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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: S5W-00359

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 16 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to establish new dedicated inpatient mental health beds for children and young people north of Dundee.

Children and young people referred to child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) will be generally treated in the community. There may however be times when it is necessary to admit them to hospital for specialist treatment. Should this be the case they would be admitted to one of the three regional CAMHS inpatient units.

It is important that beds are available when required. In order to provide support this, a decision was taken by the north of Scotland NHS boards to build a new 12 bed unit in Dundee (Dudhope House) to replace the current 6 bed unit. This has increased the national bed base from 42 to 48 beds and improve the quality of the estate.

Dudhope House in Dundee followed an extensive consultation which considered the merits of basing a unit in Aberdeen, Inverness and the current facility in Dundee.

Question reference: S5W-00355

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 14 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £150 million announced for mental health in 2015 (a) has been and (b) will be allocated to child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) and what percentage of total NHS spending will be on CAMHS as a result.

Scottish Government funding have been investing heavily in mental health services for a number of years, and will use the additional package of £150 million to deliver the transformation in mental health services we want to achieve over the next ten years, including for children and young people. Elements of this funding will be specifically for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), and elements will indirectly support CAMHS through improving access to services and supporting prevention and early intervention which will have an impact on demand for CAMHS services, as below:

We are investing £54.1 million to support further reduction in waiting times for CAMHS and psychological therapies: http://news.scotland.gov.uk/News/Mental-health-funding-2139.aspx;

We are investing £15 million in a mental health innovation fund to support better access to CAMHS and to develop innovative approaches to delivering mental health services: http://news.scotland.gov.uk/News/Mental-health-innovation-1737.aspx and

We are investing £10 million to support new ways of improving mental health in primary care settings, which will support children and young people in the community and reduce pressures on CAMHS specialist services: http://news.scotland.gov.uk/News/Transforming-GP-and-mental-health-services-22bf.aspx.

Our remaining package of funding will support the priorities in our forthcoming mental health strategy, to ensure we continue to improve access to services – including for children and young people – but also increase support for early intervention and prevention, to support children and young people to stay well and only be referred to CAMHS when necessary.

NHS Scotland funding: The Scottish Government sets national direction of policy on mental health and provides funding to NHS boards and local authorities to support implementation of policy, which includes support for children and young people with mental health challenges.

NHS boards will report future spend on mental health including CAMHS to Information Services Division Scotland through existing mechanisms. We will expect future spend by NHS Scotland on mental health and CAMHS to the reflect national priority and need, and to reflect the additional investment the Scottish Government has made available.

Question reference: S5W-00354

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 14 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the report in The Herald on 21 April 2016 that “Ministers pledged an additional £150 million to improve mental health care in 2015 but…just over £80 million of this money has been earmarked for specific projects”, when the remaining £70 million will be allocated to projects.

We have been investing heavily in mental health services for a number of years, and are using the additional package of £150 million over five years to boost support for areas which are absolute priorities for us, and which will deliver the transformation in mental health services we want to achieve – including for children and young people. We are investing:

£54.1 million to support further reduction in waiting times.

£10 million to support new ways of improving mental health in primary care settings.

A £15 million mental health innovation fund to support better access to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service and to develop innovative approaches to delivering mental health services.

£1 million to support people with mental health problems to become more physically active manifesto commitment: mental and physical health treated equally; and £4.2 million to support people in crisis who turn to frontline services.

Our remaining package of funding will support the priorities in our forthcoming mental health strategy, to ensure we continue to improve access to services – including for children and young people. It will also focus on supporting early years and early interventions; improved support in primary care, and parity of esteem between physical and mental health so that we support people to keep well, whilst also providing treatment of the highest quality when it is necessary. We will take these decisions in conjunction with our stakeholders and partners.

Question reference: S5W-00352

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 14 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government on what date it will publish its next mental health strategy; what time period it will apply to, and for what reason it chose this period.

Question reference: S5W-00351

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 13 June 2016

During 2013, NHS Scotland laboratories reported positive HIV-antibody test results for 354 individuals not previously recorded as HIV-positive in Scotland. During the years 2014, 2015 and from 1 January 2016 to 31 March 2016, this figure is 370, 361 and 87 respectively. Data on HIV in Scotland is regularly published on Health Protection Scotland’s website available at: http://www.hps.scot.nhs.uk/bbvsti/hivandaids.aspx

Question reference: S5W-00361

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 13 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what the average cost per patient is of (a) pre-exposure prophylaxis and (b) treatment for HIV.

In order for the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) to assess the clinical and cost effectiveness of pre-exposure prophylaxis, including comparisons with current licensed treatments, the manufacturer would need to obtain a marketing authorisation (product licence) for this treatment and make a submission to the SMC.

NHS national procurement estimate that first line therapies for HIV treatment cost an average of approximately £6,136 per patient per year. There is also a wide variety of second line treatment options, the costs of which range from approximately £3,000 to £11,000 per patient per annum.

Question reference: S5W-00353

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 8 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what stakeholders it has met to discuss the development of the next mental health strategy, and on what dates.

To inform the policy development for the next mental health strategy, since 2015 we have engaged with a wide range of stakeholders including people who use services, service providers and professional bodies. Organisations that met have included, the Mental Welfare Commission, the Scottish Recovery Network, the Scottish Mental Health Partnership, and ASH Scotland. Scottish Association for Mental Health and Voices of Experience hosted events on our behalf to inform the development of policy. Organisations and individuals not met with have also sent in comments.

Question reference: S5W-00206

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 May 2016
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 7 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason NHS Lothian changed its criteria for the prescription of the bowel cancer drug, Cetuximab, and what its position is on reports that patients who had embarked on chemotherapy would have expected to have been offered this treatment should the chemotherapy have proven unsuccessful.

<>The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) appraises all newly licensed medicines for clinical and cost effectiveness following submissions from pharmaceutical companies. SMC published advice for NHS boards across Scotland. Where the SMC accepts a medicine then there is a clear expectation that NHS boards will consider it and will make it or its equivalent available. All SMC advice can be found on their website at: www.scottishmedicines.org.uk

Question reference: S5F-00058

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 06 June 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 June 2016

To ask the First Minister on what date the new Queensferry Crossing will open.

Question reference: S5W-00100

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 16 May 2016
Current Status: Answered by Mark McDonald on 26 May 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will (a) implement the recommendations of the Advisory Group on the Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility and (b) take early action to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 12 years.

The Scottish Government commissioned the advisory group last year to look at potential issues relating to raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 12 years, with the aim of securing a report and recommendations from that group for further consultation.

In responding to the advisory group’s report, the Scottish Government published it alongside a raft of supporting material and immediately opened its own public consultation on the advisory group’s recommendations - open until 10 June 2016.

The Scottish Government remains open to considering future change and will consider the consultation responses and analysis before taking a forward position.