- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 30 October 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what objectives it set for the funding that it provided to Relationships Scotland - Family Mediation Highland in 2022.
Answer
The Scottish Government did not provide any funding directly to Relationships Scotland Family Mediation Highland in 2022.
Relationships Scotland operate a network of 21 Member Services across Scotland, including Relationships Scotland Family Mediation Highland.
In 2022, the Scottish Government provided Relationships Scotland with core funding via the Children, Young People and Families Early Intervention and Adult Learning & Empowering Communities third sector fund; and with grant funding to provide child contact services.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 23 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 30 October 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the development of a Green Industrial Strategy, as committed to in its Programme for Government 2023-24.
Answer
Yes. We will update Parliament, when appropriate, in relation to the Green Industrial Strategy.
- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 05 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 30 October 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it can confirm what additional deprivation weighting payments were made to dentists for each (a) adult and (b) child patient that is registered with them, in each year since 2007, also broken down by (i) month and (ii) Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) quintile.
Answer
This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. Practitioner Services is the body that pays independent contractor dentists on behalf of the Health Boards.
- Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 30 October 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-21089 by Angela Constance on 19 September 2023, in which prisons the 84 body-worn cameras are located.
Answer
I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:
Body worn video cameras (BWVC) are currently in place within HMP Kilmarnock and HMP Addiewell.
The feasibility of a pilot to test the introduction of BWVCs across the SPS estate is however being considered in partnership with Trade Union Partners.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 30 October 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what online resources and training it (a) has provided and (b) plans to provide to help individuals, community groups and the voluntary sector to prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies.
Answer
Our emergency planning portal, ready.scot, was updated in June 2022 to include a new "Learn" section to support the public, community groups and voluntary sector partners by raising awareness of emergency resilience structures and processes, and helping them to understand how they may participate in an effective and joined up response to an emergency. Between March and April 2023, we also ran a series of 4 online community resilience workshops which were attended by approximately 240 participants.
We will continue to work with the sector, and in particular Local Authorities, who have the lead role on engaging with local communities, to understand their training needs and provide additional resources if required.
- Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 23 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 30 October 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-21543 by Jenni Minto on 3 October 2023, what was discussed in its meeting with the Gambling Commission regarding the UK Government White Paper on Gambling on 21 September.
Answer
The meeting on the 21 September was an introductory meeting with the Gambling Commission. It discussed the role of the Gambling Commission and the consultations that they were leading on as part of the White Paper.
The meeting also discussed the role of evidence and the developments by the Gambling Commission to improve the evidence base across the UK. There was a commitment to build links between officials to support the development of gambling policy in Scotland.
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 30 October 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether NHS boards in all parts of Scotland are now able to offer surgical abortions where requested by patients and clinicians during the (a) first and (b) second trimester.
Answer
During the first trimester, all mainland NHS Boards within Scotland are able to offer surgical abortions, although access to surgical abortion is limited in some Health Board areas.
Currently no Health Board in Scotland is able to provide second trimester surgical abortions; if a patient is unable to access a medical abortion locally in the second trimester (over 20 weeks’ gestation), their Health Board will refer them to a service in England for treatment.
- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 05 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 30 October 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what the monthly payment made to dentists was for each (a) adult and (b) child patient that is registered with them, in each year since 2007, also broken down by month.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W- 22039 on 30 October 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 30 October 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been on abortion care services, and what steps still need to be taken to meet the aspirations outlined in its Women's Health Plan.
Answer
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted on all NHS services to an extent, including abortion services.
The Scottish Government is committed to improving access to abortion services and the Women’s Health Plan includes a range of measures which aim to achieve this. Several abortion-related actions within the Women’s Health Plan have been progressed, including:
- making telemedicine consultations a permanent option for patients,
- continuing to allow women under 12 weeks’ gestation to take mifepristone and misoprostol at home where that is clinically appropriate and also now allowing women to take mifepristone at home at later gestations in certain circumstances,
- ensuring patients are offered the progestogen-only pill with their abortion medications, and
- working with stakeholders and Gillian Mackay MSP to introduce the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Bill into the Scottish Parliament.
The Scottish Government commissioned NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) to develop a specification to deliver a national service for abortions between 20 to 24 weeks gestation within Scotland. NSS has been discussing its specification with NHS Boards and is also exploring other delivery options for the service. We anticipate that the long-term action within the Plan to review the provision of abortion services in Scotland will be considered as part of the forthcoming review of abortion law.
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 05 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 30 October 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to include dementia as a key priority area in the next Women’s Health Plan, in light of recent data from the National Records of Scotland showing that dementia is the leading cause of death for women in Scotland.
Answer
The priorities for any future Women’s Health Plan are not yet determined. Future aims and priorities will be developed in collaboration with women and girls, including our lived experience stakeholder group, clinical experts and relevant stakeholders alongside the most up-to-date evidence base.