Section E – Written questions lodged on 6 December 2011
Questions marked with a triangle (Δ) are initiated by the Scottish Executive in order to facilitate the provision of information to the Parliament.
Questions in which a member has indicated a declarable interest are marked with an "R".
S4W-04010 Richard Simpson: To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on Argyll and Bute Council’s proposed (a) 20% reduction in adult learning service speech and language therapy budgets and (b) 50% reduction in funding for speech and language therapy for children and young people.
S4W-04011 Richard Simpson: To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish an up-to-date national audit of cardiac rehabilitation.
S4W-04393 Alison Johnstone: To ask the Scottish Executive what evidence it has on the use of unlicensed chemicals to treat sea lice.
S4W-04394 Alison Johnstone: To ask the Scottish Executive what the allowable concentration is for sediments of chemicals used in sea lice treatment and what powers are available to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency should this be breached.
S4W-04395 Alison Johnstone: To ask the Scottish Executive what investigations (a) have taken place and (b) are planned regarding the potential terrestrial sources of the chemicals identified in the Scottish Environment Protection Agency reports, JT000811_JT and TR110810_JT.
S4W-04396 Alison Johnstone: To ask the Scottish Executive what the impact is on shellfish fisheries of the chemicals identified in the Scottish Environment Protection Agency reports, JT000811_JT and TR110810_JT.
S4W-04397 Alison Johnstone: To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the 2010 data on the occurrence of chemicals used in sea lice treatments in sediments adjacent to marine fish farms.
S4W-04398 Alison Johnstone: To ask the Scottish Executive what impacts on benthic invertebrates have been recorded in the areas assessed by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency reports, JT000811_JT and TR110810_JT, since they were published.
S4W-04399 Alison Johnstone: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the aquaculture developments in the areas assessed by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency reports, JT000811_JT and TR110810_JT, comply with the aquaculture industry’s code of good practice.
S4W-04400 Alison Johnstone: To ask the Scottish Executive what the penalty is for non-conformance with the (a) aquaculture industry’s code of good practice and (b) Scottish Environmental Protection Agency’s licences for discharge.
S4W-04426 Elaine Murray: To ask the Scottish Executive, further to its consultation on amending the implied terms of the Mobile Homes Act 1983, whether it plans to bring forward legislation and, if so, to what timescale.
S4W-04427 Elaine Smith: To ask the Scottish Executive how many wards have been closed due to norovirus outbreak in each winter since 2007, broken down by NHS board.
S4W-04428 Elaine Smith: To ask the Scottish Executive how many wards in NHS Lanarkshire have been closed due to norovirus outbreak in each winter since 2007, broken down by hospital.
S4W-04429 Elaine Smith: To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients have contracted norovirus in each winter since 2007, broken down by NHS areas.
S4W-04430 Elaine Smith: To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients in NHS Lanarkshire have contracted norovirus in each winter since 2007, broken down by hospital.
S4W-04431 Elaine Smith: To ask the Scottish Executive what procedures NHS boards have in place for the containment of norovirus.
S4W-04432 Elaine Smith: To ask the Scottish Executive what advice it gives to NHS boards to prevent outbreaks of norovirus.
S4W-04433 Elaine Smith: To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients with underlying health conditions have died as a result of norovirus or had norovirus listed as a contributory cause of mortality in each winter since 2007, broken down by NHS board.
S4W-04434 Elaine Smith: To ask the Scottish Executive what procedures are in place for reporting outbreaks of norovirus.
S4W-04435 Elaine Smith: To ask the Scottish Executive what factors contribute to outbreaks of norovirus in NHS hospitals.
S4W-04436 Elaine Smith: To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost to the NHS has been of outbreaks of norovirus in each winter since 2007.
S4W-04437 Elaine Smith: To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken in 2011 to prevent outbreaks of norovirus.
S4W-04438 Elaine Smith: To ask the Scottish Executive what ward closures there were in Monklands Hospital in 2011 and for what reason.
S4W-04439 Elaine Smith: To ask the Scottish Executive how it ensures that patient care is not compromised while hospital wards are closed as a result of outbreaks of norovirus in NHS Lanarkshire.
S4W-04440 Elaine Smith: To ask the Scottish Executive what measures there are to maintain staff numbers at Monklands Hospital to replace those staff affected by the recent norovirus outbreak.
S4W-04441 Elaine Smith: To ask the Scottish Executive what recent consideration it has given to the use of new technologies for the prevention of healthcare associated infections.
S4W-04442 John Lamont: To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS boards provide a dedicated physiotherapist for people with multiple sclerosis (MS).
S4W-04443 John Lamont: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to improve the A7 through (a) Selkirk and (b) Hawick.
S4W-04445 Richard Simpson: To ask the Scottish Executive what arrangements the NHS has in place to monitor the level of Panton-Valentine Leukocidin positive Staphylococcus aureus.
S4W-04446 Richard Simpson: To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of (a) Staphylococcus aureus and (b) MRSA isolates contained Panton-Valentine Leukocidin in (a) 2005, (b) 2007, (c) 2009 and (d) 2010.
S4W-04448 Kenneth Gibson: To ask the Scottish Executive how much additional tax will be raised in Scotland by the UK Treasury through increases in public sector pensions for which the Scottish Government has responsibility.
S4W-04449 Jenny Marra: To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual budget for the cochlear implant programme was in (a) 2007-08, (b) 2008-09, (c) 2009-10 and (d) 2010-11.
S4W-04450 Jenny Marra: To ask the Scottish Executive how many new cochlear implant procedures were funded in (a) 2007-08 and (b) 2008-09.
S4W-04451 Jenny Marra: To ask the Scottish Executive what the impact will be of the proposed changes to funding for educational psychology training.
S4W-04452 Jenny Marra: To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it will take to ensure that there is no loss of quality in the service provided by educational psychologists as a result of the proposed changes to funding of their training.
S4W-04453 Jenny Marra: To ask the Scottish Executive what alternative options it explored before deciding on changes to the funding for educational psychology training.
S4W-04454 Elaine Murray: To ask the Scottish Executive which trunk roads in Dumfriesshire were gritted between 7.00 pm on 5 December 2011 and 7.00 am on 6 December 2011 and at what times.
S4W-04464 Jackson Carlaw: To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the levels of spending on cancer treatment in Scotland compared to (a) England and (b) European Union member states.
S4W-04465 Jackson Carlaw: To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the uptake of cancer treatment in Scotland in comparison to (a) England and (b) European Union member states.
S4W-04466 Jackson Carlaw: To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the recent Rarer Cancer Foundation report, Nations Divided.
S4W-04467 Jackson Carlaw: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has sufficient data on medicines prescribing and usage to make an accurate assessment of variations in access to cancer medicines, and whether it plans to introduce a central prescribing database.
S4W-04468 Jackson Carlaw: To ask the Scottish Executive what information it holds on the number of patients in Scotland who are accessing cancer medicines that are available through the NHS in England.