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-17186

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 27 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking alongside NHS Scotland to address the reported delay in issuing cervical screening results from both of the laboratories located in Scotland, and whether it will provide a breakdown of the current backlog of cervical cancer screenings in each NHS board.

The Scottish Government is aware of delays in issuing cervical screening results. Currently 75% of individuals are receiving their screening results within the recommended 14 days from the date that the sample was taken; however, we recognise that some individuals are experiencing delays of up to eight weeks as a result of ongoing staffing pressures faced by both cervical screening laboratories.

The Scottish cervical screening programme is working on a number of measures to address this. This includes a review of internal processes to ensure all staff who can report cervical cytology spend the maximum time possible at the microscope. In addition, digital technologies are being explored to increase overall reporting capacity.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on individual health board backlogs.

Question reference: S6W-17116

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 27 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its commitment in the Women's Health Plan 2021-24 to improve access to "speedy diagnosis" for endometriosis, in light of reports that the current average diagnosis time is eight and a half years from the onset of symptoms.

We are committed to delivering on the priority in the Women's Health Plan (WHP) to improve access for women to appropriate support, speedy diagnosis and best treatment for endometriosis.

There has been substantial progress since the publication of the Women’s Health Plan and our first report on progress, published on 26 January 2023, sets this out in more detail.

We will support the Modernising Patient Pathways Programme to raise awareness of the Endometriosis Pathway for Scotland. The pathway was approved in January 2023 and will be distributed to all NHS Boards for implementation. It provides a streamlined, integrated pathway across primary, secondary and tertiary care that aims to provide a holistic approach and timely care for those with endometriosis and endometriosis-like symptoms.

We will also continue to work with our Endometriosis Advisory Group and Lived Experience Forum to support and inform our policy actions to deliver on the priorities within the plan.

Question reference: S6W-17112

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 25 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress towards increasing the number of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests that have a defibrillator applied before the ambulance service arrive from 8% to 20%, as outlined in Scotland's Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Strategy 2021-2026.

The Scottish Government is a key partner in Save a Life for Scotland (SALFS), a partnership including the emergency services, third sector organisations and academic researchers. SALFS is responsible for the delivery of the Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest: Strategy 2021 to 2026 . Data on progress of the strategy is available at; Scotland’s Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest Report 2019 – 2022 .

SALFS approach to increasing the number of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests that have a defibrillator applied before the ambulance service arrive from 8% to 20%, is to ensure that defibrillators are publicly accessible, registered and there is a data driven approach to their placement.

Work underway includes the SCOT-PAD project, to develop a tool to support organisations and communities with more evidence on the optimal location to place their defibrillator. Progress is also being made in registration of defibrillators with the number of defibrillators in communities across Scotland that are registered with the Circuit doubling since 2019 to almost 5,000.

Question reference: S6O-02019

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 March 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support local authorities to ensure that the provision of local services, including swimming pools and leisure centres, meets the needs of local communities.

Question reference: S6F-01899

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 March 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 March 2023

To ask the First Minister whether she will provide an update on the Scottish Government's progress towards reducing the number of people on hospital waiting lists and ending long waits for NHS treatment.

Question reference: S6F-01828

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 February 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 February 2023

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to research by the Royal College of General Practitioners reportedly showing that a third of Scotland's GP staff who were surveyed said their practice was at risk of closing in the next few months.

Question reference: S6O-01917

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 February 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what discussions it has had with COSLA about the delivery of local services over the next financial year.

Question reference: S6O-01888

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 February 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what steps it is taking to address coastal erosion in the North East Scotland region.

Question reference: S6O-01807

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6W-13286

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 5 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on work to establish a mother and baby unit in the North East Scotland region, in light of the consultation analysis on the options to increase mother and baby unit capacity, which was published in August 2022.

The consultation analysis report for the Mother and Baby Unit Capacity in Scotland consultation was published in August 2022. This report and other resources are being fed into an options appraisal which is setting out the next steps in improving specialist perinatal mental health care for women and their babies in Scotland. This will consider the geographical need and variation across Scotland. This options appraisal will be undertaken by NHS National Services Scotland and will commence in January 2023 with a view to being completed by the end of September 2023.