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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: S6W-21433

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 2 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress in relation to the medium-term action in the Women's Health Plan to establish a Women's Health Lead in every NHS board, including the number of Women's Health Leads that are currently in place and where, and whether the "funding and resource restraints" that were identified in relation to these positions in the minutes of the Women's Health Plan Implementation Programme Board's meeting on 2 November 2022 have been resolved.

The recent Women’s Health Plan: Interim Progress Update 2023 produced for the Women’s Health Plan Implementation Programme Board and the quarterly blog by the Women’s Health Champion sets out progress made since the Report on Progress , which was published in January 2023.

There is now a Women’s Health Lead in nearly every NHS Board. It is for NHS Boards to determine the local role of their Women’s Health Leads according to local need and priority and with reference to the aims set out in the Women’s Health Plan .

The Women’s Health Plan Implementation Programme Board will next meet on 15 November 2023, at which the minutes from the previous meeting will be agreed and subsequently published online.

Question reference: S6W-21448

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 18 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 2 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to alleviate any increasing pressures on hospices across Scotland.

The Scottish Government is aware of the pressure that hospices are under. I am meeting with hospices and hospice leaders to better understand the challenges they face and my officials are exploring how the Scottish Government can support Health and Social Care Partnerships with local planning and commissioning of independent hospice care in their areas. I am hosting a roundtable that will bring all relevant parties and representatives together to consider the challenges and potential solutions in the round.

The Scottish Government will continue to press the UK Government to support organisations struggling with energy bills, and will specifically raise the issue of additional measures to protect hospices.

Question reference: S6W-21402

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 18 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 2 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many transition plans for young disabled people have been issued in each of the 10 local authorities that are involved in the Principles into Practice pilots, in each of the last 10 years.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of transition plans that local authorities have in place for children and young people as this is a matter for individual authorities.

Under the Additional Support for Learning Act 2004, when a young person is expected to leave school the education authority has a duty to request and share information within specific timeframes to help support their transition. Local authorities are responsible for meeting their duties under the legislation and there are a range of planning mechanisms used by local authorities to meet children and young people’s needs.

Question reference: S6W-21446

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 18 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 2 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason its proposed new national strategy for palliative and end of life care was not referenced in its 2023-24 Programme for Government.

The Programme for Government commitment 2021 – 2022 to developing a new Palliative and End of Life Care Strategy is ongoing. We have established the leadership, partnerships and structures to develop and deliver a new strategy, and we have undertaken extensive evidence gathering to establish a robust evidence base, including current and projected data on palliative care needs, surveys of services and support across governance and delivery partners, and understanding user experience and priorities.

Question reference: S6W-21425

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 18 September 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 2 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-20844 by Paul McLennan on 13 September 2023, how many of the applications that were received and approved (a) prior to and (b) since the announcement on 19 July 2023 were for (i) one-bed, (ii) two-bed, (iii) three-bed, (iv) four-bed and (v) five-bed or more homes.

Question reference: S6W-21631

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 25 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 2 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many public sector grants have been awarded since 1 July 2023 without requiring recipients to provide appropriate channels for effective worker voice, broken down by the value of each grant.

Question reference: S6W-21593

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 2 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to redevelop the site of HMP Shotts.

The Scottish Government remains committed to modernising and improving the prison estate, to ensure it is fit for purpose for those that live and work in prisons and supports the rehabilitation of people living there.

Our current infrastructure priorities are the replacements for HMP Barlinnie and HMP Inverness.

Neither the Scottish Government or the Scottish Prison Service have current plans to redevelop the site of HMP Shotts.

Question reference: S6W-21604

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 2 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the implementation of the recommendations of the Pathways: A New Approach for Women in Entrepreneurship report, including, as stated in its response to the report, progress on the (a) allocation of "funding to support the report's key recommendations" and (b) development of "proposals for the report's core recommendations on pre-start centres and pop-up business supports".

The Scottish Government is committed to implementing the recommendations of the Pathways report.

In this financial year we have:

Continued to provide funding to Women’s Enterprise Scotland, Investing Women and Business Women Scotland to allow existing programmes to continue ahead of a shift to competitive funding in future years;
Renewed funding to Scotland’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, with a further round of the Scottish Ecosystem Fund, widened to offer support to projects that address the Pathways review’s key themes; and
As the first phase of work to develop Pre-Start and Pop-Up business supports we have launched the £1.5 million Pathways Pre-Start Fund allocating funding to projects that offer pre-start support and advice to individuals or groups, with emphasis on widening access to primary carers and under-represented groups.

The Scottish Government will work with our agencies and delivery partners to further develop proposals for the report’s core recommendations on pre-start centres and pop-up business supports, incorporating the knowledge gained from the Ecosystem and Pathways Pre-Start funds with the intention to allow broader services to commence in 2024.

Question reference: S6W-21558

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 2 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what good practice guidance exists for health care professionals regarding fibromyalgia.

Question reference: S6W-21559

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 2 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many people are currently living with (a) myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), (b) fibromyalgia and (c) long COVID/post-exertional malaise.

a) Neurological Conditions: estimating the prevalence in Scotland of selected conditions using GP and Hospital Admissions datasets , a Scottish Government experimental statistics report published in December 2022, contains estimated prevalence of selected neurological conditions in Scotland, including ME/CFS.

b) We do not hold data on the prevalence of people living with fibromyalgia in Scotland.

c) Until March 2023, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported monthly on responses to long COVID questions in the COVID-19 Infection Survey (CIS) . This reporting provided prevalence estimates of self-reported long COVID by duration and associated activity limitations, with data available at Scotland level.