- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 30 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 27 February 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what role (a) telehealth and (b) remote consultation technologies play in delivering community audiology services, particularly in rural areas served by NHS Grampian.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-34203 on 27 February 2025. 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: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 30 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 27 February 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what the current staffing levels are for community audiology services in (a) NHS Grampian and (b) Aberdeen, and how these compare with the recommended levels.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-34203 on 27 February 2025. 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: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 30 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 27 February 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what investment it is making in community audiology services to improve capacity and reduce waiting times (a) in NHS Grampian and (b) nationally.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-34203 on 27 February 2025. 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: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 30 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 27 February 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of community audiology services is delivered by private companies, broken down by NHS board.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold the information requested centrally.
We remain committed to the provision of a community hearing service, however, there is no community hearing service at this time; a rephasing of funding has meant that not all the challenges we are facing will be addressed in a single budget. A new model of care suitable for the Scottish context, would address pressing issues faced by all health boards.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 30 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 27 February 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that patients requiring hearing aids or follow-up treatment through community audiology services experience minimal delays, particularly in rural areas.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-34203 on 27 February 2025. 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: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 30 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 27 February 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what specific steps it is taking to improve early detection and diagnosis of hearing conditions in communities served by NHS Grampian.
Answer
The Scottish Government recognises the difficulties facing the audiology sector, as highlighted by the Independent Review of Audiology services, which reported in August 2023. Audiology is now being considered as a clinical priority area, and improvement work is being progressed through the National Planning and Delivery Board led by the Chief Operating Officer – NHS Scotland. This has necessitated re-phasing of our commitment on community hearing. We will continue to work with the NHS, Third Sector, private providers and those with lived experience to identify and inform an appropriate model of community care for any future service.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 30 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 27 February 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what the longest waiting time currently is for an appointment with community audiology services in NHS Grampian, and how this compares with the longest waiting time nationally.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-34203 on 27 February 2025. 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: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 27 February 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on any legal advice sought from external counsel in each year since 2018, broken down by (a) its department and (b) the legal firm or provider.
Answer
As Scottish Government functions have increased and matured, the volume and complexity of outsourced work has also evolved. This work is procured and we are now utilising the third iteration of a framework providing Legal Services to the Scottish Government and the wider public sector. The figures provided in the table set out how much the Scottish Government has spent through those frameworks and the breakdown of costs to each legal firm. We do not centrally gather information on the department spend as there is no business requirement to do. We have interpreted the question as legal costs incurred for outsourced legal work.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 27 February 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on external legal advice in relation to judicial reviews, broken down by case since 2018.
Answer
The Scottish Government has spent the following amount in relation to judicial reviews. We are unable to provide a breakdown by case name due to GDPR considerations. Some case names will be in the public domain because the judgments have been published with the full name. However, some cases have been name anonymised and others will not be in the public domain due to being disposed of without a judgment.
We have therefore provided a breakdown by the number of cases.
Prior to the introduction of a new Case Management system on 1 March 2024 the information was not recorded in way that would enable us to answer the full timeframe covered by the question. The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Therefore, we have provided the information on judicial reviews from 1 March 2024.
Please note that the figures contained in the following table are the total case costs and the expenditure has been incurred over multiple financial years.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 31 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 27 February 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many civil servants at Food Standards Scotland in Aberdeen are working on issues related to food labelling and allergens.
Answer
Figures are not kept in the form requested as FSS officials will work on a range of policy areas according to priorities and workloads. Four policy officials have the necessary expertise to deal with food labelling and allergen issues