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Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S6T-02241

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 09 December 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the reported review of more than 1,000 CT scans, in light of concerns regarding the quality of assessments made by a consultant radiologist.

Question reference: S6W-32038

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 06 December 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 20 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve A&E waiting times over winter 2024-25, in light of reported warnings from NHS Dumfries and Galloway that the Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary emergency department has been operating beyond capacity.

Question reference: S6W-32037

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 06 December 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 20 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what targeted action it is taking to improve health outcomes in areas in Scotland with low life expectancy rates, in light of recently published statistics from the Office for National Statistics, which reportedly found that seven of the 10 areas in the UK with the lowest female life expectancy rates are in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-32040

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 06 December 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 20 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that the recently announced £150 million of investment for the former Hunterston coal terminal in North Ayrshire delivers economic growth for the local region around it.

Question reference: S6W-32039

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 06 December 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 20 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports of an eighth primary school in Dumfries and Galloway closing due to a decline in pupil numbers, what action it is taking to ensure that schools in the South Scotland region are adequately resourced and funded to prevent such closures.

Question reference: S6W-32041

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 06 December 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 20 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle public health issues in (a) general and (b) relation to (i) alcohol consumption, (ii) unhealthy diets and (iii) smoking, in light of recently published data from the Office for National Statistics, which reportedly found that Scotland has some of the lowest life expectancy rates in the UK.

Question reference: S6W-31812

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 4 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the role of Patient Safety Commissioner for Scotland has reportedly not been filled, and when it anticipates that it will be.

The Patient Safety Commissioner is a Parliamentary office-holder and is being recruited by the Scottish Parliament. They will be appointed by His Majesty on nomination of the Scottish Parliament.

As the Commissioner will be an independent public advocate for patients on issues of safety the Scottish Government does not have a role in the recruitment process. The Commissioner will champion the value of listening to patients and will hold organisations to account for their responsibility to take patients’ concerns seriously.

Question reference: S6W-31649

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 25 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 4 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to ensure that the funding planned as a result of the HIV Transmission Elimination Delivery Plan Implementation Short-Life Working Group (HIV-TEDI) Workforce Education and Community Engagement call for proposals for HIV education and training will include targeted training for mental health practitioners, and how the funding will be used to reduce stigmatising experiences and improve care and mental health outcomes for people living with HIV.

Question reference: S6W-31648

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 22 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 4 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that all HIV clinics have the resources and staffing necessary to implement the British HIV Association (BHIVA) standards for psychological support for adults living with HIV.

The Scottish Government’s HIV Transmission Elimination Delivery Plan sets out our approach to ensuring that people living with HIV have equitable access to high quality care and treatment to support them to live well.

We are aware of the recent HIV Outcomes Beyond the Virus report and will be working with the HIV Transmission Elimination Delivery Implementation Group and the Scottish Health Protection Network’s HIV Clinical Leads Group to consider its recommendations and ensure that psychological support for adults living with HIV meets the high standards we would expect.

The Scottish Government is also providing NHS Education for Scotland with around £30 million in 2024-25 to deliver multidisciplinary education, training and workforce expansion for staff supporting adult and children’s mental health and psychological wellbeing. In September 2023, the Scottish Government published the National Specification for Psychological Therapies and Interventions and the Core Standards for Mental Health. These set out the standards to which we expect psychological therapies and mental health services to be delivered, including appropriate staffing.

Question reference: S6W-31650

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 22 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 3 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it will address any gaps in the integration of social determinants of health, such as housing and poverty, into mental health and HIV care pathways.

Early intervention and prevention are key priorities for the Scottish Government in taking forward our approaches to mental health and wellbeing, and HIV transmission elimination. We recognise that physical and mental health can be influenced by many factors, including home life, work, physical environment and housing, income, communities, relationships, difficult or traumatic life experiences and inequalities.

We are therefore working across government and with partners from a range of different sectors to better understand and address the social determinants of health. In relation to HIV, this specifically includes working with public sector and third sector partners to address barriers to prevention, testing and treatment and investing in interventions to ensure equitable access to high quality care that supports people to live well.