- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 March 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 19 March 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the Scottish Drug Forum's report A Brief Survey on Drug Paraphernalia Distribution following Amendments to the Misuse of Drugs Act (1971) on behalf of the Scottish Needle Exchange Workers' Forum, what steps will be taken on the recommendations that (a) citric/ascorbic acid and sterile water are additional paraphernalia items that should be supplied/distributed in the future, (b) identified organisational and financial issues need to be addressed to allow services to provide additional paraphernalia and (c) lead stakeholders should ensure that the amendments to the Misuse of Drugs Act (1971) of August 2003 to allow the supply of specific services such as additional drug paraphernalia including spoons, acidifiers, filters and water ampoules, are clearly communicated to all local services, relevant training is provided and alternative methods of sourcing/distributing supplies, locally and nationally, are explored.
Answer
This report has been sent tothe Executive very recently, and we are still reviewing the information andconclusions from the survey work.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 March 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 19 March 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive which NHS boards have needle exchange programmes and what measures are being taken to ensure that all NHS boards operate such programmes.
Answer
All areas of Scotlandhave needle exchange services, but services are provided from a wide range ofsources, such as community pharmacies, voluntary groups and outreach services,as well as from NHS facilities.
The benefits from providingsterile injecting equipment, particularly in respect of reducing transmissionof blood-borne viruses, are well known. In December 2002, the Lord Advocateincreased the limits on the numbers of needles and syringes which could beissued by needle exchange services, and this information was widelydisseminated to NHS boards and other providers of services for drug misusers.It is for local service commissioners and providers to deliver servicestailored to local needs and circumstances.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 11 March 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 19 March 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what account is taken of increases in water charges when care home charges are set.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-5615 on 3 February 2004.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/search_wa.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 March 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Euan Robson on 19 March 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to Forgotten Children, Addressing the Health Issues of Looked After Children and Young People, what steps will be taken to follow the recommendations on training issues for care service staff, in particular (a) that health and social work departments need to work together to ensure adequate training for staff in health issues, (b) that health-related training should be an essential part of residential care practitioner training, (c) that training in mental health issues is given a high priority within care practitioner employee development, (d) to ensure ongoing training in recognition of drug and alcohol abuse and (e) that more emphasis should be given to addressing the underlying root causes of mental and emotional ill health as part of training packages.
Answer
The Scottish Institute forResidential Childcare ensures that residential childcare staff have access tothe skills and knowledge they require to meet the needs of the child in theircare, including health needs. Scottish Training on Drugs and Alcohol undertakeswork with professional staff to improve their skills when addressing drug andalcohol misuse and ensure that interventions are based on evidence of whatworks. We are also looking for other examples of best practice and willconsider how training links can be developed.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 March 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 18 March 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance it provides to those wishing to access the pensioner credit scheme, in light of the impact of the scheme on services it provides to pensioners.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a wide range of issues,including pension credit, and issupporting the implementation in Scotland by disseminating information andencouraging applications by a variety of means, including: benefitshealthchecks through our central heating programme; publishing agenda newsletterfor older people; and advising the pension service on the content anddistribution of the Scottish version of the pensioners' guide.
This is in addition to the UKgovernment’s current uptake campaign and application advisory services.Applicants are recommended to apply through, and get advice from, the pension creditapplication helpline on freephone 080099 1234. The Minister for Finance and Public Services welcomed the latest uptake campaign on 1 March 2004. Acopy of his statement can be read at:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/pages/news/2004/03/SENW1047.aspx
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 March 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 18 March 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to Her Majesty's Government with regard to the complexity of the application form for the pensioner credit scheme, in light of the impact of the scheme on services the Executive provides to pensioners.
Answer
None.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 February 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 18 March 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to Helping Homeless People: Delivering the Action Plan for Prevention and Effective Response - Homeless Monitoring Group First Report - January 2004, whether East Lothian Council's homelessness strategy has been fully assessed against the recommendations of the Homelessness Task Force and, if so, what conclusions have been reached in respect of the adequacy of the strategy.
Answer
A cross sector panel isassessing all homelessness strategies against a common framework drawn up byCommunities Scotland in consultation with the homelessness monitoring group.
East Lothian’s homelessness strategy has been assessed by thepanel and feedback has been given to the council. Scottish Executive officials will liaise with the Council regarding its response to thisfeedback and its review of the strategy in light of the recommendationscontained within the homelessness section of the pathfinder inspection reportpublished by Communities Scotland in January.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 March 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 18 March 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has with regard to the uptake of the pensioner credit scheme, in light of the impact of the scheme on services it provides to pensioners.
Answer
This information is in thepublic domain, available from the Department of Work and Pensions at:
www.pensioncreditinfo.gov.uk/communication.asp.As of 31st January 2004,around 229,000 individuals in Scotland were receiving pension credit, with an average awardof £42 per week.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 23 February 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 18 March 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to review the funding structure of the Sleep Centre in Edinburgh and return to the previous arrangement of central government funding rather than the current structure of funding by individual NHS boards.
Answer
There are no plans to returnto the previous arrangement of national NHS funding. The criteria for anational service include low volume and high unit costs. As the sleep service doesnot meet these criteria, it cannot be considered as a national service. Fundingof the Sleep Centre is a matter for NHS Lothian, to be considered with otherservice priorities in the board area.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 March 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 17 March 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what additional funding has been put in place to meet the increasing number of persons with HIV in care, in light of figures recording the highest annual number of new cases of HIV since the mid-1980s, as referred to in issue 172 of the Scottish Drugs Forum Bulletin.
Answer
Following the publication of the report of the HIV Health Promotion Strategy Review Group in January 2001,the Executive increased the resources available to NHS boards by £2 million annually,to assist their work to prevent the spread of HIV and other bloodborne viruses.The allocation in 2003-04 is £8.12 million. Boards use these resources to fundmeasures to address a range of issues relating to HIV in their areas.
Expenditure on treatment andcare services for those suffering from HIV is a matter for individual boards todetermine within their general funding allocations, which increased by aminimum of 7.4% across boards in 2003-04.
Local authorities also havea key role in supporting those suffering from HIV. Substantial additionalresources for community care have been allocated in the local governmentfinance settlement to 2005-06.
The Executive also providessome £500,000 to a range of voluntary organisations responding to thechallenges posed by bloodborne viruses, particularly HIV and hepatitis C.
