- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 18 March 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Peter Peacock on 11 April 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive how many records of need were opened in (a) 2000, (b) 2001, (c) 2002, (d) 2003 and (e) 2004, in total and broken down by local authority.
Answer
The number of Record of Needs opened in 2000-05 in total and broken down by local authority is not held centrally.
However, we do collect statistics within the school census on the numbers of Records of Needs which exist currently within each local authority. Links to each of these publications are as follows:
2000
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00079.pdf.2001 http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00168.pdf.2002 http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00272.pdf.2003 http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00350.pdf.2004 http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00412.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 23 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive how many GPs are currently eligible for retirement at 60 and, of these, how many could retire in each of the next three years, broken down by NHS board area.
Answer
The table shows the number of GPs in post who are aged 60 and over at 21 February 2005, together with the additional GPs who will reach the age of 60 at 21 February in each of the following three years 2006-08. This information is shown for Scotland and by individual NHS board.
GPs aged 60 and Over in the Years 2005 - 2008: by NHS Board Area
| | GPs Aged 60 and Over | Additional GPs who Reach Age 60 in the Years: |
| | | | | |
| Year | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
| Scotland | 150 | 58 | 77 | 89 |
| Argyll and Clyde | 19 | 7 | 3 | 9 |
| Ayrshire and Arran | 8 | 4 | 7 | 7 |
| Borders | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 3 | 1 | - | 3 |
| Fife | 7 | 3 | 5 | 4 |
| Forth Valley | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| Grampian | 7 | 3 | 9 | 9 |
| Greater Glasgow | 36 | 7 | 11 | 13 |
| Highland | 9 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
| Lanarkshire | 19 | 5 | 11 | 7 |
| Lothian | 19 | 8 | 10 | 14 |
| Orkney | 3 | 1 | - | 1 |
| Shetland | 2 | - | - | 1 |
| Tayside | 9 | 9 | 5 | 7 |
| Western Isles | 3 | - | 1 | - |
Source: General Medical Practitioner database, ISD Scotland.
Ref: IR2005-00558 – 23 February 2005.
The requirements with which general medical practitioners must comply are set out in the NHS (Primary Medical Services Performers lists) (Scotland) Regulations 2004. They do not specify an age for retirement.
The terms of the NHS pension scheme in Scotland allow for members to retire from pensionable employment at any time on or after attaining age 60, with entitlement to a normal retirement pension. This arrangement includes those members who are general practitioners.
The new GMS contract, introduced on 1 April 2004, includes specific incentives to help fill vacancies which occur. To achieve this, the contract allows GPs to manage their workloads better. Perhaps the biggest disincentive to attracting GPs into general practice was onerous out-of-hours commitments, particularly in remote and rural areas. Under the terms of the new contract GPs can now transfer this responsibility to NHS boards.
The new contract also included enhanced seniority payments for GPs.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 March 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Euan Robson on 22 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what the position is in respect of funding for the additional support needs advocacy services scheme pending the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 coming into force.
Answer
I refer the member to the answers to questions S2W-15099 and S2W-15100 on 22 March 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 March 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Euan Robson on 22 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive which organisations applied for funding under the additional support needs advocacy services scheme; which were successful, and how much was awarded to each successful organisation.
Answer
Seven organisations applied for funding under the one-year (2005-06) additional support needs advocacy pilots scheme. The five successful organisations are Children in Scotland (£129,881), Edinburgh Youth Social Inclusion Partnership (£36,000), Partners in Advocacy (£40,000), Partners in Play (£31,000) and Parent to Parent Tayside (£12,940). The two unsuccessful organisations were Afasic Scotland and the Equity Group.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 March 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Euan Robson on 22 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider reopening applications for the additional support needs advocacy services scheme, given that the deadline for applications was 6 December 2004 and the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 has not yet come into force.
Answer
Consideration of applications under the one-year additional support needs advocacy pilots scheme is now complete. Successful applicants have been informed and the exercise will not be reopened. For details of these organisations and awards, I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-15099 on 22 March 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 04 March 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 22 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the claim by Citizens Advice Scotland that 79% of forms issued by the Department for Work and Pensions as a consequence of the reorganisation of job centres refer clients to their local citizens advice bureau and increased pressure on bureaux, what additional funding the Executive will provide to meet increased demand.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is aware of the excellent work done by Citizens Advice Bureaux across Scotland. Core funding for Citizens Advice Bureaux is a matter for local authorities, who are best placed to decide on the allocation of resources according to the needs of their particular areas. The Executive will be providing local authorities with almost £8.1 billion in 2005-06 to help them fund core services such as Citizens Advice Bureaux.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 March 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 21 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what complaints have been received regarding the standard of service cover and delivery since the introduction of NHS 24 to the Scottish Borders.
Answer
NHS Borders and NHS Dumfries and Galloway are responsible for providing family practitioner service out of hours within their board areas, with support from NHS 24, which triages calls to ensure that patients receive the care appropriate to their needs. As a rule, complaints about the standard of service provided will be directed to the appropriate responsible organisation. I have asked the chairs of these NHS boards and of NHS 24 to write to you about this matter.
Between 1 April 2004 and 28 February 2005, NHS 24 dealt with 1.19 million calls across Scotland. In that same period the Executive received 86 specific complaints about NHS 24 and the out of hours GP services. Six of these complaints came from patients in NHS Borders and NHS Dumfries and Galloway.
On 24 February 2005 I announced that I was establishing a review group to consider the operational performance of NHS 24 and to come forward with recommendations for action, including actions for NHS 24, NHS boards, other partners and the Health Department for improving the services provided.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 March 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Peter Peacock on 18 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-25670 by Cathy Jamieson on 21 May 2002, how much public funding Enquire received in (a) 2002-03, (b) 2003-04 and (c) 2004-05 and how much it is projected to receive in future.
Answer
Enquire received (a) £254,421 in 2002-03; (b) £321,963 in 2003-04, and (c) will have received £367,361 between April 2004 and March 2005. The agreed grant for 2005-06 is £326, 951. No decisions have been taken on funding beyond 2005-06.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 March 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Peter Peacock on 18 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive when it anticipates that the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 will come into force.
Answer
It is anticipated that the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 will be commenced in late 2005.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 March 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Peter Peacock on 18 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-25669 by Cathy Jamieson on 21 May 2002, how many enquiries have been received by Enquire in (a) 2002-03, (b) 2003-04 and (c) 2004-05.
Answer
Enquire received (a) 2,516 enquiries in 2002-03; (b) 3,064 enquiries in 2003-04, and (c) 2,291 enquiries between April 2004 and January 2005 (figures for February to March 2005 are not yet available).
