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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: S6W-15498

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 16 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the running costs of the Golden Jubilee Conference Hotel have been in each year since 2016-17.

Question reference: S6W-15545

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 16 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding participating in the "subscription-style" payment model that has been established to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

I welcome the UK’s pilot Antimicrobial Purchasing Project which seeks to implement a novel payment model to incentivise pharmaceutical companies to do research and development into new antimicrobials which are vital in our fight against Antimicrobial Resistance. In June 2022, the Secretary of State for Health formally invited Scottish Ministers to join the next stage of the project. I agreed in principle for Scotland to engage in follow-on work and to progress towards being an equal partner in shaping the model’s evolution, with particular reference to Scotland's requirements. We await the formal proposition from UK which would allow us to proceed but are in regular contact with DHSC to ensure we are in the position to respond when an approach comes forward.

Question reference: S6W-15488

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 14 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many people are receiving funding from the Independent Living Fund (ILF) Scotland 2015 Fund as of February 2023.

Question reference: S6W-15401

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 10 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Cervical Cancer Prevention Week in January 2023, what steps it has taken to (a) help prevent cervical cancer and (b) ensure that access to treatment is equitable across all areas of Scotland.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving the awareness of cervical cancer. In doing so we will continue to encourage those eligible to take the HPV vaccination and engage with the national cervical screening programme. We are continuing to take steps towards the World Health Organisation’s targets to eliminate cervical cancer.

The HPV vaccine continues to be offered to all pupils across Scotland via routine immunisation in early secondary school, from S1, through the school-based programme. From 1st January 2023, a one dose schedule was introduced for all those eligible in the programme up to their 25th birthday.

The screening programme in Scotland is routinely offered to anyone with a cervix, between the ages of 25 and 64, every five years.

Treatment for cancer, including cervical cancer, continues to be prioritised within NHS Scotland. We are developing a new 10 year cancer strategy which will launch in Spring 2023, and take a comprehensive approach to improving patient pathways from prevention and diagnosis through to treatment and post-treatment care.

Question reference: S6W-15403

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 10 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many women are currently on a waiting list for cervical cancer treatment.

Question reference: S6W-15088

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 10 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will take action to prevent the closure of the Glasgow Lighthouse Lab, in light of it reportedly being Scotland's flagship COVID-19 testing facility.

Question reference: S6W-15087

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 10 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what specific support it is providing to staff employed by the Glasgow Lighthouse Lab who are at risk of redundancy.

Scottish Government Officials have had contact with representatives of the University of Glasgow and met with representatives of UNITE on 10 January to discuss recent developments in respect of the Glasgow Lighthouse Lab which is contracted by the UK Government until March 2023 to undertake processing of PCR tests as part of the COVID-19 Infection Survey (CIS). The CIS is outwith the control of the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government has provided support to affected University of Glasgow staff through its Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) initiative and will continue to provide such support to any impacted staff as may be required.

Question reference: S6W-15080

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 10 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what it anticipates the impact will be on NHS Scotland laboratory transformation of the 19.4% reduction in genomics funding, as set out in the draft Budget 2023-24.

Following the 22-23 Emergency Budget Review genomics was allocated a revised budget of £5 million; this provided a £2.6 million increase on 22-21 funding. Therefore, the £5million budget allocation for genomics in 2023-24 represents a sustained investment in genomics.

Through the funding allocated so far in 2022-23, we have established the Scottish Strategic Network for Genomic Medicine and funded a genomics transformation team within NHS National Services Division, led by a Consultant Clinical Scientist and supported by Clinical Leads for rare disease and cancer.

The fiscal position remains challenging; however the development of our transformation plans for the NHS Genetic Laboratories and Genomics Strategy is ongoing.

To support this, the Transformation Team are developing an action plan in response to the NSS Major Services Review of Genetic services . The Strategic Network will be accountable for overseeing the delivery of that plan.

Question reference: S6W-15081

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 10 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what impact assessment has been carried out to examine the potential impact on NHS Scotland laboratory transformation of the 19.4% reduction in genomics funding, as set out in the draft Budget 2023-24.

As a result of the 22-23 Emergency Budget Review genomics was allocated a revised budget of £5 million, which has been sustained for 23-24.

Neither the Scottish Government nor the Scottish Strategic Network for Genomic Medicine has carried out any specific impact assessments in relation to genomics. However the draft budget was published alongside an equalities impact assessment, high level carbon assessment and an analytical report on the Impact the Cost of Living Crisis is having in Scotland. All of this material can be found online via the following link.

Scottish Budget - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The fiscal position remains challenging; however, the development of our transformation plans for the NHS Genetic Laboratories and Genomics Strategy is ongoing.

Question reference: S6W-15086

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 10 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what recent meetings its ministers have had with the University of Glasgow management regarding the future of the Glasgow Lighthouse Lab.

The Glasgow Lighthouse Lab is contracted by the UK Government until March 2023 to undertake processing of PCR tests as part of the COVID-19 Infection survey (CIS). The CIS is outwith the control of the Scottish Government but officials are engaging with the UK Government and other devolved nations on its future. While no direct discussions have recently taken place between Scottish Ministers and representatives of the Lighthouse Lab, Scottish Government officials have been in contact with the University of Glasgow and also met with representatives of UNITE on 10 January to discuss recent developments.