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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-09718

Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 September 2012
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 9 October 2012

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) cardiovascular events and (b) myocardial infarctions could have been prevented if NHS board area drug and therapeutics committees had made ticagrelor available within the timescale recommended by the Scottish Medicines Consortium at the time of publication of its advice on the matter.

The guidance published under cover of CEL 17 (2010) clarified that NHS boards were expected to have established local processes for non-formulary requests. This provides the facility for clinicians to access medicines which have been accepted for use by the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) but have not been included on the local formulary through a non-formulary request. As ticagrelor was accepted for use by the SMC in May 2011, there is the facility for clinicians in Scotland to access this medicine via these arrangements.

The timescale for making and publishing formulary decisions was introduced from 1 April 2012 following publication of Scottish Government guidance SGHD/CMO(2012)1.

Question reference: S4W-09624

Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 September 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 9 October 2012

To ask the Scottish Government whether public sector staff are protected from disciplinary action at all times in talking to their MSP about issues of concern or whether they must have previously raised the matter with their manager.

Question reference: S4W-09725

Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 September 2012
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 9 October 2012

To ask the Scottish Government how it encourages pharmaceutical companies with newly licensed medicines that have not submitted an application to the Scottish Medicines Consortium to do so.

The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) proactively seeks submissions from manufacturers of medicines near to the time that licensing is expected in order that they can appraise the medicine quickly following licensing. The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) undertakes its processes independently of the Scottish Government and there is no role for the Scottish Government in this regard.

The SMC Secretariat engages with the company about the reasons for non-submission and will enter into a dialogue about what might be an acceptable submission timeline before the decision to issue “not recommended” advice as a result of non-submission is taken. In addition, the SMC Secretariat will also direct the company to the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) members of the SMC for further discussion on submission requirements where the company has identified challenges in making a submission.

Where a pharmaceutical company is unable to make a submission for a product that is within remit in an acceptable timeframe, the SMC will consider the need to issue advice to NHSScotland indicating that the medicine is not recommended for use. If the company indicates that it does not intend to make a submission to the SMC, the SMC will publish advice to confirm that the medicine is "not recommended due to non-submission".

When "not recommended" advice has been published by the SMC due to a non-submission, this does not prevent the pharmaceutical company from making a submission at any point in the future. SMC advice based on a subsequent submission will supersede the initial "not recommended" advice.

Question reference: S4W-09724

Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 September 2012
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 9 October 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it has issued to assist individual patient treatment request panels in cases where patients fall into the group for whom the medicine is licensed but are also eligible for medicines licensed under the EU definition of orphan medicines.

The Scottish Government guidance published on 13 February 2012 under cover of SGHD/CMO(2012)1 clarified that in establishing a panel to consider an Individual Patient Treatment Request (IPTR) for any medicine, including an orphan medicine, NHS boards are expected to include a practising medical consultant with (or with access to) the specialist knowledge of the relevant clinical area.

This includes the facility for the panel’s practising medical consultant to seek advice from a specialist outwith NHSScotland if the expertise for a rare condition is to be found elsewhere in the UK.

Question reference: S4W-09412

Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 September 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 19 September 2012

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S3W-21957 by Shona Robison on 27 March 2009, what progress it has made in its commitment to arrange a survey of the incidence of fetal alcohol syndrome.

Question reference: S4F-00865

Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 17 September 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 September 2012

To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government supports the Royal College of Nursing's This is Nursing campaign celebrating the professionalism and compassion of nursing staff.

Question reference: S4W-09331

Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 September 2012
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 13 September 2012

To ask the Scottish Government how many prosecutions there have been for the illegal (a) production and (b) sale of alcohol in each year since 2007 and how many resulted in a conviction.

Question reference: S4W-09384

Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 September 2012
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 11 September 2012

To ask the Scottish Government how many convictions for the illegal (a) production and (b) sale of alcohol in each year since 2007 have led to the confiscation of criminal assets and how much of this was recovered has been used to support tackling alcohol-related problems.

We do not hold information on the number of convictions for the illegal production and sale of alcohol since 2007 that have led to the confiscation of criminal assets.

However, since 2003, the use of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 in Scotland has allowed over £60 million to be recovered from criminals. Since the inception of the CashBack for Communities programme in 2007, over £46 million of those monies recovered from that time, have been ploughed back into a wide range of sporting, cultural, educational and mentoring activities and facilities for children and young people and their communities. Over 600,000 young people across Scotland have benefited from CashBack activities and projects.

A number of CashBack partners across the CashBack for Communities programme have educational elements to support tackling alcohol-related problems within their activities by increasing awareness of health, alcohol issues and drugs misuse. Most of the educational elements and programme content are informed by and agreed with Alcohol Focus Scotland, Community Health partnerships and other specialized organisations.

Question reference: S4W-09032

Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 August 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 11 September 2012

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) full-time and (b) full-time equivalent school nurses there have been in each year since 2007, broken down by NHS board.

Published information on (a) full-time and (b) full-time equivalent school nurses there have been in each year since 2007, broken down by NHS board can be found at:

http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Workforce/Publications/2012-08-28/Nursing_and_Midwifery_SIP_J2012.xls.

The nursing workforce working in schools goes beyond school nurses. The figures for Public Health Nurses and Health Visitors should also be taken into account. Public Health Nurses include School Nurses, Health Visitors and those who have a dual role.

Question reference: S4W-09043

Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 August 2012
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 10 September 2012

The Scottish Government will pay a licensing fee to University of Colorado, Denver, based on the number of clients starting the programme in each financial year. The fee is £9.80 for each client, based on the current exchange rate, and for 2012-13 will be:

£5,392.16.

For future years the total payable will be dependent upon the numbers recruited to the programme and the exchange rate at that time.