- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 May 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 15 May 2018
To ask the Scottish Government how the survival rate of people in Scotland with haemophilia compares with the rest of the UK.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-16316 on 10 May 2018. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 May 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 10 May 2018
To ask the Scottish Government how many recipients of haemophilia plasma-pooled products in each NHS board area are subject to public health observation for neurological disorders or abnormalities.
Answer
This is a matter for the UK Haemophilia Centre Doctors' Organisation (UKHCDO) which collects data related to the diagnosis, management and complications of bleeding disorders on the National Haemophilia Database. The UKHCDO is responsible for the surveillance of bleeding disorder patients identified as having received plasma products between 1990 and 2001 — the largest single 'at risk' group for variant CJD. The information requested is therefore not held centrally.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 May 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 10 May 2018
To ask the Scottish Government how many people with haemophilia in each NHS board area have died from (a) Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) and (b) other neurological conditions in each year since 1999.
Answer
No patients with haemophilia or other bleeding disorders have been reported to have died from any form of CJD in Scotland.
With regard to other neurological conditions, this is a matter for the UK Haemophilia Centre Doctors' Organisation which collects data related to the diagnosis, management and complications of bleeding disorders on the National Haemophilia Database. The information requested is not held centrally.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 May 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 10 May 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what action it takes to ensure that the people who were infected by contaminated blood are in receipt of the correct level of benefit and that no person who is entitled to these is left without regular payments, and how it monitors the effectiveness of this.
Answer
The payments provided by the Scottish Infected Blood Support Scheme (SIBSS) to those affected by infected NHS blood are not taken into account when calculating a beneficiary's entitlement to means-tested benefits from the Department for Work and Pensions. SIBSS gathers information on benefits claimed when assessing eligibility for income top-up payments or one-off grants and encourages beneficiaries to claim all of the benefits they are, or seem to be entitled to.
SIBSS also directs beneficiaries to financial advice services and has provided grants for a welfare rights advisor to provide detailed advice and assistance to some SIBSS beneficiaries who have appealed against DWP benefits decisions. However, SIBSS does not have information covering the full individual circumstances of any beneficiary and, apart from those beneficiaries seeking income top-up or one-off grant payments, does not have access to data about beneficiaries' benefits; therefore it cannot monitor whether all beneficiaries are accessing the correct benefits.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 May 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 10 May 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what the survival rate is of people aged (a) 50 to 59 and (b) 60 and over with haemophilia, broken down by NHS board.
Answer
The UK Haemophilia Centre Doctors' Organisation collects data related to the diagnosis, management and complications of bleeding disorders on the National Haemophilia Database. The information requested is not held centrally.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 May 2018
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 9 May 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to consult people in remote and rural areas on the impact of the new GP contract.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 9 May 2018
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 April 2018
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 2 May 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage female pupils to consider enrolling in the STEM teaching initiative run by the universities of Dundee and the Highlands and Islands.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 2 May 2018
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 March 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 13 March 2018
To ask the Scottish Government whether it would consider providing ring-fenced additional funding for The Highland Council and Argyll and Bute Council in relation to road repairs, in light of their responsibilities to maintain over 7,000 km and 2,000 km of roads respectively.
Answer
The Scottish Government has continued to treat all councils very fairly despite cuts to the Scottish resource budget from the UK Government. Scottish Government’s policy towards local authorities’ spending is to allow local authorities the financial freedom to operate independently. As such, the vast majority of the revenue funding is provided by means of a block grant. It is the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, including non-protected services, on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.
In 2018-19, councils will receive funding through the local government finance settlement of £10.7 billion, compared with £10.426 billion in 2017-18. This will provide a further real terms boost in both revenue and capital funding. Councils also have the flexibility to raise an additional £77 million by increasing council tax by up to 3 per cent.
Together with their increased council tax income, Argyll and Bute Council will receive over £210.2 million in 2018-19 compared with £207.6 million this year, an increase of £2.6 million. For Highland Council, together with increased council tax income, they will receive over £491.1 million in 2018-19 compared with £474.1 million this year, an increase of £17 million.
Also, following the recent snow event, the Scottish Government triggered the Bellwin Scheme on 2 March to assist local authorities with winter maintenance costs associated with this event. This discretionary scheme allows Ministers to make additional revenue support to local authorities to assist with immediate and unforeseen costs in dealing with the aftermath of emergency incidents.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 March 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 13 March 2018
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to support local authorities meet the reported £1.2 billion backlog of road repairs required to bring roads up to standard.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to working with local government to help improve the condition of all roads in Scotland.
We have continued to treat councils very fairly despite cuts to the Scottish resource budget from the UK Government. The vast majority of the revenue funding is provided by means of a block grant. It is the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, including non-protected services, including local road maintenance, on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities. Council funding for 2017-18 is over £10.4 billion, amounting to 3.7% in additional support for local authority services. In 2018-19, councils will receive funding through the local government finance settlement of £10.7 billion. This will provide a further real terms boost in both revenue and capital funding.
Although responsibility for maintaining Scotland’s trunk and local road networks is split, the Scottish Government is committed to working with local authorities to help improve the condition and safety of their networks. We do this through the Road Collaboration Programme which is jointly funded between national and local government, and overseen by the Strategic Action Group which is co-chaired by the Minister for Transport and the Islands and COSLA’s Spokesperson for Environment and the Economy. This programme demonstrates our commitment to ensuring integrated service provision and providing efficient public services.
Also, following the recent snow event, the Scottish Government triggered the Bellwin Scheme on 2 March to assist local authorities with winter maintenance costs associated with this event. This discretionary scheme allows Ministers to make additional revenue support to local authorities to assist with immediate and unforeseen costs in dealing with the aftermath of emergency incidents.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 March 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 13 March 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support local authorities address issues that relate to the condition of road surfaces, in light of a reported reduction in spending each year over the last five years.
Answer
