- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2023
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Current Status:
Holding Answer by Shona Robison on 9 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many cladded buildings are being assessed under Pathway (a) 1 and (b) 2 of the Single Building Assessment; how many have transferred from Pathway 1 to Pathway 2, and how many of these assessments (i) are (A) in procurement, (B) in progress, (C) in quality assurance and (D) complete, and (ii) have been shared with building owners.
Answer
Holding Answer by Shona Robison on 9 March 2023
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 9 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to legalise the use of water cremation or alkaline hydrolysis.
Answer
The Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Act 2016 allows for new methods of body disposal and we intend to regulate alkaline hydrolysis (also known as water cremation) for use in Scotland. However, all types of body disposal must be equally safe and dignified. We must move forward in a way that ensures the protection of the environment and the public, maintaining their confidence in the process.
It’s therefore important that regulation of water cremation is subject to a similar regulatory framework as other methods before being introduced. This must also interact with the requirements of environmental regulation and national and local planning policy.
We will soon be publishing a full public consultation as part of this process and we will also continue to work closely with the funeral sector to support its delivery of high-quality services to bereaved families.
- Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 9 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many case officers are currently employed by Food Standards Scotland, and what qualifications they require.
Answer
The Incidents branch sits within the Scottish Food Crime and Incidents Unit in Food Standards Scotland under the direction of the divisional head. The head of Incidents has a team of six incidents officers, each with varying levels of experience. There are no formal requirements for additional skills above those essential for SG employees and most of the training is provided once within the unit. All officers are trained in ‘decision making’ along with other role specific training.
These officers gather the information provided by experts within Food Standards Scotland with regards to scientific risk assessment and risk management options to advise, guide and assist the local authorities who are the competent authority on the ground.
- Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 9 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde following the publication of the Primary Care Out of Hours Workforce Survey 2022 by Public Health Scotland on 14 February 2023, which found that the NHS board has reported a 27% decrease in the number of GPs working in out-of-hours services since 2019.
Answer
The Scottish Government has continuous contact with Health Boards and has recently engaged with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde on the provision of their Out of Hours services.
Despite the system wide pressures, NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde continue to deliver a primary care out of hours service for the provision of urgent care when GP Practices are closed. Although the figures published on 14 February 2023 report a decline in the number of GPs working in the service it is important to note that this service is now provided using a multi-disciplinary model which includes nurses, advanced nurse practitioners and paramedics.
Additionally, NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde has advised that in the past 6 months they have successfully recruited 15 salaried doctors to the Out Of Hours service. The Board has provided assurance that this will increase the level of stability going forward.
- Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 9 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what recent briefings ministers have received regarding listeria in the food chain in Scotland, and whether any strains of listeria have been identified as being of particular concern.
Answer
I have received three ministerial notes since April 2022 in relation to an ongoing incident of listeria in the food chain. These were dated 1 April 2022, 11 August 2022 and 16 December 2022. Reference is made to a specific strain of listeria which is highly unusual, highly distinguishable and highly pathogenic, particularly for vulnerable groups in comparison to other strains in the notes dated 16 December 2022. To date sixteen human cases have tested positive and there have been three cases across the UK where Listeria infection is linked to the cause of death and all are linked to a particular strain confirmed by whole genome sequencing.
- Asked by: Karen Adam, MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 9 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its response to the UK Government's use of an order under section 35 of the Scotland Act 1998 to prevent the Scottish Parliament’s Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill from proceeding to Royal Assent.
Answer
The Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill was passed by an overwhelming majority of the Scottish Parliament, with support from members of all parties. The UK Government's use of section 35 of the Scotland Act 1998 to prevent the Bill proceeding to Royal Assent represents an unprecedented challenge to the Scottish Parliament's ability to legislate on devolved matters.
The Scottish Government has provided detailed responses to questions from the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee in a letter of 5 February, is now considering the reasons given by the UK Government for its use of the section 35 power, and will update Parliament on next steps in due course.
We note the Committee has expressed disappointment that the Secretary of State for Scotland made little attempt to answer directly any of the questions it raised.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 9 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the number of people from a BAME background accessing patient clinical trials.
Answer
The Scottish Government’s Chief Scientist Office (CSO) along with partners in the UK Clinical Research Recovery, Resilience and Growth programme considers it important that clinical trial populations reflect the populations that could benefit from the treatments as closely as possible. For this reason, a theme of this programme is the widening of opportunities for people to participate in clinical research. CSO is working with partners on the UK-wide Be Part of Research initiative and invests in the Scottish Health Research Register and Biobank (SHARE) with this aim. CSO is also funding a research project looking at ways to support ethnic diversity in clinical trials populations.
- Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 9 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Primary Care Out of Hours Workforce Survey 2022, published by Public Health Scotland on 14 February 2023, which found that most NHS boards have reported decreases in the number of GPs working in out-of-hours services since 2019.
Answer
Despite the system wide pressures, health boards continue to deliver a primary care out of hours service for the provision of urgent care when GP Practices are closed. Although the 2022 OOH workforce survey showed a decrease of around 97 whole time equivalent GP’s working in the service, it should be noted that the data collection was incomplete with not all Health Boards providing full returns so this figure should be approached with caution as it is not directly comparable with data from previous surveys.
It is also important to note the increased number of other professions which reflects that this service is now provided using a multi-disciplinary model which includes nurses, advanced nurse practitioners and paramedics.
- Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Ben Macpherson on 9 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve awareness of the Scottish Welfare Fund’s Crisis Grants and Community Care Grants among pensioner households.
Answer
The Statutory Guidance for the Scottish Welfare Fund sets out the responsibilities for Local Authorities in their administration of the Fund, including promotion and raising awareness across all potentially eligible individuals. This includes providing information on the Fund and making clear guidance available on how to apply for a grant. Local Authorities are also required to ensure that other services which have contact with people in crisis have up to date information about the Fund, including promotional posters and leaflets.
As recently indicated by the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government in correspondence to the Committee for Social Justice and Social Security, the Independent Review of the Scottish Welfare Fund is due to publish soon and will inform next steps across a range of areas, including accessibility and promotion.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 9 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to introduce screening for metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) in children.
Answer
The Scottish Government, along with the other UK nations, takes advice on whether or not to introduce any new screening programmes from the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), an independent expert advisory group.
The UK NSC conducts an Annual Call for Topics, which allows members of the public and stakeholders to submit new potential screening programmes for the Committee to consider and assess against internationally recognised criteria. In the 2021/22 Call, Metachromatic leukodystrophy was submitted and accepted for review.
It is not yet possible to say when this review will be complete, but we continue to monitor the situation closely. Should the UK NSC recommend screening following this review, the National Screening Oversight (NSO) and Scottish Screening Committee (SSC) will then consider the best course of implementation for Scotland.
