Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-33356

Asked by: Gillian Mackay, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 January 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 30 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-15841 by Humza Yousaf on 24 March 2023, whether it has received feedback on the impact of the provision of hot food appliances for use by resident doctors in hospitals since 2023, and, if not, whether it will commission each NHS board to gather this information and to report on it by April 2025.

Question reference: S6W-33353

Asked by: Gillian Mackay, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 January 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 30 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of the health budget in the 2025-26 financial year will be allocated to the provision of healthy foods, out-of-hours catering and rest spaces for doctors working in hospitals, and what practical steps it will take with NHS boards to ensure the daily operation of such facilities.

Question reference: S6W-33357

Asked by: Gillian Mackay, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 January 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 30 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-15841 by Humza Yousaf on 24 March 2023, what feedback it has received from doctors using the EnergyPods at the Victoria Hospital since March 2023, and what additional steps it is taking with NHS boards in their workplaces to support the wellbeing of doctors while on shift.

Question reference: S6W-33355

Asked by: Gillian Mackay, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 January 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 30 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-15841 by Humza Yousaf on 24 March 2023, how many hot food appliances have been provided for resident doctors in hospitals since March 2023, and what feedback it has received from NHS boards regarding their effectiveness in improving staff wellbeing.

Question reference: S6W-32197

Asked by: Gillian Mackay, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 23 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much it spent on policy implementation for (a) cancer, (b) stroke, (c) heart disease, (d) diabetes, (e) dementia and (f) respiratory care, in each year since 2021.

As policy implementation and delivery is carried out primarily within health boards, the total budget figures for policy implementation are not centrally held.

The Scottish Government’s published budgets for the last five years, including details of planned spending, are available online.

Scottish Budget: 2024 to 2025 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Scottish Budget: 2023 to 2024 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Scottish Budget 2022 to 2023 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Scottish Budget 2021 to 2022 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Scottish Budget 2020-2021 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Question reference: S6W-32196

Asked by: Gillian Mackay, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 23 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many full-time equivalent civil servants currently work within its (a) cancer policy unit, (b) long-term conditions policy unit, broken down by condition, and (c) long-term conditions strategy unit.

The number of full-time equivalent civil servants is broken down by policy area and condition as follows:

Policy Area	Health Condition	Full-time equivalent (FTE) civil servants
Cancer and Rehabilitation Policy Unit	Cancer	8.74 WTE
Long-Term Conditions Policy Unit	Heart Disease	1.6 WTE
	Cardiac Arrest	0.9 WTE
	Stroke	2.5 WTE
	Neurological Conditions	4.73 WTE
	Diabetes and Respiratory	2.3 WTE
Long-Term Conditions Strategy Unit including Long Covid	Long-Term Conditions including Long Covid	4.0 WTE

Question reference: S6W-30463

Asked by: Gillian Mackay, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 22 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light the commitment set out in its document, Stroke Improvement Plan 2023, to set up a forum “for regular engagement between stroke services from every NHS board”, whether it will confirm whether this forum has been established and, if so, (a) on what date it first met, (b) whether it will provide the names of each person nominated by each NHS board to serve on it and (c) what progress it is making towards improving the delivery of stroke services, and how this progress is being measured.

The Stroke Engagement Forum met for the first time on 2 October 2024. The agenda included items on acute stroke care and research involvement and involved the sharing of local practices and approaches to shared challenges. The next meeting of the group will be in early 2025.

The membership of the Stroke Engagement Forum comprises stroke clinicians, stroke managers, Scottish Government officials and third sector representatives. Members are invited as a representative of their NHS Board or organisation. Members are expected to consult with their professional groups, networks and other stakeholders as appropriate. This forum is to facilitate operational improvement and the sharing of best practice. It is not a public forum and the Scottish Government will not be publishing the names of the attendees.

Stroke service delivery continues to be measured via the Scottish Stroke Care Audit and the Board reviews conducted as part of the Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme.

Question reference: S6W-29309

Asked by: Gillian Mackay, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 18 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on what level of certainty would be required that essential infrastructure would remain operational for a significant period of time in order for its protection from flooding to be considered an imperative reason of overriding importance for the purpose of the Habitats Regulations, and whether it will provide the reasons for its position on this matter.

Flood protection schemes are an effective way to improve flood resilience for the design flood, they are not an absolute guarantee that flooding will not occur. Events beyond the design flood are possible and a residual risk will always remain. It is up to individual local authorities to determine what level of protection they deem appropriate considering the impacts of climate change and wider environmental factors in the area of the flood protection works.

Operational matters are ultimately the responsibility of the infrastructure owner, including how their operations may be impacted in the event of a flood.

Where a flood protection development may have a significant impact on a European site, then under the Habitats Regulations an appropriate assessment must be carried out by the Local Authority to determine whether an impact on the integrity of the designated site is likely. Should the appropriate assessment conclude an adverse impact on integrity then the Local Authority must apply for a derogation from Scottish Ministers to allow the development to proceed. One of the three tests which must be satisfied under the Habitats Regulations before a derogation is granted is that the development is of imperative reasons of over-riding public interest.

Question reference: S6W-29308

Asked by: Gillian Mackay, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 18 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported need for rapid transition from fossil fuels, what its position is on whether the defence of petrochemical infrastructure from flooding could be considered an imperative reason of overriding public interest for the purposes of the Habitats Regulations, and whether it will provide the reasons for its position on this matter.

Individual local authorities have responsibility for the development and delivery of flood protection schemes. Every location at risk is unique and therefore the business case for improving flood resilience will reflect this.

Where a flood protection development may have a significant impact on a European site, then under the Habitats Regulations an appropriate assessment must be carried out by the Local Authority to determine whether an impact on the integrity of the designated site is likely. Should the appropriate assessment conclude an adverse impact on integrity then the Local Authority must apply for a derogation from Scottish Ministers to allow the development to proceed. One of the three tests which must be satisfied under the Habitats Regulations before a derogation is granted is that the development is of imperative reasons of over-riding public interest.

Question reference: S6W-29311

Asked by: Gillian Mackay, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 10 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how the requirements of the National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) Policy 3 pertaining to biodiversity enhancement will be integrated into the proposals for Grangemouth Flood Protection Scheme.

It is the responsibility of Local Authorities to plan, develop and deliver flood protection schemes and other flood resilience actions.

Policy 3 of the National Planning Framework requires that development proposals contribute to the enhancement of biodiversity and that any potential adverse impacts will be minimised through careful planning and design. We would expect all schemes progressed by local authorities to include appropriate measures to conserve, restore and enhance biodiversity

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