanarkshire	122	55
Lothian	321	184
Orkney	3	-
Shetland	-	-
Tayside	134	72
Western Isles	11	8

Notes:

1. Number of patients ready for discharge, in all specialties, reported as at April 2004 census.

2. Number of patients ready for discharge with a duration over six weeks (43 days or more), i.e. the common period for local discharge planning agreement timescales across Scotland.

Question reference: S2W-09074

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 June 2004
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 12 July 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive why it did not inform the European and External Relations Committee of the plans by the European Union to establish a defence agency in the letter from the Minister for Finance and Public Services to the committee of 7 June 2004, which states that, outwith the agencies created during the December 2003 European Council, “we do not currently expect any new additional Agencies to be proposed in the near future. We will nevertheless monitor this closely and keep the Committee fully informed.”

The Defence Agency was not mentioned in the letter of 7 June 2004 from the Minister for Finance and Public Services, as that letter was a response to a letter dated 31 March from the Committee, which asked for “further information on agencies not yet established and for whom the issue of location has not yet been agreed”.

The establishment of a Defence Agency was agreed in principle at the June 2003 European Council; this was given final political agreement at the General Affairs and External Relations Council on 14 June 2004. As stated in the reply to parliamentary questions S2W-9073 on 7 July 2004, it was agreed at an early stage that the Defence Agency should be established in Brussels. Therefore there was no opportunity for the agency to be located in Scotland.

Question reference: S2W-09073

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 June 2004
Current Status: Answered by Tavish Scott on 7 July 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made, or plans to make, any representations to Her Majesty's Government in respect of locating the new EU Defence Agency in Scotland.

Question reference: S2W-08923

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 June 2004
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 1 July 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the findings of Project Galore and subsequent research into people's perception of Scotland including the campaign about Scotland's international image.

Findings from the recent consultation and research on Scotland’s international image, commissioned by the Executive, are being published today. Copies have been placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 33112). I have also arranged for a copy to be sent to you.

The Project Galore research was carried out on behalf of Scottish Enterprise. I will ask Scottish Enterprise to contact you.

Question reference: S2W-07051

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 19 March 2004
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Curran on 29 June 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any representations were made to the Chancellor of the Exchequer prior to the budget in connection with new fiscal measures to increase the amount of affordable housing in Scotland for first time buyers or the rented sector and, if so, what measures were suggested.

Question reference: S2W-06247

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 February 2004
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 25 June 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive how many dental practices have ceased providing NHS dental services in each year since 1999.

The information is provided inthe following tables. Dental practices that ceased providing NHS general dentalservices for a temporary period only may be included in these figures. For comparisonthe number of practices in Scotland that have commenced providing NHS general dentalservices in the same period are also provided.

Number of Dental Practices inScotland that have Ceased Providing NHS General Dental Services^1,2

Year	No. of Practices
1999	13
2000	13
2001	17
2002	19
2003^p	20

Number of Dental Practices inScotland that have Commenced Providing NHS General Dental Services^1,2

Year	No. of Practices
1999	23
2000	13
2001	20
2002	21
2003^P	23

^PProvisional.

Notes:

1.Source - MIDAS (Management Information & Dental Accounting System).

2. Some NHS general dental practicesmay cease providing NHS services permanently, while some may do so only temporarily.

Question reference: S2W-08738

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 June 2004
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 25 June 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive how many overseas visits have been undertaken by the (a) First Minister, (b) Minister for Finance and Public Services and (c) Deputy Minister for Finance, Public Services and Parliamentary Business, giving dates and locations in each case.

I refer to the answers to questionsS1W-29052 given on 9 September 2002 and S2W-2904 given on 29 September 2003 forinformation regarding the dates, locations and costs of overseas travel by the FirstMinister, Minister for Finance and Public Services and Deputy Minister for Finance,Public Services and Parliamentary Business for the period 1 July 1999 to 31 March2003.

Information on the costs of overseastravel by these ministers for the period 1 April 2003 to31 March 2004 is provided today in the answer to S2W-9345, theannual parliamentary question on costs of ministerial visits overseas.

Question reference: S2W-08878

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 June 2004
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 25 June 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps have been taken to ensure that the circumstances surrounding the invitation to the First Minister to visit Normandy on the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings are not repeated.

Question reference: S2W-08823

Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 June 2004
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 23 June 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-5591 by Mr Andy Kerr on 28 January 2004, why the outcome of the review of the police funding formula has not been published and what its findings were with specific reference to the impact of the review on funding for Grampian Police.