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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.

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Question reference: S4W-18774

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 06 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 16 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-18478 by Nicola Sturgeon on 3 December 2013, whether the risk registers for the home energy efficiency programmes will be published and, if so, when.

Question reference: S4W-18665

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 02 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 12 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what talking therapy services each NHS board provides.

This information is not held centrally.

While the Scottish Government sets the policy direction for the delivery of and access to psychological therapies, it is for Health Boards to determine the level and nature of the demand in their local areas.

The Scottish Government, with partners, have ensured that support is in place to help NHS boards plan their psychological therapy service provision, including publication of The Matrix: a Guide to Delivering Evidence Based Psychological Therapies in Scotland:

http://www.nes.scot.nhs.uk/education-and-training/by-discipline/psychology/matrix.aspx.

Question reference: S4W-18664

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 02 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 12 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many people are accessing talking therapies in each NHS board.

<>Information on how many people have accessed psychological therapies in each NHS board area is published by ISD Scotland in Psychological Therapies Waiting Times in Scotland http://www.isdscotland.org/Publications/index.asp. The latest publication took place on 26 November 2013 and covers the quarter ending 30 September 2013. Data collection systems are still being developed, and the publication contains information on data quality and completeness by NHS board.

The number of people who started treatment in July to September 2013 by NHS board can be found in Table 2.

Question reference: S4W-18662

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 02 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 12 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what the waiting times are for talking therapies in each NHS board.

<>The waiting times for psychological therapies in each NHS Board are published quarterly by ISD Scotland in Psychological Therapies Waiting Times in Scotland http://www.isdscotland.org/Publications/index.asp. The latest publication took place on 26 November 2013 and covers the quarter ending 30 September 2013. Data collection systems are still being developed, and the publication contains information on data quality and completeness by NHS board.

Average adjusted waiting times for each NHS board area can be found in Table 2, and average unadjusted times are in Table 3.

Question reference: S4W-18663

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 02 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 12 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how many people are waiting to access talking therapies and what the (a) average and (b) longest wait is in each NHS board.

Information on how many people were waiting to access psychological therapies in each NHS board area is published by ISD Scotland in Psychological Therapies Waiting Times in Scotland:

http://www.isdscotland.org/Publications/index.asp. The latest publication took place on 26 November 2013 and covers the quarter ending 30 September 2013. Data collection systems are still being developed, and the publication contains information on data quality and completeness by NHS board.

The number of people waiting to start treatment at 30 September 2013 by NHS board can be found in Table 5.

Average adjusted waiting times for each NHS board area can be found in Table 2, and average unadjusted times are in Table 3.

The publication does not include the longest waits, but the data tables include median and 90th percentile waits for each NHS board.

Question reference: S4O-02730

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 December 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle fuel poverty.

Question reference: S4W-18583

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 November 2013
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 11 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how Healthcare Improvement Scotland will ensure that there is widespread geographical representation on the National Chronic Pain Steering Group.

Membership of the National Chronic Pain Steering Group has recently been reviewed. Additional individual patient membership has been invited from across Scotland. Susan Archibald was invited to join the group in recognition of her work at a national level securing a public petition on chronic pain services. A further three new representatives indicated an interest and have been appointed to join the group. It is recognised that there are no individual patient representatives from the west of Scotland and a further request for a nomination of a volunteer from this area is being sought.

The National Steering Group also includes patient representation through the third sector. To ensure a wide range of views are considered, Action on Pain have also been invited to join the group, this will complement the membership of the three existing voluntary sector organisations.

Membership will continue to be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that new members representing different parts of Scotland have the opportunity to join the group.

In addition NHS board representation is being considered and members from newly formed chronic pain service improvement groups have been invited to nominate representatives, to ensure pan Scotland representation.

Question reference: S4W-18522

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 November 2013
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 5 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether not (a) collecting and (b) publishing data on (i) salmon mortalities and (ii) sea lice infestations at salmon farms could have an impact on the marine environment, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

<>The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) collects and publishes data on mortalities as part of the Agency’s contribution to the Scotland’s Aquaculture Database http://aquaculture.scotland.gov.uk. This web-based resource provides detailed information on fish farms from datasets held by Marine Scotland, the Food Standards Agency (Scotland), The Crown Estate as well as SEPA.

Scotland’s aquaculture stocks are internationally recognised as having a high health status, maintained by a regular inspection programme that includes the evaluation of mortality and sea lice numbers by Marine Scotland’s Fish Health Inspectorate. The Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation publishes quarterly Fish Health Management Reports which provide data on sea lice from fish farms over 30 recognised wild fish catchments. Marine Scotland Fish Health Inspectors are able to visit farms within each of the 30 catchments to drill down into the causes of infestation at a higher level of granularity and the 2013 Act delivered additional powers to sample fish where this is justified. The Scottish Government supports these voluntary management reports and regards them as balanced, proportionate and helpful as regards public transparency. The Government has committed to keep these voluntary publication arrangements under review and through the 2007 Act retains powers to legislate on data provision in relation to sea lice numbers if the voluntary reporting arrangements do not operate as expected.

Question reference: S4W-18521

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 November 2013
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 4 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Scottish Environment Protection Agency plans to (a) collect and (b) publish data on (i) salmon mortalities and (ii) sea lice infestations at salmon farms.

<>The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) collects and publishes data on mortalities as part of the agency’s contribution to the Scotland’s Aquaculture Database http://aquaculture.scotland.gov.uk. This web-based resource provides detailed information on fish farms from datasets held by Marine Scotland, the Food Standards Agency (Scotland), The Crown Estate as well as SEPA.

SEPA collects such mortality data to assist in fulfilling duties under the Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2011. SEPA places limits on the maximum biomass of fish that can be held at marine cage fish farms to ensure that polluting potential does not exceed the environmental capacity. Data on fish mortality is useful in gauging compliance with licences issued under the regulations.

SEPA does not collect or publish data on sea louse infestations at salmon farms. This issue relates to fish health and as such is, instead, handled by Marine Scotland’s Fish Health Inspectorate.

Question reference: S4W-18523

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 November 2013
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 3 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what research it has commissioned on whether the reported increase in amoebic gill disease at salmon farms since 2003 is related to an increase in imports of salmon ovum.

The Scottish Government has not commissioned research into amoebic gill disease that relates to increased imports of salmon ova. However, Marine Scotland Science has developed a programme of research on amoebic gill disease, and further research has been commissioned through the Scottish Aquaculture Research Forum. Earlier this year, an international meeting of Government officials, scientists and industry focussed on amoebic gill disease and gill health at the University of Stirling.