Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-17632

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 18 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has allocated to (a) therapeutic and (b) palliative care for people with cancer in each financial year since 2007-08.

Question reference: S6O-02291

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action is being taken to improve patient access to dental services.

Question reference: S6W-17789

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 16 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how many people under 22 in South Ayrshire have registered for a free bus pass through the Young Persons' (Under 22s) Free Bus Travel scheme, and what this is as a percentage of eligible under-22s in that area.

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how many people under 22 in South Ayrshire have registered for a free bus pass through the Young Persons' (Under 22s) Free Bus Travel scheme, and what this is as a percentage of eligible under-22s in that area.As at the end of the day 30 April 2023, there were 10,069 cardholders under the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme in South Ayrshire. This represents 56.4% of the estimated eligible population in the local authority area.

Cardholder data is supplied by the National Entitlement Card Programme Office (NECPO). NECPO supports the 32 local authorities by assisting with the integration of various national and local public services on the National Entitlement Card (NEC) and are the joint controller with local authorities of this data. The figure includes travel products collected from the Transport Scot Pass Collect mobile app.

Question reference: S6W-17791

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 16 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-04293 by Graeme Dey on 25 November 2021, whether it will provide an update on these plans, and whether all planned secondary legislation is now in place.

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-04293 by Graeme Dey on 25 November 2021, whether it will provide an update on these plans, and whether all planned secondary legislation is now in place.The Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 prohibits pavement parking, double parking and parking at dropped kerbs, and gives local authorities the relevant powers to enforce these new provisions. To support these provisions, a suite of regulations is required to bring the new legislation into force. These give local authorities the tools they need to be able to tackle the issues of inconsiderate and obstructive parking.

The first of these regulations regarding the Exemption Order Procedures that local authorities must follow, was laid in Parliament in December 2022. A copy of the legislation can be found here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2022/360/contents/made.

We have had a long-standing commitment to allow local authorities 12 months from when these regulations come into force to assess their streets and put in place any exemption orders and physical signs and lines before enforcement can go live in late 2023.

In addition we will shortly be launching a public consultation on the Enforcement Procedure Regulations which will define how a local authority can issue a Penalty Charge Notice to someone found to be in contravention of the new national prohibitions for Pavement, Dropped Kerb & Double Parking. The secondary regulations required to ensure local authorities have the powers they need to enforce this will be laid in Parliament later this year.

Question reference: S6W-17625

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 15 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what plans are in place to increase the number of people from the most deprived areas in Ayrshire and Arran to attend their breast screening, in light of recent evidence suggesting that they are less likely than those in the least deprived areas to attend a screening.

The Scottish Government welcomes the increase in uptake of breast screening, set out in the latest available data published by Public Health Scotland. However, we recognise that work is required to address the inequalities arising those from more deprived areas being less likely to attend for screening.

NHS Ayrshire and Arran’s Public Health Team are currently examining the available data to establish areas where there are potential inequalities present that could reduce access to the Breast Screening Programme. This is likely to highlight areas of social and financial deprivation, and geographical isolation, which will allow for more targeted approaches to increasing uptake to take place.

The South West breast screening programme has an active social media campaign to raise awareness of the breast screening programme. In addition, appointments are available in the morning and evenings during the week to help accommodate access to screening. Alongside this, the Breast Screening Modernisation Programme and Equity in Screening strategy will consider inequality in uptake in the programme more generally.

Question reference: S6W-17626

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 15 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what plans are in place to help increase the number of people attending their breast screening in Ayrshire and Arran.

Question reference: S6W-17633

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 15 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, following the completion of the National Cancer Plan in March 2023, whether it will provide an update on the forthcoming publication of its new cancer strategy.

Question reference: S6W-17537

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 15 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is planning to add Parkinson’s medication to the High Risk Medicines Framework.

The High Risk Medicines Framework specifies some medicines and medicines groups and at the current time this does not include Parkinson’s medication. There is also a High Risk Medicines Discussion template that is not medicine specific and can be adapted and used by local teams to meet their needs. Parkinson’s medication can be reviewed and discussed within this framework to support local teams to discuss and prioritise improvement activities. All resources are reviewed regularly and the Scottish Patient Safety Programme (SPSP) welcomes further suggestions to add to or develop resources.

Question reference: S6W-17536

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 15 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether the High Risk Medicines Framework is currently in use in NHS Scotland.

Reducing harm due to high-risk medicines has been identified as a priority by health boards across Scotland and the Scottish Patient Safety Programme (SPSP) has focussed on supporting teams to discuss and prioritise improvement activities related to high-risk medicines and high-risk situations around medicines.

The SPSP programme within HIS has developed a number of tools and resources which are publicly available via the Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) website. These resources include the Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAID) Safer Care Bundle, NSAID Communication Care Bundle, Medicines Sick Day Rule Cards, High Risk Medicines Framework and the High Risk Medicines Discussion Framework. All resources available on the HIS website are reviewed by the clinical team supporting HIS to ensure they remain up to date and beneficial, and are available for staff to use within their local settings.

Question reference: S6W-17538

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 15 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to update the High Risk Medicines Framework.

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