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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-23074

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 4 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills has received a request under rule 9 of the Inquiry Rules 2006 for evidence regarding any WhatsApp messages and informal communications with cabinet secretaries, ministers, senior civil servants or advisers, on Scottish Government-issued or personal devices, in relation to matters for which she had responsibility in her former role as Minister for Transport between January and February 2022.

Question reference: S6W-22958

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 4 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when its Covid Inquiries Response Directorate was established and which (a) minister and (b) directorate it reports to.

The Scottish Government first established the Covid Inquiries Information Governance Division in July 2021 to support the Scottish Government in promptly responding to requests for information from the both the UK and Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry.

The division then became the Covid Inquires Response Directorate in February 2022 and is part of Director General Corporate. I have portfolio responsibility for the Covid Inquiries response.

Question reference: S6W-23040

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 4 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-22201 by Jenny Gilruth on 14 November 2023, when it expects to report on whether it or local authorities will meet the cost to "update when necessary" the laptops, Chromebooks and tablets that are given to school children in Scotland, and at what cost, in light of reports that this work has been underway since at least February 2022.

Question reference: S6W-23096

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 20 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 4 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider introducing national guidelines for the reimbursement of the additional energy costs for those on home dialysis, taking into consideration Kidney Care UK’s recommendations in its publication, Home Dialysis Energy Reimbursement in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-23107

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 4 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether all funding that it has allocated to NHS boards to assist with increasing the provision of diabetes technologies (a) has been spent or (b) will be spent on diabetes technology hardware.

The role of the Scottish Government is to provide frameworks, policies, and resources to enable Scotland’s NHS Boards to deliver healthcare services. It is for NHS Boards to determine how they utilise the funding provided by the Scottish Government to meet the needs of their local populations.

It is important to note that the £19.6m funding for diabetes technology was in addition to, and not a replacement for, local budgets. We also provide baseline funding to NHS Boards and expect them to continue to fund provision locally to meet patients’ needs.

Question reference: S6W-23060

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Monday, 20 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 4 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on whether funding for the hepatocellular carcinoma and pancreatic pathway pilot project will be extended for 12 months to March 2025, in order to overcome reported initial delays in the roll-out and to provide a mature source of data and patient experience to demonstrate how liver and pancreatic pathways can be improved.

The Scottish Government awarded the Scottish HepatoPancreatoBiliary Network funding of £653,000 over two years to redesign the pancreatic and liver cancer pathways.

This pilot is the first of its kind across the UK. It aims to provide a nationally more efficient, standardised patient-centred pathway for people with pancreatic and liver cancers, with earlier diagnosis, referral and management decisions following a Realistic Medicine approach.

The funding comes to an end in March 2024 and an evaluation of the pilot’s achievements against these aims will be completed to inform decisions about future funding.

In the meantime, work continues to establish Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Services (RCDS) across NHS Scotland – interim evaluation shows that hepato-pancreato-biliary cancer is one of the most common cancers being diagnosed through the new fast-track diagnostic pathways. There are currently five RCDSs in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-23105

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 4 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what share of the £19.6 million funding for the increased provision of diabetes technologies was received by each NHS board.

The £19.6 million of additional funding for diabetes technology consisted of £5.1 million in 2020-21 and £14.5 million in 2021-22. It was allocated based on the percentage of patients with Type 1 diabetes within each given NHS Board area relative to the Scottish population. This data was taken from the Scottish Diabetes Survey 2020, which can be found here: https://www.diabetesinscotland.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Diabetes-Scottish-Diabetes-Survey-2020.pdf .

The £5.1 million of additional funding in 2020-21 was allocated as per the breakdown below:

Health Board	Total funding
NHS Ayrshire & Arran	£308,700
NHS Borders	£91,325
NHS Dumfries & Galloway	£123,625
NHS Fife	£293,550
NHS Forth Valley	£252,725
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde	£872,025
NHS Grampian	£461,050
NHS Highland	£279,975
NHS Lanarkshire	£581,100
NHS Lothian	£663,275
NHS Orkney	£17,150
NHS Shetland	£19,675
NHS Tayside	£298,600
NHS Western Isles	£24,725
Total excl VAT	£4,287,500
Total incl VAT	£5,145,000

The £14.5 million of additional funding in 2021-22 was allocated as per breakdown below:

Health Board	Total funding
NHS Ayrshire & Arran	£824,253
NHS Borders	£269,404
NHS Dumfries & Galloway	£371,118
NHS Fife	£832,513
NHS Forth Valley	£719,165
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde	£2,478,769
NHS Grampian	£1,327,914
NHS Highland	£808,477
NHS Lanarkshire	£1,669,927
NHS Lothian	£1,886,890
NHS Orkney	£46,940
NHS Shetland	£49,008
NHS Tayside	£849,048
NHS Western Isles	£66,577
Total excl VAT	£12,200,000
Total incl. VAT	£14,640,000

Question reference: S6W-23101

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 4 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the minutes of any meetings of the Ministerial Oversight Group on Homelessness.

Question reference: S6W-23131

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 20 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 4 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to prioritise the needs of patients living with a stoma or awaiting stoma surgery.

The Scottish Government has recently concluded an information gathering exercise on the provision of stoma care and stoma specialist nurse coverage across Scotland's 14 territorial health boards. The results of this exercise will be presented to the Scottish Executive Nurse Directors (SEND) to identify any shortfalls and inconsistencies in the level of care provided across the country and the actions that may be needed to address them.

Question reference: S6W-23078

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Monday, 20 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 4 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to its Sperm and Egg Donation Campaign, whether it has considered from which social and economic backgrounds the women who donate their eggs will be drawn.