- Asked by: Patricia Ferguson, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 19 February 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Maureen Watt on 9 March 2016
To ask the Scottish Government what it position is on making vaccination against meningitis B available to children under five, with a view to rolling it out to older children in due course.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to protecting youngsters against meningitis B (Men B) which is why we launched a national Men B vaccination programme last year to tackle its effects. All children who are now aged up to nine months should have been offered the vaccine.
The Scottish Government is guided on vaccination policy by the independent expert body, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). When any new vaccination programme is introduced, there has to be a date to determine eligibility – a decision based on the best independent clinical recommendation to ensure we can protect those children most at risk of Men B. The JCVI continues to monitor all available evidence in respect of recommendations, and advice can be updated if new information or evidence becomes available. In light of the recent petition regarding Men B, the Scottish Government has written to the JCVI to ask them to consider reviewing the evidence on their current advice to determine if it should be changed. We await their response. The Scottish Government will of course consider carefully any future JCVI recommendations in respect of Men B vaccination.
- Asked by: Patricia Ferguson, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 19 February 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Maureen Watt on 9 March 2016
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has not made vaccination against meningitis B available to babies born before 1 July 2015.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to protecting youngsters against meningitis B which is why we launched a national Men B vaccination programme last year to tackle its effects. All children who are now aged up to nine months should have been offered the vaccine. The Scottish Government is guided on vaccination policy by the independent expert body, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). When any new vaccination programme is introduced, there has to be a date to determine eligibility – a decision based on the best independent clinical recommendation to ensure we can protect those children most at risk of Men B.
Since 1 September 2015 infants have been offered the Men B vaccine at two, four and 12 months of age as part of the routine childhood vaccination programme. There was also a catch-up for infants aged three and four months attending for their routine vaccination appointments when the programme started. The JCVI recommended that the Men B vaccine be offered to infants before they reach five months of age because the number of Men B cases peaks at around five months of age before declining. Once the vaccine is given, it can take some time for the vaccine to take effect and for immunity to be established in the host. Therefore by giving the Men B vaccine before the peak in incidence of disease at five months of age, it allows for infants to be protected for the time when risk is greatest.
The JCVI continues to monitor all available evidence in respect of recommendations, and advice can be updated if new information or evidence becomes available. In light of the recent petition regarding Men B, the Scottish Government has written to the JCVI to ask them to consider reviewing the evidence on their current advice to determine if it should be changed. We await their response. The Scottish Government will of course consider carefully any future JCVI recommendations in respect of Men B vaccination.
- Asked by: Patricia Ferguson, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 February 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Derek Mackay on 8 March 2016
To ask the Scottish Government when a decision will be made on when the North Glasgow Suburban rail network (Anniesland to Queen St high level) will be electrified.
Answer
Electrification of the Glasgow Northern Suburban line is one of a number of options that are being considered as part of the electrification programme post 2019. Development work for the project is being taken forward by Network Rail and cost estimates and a supporting business case are expected to be submitted to ministers later in 2016 as part of the wider planning process. Future delivery will be dependent on this business case, consideration against other priorities, and sufficient resources being available.
- Asked by: Patricia Ferguson, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 08 February 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 26 February 2016
To ask the Scottish Government how many inpatient dermatology beds there are at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital Glasgow; how many are being used by other disciplines, and how many are available for the treatment of dermatology patients.
Answer
The latest information available from Information Services Division Scotland (ISD) shows that the average number of available staffed beds available in the dermatology specialty at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow is 11.8, for quarter ending September 2015. Information is not available centrally on the use of beds by other specialties.
Source: ISD(S)1, ISD Scotland
- Asked by: Patricia Ferguson, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 February 2016
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 3 March 2016
To ask the Scottish Government when it will make a decision regarding the possible electrification of the north Glasgow suburban railway line.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 3 March 2016
- Asked by: Patricia Ferguson, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 February 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 11 February 2016
To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with Glasgow City Council regarding its funding allocation.
Answer
The First Minister met the leader of Glasgow City Council on 9 December 2015 and discussed a number of issues including the city's 2016-17 local government funding allocations.
- Asked by: Patricia Ferguson, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 01 February 2016
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 4 February 2016
To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to stop deaths from breast cancer.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 4 February 2016
- Asked by: Patricia Ferguson, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 10 December 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 6 January 2016
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4O-04918 by John Swinney on 9 December 2015 (Official Report, c. 15), what advice it can offer to a local authority whose allocation of funding for kinship care is proportionally less than the number of kinship carers in its area.
Answer
With reference to the answer provided to S4W-28903 on 6 January 2016, a number of local authorities, including Glasgow City Council, faced threat of legal challenge by the Equality and Human Rights Commission because of their differential allowances policies. The Scottish Government has provided local authorities with substantial funding equivalent to 75% of the total cost to mitigate this challenge but it remains a matter for each council to comply with the terms of the agreement reached with COSLA. In this context, councils facing a shortfall are strongly encouraged to make good the difference to support children in kinship care.
All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.
- Asked by: Patricia Ferguson, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 10 December 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 6 January 2016
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4O-04918 by John Swinney on 9 December 2015 (Official Report, c. 15), whether it considers that the funding formula for kinship care that has been agreed with COSLA is fair, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.
Answer
The funding allocations made to each local authority in respect of kinship care allowances were calculated using an established formula agreed with COSLA, when all 32 local authorities were still members. Each local authority was allocated a share of the £10.1 million funding provided by the Scottish Government in an agreement with COSLA to meet 100% of the estimated cost for holders of a Section 11 Order/Kinship Care Order and 50% of the estimated costs of formal care. There is therefore an expectation, as agreed with COSLA, that local authorities will fund 50% of the cost of implementing this agreement themselves.
We are satisfied that this funding option was the fairest available, since it did not penalise local authorities that had historically paid higher kinship care allowances compared with those such as Glasgow City Council which have historically paid the least.
However, we are mindful of the wider financial context and the fact that some local authorities will face a shortfall. With this in mind, rather than reject the kinship care funding formula, we have put in place a wider funding solution. We have set the funding floor for the local government settlement such that it will protect local authorities such as Glasgow City Council from a substantial reduction in its budget, of a much greater magnitude than that involved in kinship care allowances.
- Asked by: Patricia Ferguson, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 18 December 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 6 January 2016
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish any points of disagreement between any legal advice that it has received on its legislative consent memorandum on the UK Government's Trade Union Bill and the Presiding Officer's ruling on its competency.
Answer
The Scottish Government have looked at every possibility to oppose and restrict the implementation of the Trade Union Bill in Scotland. This has included engagement with trade unions and other parties to discuss how best to fight the Bill. As part of that process we have of course listened to advice, including legal advice. Other than in exceptional circumstances the content of any legal advice received by the Scottish Government remains confidential.
