Scottish Parliament Written answers
Friday, 11 March 2011

• Apprenticeships
  To ask the Scottish Executive what level of demand there is for modern apprenticeship places for 2011-12, also broken down by category.
• Apprenticeships
  To ask the Scottish Executive what budget has been allocated for the 25,000 modern apprenticeship places for 2011-12.
• Apprenticeships
  To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications for modern apprenticeship places there have been for 2011-12 for people aged (a) 16 to 19 and (b) 20 and over.
• Autism
  To ask the Scottish Executive what the remit is of the Autistic Spectrum Disorder Reference Group and who decided on that remit.
• Benefits
  To ask the Scottish Executive what the latest claimant count is in Dundee for people claiming for up to six months.
• Cancer
  To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to consider introducing (a) image assisted screening or (b) testing for human papilloma virus (HPV) in screening for cervical cancer and, if so,...
• Cancer
  To ask the Scottish Executive whether a pilot exercise is taking place, or is planned, for (a) image assisted screening or (b) testing for human papilloma virus (HPV) in screening for cervical...
• Cancer
  To ask the Scottish Executive whether a decision on the introduction of (a) image assisted screening or (b) testing for human papilloma virus (HPV) in screening for cervical cancer would be taken...
• Cancer
  To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects the liquid-based cytology equipment used in primary screening for cervical cancer to come to the end of its working life.
• Cancer
  To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria would be applied in considering the introduction of (a) image assisted screening and (b) human papilloma virus (HPV) testing in screening for cervical...
• Co-operatives
  To ask the Scottish Executive how it will encourage co-operative business participation in the UN International Year of Cooperatives 2012.
• Co-operatives
  To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions Co-operative Development Scotland has had with co-operative businesses regarding their participation in the UN International Year of Cooperatives 2012.
• Dairy Industry
  To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-39204 by Richard Lochhead on 10 February 2011, whether it has made representations to (a) Sodexo and (b) Graham’s Family...
• Domestic Abuse
  To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3O-13076 by Fergus Ewing on 24 February 2011 ( Official Report , c. 33517), how it is addressing the provision of specialist...
• Employment
  To ask the Scottish Executive how many women in Dundee aged (a) 50 to 54 and (b) 55 to 59 are unemployed and what percentage of unemployed women in Dundee the groups represent in total.
• Energy
  To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the debate on electricity market reform on 13 January 2011 ( Official Report , c. 32212), what its response is to the Electricity Market Reform...
• Environment
  To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of waste arising from its operations it recycles.
• Environment
  To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has reduced the waste arising from its operations by 10% relative to 2006-07 levels.
• Environment
  To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has reduced CO 2 emissions arising from energy use in its buildings by 12.6% from 1999-2000 levels.
• Environment
  To ask the Scottish Executive what reduction against 2005-06 levels it has achieved in carbon emissions from travel necessary for its administrative operations.
• Environment
  To ask the Scottish Executive what process it used in selecting the (a) members and (b) locations and communities of the three local youth investigation teams created in conjunction with...
• Environment
  To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding will be allocated to the work of each of the three local youth investigation teams created in conjunction with YoungScot under the Low Carbon...
• Finance
  To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will receive Barnett consequentials resulting from the Big Society Transition Fund.
• Finance
  To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will receive future Barnett consequentials arising from UK Government spending on the Big Society.
• Forestry
  To ask the Scottish Executive how many hectares of commercial woodland have been planted in the national forestry estate in each year since 1999, also broken down by local authority area.
• Forestry
  To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is legislation or guidance on the replanting of like-for-like commercial woodland for parts of the national forestry estate that are allocated for wind...
• Forestry
  To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is legislation or guidance on reinvesting funds in replanting like-for-like woodland from wind energy technology projects that are sited on commercial...
• Forestry
  To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of the funds raised through Forestry Commission Scotland’s reprovisioning exercise has been reinvested in (a) tree planting and (b) purchasing...
• Forestry
  To ask the Scottish Executive how (a) many hectares have been sold and (b) much money has been raised through Forestry Commission Scotland’s reprovisioning exercise since 2009.
• Forestry
  To ask the Scottish Executive where woodland sold through Forestry Commission Scotland’s reprovisioning exercise has been located since 2009 and what the date was of completion of each sale.
• Forestry
  To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of the funds raised through sales of woodland by Forestry Commission Scotland’s reprovisioning exercise has been reinvested in purchasing...
• Forestry
  To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of the funds raised through renewable projects in the national forest estate has been reinvested in purchasing commercially viable land.
• Forestry
  To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it takes to assess the (a) economic and (b) environmental impact of replacing commercial woodland in the national forestry estate with wind energy...
• Forestry
  To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is legislation or guidance on (a) it and (b) its agencies maintaining a commercially viable national forest estate that sustains direct employment and...
• Forestry
  To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the reported view of the timber industry that the national forest estate provides significant economic wealth for communities in terms of...
• Forestry
  To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects Forestry Commission Scotland to complete (a) an environmental and (b) a habitats regulations assessment of plans to develop renewable energy projects...
• Forestry
  To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that Forestry Commission Scotland retains and develops its research capability in order to support the protection and enhancement of...
• Forestry
  To ask the Scottish Executive what duties and roles the Forestry Commission’s Regional Advisory Committee for Scotland has in protecting and enhancing Scotland’s wildlife, historic...
• General Register Office for Scotland
  To ask the Scottish Executive what arrangements are being made for the amalgamation of the General Register Office for Scotland and the National Archives of Scotland.
• Health
  To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the number of older people who died in hospital while deemed medically fit for discharge and awaiting a care package in (a) 2008, (b) 2009...
• Health
  To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the outcome of the review by the medical director of NHS Fife of the 93 patients who died in hospital after being deemed medically fit for...
• Health
  To ask the Scottish Executive whether all medical directors of NHS boards will review the circumstances of all older patients who died in their hospitals after being deemed medically fit for...
• Healthcare Associated Infection
  To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason the MRSA Screening Pathfinder Programme Final Report Volume 1: An Investigation of the Clinical Effectiveness of Universal MRSA Screening was...
• Healthcare Associated Infection
  To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) sensitivity and (b) specificity was of the laboratory method used in the MRSA pilot screening project.
• Healthcare Associated Infection
  To ask the Scottish Executive what further research of staff screening will be undertaken following the MRSA pilot screening project.
• Healthcare Associated Infection
  To ask the Scottish Executive what risk factors were found in those patients with MRSA infections who screened negative in the MRSA pilot screening project.
• Healthcare Associated Infection
  To ask the Scottish Executive when it will (a) conclude and (b) report on the further special study in the MRSA pilot screening project on the risk of colonisation and how it will judge the...
• Healthcare Associated Infection
  To ask the Scottish Executive what assumptions were made in the health technology assessment (HTA) model used in the MRSA screening study that were not observed in practice.
• Healthcare Associated Infection
  To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the risks of increased mupirocin consumption and resistance that might result from a Scotland-wide MRSA screening programme on admission to...
• Healthcare Associated Infection
  To ask the Scottish Executive whether the report on the MRSA Screening Pathfinder Programme has been or will be subject to peer review.
• Healthcare Associated Infection
  To ask the Scottish Executive whether the estimates of the NHS Quality Improvement Scotland health technology assessment economic model assumptions in the report on the MRSA Screening Pathfinder...
• Healthcare Associated Infection
  To ask the Scottish Executive what independent evaluation of the findings in the report on the MRSA Screening Pathfinder Programme will be undertaken before proceeding to any roll-out of the...
• Healthcare Associated Infection
  To ask the Scottish Executive what the confidence intervals are for the predicted reductions in MRSA colonisation prevalence and infection incidence associated with MRSA laboratory test-based...
• Healthcare Associated Infection
  To ask the Scottish Executive what the likely (a) costs and (b) savings are in rolling out a Scotland-wide MRSA screening programme for hospital admissions.
• Healthcare Associated Infection
  To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) risks and (b) benefits are of rolling out a Scotland-wide MRSA screening programme for hospital admissions.
• Healthcare Associated Infection
  To ask the Scottish Executive what modelling it has done as to (a) whether and (b) when a full MRSA screening programme for hospital admissions could result in low endemic proportions of MRSA so...
• Higher Education
  To ask the Scottish Executive how the recently announced university status for the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) will progress and develop in light of reductions in funding for...
• Housing
  To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-39113 by Alex Neil on 7 February 2011, what the estimated cost is of guaranteeing the loan finance of local authorities...
• Justice
  To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of rape have been recorded by police in Tayside in each of the last 10 years.
• Justice
  To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-37562 by Fergus Ewing on 26 November 2010, how many people were (a) prosecuted, (b) convicted and (c) given a custodial...
• Justice
  To ask the Scottish Executive whether growing concerns have been brought to its attention regarding internet begging.
• Justice
  To ask the Scottish Executive how many hospital admissions due to assault by sharp object there were between 1 April 2010 and 31 January 2011, broken down by NHS board.
• Justice
  To ask the Scottish Executive how many crimes of handling an offensive weapon were reported between 1 April 2010 and 31 January 2011, broken down by (a) type of crime and (b) police board area.
• Marine Environment
  To ask the Scottish Executive what it considers the impact has been of the Scottish Adjacent Waters Boundaries Order 1999.
• Marine Environment
  To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the North Sea sector boundary between Scotland and England as defined in the Scottish Adjacent Water...
• Medication
  To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made a submission to the UK Department of Health consultation, A new value-based approach to the pricing of branded medicines , and, if so, whether it...
• Medication
  To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Medicines Consortium has made a submission to the UK Department of Health consultation, A new value-based approach to the pricing of branded...
• Mental Health
  To ask the Scottish Executive how many hits the Choose Life website has received in each six-month period since July 2008.
• NHS Equipment
  To ask the Scottish Executive how the wheelchair and seating services modernisation programme will use goal attainment scaling to identify unmet need, particularly for those people who would...
• NHS Equipment
  To ask the Scottish Executive what commitment there is to fund the wheelchair and seating services modernisation programme after the current funding commitment expires.
• NHS Hospitals
  To ask the Scottish Executive what companies were involved in the proposed development of a continuing care facility at Blawarthill Hospital.
• NHS Services
  To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason NHS Scotland Wheelchair and Seating Services - Clinical Standards Consultation does not include a mobility plan for users or carers who are to be...
• NHS Services
  To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason NHS Scotland Wheelchair and Seating Services - Clinical Standards Consultation does not refer to the right to a second opinion arising from an appeal.
• NHS Services
  To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason NHS Scotland Wheelchair and Seating Services - Clinical Standards Consultation does not refer to complaints procedures.
• NHS Services
  To ask the Scottish Executive whether the NHS Scotland Wheelchair and Seating Services - Clinical Standards Consultation will invite responses from those users, carers and voluntary sector...
• National Health Service
  To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration NHSScotland gives to the cost when procuring implantable medical devices.
• National Health Service
  To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration NHSScotland gives to (a) operational lifetime and (b) period of manufacturer’s guarantee when weighing up the cost of acquiring implantable...
• National Health Service
  To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that medical devices should be procured primarily on the basis of cost and, if so, how this impacts on its commitment to the adoption of...
• Oil
  To ask the Scottish Executive how much oil from Scottish territorial waters has been landed at each terminal in Scotland in each of the last 10 years.
• Oil
  To ask the Scottish Executive how much gas from Scottish territorial waters has been landed at each terminal in Scotland in each of the last 10 years.
• Planning
  To ask the Scottish Executive whether individuals whose land has been devalued as a result of planning decisions are eligible to apply for compensation.
• Prison Service
  To ask the Scottish Executive how many prisoners in each prison have been granted home leave in each year since December 2006, broken down by number of days granted.
• Rape
  To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of rape were recorded in each police force area in 2009-10.
• Rape
  To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were (a) prosecuted, (b) convicted and (c) given a custodial sentence in cases involving rape in 2009-10, broken down by police force area.
• Rape
  To ask the Scottish Executive how Scotland’s rape conviction rate compares with other countries.
• Renewable Energy
  To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects Scottish Water to complete (a) an environmental and (b) a habitats regulations assessment of plans to develop renewable energy projects on its estate.
• Renewable Energy
  To ask the Scottish Executive whether meetings have taken place between ministers or officials and representatives of Forth Energy, Scottish and Southern Energy plc and Forth Ports plc regarding...
• Roads
  To ask the Scottish Executive wha
• Roads
  To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent on preparations for the proposals for the improvements to the A75 from Hardgrove to Kinmount.
• Roads
  To ask the Scottish Executive when the condition of the A75 between Hardgrove and Kinmount was last examined and what the findings were.
• Roads
  To ask the Scottish Executive what trunk road improvement schemes (a) have been completed since May 2007 and are (b) on-going.
• Schools
  To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) schools and (b) pre-schools have been awarded a green flag under the eco-schools programme in each financial year since the programme began.
• Schools
  To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications for its one-off grant available to schools with an eco-schools bronze, silver or green flag have been received in each financial year since the...
• Schools
  To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason it has withdrawn the one-off grant available to schools with an eco-schools bronze, silver or green flag.
• Schools
  To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of (a) schools and (b) pre-schools has been awarded an eco-schools green flag.
• Scottish Government Buildings
  To ask the Scottish Executive whether it publishes statistics online of the daily energy use in its buildings and, if not, whether it will do so and, if so, when it will start.
• Scottish Government Staff
  To ask the Scottish Executive whether its directorates or agencies employ staff on fixed-term contacts.
• Scottish Government Staff
  To ask the Scottish Executive how many government staff are employed on a fixed-term contract, broken down by (a) directorate, (b) agency and (c) job title.
• Social Care
  To ask the Scottish Executive how the voluntary sector is involved in determining the use of the £70 million Change Fund at a local level.
• Teachers
  To ask the Scottish Executive how many teachers in each local authority area are employed in full-time, permanent posts.
• Teachers
  To ask the Scottish Executive how many teachers in each local authority area were employed in full-time, permanent posts on 1 April (a) 2010, (b) 2009, (c) 2008 and (d) 2007.
• Teachers
  To ask the Scottish Executive how many teachers in each local authority area are employed in full-time-equivalent, permanent posts.
• Teachers
  To ask the Scottish Executive how many teachers in each local authority area were employed in full-time-equivalent, permanent posts on 1 April (a) 2010, (b) 2009, (c) 2008 and (d) 2007.
• Teachers
  To ask the Scottish Executive how many teachers in each local authority area are employed in full-time, temporary posts.
• Teachers
  To ask the Scottish Executive how many teachers in each local authority area were employed in full-time, temporary posts on 1 April (a) 2010, (b) 2009, (c) 2008 and (d) 2007.
• Teachers
  To ask the Scottish Executive how many teachers in each local authority area are employed in full-time-equivalent, temporary posts.
• Teachers
  To ask the Scottish Executive how many teachers in each local authority area were employed in full-time-equivalent, temporary posts on 1 April (a) 2010, (b) 2009, (c) 2008 and (d) 2007.
• Teachers
  To ask the Scottish Executive how many full-time teaching posts are vacant in each local authority area.
• Teachers
  To ask the Scottish Executive how many full-time-equivalent teaching posts are vacant in each local authority area.
• Transport
  To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish an action plan for low-carbon vehicles as referred to on page one of its 2009 Consultation on Low Carbon Vehicles .
• Correction