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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-30179

Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 26 February 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 10 March 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-30141by Shona Robison on 26 February 2016, how much will (a) private and (b) third sector providers have to find to make up the remaining 25% to meet payments for paying at least the living wage to social care staff, including any additional increase in employers' national insurance and pension contributions.

It is expected that local authorities will work closely with care providers to assess the investment required to ensure payment of the living wage. We are allocating a significant resource towards this shared policy objective and - as per the agreement made with councils this year - it is anticipated that the cost of meeting the living wage will be a shared endeavour between the Scottish Government, councils and providers.

In correspondence to chief executives of local authorities, regarding the local government settlement, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Economy has said that this investment assumes that private and third sector providers will meet their share of the costs. However, this did not stipulate a specific contribution expected from providers.

This builds on the shared agreement from this year, 2015-16, which delivered the additional uplift in the National Care Home Contract to support progress on tackling low pay.

Question reference: S4W-30481

Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 March 2016
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 10 March 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how it will drive a shared recognition, commitment and coordination between the structures for mental health and early years services.

Question reference: S4W-30485

Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 March 2016
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 10 March 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will place the promotion of infant mental health and the needs of the most vulnerable infants at the heart of the revised National Mental Health Strategy for Scotland.

Question reference: S4O-05667

Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 March 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 March 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what the pupil to teacher ratio is in special schools, and how this compares with 2008.

Question reference: S4W-30180

Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 26 February 2016
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 9 March 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it remains its position that treating chronic pain is a priority and, if so, whether all NHS boards must have local or integrated joint board delivery plans.

Question reference: S4W-30184

Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 26 February 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 9 March 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what the pathway is for patients who are (a) admitted and (b) not admitted to a residential unit for aftercare.

Wherever possible we want older people to be discharged back home, with appropriate care and support, if needed. Partnerships are now taking a discharge to assess approach. This involves an initial risk assessment in hospital, followed up by a more comprehensive assessment in the comfort of the person's own home. This has proved extremely successful in the Glasgow area, and other partnerships are now following suit.

Many patients can benefit from further time to recover, before any decisions about long-term care are made. In these cases, the multi-disciplinary team will assess whether the patient would benefit from a period of step-down care in a community setting, such as a care home, or community hospital. This gives the patient an opportunity to recover in a more homely setting. No patient should be admitted to long term residential care directly from an acute setting.

For some patients the only option will be long term nursing care in a care home. Anyone requiring long term residential care has the right to choose where that is provided. The Scottish Government issued revised Guidance on Choosing a Care Home on Discharge from Hospital in 2013

(www.sehd.scot.nhs.uk/mels/CEL2013_32.pdf). This guidance and underpinning directions state that the patient family or proxy should identify a preferred home(s) of choice suitable to meet the assessed needs of the patient. Where a preferred choice is not immediately available then the patient will be discharged to another suitable home to wait for their preferred choice to become available.

Question reference: S4W-29987

Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 February 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 8 March 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to negotiate a new junior doctors contract.

Question reference: S4W-30182

Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 26 February 2016
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 8 March 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has made on the impact of third sector bodies having to issue redundancy notices as they have not received confirmation of whether their annual government support will be renewed.

The Scottish Government supports the third sector to play a full role in meeting the Scottish Government’s purpose and also to make an important contribution to public service reform. A variety of funding approaches are taken, and wherever possible, the Scottish Government aims to notify organisations of the outcome of funding applications well in advance of the start of the funding year. All funding is, however, time limited, and subject to consideration of current priorities and the outcomes we are trying to achieve.

On this occasion, however, the Scottish Draft Budget was published much later than usual due to the timing of the UK Government’s Comprehensive Spending Review. As a result, there are some instances where the process for initiating the funding allocations for 2016-17 has started later. We are doing what we can to minimise any impact which this has on the valuable work which the third sector does.

Question reference: S4W-30181

Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 26 February 2016
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 4 March 2016

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason applications for 16B funding under the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 have not opened for 2016-17 and organisations have not been given notice if the system has changed.

In 2016-17, commitments already made for organisations in year two or three of existing project funding are being honoured and grantees are aware of that. Over the next few months, the Scottish Government will be reviewing the annual funding scheme to consider how funding might be more closely aligned to current health support or health promotion policy priorities which contribute to the achievement of our national outcomes.

The latest information on Section 16b grant funding is available on the Scottish Government Section 16b Grant Scheme web-page, which can be found at: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Health/Support-Social-Care/Financial-Help/16bGrants.

Question reference: S4W-29988

Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 February 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 3 March 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what is the maximum number of hours in any (a) given week, (b) consecutive five day period and (c) period of 14 days that junior doctors will be required to work.

There are over 1,000 junior doctor rotas in place in NHS Scotland each with its own unique working pattern.

Like all NHS staff, all junior doctor hours comply fully with the limits of the Working Time Regulations. This allows for averaging of hours over a reference period which means that a working pattern can consist of long and short weeks, which together over the reference period average out at 48 hours or less per week. The Working Time Regulations also ask that there is an 11 hour rest period in each 24 hours. This limits a full shift to a maximum of 13 hours. The regulations also give a 24 hour rest period every seven days or a 48 hour rest period every 14 days.