- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 24 February 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to make funding available to ensure that a comprehensive immunisation programme against flu is in place for the over 65s and vulnerable groups.
Answer
The Scottish Executive provides funding for flu immunisation and issues guidance in accordance with medical advice on those who would most benefit from vaccination.The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation is the expert advisory group on vaccination and immunisation to the four UK Health Departments. Their expert advice determines the policy for the flu vaccination programme and that advice recommends that the vaccine is offered to over 75s and other specific vulnerable groups. They do not recommend vaccinating all over 65s. This advice is kept under regular review and is relayed to GPs annually before the time for them to commence flu immunisations.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Iain Gray on 23 February 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive which of the five recommendations of the Scottish Health Advisory Service report Services for older people in the Southern Highlands, published on 5 November 1999, have been actioned; how the recommendations have been actioned; what the timetable is for full implementation and who is responsible for monitoring progress on the recommendations.
Answer
At its meeting on 1 February, Highland Health Board discussed and agreed an action plan for implementing each of the five recommendations contained in the Scottish Health Advisory Service report. The plan will be taken forward in partnership with the Highland NHS Trusts and the Highland Council in the context of a local strategy for care of older people. The target dates for implementation of four of the recommendations range between May and August this year. The remaining one (relating to a manpower review) will be completed by April 2001.The Scottish Health Advisory Service will follow up progress on implementation of the recommendations, but the Scottish Executive will also monitor how they are being taken forward. We would expect any plans for improvements to services for older people to be reflected in the Health Improvement Programme for Highland and in the Trust Implementation Plans for 2000-01.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 27 January 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Iain Gray on 21 February 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-1605 by Iain Gray on 17 January 2000, what percentage of the #140 and #200 average weekly contributions to the cost of long term residential care or long term nursing care made by older people who receive contributions to the costs of their care only from the Department of Social Security was accounted for by (a) nursing care costs and (b) other care costs.
Answer
All of the estimated £140 per week contributed towards their care costs by people in residential care in 1998-99 is accounted for by costs other than nursing care costs. The higher contributions made by people in long term nursing care reflect the additional costs of providing such care. 30% of the estimated £200 per week thus is accounted for by nursing care costs.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Iain Gray on 17 February 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will implement recommendation 3 of the Scottish Health Advisory Service report Services for Older People in the Southern Highlands.
Answer
It is for Highland Health Board and the Highland NHS Trusts to consider and respond to the recommendations in the report. I understand that they are doing so and that recommendation 3 will be taken forward as part of the development of a Highland-wide strategy and action plan for services for Older People.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 16 February 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made regarding the application by Signum Circuits, Selkirk for Regional Selective Assistance.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is at present considering a Regional Selective Assistance application from Signum Circuits. However no new awards of Regional Selective Assistance may be made until agreement has been reached with the European Commission on the detail of the new Assisted Areas map.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 February 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 15 February 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the speech by the Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Life Long Learning on 27 January 2000 (Official Report col.603-4), whether it will make available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre the legal advice referred to and, if not, why not.
Answer
No. It is neither custom nor practice of the UK Government or the Executive in Scotland to publish its legal advice.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 4 February 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will obtain from local authorities a detailed breakdown of the cost of recovery of council tax and poll tax arrears through the summary debt collection procedure for the last three financial years.
Answer
Scottish Executive officials undertook to examine this matter for the Justice and Home Affairs Committee. I have today laid in the SPICe a copy of the letter to the clerk.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 January 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 3 February 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether European Regional Development Funding is available for the Borders railway.
Answer
The new South of Scotland European Objective 2 programme will be worth over £40 million over the next seven years and will bring a valuable additional boost to investment in the area. It will cover a range of issues including economic development and social justice but it is not likely to provide significant funding opportunities to invest in the railway.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 January 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 27 January 2000
To ask the Presiding Officer what efforts the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body has made to publicise to the general public the new regulations on the operation of cross-party groups.
Answer
The Standards Committee's report on the
Regulation of Cross-Party Groups, which sets out the regulations, was published on 30 November 1999. In keeping with normal practice, the report was placed on the Parliament's web site on that date. Most of the partner libraries in each of the 73 Scottish Parliamentary constituencies provide public access to Internet facilities.
Details of Committee reports also appear in the Business Bulletin and in the publication What's Happening in the Scottish Parliament (WHISP), copies of which are available for public inspection in many of the partner libraries and for purchase in Stationery Office outlets. Journalists were notified prior to the publication of the Report.
The Regulations on Cross-Party Groups were the subject of a debate in the full Parliament on 15 December 1999. Advance notice of that debate appeared in the Business Bulletin and in WHISP and the record of the debate appeared in the Official Report for that day. Copies of the Official Report are also available for public inspection in many of the partner libraries and for purchase in Stationery Office outlets.Parliamentary staff are currently looking at the possibility of producing a fact sheet on Cross-Party Groups to be made publicly available in the Parliament's Visitor Centre.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 10 January 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 24 January 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will request Her Majesty's Government to obtain from the Department of Trade and Industry, North East of England, figures of the number of Borders workers formerly employed by Viasystems and employed by Viasystems North Tayside over the past 17 months, and to obtain a breakdown of these figures on a month by month basis with these numbers categorised under the heads "managerial" and "non-managerial".
Answer
The Department of Trade & Industry obtain appropriate information from the company to allow them to monitor the investment project which they are assisting on North Tyneside.
