- Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 28 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 15 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the policy of moving away from a vaccination model based on GP delivery, and whether it is considering reviewing this policy and returning to more locally-administered vaccinations at GP surgeries.
Answer
Five years on from the joint agreement between Scottish Government and the British Medical Association (BMA) on the 2018 GP contract, we have made significant progress in the implementation of Primary Care Improvement Plans (PCIPs). The Vaccination Transformation Programme element of the 2018 GP contract is complete.
While the Scottish Government will seek continuous improvement of our vaccination services, I would envisage neither a return to a model of default GP provision nor local models based on optional GP participation. This is because the aim of the Vaccination Transformation Programme was to ensure that GP practices are able to focus on the work only they can do, such as complex care and diagnosing undifferentiated presentations. Vaccinations can be administered in a wide range of different settings by a wide range of healthcare professionals.
The GP profession voted as a whole in 2018 in favour of not providing vaccinations and this position remains extant. There will always be exceptions to this of course, in rural areas and where the need to vaccinate quickly is paramount. Notwithstanding these exceptions, I would not anticipate making any fundamental changes to our vaccination model which are counter to our 2018 agreement with GPs about the future of the profession.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 28 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 15 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been allocated to its Health Inequalities Unit from 2020 to 2023, broken down by financial year.
Answer
The following table shows Scottish Government staffing costs for Health Inequalities (HI) policy functions from 2020 to 2023, and the total over this period.
| | April 2020-March 2021 | April 2021-March 2022 | April 2022-March 2023 | Total (April 2020-March 2023) |
Total | £418,000 | £866,000 | £900,000 | £2,184,000 |
Health Inequalities policy functions include specific work in relation to socioeconomic determinants of health and inequalities experienced by particular groups. However, all of the work of the Population Health Directorate seeks to reduce health inequalities, as does wider work taken forward within other Health Directorates, e.g. Primary Care and Mental Health, and the wider Scottish Government, e.g. Tackling Child Poverty and Social Justice.
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 28 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 15 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is planning to add Parkinson’s medication to the High Risk Medicines Framework.
Answer
The High Risk Medicines Framework specifies some medicines and medicines groups and at the current time this does not include Parkinson’s medication. There is also a High Risk Medicines Discussion template that is not medicine specific and can be adapted and used by local teams to meet their needs. Parkinson’s medication can be reviewed and discussed within this framework to support local teams to discuss and prioritise improvement activities. All resources are reviewed regularly and the Scottish Patient Safety Programme (SPSP) welcomes further suggestions to add to or develop resources.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 15 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what the (a) average and (b) longest waiting time is for women to receive a first appointment at the Complex Mesh Surgical Service in Glasgow.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-17503 on 15 May 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 15 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-12594 by Màiri McAllan on 9 December 2022, what progress it is making towards developing a new National Register of Ancient Woodlands, and when it anticipates that work will be completed.
Answer
The Bute House Agreement includes a commitment to further protect Scotland’s ancient woods through establishing a National Register of Ancient Woodlands. We are discussing with NatureScot and Scottish Forestry the best approach to developing a new National Register of Ancient Woodlands, which will build upon the existing Scottish Ancient Woodland Inventory, and be published when that work is complete. A new National Register of Ancient Woodlands will be an important element of the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy and Delivery plan which we will consult on later this year.
- Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 15 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether funding for post-diagnostic support for autistic people and their families, which is currently delivered by third sector organisations, will be renewed, and, if so, when allocations will be announced.
Answer
The Scottish Government has provided funding of £2m since December 2020 to a number of third sector organisations to pilot Autism Post Diagnostic Support Schemes. The pilots and associated funding were extended to March 2023. We are currently working to develop a permanent Autism Post Diagnostic Support scheme, which will be informed by the pilot, and will confirm arrangements soon.
We are keeping stakeholders up to date with progress.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 15 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government when it next plans to meet with (a) Hospice UK and (b) other representatives of the hospice industry, regarding the reported financial challenges facing hospices.
Answer
Following a meeting with Ministers on 14 March 2023 the Scottish Government is in regular contact with Hospice UK and the Scottish Hospice Leadership Group, as representative organisations, on the issues discussed at that meeting, including the financial challenges facing hospice.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 15 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its commitment to end care charges by 2026, whether it will provide an update on when it plans to end social care charges, in light of calls to speed up the process of ending care charges.
Answer
The Scottish Government remains committed to removing non-residential charges for social care within the lifetime of this Parliament.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 15 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many people in Scotland have been charged and subsequently convicted of owning a banned dog breed since 2013, broken down by what the court disposal was.
Answer
Information on proceedings is provided in the following tables. Table 1 shows all charges reported to COPFS under Section 1(3) of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. Table 2 shows only people prosecuted where the main charge was under Section 1(3) of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.
Table 1
Charges reported to COPFS under: Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 S1(3)&1(7) - Possess a dog otherwise than in accordance with Act, 2013-14 to 2022-23.
| | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 |
Total | 11 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
Source: Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service
Table 2
Number of people proceeded for possession of a dangerous dog, where main crime, by result, 2013-14 to 2020-21.
| | | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 |
DANGEROUS DOGS ACT 1991 SECTION 1(3) & 1(7) | Not guilty | 1 | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - |
Community sentence | - | 1 | - | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | - |
Monetary | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | 2 | 1 | - | - |
Other | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | 1 | - | - |
Total proceedings | | 3 | 3 | 4 | - | 4 | 3 | 1 | - |
Source: Scottish Government Criminal Proceedings database.
Please note: Data for 2020-21 are affected by the pandemic and subsequent court closures and may not be reflective of long term trend.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 15 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that the reported practice of calling on firefighters to cover other fire stations does not have a negative impact on those with caring responsibilities.
Answer
The deployment of firefighters and the welfare of its staff is an operational matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS)
As an emergency service, SFRS has a statutory duty to ensure that fire and rescue cover is always maintained across all communities in Scotland. This sometimes means that firefighters are called upon to work from a different fire station to ensure a full crew is available to safely allow a fire appliance to attend emergency incidents.
SFRS has a Detached Duty Policy to ensure that staff welfare, including consideration of caring responsibilities, is taken into account in reaching decisions on the deployment of staff.
