Thursday 6 October 2011

SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE

Finance and Sustainable Growth Sandra White (Glasgow Kelvin) (): To ask the Scottish Executive what it has made on the development of its cities strategy. (S4O-00266) : We are working to publish the strategy by the end of 2011 and all six cities are fully engaged in working collaboratively with Scottish Government to identify specific areas where a cities strategy can add most value.

Health and Wellbeing Derek Mackay (Renfrewshire North and West) (Scottish National Party): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde on the delivery of a family nurse partnership. (S4O-00262) Nicola Sturgeon: We are in discussion with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to identify the best place to deliver the Family Nurse Partnership programme.

Alison Johnstone (Lothian) (Scottish Green Party): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the World Health Organization report, Persistent Organic Pollutants: Impact on Child Health. (S4O-00263) Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government has noted this report, since its recommendations reinforce the existing health policies and initiatives being taken forward already across the Scottish Government and its agencies.

Neil Bibby (West Scotland) (): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the role, value and potential of sport in Scottish society. (S4O-00264) Shona Robison: Sport has a significant contribution and can deliver a far reaching impact on our nation, economy, culture, international standing and reputation. This and helping to prolong life, improve physical strength and protect mental wellbeing is why this government is committed to maximising the benefits that can be delivered through sport.

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to address the needs of people with rare conditions such as paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria. (S4O-00265) Michael Matheson: Following on from the EU Council Recommendation on An Action in the field of Rare Diseases, work is underway led by the Department of Health, in which all four UK Health Departments are working together to prepare a national (UK) Plan for rare diseases.

Bob Doris (Glasgow) (Scottish National Party): To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions it has had with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde regarding adequate provision of insulin pumps. (S4O-00267) Michael Matheson: Our Diabetes Action Plan, published last year, makes it clear that we expect all NHS boards to make sustained improvements in increasing access to insulin pump therapy in line with the latest clinical guidance. We expect each NHS board, including NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, to have a strategy covering the full range of insulin use, including the availability and management of insulin pumps. We intend to ask NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, what steps it will take to increase provision of insulin pump therapy at its Annual Review later this month.

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients aged (a) under 40, (b) 40 to 49, (c) 50 to 59, (d) 60 to 69, (e) 70 to 79 and (f) 80 and over have had a major resection for lung cancer in each of the last five years for which information is available, broken down by (i) gender and (ii) NHS board. (S4W-02885) Nicola Sturgeon: The following tables show information on the number of patients who had a diagnosis of lung cancer and a major lung resection procedure in each of the financial years from 2005-06 to 2009-10. The data are shown by NHS board of treatment, gender and age group. At the NHS board level data is only shown where there were at least five male or five female procedures over the five years. A patient is only counted if the diagnosis of lung cancer and the lung resection procedure are recorded at the same hospital stay. Table 1 – Number of males with a lung cancer diagnosis and who had a major surgical lung resection by NHS board of treatment, age group and year Males Year of discharge NHS Board Age Group 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 Grampian Under 40 0 0 0 1 0 40-49 1 2 2 1 0 50-59 3 4 5 4 7 60-69 9 7 8 11 6 70-79 6 12 8 6 8 80 and over 1 1 2 2 0 Greater Glasgow Under 40 0 3 1 0 0 and Clyde 40-49 1 1 2 0 0 50-59 10 14 13 0 0 60-69 32 27 41 0 0 70-79 25 24 31 0 0 80 and over 5 2 3 0 0 Lanarkshire Under 40 1 0 1 0 0 40-49 2 0 1 0 0 50-59 12 4 10 0 1 60-69 17 29 37 0 0 70-79 28 24 22 0 0 80 and over 0 4 3 0 0 Lothian Under 40 0 1 1 3 1 40-49 1 2 3 3 2 50-59 13 14 8 11 17 60-69 26 35 22 29 27 70-79 38 15 19 25 38 80 and over 2 0 5 4 5 Males Year of discharge NHS Board Age Group 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 Golden Jubilee Under 40 0 0 0 2 4 40-49 0 0 0 6 2 50-59 0 0 0 24 17 60-69 0 0 4 58 52 70-79 0 0 0 59 58 80 and over 0 0 0 10 7 Scotland Under 40 1 4 3 6 5 40-49 5 5 8 10 4 50-59 38 36 36 39 42 60-69 84 98 112 98 85 70-79 98 75 80 91 105 80 and over 8 7 13 16 12

Table 2 – Number of females with a lung cancer diagnosis and who had a major surgical lung resection by NHS board of treatment, age group and year Females Year of discharge NHS Board Age Group 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 Grampian Under 40 0 0 0 3 3 40-49 4 0 1 1 0 50-59 1 4 6 6 0 60-69 6 6 9 4 8 70-79 4 3 8 3 2 80 and over 1 0 0 1 1 Greater Glasgow Under 40 0 2 2 0 0 and Clyde 40-49 4 2 7 1 0 50-59 17 12 8 0 0 60-69 26 31 34 0 1 70-79 18 19 22 0 0 80 and over 4 5 5 0 0 Lanarkshire Under 40 1 0 0 0 0 40-49 2 0 3 0 0 50-59 8 9 8 0 0 60-69 21 27 26 0 0 70-79 20 18 22 0 0 80 and over 3 1 1 0 0 Lothian Under 40 0 1 0 1 1 40-49 2 5 5 5 5 50-59 15 12 19 10 14 60-69 22 19 19 21 35 70-79 17 22 17 23 36 80 and over 2 0 3 0 3 Golden Jubilee Under 40 0 0 0 4 1 40-49 0 0 0 5 4 50-59 0 0 0 22 24 Females Year of discharge NHS Board Age Group 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 60-69 0 0 3 45 55 70-79 0 0 1 56 63 80 and over 0 0 0 10 14 Scotland Under 40 1 3 2 8 5 40-49 13 7 16 12 9 50-59 41 37 41 38 38 60-69 76 83 91 70 99 70-79 60 62 70 82 101 80 and over 10 6 9 11 18 Note: Data for 2010-11 are not yet complete. This is mainly due to the implementation of a new IT Patient Management System in some NHS boards which has resulted in data submission backlogs for this time period. The relevant NHS boards are working to resolve these submission issues.

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party): To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason the Minor Ailments Service is not available to people in care homes for older people. (S4W-02897) Nicola Sturgeon: The Minor Ailment Service (MAS) is not available for people resident in a care home setting because the service is predicated on a face to face consultation with a community pharmacist and residents in care homes tend not to be able to visit a community pharmacy. They can, however, access medical care and medical advice in respect of minor ailments from their GP practice, who can prescribe any treatment which may be required in the normal way.

Justice (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Lord Advocate’s analysis of crimes committed under section 74 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 in each year since its introduction will be made available to the Justice Committee before it completes its deliberations on the proposed new Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Bill. (S4W-02895) John Park (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Lord Advocate’s analysis of crimes committed under section 74 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 in each year since its introduction will be made available to the general public on request. (S4W-02896) Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government will undertake a one year analysis of the data held by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in relation to Section 74 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003. The analysis will cover the most recent data available – 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011 – and will be completed and published on the Scottish Government website by mid November.

Legal and Parliamentary Kezia Dugdale (Lothian) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Executive how many overnight stays in hotels special advisers have charged for since May 2011. (S4W-02889) Bruce Crawford: The total number of overnights stays in hotels claimed by all special advisers since May 2011 is six. The costs were either incurred by the adviser and claimed back through the Scottish Government Travel & Subsistence system or the rooms were booked through the Scottish Government’s official travel agency and paid via a large consolidated invoice. Overnight stays by special adviser are incurred in the course of carrying out official business on behalf of the Scottish Government.

Kezia Dugdale (Lothian) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Executive what expenses claims special advisers have made since May 2011. (S4W-02890) Bruce Crawford: The total amount claimed in expenses by all special advisers since May 2011 is £2,302.46. This includes accommodation and meals as well as travel and personal incidental expenses. The expenditure was incurred by the advisers and claimed back through the Scottish Government Travel and Subsistence system, booked through the official travel agency or paid directly to suppliers via the Travel and Subsistence charge card. Special adviser expenses are incurred in the course of carrying out official business on behalf of the Scottish Government.

Kezia Dugdale (Lothian) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Executive which special advisers provide legal advice to ministers. (S4W-02891)

Kezia Dugdale (Lothian) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Executive which special advisers have legal qualifications. (S4W-02892) Bruce Crawford: Special advisers provide policy, political and presentational advice and support to ministers. They do not provide legal advice.

Office of the First Minister Kezia Dugdale (Lothian) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S4W-00282 by John Swinney on 1 July 2011, whether there have been changes to its appointment of special advisers or their (a) job titles, (b) responsibilities and (c) salary bandings. (S4W-02893) Bruce Crawford: Since 1 July 2011 there have been two changes to the special adviser team. Malcolm Fleming was appointed on 25 July 2011 as Communications and political spokesperson. Jennifer Erickson resigned on 2 August 2011. The current Special Adviser Pay Bands and Ranges and the number of Special Advisers within each Pay Band are: Pay Band Pay Range Number in Pay Band 1 £39,445 – £52,904 5 2 £51,041 - £67,709 2 3 £65,017 - £83,963 4 3 (premium) £83,549 - £100,942 0 4 £86,965 - £104,462 0

Rural Affairs and the Environment Tavish Scott (Shetland Islands) (Scottish Liberal Democrats): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will explain to sheep farmers how the sheep electronic identification scheme will operate. (S4W-02888) Richard Lochhead: Guidance was issued to all sheep farmers on 1 October 2011 to inform them of the detail of the flexibilities which have been obtained from the Commission in relation to electronic identification of sheep and cross compliance. The following questions received holding answers: S4W-02884 S4W-02894