Chamber and committees

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-19798

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) the General Dental Council, (b) the British Dental Association and (c) UK Government counterparts regarding the waiting list of overseas qualified dentists waiting to sit the Overseas Registration Exam.

Regulatory policy officials are in regular contact with the GDC and The Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care is scheduled to meet with the regulator's Chair and Chief Executive in early September.

Officials work closely with their counterparts in the Department for Health and Social Care and I myself have recently written to UK Government Ministers, with an offer to work together to explore how we can improve the take-up of overseas applicants across the four countries of the UK.

In terms of action taken this far in addressing the backlog of applicants, this Parliament agreed on Wednesday 25 January 2023 that the Dentists, Dental Care Professionals, Nurses, Nursing Associates and Midwives (International Registrations) Order 2022 be approved, with it subsequently coming into force on 8 March 2023.

This UK Statutory Instrument gives the General Dental Council (GDC) powers to amend international routes into registration without the approval of the Privy Council, subject to consulting on proposed changes. The GDC launched such a consultation on 4 July 2023 with proposals to enable registration processes to continue to be effective for internationally qualified dental professionals in the medium term, and plans to consult again in due course on longer term arrangements.

In its immediate response to the current demand for the Overseas Registration Examination (ORE), the GDC announced on 16 May 2023 that it has worked with its providers to triple the number of places available for Part 1 of the ORE from 200 to 600, and has committed to maintaining that additional capacity into 2024.

We will continue to work closely with the GDC, UK Government and other stakeholders, to assist wherever possible in smoothing the path of international dental graduates into UK practice.

Question reference: S6W-19794

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the view in the fourth Deposit Return Scheme gateway review that “to conduct a launch with minimal performance issues, many months will be required to understand, design and then implement a complete end-end testing capacity and, this would first require a whole system governance structure that does not exist”.

Following the March 2023 gateway review we established an expanded governance framework with representation from all key stakeholders. This includes a Ministerial Strategic Assurance Group, which sits above the already established Executive Oversight Group and Sector Specific Working Groups.

I refer the member to my answer to S6W-18538 on 15 June 2023 that noted end to end testing was planned as part of CSL’s Programme Delivery activity to ensure successful completion of agreed outcomes. The testing was planned prior to the UK Government’s decision on 26 May 2023 not to agree a full exclusion, removing glass and imposing unworkable conditions on Scotland’s scheme, leaving the Scottish Government with no other option than to delay launch until October 2025 at the earliest. 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-19695

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what percentage of students graded by the SQA are being assessed based on "alternative evidence" in the academic year 2022-23, also broken down by subject.

Question reference: S6W-19806

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many GPs have been recruited by NHS (a) Highland, (b) Western Isles, (c) Orkney, (d) Shetland and (e) Grampian through the Scottish Graduate Entry Medicine (ScotGEM) programme in each year since it was established in the 2018-19 academic year.

No GP’s have been recruited from ScotGEM into NHS Highland, Western Isles, Orkney, Shetland, or Grampian as ScotGEM graduates are not yet eligible to apply for General Practice Specialty Training.

The first cohort of ScotGEM students graduated in summer 2022 after completing the four year course. All medical school graduates must then complete two years of Foundation training before they can apply for a specialty training post. The first cohort of ScotGEM students will therefore be eligible to apply for General Practice Specialty Training in 2024 following the completion of their second foundation training year.

Question reference: S6W-19692

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-18451 by Michael Matheson on 14 June 2023, whether it can confirm the number of withdrawn trainees per year, since 2018, as a percentage of the total (a) nominated and (b) allocated to Scotland.

It will always be the case that a percentage of students will withdraw from Foundation placements The information as to the reason for withdrawal is limited based on the reliance of the student to provide the detail, but could be university related - either exam fails, or students were required to repeat their final year, or withdrawal due to personal circumstances.

(a) Percentage of allocated withdrawals from the total nominated number

Year	Nominated*	Allocated** to Scotland ‎ withdrawals	% of allocated to Scotland withdrawals from the nominated number
2018	821	Not available
2019	874	Not available
2020	852	26	3.05%
2021	894	35	3.91%
2022	981	44	4.48%
2023***	936	20	2.13%

*Nominated means a student that the Scottish medical schools believe will pass finals and can be admitted to the provisional register.

**Allocated – These numbers are made up of students from any medical school whose first preference is Scotland and have the highest-ranking score (ranking scored are based on a combination of their Educational Performance Measure score and Situational Judgement Test score)

*** Withdrawal numbers in 2023 subject to change

(b) Percentage of allocated withdrawals from the total allocated number

Year	Allocated to Scotland	Allocated to Scotland ‎ withdrawals	% of withdrawn trainees from the allocated number
2018	548	Not available	-
2019	560	Not available	-
2020	575	26	4.6%
2021	557	35	6.28%
2022	630	44	6.98%
2023*	655	20	3.05%

* Withdrawal numbers in 2023 subject to change

Question reference: S6W-19559

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether any other part of the civil service made use of social media to advertise for the recruitment of paid patient panels to make recommendations on serious health conditions, and, if this is the case, what methods of verification were used, in light of reports that its Clinical Priorities Unit used paid volunteers to make recommendations on treatment pathways for chronic pain, rather than formally diagnosed representatives.

This is a matter for the relevant part of the civil service. The Scottish Government does not hold information for other parts of the civil service, for example those that serve UK Government ministers.

Regarding recruitment and verification for the Scottish Government Pain Panel, there are generally no preconditions specified, except for the requirement to acknowledge and honour an individual’s expressed willingness to contribute to a particular process based on their personal knowledge of the subject matter. The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring a range of people and organisations can contribute to collective means through a variety of ways. I also refer the member to the answer to question S6W-17660 on 19 May 2023. 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-19673

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 03 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will establish a register of public sector buildings that have been found to contain reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.

Maintaining the safety of buildings is the responsibility of building owners. Our focus remains on engagement with public sector organisations to gauge awareness and response to this issue. This will include receipt of information on the status of buildings in the public sector. A decision on whether there is a need to establish a register of buildings would be based upon the information received and subsequent input from our Ministerial Working Group on Building and Fire Safety.

Question reference: S6W-19671

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 03 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government by what date it expects (a) local authorities, (b) NHS boards and (c) other public sector bodies to (i) have identified reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete in buildings, (ii) publish risk management plans and (iii) remove it entirely.

Question reference: S6W-19679

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 03 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete in private sector buildings, including those that were initially built for the public sector, and how it will raise awareness of any problems related to its presence.

The focus of our activity remains engagement with public sector organisations to seek reassurance of both their awareness and any action identified on this issue. Maintaining the safety of buildings is the responsibility of building owners, and this includes responsibility for any assessment of the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete in private sector buildings.

Authoritative guidance on identification and assessment of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete is already published by organisations such as the Institution of Structural Engineers. We continue to engage with the UK government and such organisations to understand and support broader action being taken to raise awareness of this risk topic across all sectors.

Question reference: S6W-19779

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it plans to have with the UK Government regarding consideration of the licensing of Androfeme or similar testosterone treatments for menopause for use in Scotland.