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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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S5W-26962

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 January 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 24 January 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to extend the regulation of non-surgical cosmetic treatments to include services provided by people who do not have medical training.

The Scottish Government launched a public consultation exercise on 17 January 2020, which will run until 30 April 2020. This seeks the views of the public and interested parties on our proposals to introduce licensing for people who are not healthcare professionals and who carry out non-surgical cosmetic procedures, using products such as dermal fillers or lip enhancements.

We are also consulting on the inclusion of pharmacists in the list of medical practitioners, covered by the legislation introduced in 2016, which requires independent clinics run by a doctor, dentist, nurse, midwife or dental technician to register with Healthcare Improvement Scotland before they can legally provide cosmetic procedures.

The consultation document is available at https://consult.gov.scot/healthcare-quality-and-improvement/regulation-of-independent-healthcare/

Question reference: S5O-04052

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 January 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 23 January 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to address stigma and misunderstanding regarding the HPV virus ahead of the change to the test used in the cervical screening programme.

It is Cervical Cancer Prevention Week and we know that screening remains the best way to detect cervical cancer early and help reduce health inequalities in cancer outcomes. Regular smear tests, along with having the HPV vaccine, are vital in the fight against cervical cancer and we strongly encourage everyone who is eligible to take-up their screening invite.

From Spring 2020, HPV testing will be introduced into the Scottish Cervical Screening Programme. We are carrying out a range of work to encourage women to attend their screening appointments. This includes raising awareness and tackling common misconceptions amongst public and healthcare professionals.

Question reference: S5W-25932

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 14 January 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been prescribed medical cannabis.

Question reference: S5T-01931

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 January 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 January 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that drug-related deaths are continuing to increase.

Question reference: S5O-03956

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 December 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 January 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how much the Carer’s Allowance earnings threshold will be in 2020-21, and how many claimants reported earnings in 2019-20.

Question reference: S5W-26586

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 December 2019
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 11 December 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many newly-qualified educational psychologists entered the workforce in 2019, and how many it expects to do so in 2020.

In 2019, 12 students completed the MSc in Educational Psychology and joined the workforce as probationer educational psychologists. We expect 29 students to join the workforce in 2020 following completion of the MSc, and 30 in 2021.

This increase is as a result of new training arrangements delivered in partnership between the Scottish Government and local government to deliver a sustainable educational psychology workforce in Scotland.

A minimum of a year’s post MSc supervised practical experience is necessary to complete a Qualification in Educational Psychology (Scotland), which is required to practice independently.

Question reference: S5W-26544

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 November 2019
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 11 December 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many prisons officers are trained in the administration of naloxone.

I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

In February 2017 SPS committed to a national training programme to train night shift Prison Officers and Managers in awareness of Naloxone and how to administer intra-muscular Naloxone to enable first on the scene response to suspected opiate overdose during the night shift.

SPS worked in partnership with the National Naloxone Co-ordinator, based at Scottish Drugs Forum to successfully train 272 Night Shift staff and Managers in the administration of intramuscular naloxone.

In April 2019 SPS included Naloxone training as an element within its Emergency Response training which is core to role training for all operational staff (Band C – E) and must be refreshed every 3 years. Since 1 April 2019 and the inclusion of naloxone within the Emergency Response training, 227 operational prison staff have completed this course.

Question reference: S5W-26545

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 November 2019
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 11 December 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what the waiting times for access to mental health services for prisoners have been in each of the last four quarters.

Question reference: S5W-26614

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 December 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 11 December 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the campaign by Money and Mental Health Policy Institute for GP practices to abolish fees for completion of debt and mental health evidence forms and for alternative evidence to be used in debt remedies.

Question reference: S5W-26547

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 November 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 9 December 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what the vacancy level is for nurses working in prison healthcare, broken down by NHS board.