- Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 02 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Alasdair Allan on 13 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to reduce any barriers posed by aviation radar issues to renewable energy developments.
Answer
Aviation radar issues are a key consideration by Scottish Ministers in determining planning and consenting applications for on and offshore renewable energy developments. Scottish Government officials work with applicants and stakeholders to ensure the potential impacts on aviation radars from the developments are suitably assessed and mitigated.
The Scottish Onshore Wind Sector Deal contains commitments aiming to lower barriers to deployment arising from aviation radar related issues. OnWARD 2030 is the delivery body for commitments related to aviation and it has recently published its recommendations to set out a proactive, transparent, and consistent approach to the management of aviation issues relating to onshore wind developments. The Scottish Government is working with the UK Government to review these recommendations.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 02 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 13 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether taking assets owned by Petroineos Manufacturing Scotland Limited, including the Grangemouth refinery, Finnart Ocean Terminal and its two associated pipelines, into partial or full public ownership would fall within the devolved competence of the Scottish Ministers.
Answer
Prior to the Refinery’s closure, we understood that significant financial investment would be required to retain refinery operations at Grangemouth. Noting the fiscal constraints within which Scottish Ministers are required to operate, such an intervention would clearly require UK Government action.
Given the expansive fiscal levers at its disposal, the UK Government must exhaust all options at its disposal to ensure a future for the Refinery site.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 13 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Trading Standards Scotland regarding the sale of single-use vapes.
Answer
The Scottish Government has engaged with Trading Standards throughout the drafting of The Environmental Protection (Single-use Vapes) (Scotland) Regulations 2024 (the Vapes Regulations).
Trading Standards responded to the two consultations held on the Vapes Regulations, and provided feedback regarding the definition of a single-use vape, enforcement powers and implementation. This was taken on board in the final draft. A request from Trading Standards for the power to issue fixed penalty notices for offences under the Vapes Regulations was introduced through The Environmental Protection (Injurious Articles) (Fixed Penalty Notices and Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2025, along with further enforcement powers.
Officials have also met with Trading Standards on several occasions to discuss the drafting of the Regulations and associated guidance and will continue to engage up to and following the implementation of the ban on relevant issues associated with the regulations and their enforcement.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 13 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many full-time equivalent (FTE) (a) neuropsychiatrists and (b) neuropsychologists are employed in each NHS board.
Answer
a) There is no specific workforce data collected for neuropsychiatrists in Scotland or the rest of the UK. This is not a specialty or sub-specialty of psychiatry and would usually be a special interest of doctors trained in Old Age or General Adult Psychiatry. As part of higher psychiatry training programmes resident doctors can undertake additional training in this area such as a masters degree and placements in liaison psychiatry.
b) WTE Applied Psychologists working in Neuropsychology in NHS Scotland as of 31st December 2024*:
NHS Board | WTE Applied Psychologists working in Neuropsychology |
Total NHS Scotland | 54.2 |
NHS Ayrshire & Arran | 5.6 |
NHS Borders | 0.0 |
NHS Dumfries & Galloway | 0.8 |
NHS Fife | 1.6 |
NHS Forth Valley | 2.4 |
NHS Grampian | 8.9 |
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde | 16.6 |
NHS Highland | 3.1 |
NHS Lanarkshire | 3.6 |
NHS Lothian | 8.3 |
NHS Orkney | 0.0 |
NHS Shetland | 0.0 |
NHS Tayside | 3.4 |
NHS Western Isles | 0.0 |
State Hospital | 0.0 |
Golden Jubilee National Hospital | 0.0 |
NHS Education for Scotland | 0.0 |
* This is by area of work for applied psychologists which includes clinical and counselling psychologists working in neuropsychology, some of whom will also have additional specialist training in neuropsychology conferring eligibility for The British Psychological Society’s Qualification in Clinical Neuropsychology (QiCN), and others who are working towards this.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 13 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how it assesses how many (a) neuropsychiatrists and (b) neuropsychologists are needed in NHS Scotland.
Answer
a) There is no specific workforce data collected for neuropsychiatrists in Scotland or the rest of the UK. This is not a specialty or sub-specialty of psychiatry and would usually be a special interest of doctors trained in Old Age or General Adult Psychiatry. As part of higher psychiatry training programmes resident doctors are able to undertake additional training in this area such as a masters degree and placements in liaison psychiatry.
b) Neuropsychologist is not a recognised job role within NHS Scotland. Postgraduate Applied Psychologists (mainly Clinical Psychologists) may undertake further training to various levels in neuropsychology. NHS employing Boards make decisions about what additional training may be required to meet the needs of their population. Every year NHS Education for Scotland (NES) undertakes an annual commissioning process with Boards to discuss their psychological workforce development and training needs. NES supports the provision of Neuropsychology training at the University of Glasgow which is highly valued by Boards.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 13 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to ensuring that providers of psychological therapies understand the additional issues that people with Parkinson’s disease and other neurological conditions can face when accessing this support.
Answer
We expect all NHS Boards in Scotland to adhere to current guidelines and follow best practice when providing care for people with Parkinson’s disease and other neurological conditions.
Our Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy published in 2023, sets out a long-term vision, and a set of outcomes, for the mental health and wellbeing of the population.
In September 2023, we published the National Specification for Psychological Therapies and Interventions, and Mental Health Core Standards to ensure effective, equitable, efficient and high-quality person-centred care is delivered consistently across Scotland. The Specification and Standards set out what we expect in terms of care in Psychological Therapies and Adult Secondary Services.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 13 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that people with Parkinson’s disease who experience mental health symptoms are able to access mental health support, including from psychiatrists, psychologists and community mental health teams.
Answer
Our Mental Health & Wellbeing Strategy lays out our vision for improving mental health so anyone who needs help can get the right help, in the right place, at the right time for any aspect of their mental health. We expect that mental health care and treatment will be delivered in a person-centred manner to meet each individual’s needs. This includes people whose mental health has been affected as a result of Parkinson’s disease.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 13 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will work with Parkinson’s UK Scotland to ensure that people with Parkinson’s disease who experience mental health symptoms can access support that meets their needs.
Answer
The Scottish Government has worked closely with Parkinson’s UK Scotland over a number of years, including awarding £174,184 over three years to fund the development of Parkinson’s Connect in Scotland. This refers people to tailored advice and support, including mental health and wellbeing for people with Parkinson’s and their families. We will continue to work with Parkinson’s UK Scotland to ensure the best outcomes for people with Parkinson’s.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 13 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to ensure that specialist consultants can prescribe clozapine for those people with Parkinson’s disease who experience the most severe and distressing hallucinations, wherever they live in Scotland.
Answer
Clozapine is available to NHS Health Boards in Scotland to prescribe as appropriate to patients with Parkinson’s Disease.
It is for Health Boards to implement treatments within services, and the decision to prescribe Clozapine would be a clinical one based on an individual patient’s symptoms and condition.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 13 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many people with a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease have been admitted to hospital because of mental health symptoms in each of the last three years.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally.