- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 October 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 20 November 2019
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to implement each of the recommendations in the Parkinson’s UK Scotland report, Get It On Time.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that everyone living in Scotland with neurological conditions, including Parkinson’s disease, is able to access the best possible care and support, and benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put the patient at the centre of their care. We have worked with the neurological community to develop Scotland’s first ever National Action Plan on Neurological Conditions, which we will publish before the end of the year.
The Scottish Government looks forward to working with Parkinson’s UK and other key stakeholders to support and improve care through the development of this plan taking account of the recommendations of this report as we do so.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 November 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Derek Mackay on 20 November 2019
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of how the £139.4 million allocated to it by the UK Government as a consequential of EU exit preparation funding has been spent in (a) 2018-19 and (b) 2019-20.
Answer
Of the £98.7 million EU Exit consequentials received between 2017-18 to 2019-20, we have already spent or committed £98.25 million. A full breakdown of money allocated to EU Exit preparation is contained within the Scottish Government’s overview of no deal preparations published on 8 October, with the below table taken from paragraph 46 of the plan:
Activity | Approved spend April 2017 – September 2019 | Description |
Loans to farmers | £350.0m | The National Basic Payment Scheme are Financial Transactions (loans) to farmers to help manage EU Exit uncertainty. These will be fully offset by receipt of external grant via the EU or the UK Government. |
EU Exit related operational and readiness costs | £70.9m | Scottish Government and public body costs on legislation, policy and organisational readiness activity. |
Police numbers | £17.0m | The Chief Constable is maintaining circa 400 officers in 2019-20 so that the service has capacity to respond to EU exit-related issues such as protests and civil unrest, should this be required. |
Prepare for Brexit campaign | £2.2m | Scottish Enterprise led campaign to help Scottish businesses prepare for EU Exit. |
Local Authority Co-ordination funding | £1.6m | £50k per local authority for on-going local co-ordination work on EU Exit preparedness arrangements. |
Brexit Support Grant for SME | £1.5m | £2000 to £4000 grant to help small to medium-sized enterprises in Scotland manage a wide range of EU Exit impacts. |
Supporting community food initiatives | £1.5m | Providing funds to the charity FareShare to increase the help that they give organisations that are responding to food insecurity. |
Promoting Scotland internationally | £1.4m | Scotland is Now global marketing campaign (£1m), combined with a range of other activity, to promote Scotland as a place to visit, study, work and invest. |
Health and Social Care | £1.1m | International recruitment Unit (£0.64m), contribution to UK Government response arrangements for medical devices and clinical consumables, wider recruitment efforts, and support to the social care sector. |
Advice Service and community based support for EU citizens | £0.75m | Establish an advice service (£0.5m) and a ‘Stay in Scotland’ campaign, both aimed at EU citizens currently living in Scotland (£0.25m). |
Rural industry and marine readiness | £0.3m | Scotland’s Rural College policy development and stakeholder analysis to boost rural industry readiness (£0.3m). |
* actual spend on EU exit preparations in financial years 2017-18 and 2018-19, plus spend approved by Ministers at end September 2019 for the whole of financial year 2019-20.
We expect to face further costs as a result of preparing for Brexit and we will prioritise the additional consequentials of £40.7 million for 2019-20 for Brexit purposes.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 08 November 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 20 November 2019
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of progress with the development of stem cell therapy for people with multiple sclerosis (MS).
Answer
We commissioned the Scottish Health Technologies Group to undertake an assessment on the efficacy of using Haematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for the treatment of people with highly active relapsing remitting Multiple Sclerosis where other highly effective drugs or forms of immunomodulatory treatment have not been successful. The Scottish Health Technologies Group recently published its findings. We will work closely with MS Society Scotland, other third sector bodies and the clinical community to consider what these findings mean for provision in Scotland, including the information that needs to be available to people about eligibility and risks.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 08 November 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Jeane Freeman on 20 November 2019
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of NHS England's commitment to rolling out a new national programme of eye care in all special schools from 2020, whether NHS Scotland will make the same commitment.
Answer
Scotland is the only country in the UK to provide additional funding to optometrists to enable them to spend longer during an eye examination with patients with complex needs, including children who may attend a special school. Officials are preparing advice to Scottish Ministers on the commitment to commission an in-school visual assessment for all children in special schools in England.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 October 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Jeane Freeman on 19 November 2019
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on accessible rest facilities for staff being available in hospitals.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-25924 on 19 November 2019. 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: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 October 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Jeane Freeman on 19 November 2019
To ask the Scottish Government whether issues relating to fatigue and wellbeing in relation to NHS staff are included in the curriculum of medical courses at Scottish universities.
Answer
The GMC’s ‘Promoting Excellence: Standards for Medical Education and Training’ sets out requirements for the management and delivery of undergraduate and postgraduate medical education and training. University medical schools encompass GMC requirements which includes a requirement for medicals schools to minimise the adverse effects of fatigue and workload.
Student mental health and wellbeing is a key priority for the Scottish Government and we are investing £20m in the sector over the next 4 years so that colleges and universities can access and recruit additional mental health councillors.
Universities will also be required to have a mental health strategy openly available and to work alongside student associations to ensure this is implemented.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 October 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Jeane Freeman on 19 November 2019
To ask the Scottish Government what guidance is issued by (a) NHS Education for Scotland and (b) medical schools regarding fatigue among medical staff.
Answer
NHS Education for Scotland`s Thriving in Medicine is a collection of online resources to support doctors, including ways to address and combat fatigue: https://www.scotlanddeanery.nhs.scot/trainee-information/thriving-in-medicine/ .
The GMC’s Promoting Excellence: standards for medical education and training sets out requirements for the management and delivery of undergraduate and postgraduate medical education and training. University medical schools encompass GMC requirements which includes a requirement for medicals schools to minimise the adverse effects of fatigue and workload.
We continue to improve working practices for junior doctors to limit the impact of fatigue. This includes ensuring no more than seven days or shifts are worked in a row, banning working seven consecutive night shifts, and requiring all junior doctor rotas to contain a minimum 46-hour rest period following a run of full shift night working.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 08 November 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 19 November 2019
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) short-visit, (b) full and (c) other type of school inspections have been carried out in each of the last five years.
Answer
The following table sets out the number of (a) short; (b) full and; (c) other school inspections undertaken in the last five academic years.
| | 2014-15 2 | 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 3 | 2018-19 |
Short | 0 | 9 | 23 | 46 | 125 |
Full | 141 | 134 | 138 | 136 | 127 |
Other 1 | 52 | 53 | 65 | 50 | 49 |
Source: Education Scotland. All figures include local authority schools, grant-aided schools and independent schools.
Notes
1 “Other” includes Further inspections of schools where the original inspection had identified the quality of education was not good enough; Quality Improvement and Professional Engagement visits of independent schools for which a report is published; post registration inspections of independent schools and; section 66 inspections instructed by Scottish Ministers.
2 For academic years 14-15–16-17
1. Inspection of schools in Guernsey are included in the full inspection figures
2. All through schools are included twice in recognition that they include both primary and secondary sector.
3. For academic years 17-18 -18-19
1. Inspection of Guernsey schools is included within “other” figures
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 24 October 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Jeane Freeman on 19 November 2019
To ask the Scottish Government how many prescriptions for medical cannabis were issued by the NHS between November 2017 and November 2018.
Answer
Prior to the UK Government regulatory changes introduced on 1 November 2018, cannabis was a schedule 1 controlled drug under the terms of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001.
Prescription levels or numbers for information on unlicensed cannabis based products for medicinal use (CBPMs) is not collected by the Scottish Government.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 October 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Jeane Freeman on 19 November 2019
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will incorporate questions on fatigue in the 2020 NHS Staff Survey in order to assess any issues arising and take appropriate action to ensure the wellbeing of NHS staff.
Answer
The annual iMatter questionnaire designed by staff, for staff, asks them if they feel that their manager and their employer cares about their wellbeing. This allows managers and health and social employers to monitor and take action to reduce work related stress, staff workloads and other wellbeing matters such as fatigue.
Additionally, the NHS Scotland Staff Governance Standard requires health boards to demonstrate that staff are provided with a continuously improving and safe working environment and that they are promoting the health and wellbeing of staff.
We will continue to survey all staff through iMatter in 2020.