Seòmar agus comataidhean

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

Criathragan Hide all filters

Displaying 45721 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6W-05011

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 5 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports of rising rates of skin cancer, and what its position is on the urgency of this issue, in light of there reportedly being more deaths in Scotland of young adults from melanoma than any other cancer.

The most recently published ten year percentage change tables show some upward incidence trends and downward mortality trends. This reflects improved survival.

We are committed to finding cancer early when the chance of survival and even cure is higher – this is reflected in our £44 million Detect Cancer Early (DCE) Programme. Melanoma was added to the Programme in 2016 following a robust options appraisal exercise (this included reviewing a wealth of data from incidence and survival to mortality and staging).

Since then, over £400,000 has been invested across NHS Scotland to support skin cancer CNS workforce, enhance image capturing and sharing, provision of equipment for GPs/ANPs i.e. dermoscopes and the development and delivery of lesion training programmes.

Question reference: S6W-04985

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 5 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many patients have currently been referred for orthopaedic treatment in (a) NHS Highland and (b) Scotland but have not yet been given a treatment date.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) publishes quarterly statistics relating to the waits patients experience for new outpatient appointments and inpatient or day case admission at specialty and health board level using the links below.

https://beta.isdscotland.org/find-publications-and-data/healthcare-resources/waiting-times/

The latest statistics were published on 30 th November 2021 and the following tables will be of interest.

New outpatient appointments (tab: 1.4 Table):

https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/media/10563/newop_nov21.xlsx

Inpatient or day case admission (tab: 2.4 Table):

https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/media/10487/ipdc_nov21.xlsx

The statistics published in the tables above include additions to the waiting list and not referrals as the national data captures only those referrals that lead to a patient being added to the waiting list for an appointment or admission.

Question reference: S6W-05003

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 5 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will ensure there is a clear pathway and access to the NHS Centre for Integrative Care that is fully funded across NHS Scotland.

The NHS Centre for Integrative Care (CIC) is a facility that all NHS Boards across Scotland have the option of referring patients to for services not available locally.

The Scottish Government is providing £12.4 billion for frontline NHS boards, which is a £327 million (3.2%) increase. This is the first step to ensuring that frontline funding - which directly supports patient services - increases by at least £2.5 billion by 2026-27.

Over 50% of frontline spend will go towards community health services, delivering on our commitment to increase primary care funding by 25% over this Parliament, providing more care for people in a place and way that meets their needs.

Question reference: S6W-04914

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 5 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its position in relation to introducing an equal right of appeal in the planning system.

Question reference: S6W-05002

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 5 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to address the variation across NHS board areas regarding the experiences of patients trying to access integrative care and services offered by the NHS Centre for Integrative Care.

Question reference: S6W-05020

Asked by: Siobhian Brown, MSP for Ayr, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 5 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the contract for Valneva COVID-19 vaccines should be reinstated and what representations it can make to the UK Government in this regard, in light of reports that a number of experts, including a member of the Joint Committee on Vaccines and Immunisation, have expressed support for the Valneva vaccine as possibly an effective defence against the COVID-19 Omicron variant.

COVID vaccines are procured by the UK Government on a four nations basis, and the cancellation of the contract with Valneva is a matter for the UK Government. Valneva is a valued contributor to our life sciences sector and the Livingston facility is an important asset, developing vaccines for the treatment of many infectious diseases and supporting high quality jobs. This includes their COVID-19 vaccine, and I welcome the positive results Valneva has reported from clinical trials. I met with Valneva last week to hear more about their COVID-19 vaccine and the impressive work underway at their Livingston facility. Ministers and Scottish Enterprise are in advanced discussions with the company to agree a package of support which would underpin the company’s operations in Scotland.

The Scottish Government will continue to be guided by the Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisations in deploying vaccines in the face of Omicron. In line with the JCVI’s advice, the best defence against the virus is for everyone who is eligible for a booster to come forward now, alongside following the Scottish Government’s guidance on testing, face coverings and restrictions.

Question reference: S6W-05276

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 5 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) assessment and (b) review of EPC rating regulations it will undertake to assess their suitability to deliver outcomes.

The Scottish Government’s Heat in Buildings Strategy sets out our intention to reform Energy Performance Certificates to ensure they are a suitable basis for future Energy Efficiency Regulations. In Summer 2021 we consulted on the first step of our proposed EPC reforms which focused on removing the cost element and instead using energy consumption as the headline metric. We are currently analysing feedback from this consultation and will consult on wider proposals for Energy Efficiency Regulations in Summer 2022. We are also considering what other changes are needed to EPCs to provide a robust basis for Energy Efficiency Regulations, and whether any changes are required to the 2008 regulations that established EPCs.

Question reference: S6W-05176

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 5 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with community pharmacy owners regarding improving working conditions for their staff.

The pharmacy profession and the provision of pharmaceutical services are highly regulated, overseen by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC). The GPhC's role includes upholding health and safety standards for the pharmacy workforce, as well as for patients.

The Scottish Government regularly meets with Community Pharmacy Scotland, the representative body for pharmacy owners, to discuss a range of topics including workforce issues, including health and wellbeing. This year the Scottish Government has made £12m available to support the wellbeing of the pharmacist workforce. This includes £8m from the NHS Recovery Plan to provide ongoing wellbeing support for the workforce – alongside an extra £4m to provide further support to address winter pressures.

The funding supports the 24/7 National Wellbeing Helpline, our National Wellbeing Hub, Coaching for Wellbeing and the Workforce Specialist Service, alongside tailored psychological interventions for staff, providing individualised wellbeing support focusing on people’s physical and emotional needs.

The Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for Scotland in a joint letter (8 December 2021) with the leaders from the pharmacy sector, including the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (Scotland), has written to all pharmacy teams outlining the range of wellbeing support available to pharmacy teams and encouraging them to access these resources for support when needed.

Question reference: S6W-05141

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 5 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much revenue it received in each of the last five years from the UK Government to provide services for people affected by thalidomide.

Following a successful three year pilot, in 2013 the four nations agreed to a 10 year grant to support those affected by the thalidomide drug. Over the last nine years the Scottish Government has issued a total of £11.512 million to the Thalidomide Trust, for distribution to Scottish survivors. A further £1.636 Million is projected for the final year (2022-23), bringing total funding to £13.15 million.

The Scottish Government receives annual funding from the UK Government as part of the Barnett consequentials, however no funding is specifically ‘ring fenced’ for Thalidomide.

Breakdown of Funding:

Year	Funds received (£)
2013	1,320,000
2014	1,321,000
2015	1,321,000
2016	1,374,000
2017	914,000
2018	1,259000
2019	1,268,000
2020	1,336,000
2021	1,399,000
Total	11,512,000

Question reference: S6W-05175

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 5 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to tackle the reported workforce shortages being experienced by community pharmacies.

The community pharmacy network is a vital part of the primary care team. The Scottish Government continues to work with Community Pharmacy Scotland and other partners to ensure not only the stability of the network but also that a balance is maintained across the whole pharmacy workforce in the hospital, community, and GP practice sectors.

The Chief Pharmaceutical Officer has committed to putting together a workforce forum which will meet in early 2022. The forum will look at the workforce challenges and bring together stakeholders from pharmacy education and pharmacy service provision to set a strategic workforce plan for the profession.