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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: S6O-01210

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 June 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, with regard to the recruitment of consultant oncologists in NHS Tayside, how many candidates have proceeded to interview stage to date and from which countries.

Question reference: S6O-01206

Asked by: Kaukab Stewart, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 June 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Diversity in the Teaching Profession Scotland Annual Data Report, published in May, which states that there is a continued chronic and disproportionate lack of minority ethnic teachers in Scotland’s schools.

Question reference: S6O-01211

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 June 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to a report by Step Change Debt Charity Scotland, which highlighted that clients' average arrears on essential bills had increased by £659 to £2,961.

Question reference: S6O-01209

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 June 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that Scotland’s education system is properly aligned with the future workforce requirements of the emerging green economy.

Question reference: S6O-01208

Asked by: Fiona Hyslop, MSP for Linlithgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 June 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the implications of its Resource Spending Review are for the roll-out of Social Security Scotland's planned programme of benefits.

Question reference: S6O-01181

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 1 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures community representation is maintained on Marine Planning Partnerships.

To date, Scottish Ministers have delegated regional marine planning powers to three Marine Planning Partnerships, which are required by the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 to include in their governance arrangements representatives with an interest in; the protection and enhancement of the region, its use for recreation and its use for commercial purposes.

The Scottish Government will shortly publish its response to the inquiry of the Scottish Parliament’s former Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee into the development and implementation of regional marine plans in Scotland. This response will include recommendations to support partnerships to identify opportunities to improve community representation in regional marine planning and marine licensing decisions.

Question reference: S6W-08994

Asked by: Gordon MacDonald, MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 May 2022
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 1 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its rail decarbonisation programme and the rolling programme of rail electrification schemes.

The first phase of a rail decarbonisation scheme to electrify the Fife route (Haymarket to Dalmeny section), is moving to construction.

Work on this estimated £55 million scheme will begin in June 2022 with the section between Haymarket and Dalmeny. It is due for completion by December 2024.

This scheme forms part of a rolling programme that is expected to see electrification extended to Dundee and Aberdeen.

Beyond this, further development work on the business cases for decarbonising the Borders Line has been approved to progress to the next design phase for partial electrification of the route using battery electric multiple units.

This continues the Scottish Government’s rolling programme of railway electrification, with work already in delivery on the East Kilbride and Barrhead routes.

Approval has also been given for a procurement competition to identify a preferred manufacturer and financier for new trains to operate decarbonised rail passenger services on the Fife and Borders routes .

Question reference: S6W-08594

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 1 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recommendation in the Independent Report from the National Partnership for Culture, published in March 2022, that a dedicated cultural referral system, which relates to the cultural funding stream, should be included in the health portfolio.

As referred to in response to S6W-08593 on 1 July 2022, we were pleased to receive the report and recommendations from the National Partnership for Culture, and recognise that the broad themes in the report align with our priorities across Scottish Government. Scottish Government officials are working together across the Health and Culture portfolios to review the Health and Wellbeing recommendations. Our response to the National Partnership for Culture recommendations will be published shortly.

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

Question reference: S6W-08631

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 May 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 1 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that clinicians are acting in accordance with the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges’ recently-released clinical guidance on sepsis, in light of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) reportedly having also agreed to update its guidance on sepsis.

Sepsis improvement is a well-established part of Healthcare Improvement Scotland’s (HIS) Scottish Patient Safety Programme (SPSP). The SPSP launched a revised deteriorating patient driver diagram and change package in 2021 which includes sepsis as a core part of recognising and responding to deterioration.

On 27 May 2022, the SPSP issued a statement regarding the Society of Critical Medical Care’s Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SSC) and the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AoMRC) Statement on the initial antimicrobial treatment of sepsis. The statement outlines the SPSP’s revised approach to the identification and management of adults with sepsis.

Furthermore the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) are currently reviewing SIGN Guideline 139 – Care of Deteriorating Patients to include an updated section on sepsis.

Clinical guideline implementation is the responsibility of NHS Boards. The ultimate decision about a particular clinical procedure or treatment will always depend on each individual patient’s condition, circumstances and wishes and the clinical judgement of the healthcare team.

Question reference: S6W-08565

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 1 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-05476 by Humza Yousaf on 25 January 2022, which stated that 92 children had been contacted by NHS Lothian and identified as requiring possible retesting, how many (a) more families have been directly contacted by NHS Lothian and offered a retest by 1 May 2022, (b) children who were contacted by NHS Lothian by 1 May 2022 and offered a retest by NHS Lothian have now had that retest and (c) children who were retested by NHS Lothian by 1 May 2022 were found after retesting to have a hearing impairment.

Following my response in January I can provide more detail around the issues pertaining to paediatric audiology in NHS Lothian. I am providing one response that covers all three questions.

The British Academy of Audiology (BAA) reports have been widely distributed amongst professionals, including all GP practices in NHS Lothian, ENT surgeons, community child health doctors, and speech and language therapists. NHS Lothian has had extensive communication with a range of partners including teaching staff and the Director of Education. As part of this process, those working with children who had any concerns about a child's hearing were encouraged to contact the Audiology department directly or to refer the child through the normal route.

The frequently asked questions, which was developed, has also been shared with specialised teams in education in the four local authority areas across NSH Lothian. My officials are also engaging with local authority heads of service for deaf education and NHS Lothian to address any additional concerns regarding support and education planning for families.

So far, 124 families have been contacted directly by NHS Lothian and offered a retest; 39 children have now had their retest with a further 11 with an appointment to date. From the 39 retested, 10 children have been found to have a new hearing impairment.

Officials continue to work closely with NHS Lothian regarding paediatric audiology, including communications. As highlighted, information has been widely circulated amongst professional staff groups working directly with children and their families, with clear mechanisms for children to be referred to the audiology department where there are concerns about their hearing. Indeed, NHS Lothian established a telephone line in December last year and this continues to be operational to make it easy for families to make direct contact with the Board about any audiology concerns, the board is also working closely with the National Deaf Children Society.