- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 April 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 27 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the National Islands Plan Annual Report 2022, whether it can provide a (a) list of projects that have successfully applied to the Islands Heritage and Culture Project and (b) breakdown of how much funding has been allocated to each project.
Answer
To support delivery of the National Islands Plan, through the Islands Heritage and Culture Project the Scottish Government has supported the delivery of the following six projects:
- The Orkney Digitisation Project, delivered by Orkney Islands Council;
- The Angus Og Project, delivered by the Highland Archive Service and High Life Highland;
- The Shetland Culture and Heritage Hub, delivered by Shetland Amenity Trust;
- Outer Hebrides Heritage Trails, delivered by Comhairle nan Eilean Siar;
- The Aspiring UNESCO Global Geopark, delivered by Arran Geopark; and
- Opportunities for the Argyll Islands and Increased Visitor Footfall, Culture, Heritage and Arts Assembly
Each project received a grant allocation of £40,000 with the exception of the Orkney based project, which had a slight overspend, taking their allocation to £42,000.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 17 April 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 27 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-15794 by Patrick Harvie on 22 March 2023, what information it holds on the number of SafeDeposits Scotland customers who were impacted by the “teething issues” with the new system.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of SafeDeposits Scotland customers who were impacted by the implementation of the new system.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 April 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 27 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to reduce the number of disposable nappies that are sent to landfill.
Answer
To encourage families to consider the use of reusable alternatives to disposable nappies, a Nappy Voucher is included within the Baby Box which can be used to redeem 1 waterproof nappy wrap, with 5 stay dry nappy pads.
The Nappy Voucher also signposts families to our ParentClub website which highlights the benefits of using reusable nappies as well as signposting families on where to seek advice and support with using them. Ready Steady Baby , which is given out at antenatal appointments, also highlights the benefits of reusable nappies.
The total amount of waste going to landfill in Scotland has dropped by nearly a third over the past decade. We are working to accelerate progress which includes introducing a ban on landfilling of biodegradable municipal waste. Additionally, we are supporting local authorities in improving recycling infrastructure through our Recycling Improvement Fund. This fund provides scope for local authorities to improve collection of problematic materials.
- Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 March 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
-
Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 27 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many patients have been removed from NHS waiting lists without receiving treatment since 1 January 2022.
Answer
Between 1 January and 31 December 2022, 360,525 new outpatients were removed from NHS waiting lists, for reasons ‘referred back to GP’, ‘transferred’, ‘treatment no longer required’, and ‘other reasons’. Similarly, for inpatients and day cases, 53,585 patients were removed for these reasons. Please see Table 1 for a description of the reasons for removal.
Table 1. Removal reasons for reasons other than ‘patient seen’ and their associated description.
Removal Reason | Description |
Referred back to GP | Under Waiting Times guidance, patients can be referred back to their GP for a number of reasons. These include cancelling two previously accepted appointments; failing to attend an appointment without giving notice; failing to respond to an offer of appointment; refusing reasonable offers of appointments; continuing medical or patient advised unavailability; or because the referral to hospital was inappropriate. |
Transferred | These are patients whose management has been transferred from one waiting list to another. This can mean a change of specialty, location, or health board. Unless these patients have been transferred outwith NHS Scotland, they should also appear as an addition to the new waiting list and a subsequent removal where appropriate. |
Treatment no longer required | This is the number of patients who have been removed from the waiting list because they no longer require treatment. |
Other reasons | Other reasons for removal from list comprise of 'Died' and 'inappropriate addition to list'. |
Please note that although we refer to the number of 'patients' waiting, individuals may be counted more than once if they are waiting to attend more than one clinic as a new outpatient or more than one treatment as an inpatient or day case, or a combination of outpatient and inpatient or day case care.
- Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 March 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 27 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what measures are being considered to provide additional support to higher education institutions to prevent their modern languages departments from being reduced or closed.
Answer
Scotland has universities that are not only world leaders in education and research but also key drivers of the Scottish economy and we recognise as part of that modern language provision plays an important role
Scottish universities are autonomous institutions and as such the Scottish Government does not intervene in internal institutional matters. With the exception of controlled subjects, the Scottish Government does not direct individual universities on the number of funded places made available for eligible Scottish and EU domicile students. Universities are allocated a finite amount of money. It is then for the universities themselves to decide: how to distribute these places between faculties; the courses they offer; and how many of the total funded places will be available on each course. When looking at modern language provision it is important to recognise that the university sector is not homogeneous, with different institutions providing different types of courses addressing different learner needs.
The 2023-24 Budget allocated nearly £2 billion to Scotland’s universities and colleges through the Scottish Funding Council, demonstrating our commitment to supporting our learners and institutions.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 March 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Elena Whitham on 27 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is considering including alcohol-free drinks in its proposals to restrict alcohol advertising.
Answer
Our recent consultation on restricting alcohol advertising and promotion set out a range of potential options to restrict alcohol advertising and promotion. This included a question on whether low or no alcohol products should fall within the scope of any restrictions, where these products feature similar branding as stronger alcoholic drinks.
The consultation closed on 9 March. An independent contractor will comprehensively analyse the responses and a report will be published later this year. We will then further consider possible restrictions.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 April 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 27 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many women are currently living with endometriosis in the NHS Ayrshire and Arran area.
Answer
This is a matter for NHS Ayrshire and Arran. The information requested is not held centrally.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 April 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 27 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is giving consideration to establishing an endometriosis specialist treatment unit in Ayrshire.
Answer
The role of specialist endometriosis centres in Scotland is to provide coordinated, multidisciplinary treatment to individuals with complex symptoms of endometriosis and to those requiring complex surgery. Most individuals with endometriosis can be treated by a gynaecologist with training of endometriosis within secondary care.
From 2014-2016 a specialist working group of expert clinicians and representatives from patient groups and Endometriosis UK was established to consider how service provision for endometriosis might be improved. The group recommended the optimal approach for effective treatment of people in Scotland with complex endometriosis was three specialist endometriosis centres. The three centres are in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow and are operational.
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 17 April 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 27 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support people aged 71 to 74 who have reportedly been unable to get a breast screening appointment through the self-referral scheme, both pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic.
Answer
Under the phased restart of self-referrals, women aged 71-74, and those over 75 with a history of breast cancer, are currently eligible to self-refer for a screening appointment. Where the eligibility criteria is met, a breast screening appointment should be offered within nine months of registration for self-referral. All screening centres across Scotland have taken steps to ensure their teams are aware of the eligibility criteria.
The Scottish Government is not aware of any reports of women unable to register for a self-referral appointment if they meet the eligibility criteria. We would encourage any women who have been unable to obtain an appointment to contact their local screening centre. The latest information on self-referrals and contact details for local centres can be found at Breast screening in Scotland | NHS inform .
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 17 April 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 27 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has, in the last two years, been made aware of any changes to SafeDeposits Scotland’s scheme rules, and, if so, what these changes were, and (a) when and (b) for what reason any such changes were made.
Answer
A review of the tenancy deposit schemes was undertaken at the end of 2018. It was clear from the findings that the current regulations continued to provide a robust regulatory and operational framework.
Following the review a number of revisions to the operating procedures were made under The Tenancy Deposit Schemes (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2019 . The schemes submitted revised procedures in October 2019 and were reapproved in November 2019.
There have been no further significant changes to the revised scheme or original proposal referred to the Scottish Government for approval. Any considered changes would be discussed as part of routine monitoring discussions.
