Euan Robson: I welcome the opportunity to make a few remarks. Christine Grahame's contribution was unhelpful. I respect the point of view that was eloquently expressed by Bristow Muldoon, but I prefer the point that Gordon Jackson made, which is that the bill committee has spent three years considering the bill. It has gone into it in infinite detail and, as has been adequately explained, it has engaged...
Euan Robson: I compliment the committee on its report and the extent of the work that has gone into its preparation and publication. I agree with Des McNulty that we often think that we know more about problems than we do about solutions. That is probably true, given what Frank McAveety described as the longevity or the chronic nature of problems of deprivation. Des McNulty also summarised the report...
Euan Robson: Yes, there are difficulties. Let me give a further example. In rural areas where no public transport is available, a cheap car is essential. However, ownership of a car can exclude a person from the index of multiple deprivation. We should not describe people as not suffering deprivation just because they live in circumstances where they need a car, but we do not yet have a sufficiently...
Euan Robson: To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects there to be a return to a full and regular supply of hormone replacement medication.
Euan Robson: To ask the Scottish Executive which medical conditions, other than obesity, have been cited as requiring liposuction to be performed on the NHS on children under 16.
Euan Robson: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is NHS practice to offer children undergoing surgery for obesity on the NHS support and guidance to facilitate a change in lifestyle and prevent recurrence of weight problems.
Euan Robson: To ask the Scottish Executive what the average level of occupancy has been in each neonatal unit in each year since 1997.
Euan Robson: To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is centralised procurement in respect of the purchase or provision of printing services for the NHS.
Euan Robson: To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions there have been with printing companies regarding contracting printing services for the NHS.
Euan Robson: To ask the Scottish Executive what arrangements are in place for the purchase of printing services by NHS boards.
Euan Robson: To ask the Scottish Executive what expenditure was incurred by each NHS board on printing services in the last two financial years and what budgetary allocations have been made for 2006-07 for this purpose.
Euan Robson: To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) in-utero and (b) ex-utero transfers from Scotland to locations outside Scotland have taken place in each year since 1997.
Euan Robson: Will the First Minister have discussions with the UK Government about similar legislation in the English jurisdiction? In border areas there is some evidence of an imbalance in cross-border trade, because of smokers moving to the English jurisdiction to take temporary advantage of the conditions that exist there.
Euan Robson: To ask the Scottish Executive how many specialist neonatal ambulances there are in Scotland.
Euan Robson: To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) adult intensive care beds, (b) adult high dependency care beds, (c) paediatric intensive care beds, (d) paediatric high dependency care beds, (e) neonatal intensive care cots and (f) neonatal high dependency care cots there were in the most recent year for which figures are available and what the average daily cost per bed was for each type of bed.
Euan Robson: To ask the Scottish Executive what measures NHS Scotland has introduced to ensure that people with severe mental illness are encouraged to join programmes to combat obesity, increase exercise or promote smoking cessation, in light of the levels of physical health difficulties among this group, evidence that those with severe mental illness live ten years less than other people and Rethink’s...
Euan Robson: To ask the First Minister whether there is a higher prevalence of outbreaks of E coli in Scotland than in the rest of the United Kingdom. (S2F-2329)
Euan Robson: I thank the First Minister for his response. Does he think that we need to know more about causation? If so, is it time for an Executive-led research programme?
Euan Robson: I am grateful for the opportunity to make a few remarks on five points that relate to the bill. The remarks come from some years of experience in handling debt cases not as a solicitor, but in the energy industry. That experience is fading a bit into the past now, as is the work that I did on the working group that considered the replacement for poindings and warrant sales, on which David...
Euan Robson: The Scottish Liberal Democrats welcomed the publication of the Kerr report. In years to come, it will be remembered as a significant landmark in the history of the NHS in Scotland. The Executive's response, "Delivering for Health", set the agenda for implementing the Kerr report. "Delivering for Health" is set against the background of the near doubling of the NHS budget from £4.6 billion in...