- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 14 November 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 25 November 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether all parts of the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde area have access to a home ear syringing service, and, if not, which parts of the NHS board area do not currently have access to this service.
Answer
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) does not recommend manual ear syringing.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 22 November 2024
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Current Status:
Answer expected on 9 December 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with the (a) Metro Mayor of (i) Greater Manchester and (ii) the West Midlands and (b) Secretary of State for Transport regarding the potential revival of the HS2 Phase 2 development and how this could be extended further up the West Coast Main Line to Glasgow.
Answer
Answer expected on 9 December 2024
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 08 November 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 21 November 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is on track to meet its commitment to (a) increase frontline health spending by at least £2.5 billion, (b) increase primary care spending by 25%, (c) increase mental health investment by 25% and (d) invest £250 million on dealing with the drug deaths emergency over the course of the current parliamentary session.
Answer
Against a challenging economic and financial context, the Scottish Government continues to increase funding for health and social care services.
Providing over £1.9 billion additional investment in frontline health spend since 2021-22 - ahead of trajectory to meet the £2.5 billion target by 2026-27.
Supporting a 20% increase in Primary Care investment over the same time frame – ensuring we remain on track to deliver our commitment to reach 25% by 2026-27.
Mental health remains a priority, with overall increases in spend and total investment now standing at over £1.3 billion across the Scottish Government and NHS Boards - enabling record numbers of staff in providing more varied support and services to a larger number of people than ever before.
We remain committed to making an additional £250 million available for the National Mission on Drugs over the course of the parliament, and we will continue to publish a financial breakdown in the National Mission Annual Reports.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 08 November 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 19 November 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of frontline health spending is spent on child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), and whether if it is on track to meet its commitment of allocating 1% to this.
Answer
Latest available data published in February 2024 by Public Health Scotland in the Scottish Health Service Costs book confirmed that NHS expenditure on child and adolescent mental health rose from £97.9 million in 2021-22 to £114.8 million in 2022-23, an increase of £16.9 million or 17% - representing 0.75% of total NHS expenditure.
We continue to work with NHS Boards and Integration Joint Boards towards delivery of the commitment that at least 1% of their frontline health spending will be dedicated to child and adolescent mental health by the end of this parliamentary session.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 08 November 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 19 November 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of frontline health spending is allocated to mental health, and whether it is on track to meet its commitment of allocating 10% to this.
Answer
Latest available data published in February 2024 by Public Health Scotland in the Scottish Health Service Costs book confirmed that NHS expenditure on mental health rose from £1.282 billion in 2021-22 to £1.307 billion in 2022-23, an increase of £25.1 million or 2% - representing 8.53% of total NHS expenditure.
We continue to work with NHS Boards and Integration Joint Boards towards delivery of the commitment that at least 10% of their frontline health spending will be dedicated to mental health by the end of this parliamentary session.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 08 November 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 19 November 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it remains committed to recruiting 1,000 community mental health workers by 2026.
Answer
As a result of the difficult decisions which had to be taken through the Emergency Budget review, recruitment of the 1,000 additional roles to support community mental health resilience, ensuring every GP Practice has access to a mental health and wellbeing service has not yet commenced. We have already prioritised significant investment to build mental health capacity in primary care through Action 15 of the Mental Health Strategy 2017-2027 and the Primary Care Improvement Fund.
We remain committed to delivering increased mental health and wellbeing capacity in primary care and the Mental Health and Wellbeing Delivery Plan sets out a range of actions to achieve the ambition in the Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy to drive a shift in the balance of care across mental health to ensure a focus on prevention and early intervention in the community, including a focus on providing high quality mental health care within General Practice.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 November 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 15 November 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will request that Police Scotland reactivates the disused Gatso speed camera at Cumbernauld Road in Riddrie, Glasgow.
Answer
Across Scotland, safety cameras are deployed through the Scottish Safety Camera Programme primarily where they have the greatest potential to reduce injury collisions and where there is evidence of both collisions and speeding. This is in accordance with criteria contained in the Scottish Safety Camera Programme Handbook. This can be viewed at: https://www.transport.gov.scot/publication/scottish-safety-camera-programme-handbook/.
An annual site prioritisation process is undertaken each year to determine new safety camera sites across our road network and to maximise the casualty reduction potential of the Programme. This national exercise acts to ensure the right camera technology is in the right place at the right time. It involves a range of partners including the three regional safety camera units, all thirty-three road authorities and Police Scotland, and acts to identify potential new camera sites which meet the minimum criteria, while at the same time assessing the performance of existing enforcement strategies.
In 2019, the site at Cumbernauld Road, Riddrie was assessed to have good speed compliance and no evidence of injury collisions with speed as a causation. A decision was taken to make this site dormant through the process set out within the Handbook. This process allows for a thorough assessment of improvements in driver behaviour over a 3 year period. In 2022, a further assessment confirmed that there had been a sustained improvement in driver behaviours during the three year dormancy period and the decision was taken to remove the site from prioritised enforcement.
As part of the annual site selection process, if this location was identified again as meeting minimum site selection criteria to redeploy, this site would be considered for reinstatement.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 04 November 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 15 November 2024
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the replacement barriers installed on the parapets and ramps of the M8 at Charing Cross (a) are reportedly approximately twice the height of the ones that they are replacing and (b) have reportedly been finished in bare galvanised steel rather than a visually neutral painted finish, similar to the previous ones, and what its position is on whether this design complies with its and Glasgow City Council's agreement to collaborate to reduce any adverse impact of the M8 on central Glasgow's urban environment, particularly in light of Charing Cross being situated adjacent to both the Glasgow Central Conservation Area and Woodlands Conservation Area.
Answer
(a) The new parapets at Charing Cross have been increased in height from 1.1 metres to 1.5 metres, which is a 36% increase, to comply with the current national design standards that require a minimum of a 1.4 metre high parapets where routes can be used by cyclists. This was necessary due to the installation of the new cycle lanes around Charing Cross.
(b) The works were designed and constructed in collaboration with Glasgow City Council and their Phase 2 of Connecting Woodside Project. Parapets are galvanised to increase their resistance to corrosion, which is more durable than a painted finish. While the galvanising can be over-painted, the paint does not bond well and is more expensive. Over time, the galvanised finish will weather and be less obtrusive.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 04 November 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 15 November 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether noise mitigation measures form part of the current scope of work being undertaken on the M8 at Charing Cross.
Answer
Noise mitigation measures do not form part of the current scope of works being undertaken at Charing Cross.
Glasgow City Council are currently constructing an active travel scheme to install cycle lanes at Charing Cross and along St George’s Road. Therefore, as the area around Charing Cross is changing substantially, it is our intention to undertake noise monitoring in the area on completion of these works to ensure that any noise mitigation works implemented in the future work effectively following these major works.
Transport Scotland is committed to ensuring noise management is included in all their activities and responsibilities, including the work being undertaken on the M8 at Charing Cross. Transport Scotland has also been working closely with Glasgow City Council on providing noise management advice to the Future of the M8 Motion, and related schemes.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 11 November 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 14 November 2024
To ask the Scottish Government when it will introduce a free, at-home testing service for hepatitis C.
Answer
Scottish Government has no imminent plans to introduce at-home testing for hepatitis C.
Testing for hepatitis C is currently available through a range of routes, with a particular focus on settings which are most likely to be accessed by people at highest risk of infection, such as drugs services and prison healthcare. In addition, anyone who has concerns about exposure to hepatitis C can speak to their GP practice about getting a test, which would allow them to be referred into treatment and services rapidly if required.
