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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: S5O-03622

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 September 2019
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government to what extent the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service works with the University of Glasgow’s forensic toxicology service when responding to drug deaths.

Question reference: S5W-25304

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 25 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what activity has been carried out by the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) to review access to hysterectomies for women of a child-bearing age.

Question reference: S5W-25308

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 24 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how the Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Programme Board plans to engage with previous members of the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Taskforce.

The Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Programme Board’s membership includes representation from previous members of Children and Young People’s Mental Health Taskforce. This provides continuity between the policy development phase carried out by the Taskforce and the delivery and implementation phase which will be taken forward by the Programme Board.

The first meeting of the Programme Board included submissions and presentations from individuals involved in the Taskforce to help inform the work of the board going forward.

An Advisory Group made up of a range of key advisors from across sectors will be established and will be available to provide support and guidance to the Programme Board. This will provide a forum through which those involved in the Taskforce, and other key stakeholders can engage with the work of the Programme Board.

Question reference: S5W-25309

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 24 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Programme Board will complete the work of the four workstreams of the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Taskforce, as set out in the delivery plan published in December 2018.

The Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Programme Board has been established to implement the recommendations of the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Taskforce, as published in July 2019.

The Programme Board will build on the work of the Taskforce and as such will incorporate the actions set out in the Delivery Plan document where appropriate. It will also take account of the work of the Youth Commission on Mental Health, the Audit of Rejected Referrals and the Audit Scotland Report on Children and Young People’s Mental Health.

Question reference: S5W-25303

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 24 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance is given to clinicians regarding the appropriateness of hysterectomies as a treatment option for secondary dysmenorrhoea.

The treatment of secondary dysmenorrhoea is determined by whatever the underlying condition is. Specific guidance exists for some of these conditions and a hysterectomy may be indicated as a treatment option for some. Current guidance from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence covers the various treatment options available to women, including surgery where appropriate. The decision on what treatment pathway to follow should be agreed through shared decision making between the individual and their doctor.

Question reference: S5W-25302

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 24 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government in what circumstances adult patients under the Realistic Medicine approach can be refused treatments that they have requested on the basis of their age.

Realistic Medicine is not about restricting access to treatment. It is about ensuring that people are actively involved in decisions about their care.

By using the scientific evidence alongside clinical judgement and people’s preferences and values, healthcare professionals can facilitate evidence based practice that people truly value.

People will not always be given what they want, because there may be times when it may not be clinically appropriate or practical to do so. However, healthcare professionals and patients should feel able and willing to have meaningful conversations that will allow them to share decisions about their treatment and care and make an informed choice.

Question reference: S5W-25310

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 24 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government by what date the terms of reference for the Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Programme Board will be published, and whether they will reference the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Taskforce delivery plan published in December 2018.

The Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Programme Board are currently considering a final version of its Terms of Reference. This document along with minutes from Programme Board meetings will be published on www.gov.scot in October 2019.

The Terms of Reference document will make reference to the work of the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Taskforce as well as the work of the Youth Commission on Mental Health.

Question reference: S5W-25311

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 24 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what role the workstreams of the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Taskforce will have in supporting the work of the Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Programme Board.

Following the resignation of the Chair due to ill health, the work of the Taskforce and its work streams was concluded with the publication of final recommendations on 4 July 2019.

The Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Programme Board has been established to implement the recommendations, and met for the first time on 22 August 2019.

The Programme Board will build on the work of the Taskforce workstreams and will make a move from a policy development phase into a delivery and implementation phase.

To support continuity between these two phases the Programme Board’s membership currently includes representation from previous members of Children and Young People’s Mental Health Taskforce and its workstreams.

The first meeting of the Programme Board included submissions and presentations from individuals involved in the Taskforce and its workstreams to help inform the work of the board going forward.

Question reference: S5W-25306

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 24 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how much each NHS board has spent on external consultant (a) locums and (b) agency staff in each of the last five years, also broken down by how much was spent to cover their travel and accommodation expenses.

Question reference: S5W-25146

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 23 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what the total spend has been by the Scottish Access Collaborative in each year since 2017 on work to improve waiting times, also broken down by the spend of each speciality group.

The total investment in the Scottish Access Collaborative (SAC) since 2017 is approximately £4.3 million. The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport launched the Collaborative in November 2017 to support the setting up of the infrastructure to progress this work, which was closely aligned with the Diagnostic and Treatment Centre Strategy, Regional Planning, Realistic Medicine and Performance Management and Delivery Activities and Programmes.

This investment included approximately £1.5 million which was made available in 2018-19 to support the waiting times improvement plan, launched in October 2018. £2.8 million has been committed in 2019-20 to develop and test identified areas of good practice and the findings from these workstreams will be reported and shared, once available.