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-26897

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 April 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 2 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many NHS Scotland services and departments still use paper-based medical records.

Question reference: S6W-26895

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 April 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 2 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what work it is doing with faith groups, including churches, to ensure that they understand how the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 potentially impacts on their practice, in light of reports that some faith communities are unsure about what impact the Act could have on them.

Question reference: S6W-26573

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 18 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made to "co-ordinate and align strategies to market a career as an allied health professional across governmental, professional, and educational organisations including the sharing of resources, data and audiences", as recommended within the Allied Health Professions Education and Workforce Policy Review Recommendations, published on 24 February 2023

As part of our work to develop a sustainable healthcare workforce, we continue to look for opportunities to increase levels of student attraction to healthcare professions. Careers in NHS Scotland are promoted on the NHS Education Scotland (NES) NHS careers website, designed to promote opportunities to school leavers, those in education and those looking to change careers. This site can be accessed at NHSScotland Careers

Additionally, NES are leading on the AHP Careers National Working Group. The group have developed materials for a national career service including a ‘workshop toolkit’ for careers advisors and teachers.

Following the completion of the Allied Health Professions (AHP) Education and Workforce Policy Review, an advisory group has been established. NES are represented on this group and will work in conjunction with the Scottish Government, and wider stakeholders, to oversee the effective implementation of the recommendations.

The group held its second meeting on 4 March 2024 and will consider the timescales required to meet the overarching aims at its future meetings, scheduled in June and October 2024.

Question reference: S6W-26299

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 18 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the value of youth work within the school environment.

The Scottish Government considers youth work within the school environment to be incredibly valuable.

An independent review of Community Learning and Development (CLD), was launched in December 2023 and is expected to conclude in June 2024. This review aims to assess the impact of CLD on learners across Scotland which will provide valuable insights for the delivery of CLD in a reformed education system.

Question reference: S6W-26297

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 17 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many money advice workers have been employed in the most deprived communities in each of the last five years.

The primary funders of locally based advice services are local authorities and it is for them to decide how best to target resources to meet local needs. Scottish Government do not, therefore hold information on the number of money advisers employed within the most deprived communities. The Improvement Service publishes a report annually on local authority spend on money advice services. The latest report can be accessed using the following link: https://www.improvementservice.org.uk/products-and-services/performance-management-and-benchmarking/common-advice-performance-management-framework/2022-23-report

In 2023-24, the Scottish Government invested more than £12.5 million in free welfare, debt and income maximisation services. Our funding approach is intended to maximise household incomes, tackle problem debt and to reduce poverty. Whilst the majority of our funding is allocated to organisations with a national reach, our investment also supports a range of other initiatives such as the Welfare Advice and Health Partnerships, which has enabled welfare rights advisors to be integrated in up to 180 GP practices across Scotland, with 150 of these targeted in the most deprived communities and 30 in remote, rural and island settings, and the Advice in Accessible Settings programme that supports 24 local partnerships to deliver advice in community, education and health settings.

Question reference: S6W-26692

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 April 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 30 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how often it has met with Professor Marmot in the last three years; what was discussed, and what action it has taken following any such meetings.

Question reference: S6W-26344

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 16 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what monitoring it undertakes of any third sector organisations that have been commissioned by NHS boards to provide health services.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) is the health body which undertakes assessments and reviews of the quality of care throughout Scotland, however third sector organisations are not captured by their current inspections of NHS services. Health Boards might arrange for treatment to be provided for patients by non-NHS Scotland providers in exceptional circumstances for clinical reasons however the responsibility for consultation, diagnosis and treatment of patients fully remains with the originating Health Board.

Independent Healthcare is regulated by HIS which consists of independent hospitals, private psychiatric hospitals, independent clinics and also voluntary hospices; some of which are commissioned to provide NHS services.

Question reference: S6W-26296

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 16 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what measurements it is currently using to assess its Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan.

The Scottish Government takes an evidence-based approach to tackling child poverty by ensuring that plans are underpinned by evidence and that we carefully monitor progress. The evaluation strategy summarises the approach which is split across three key areas:

(1) Careful monitoring of the four child poverty targets(relative poverty, absolute poverty, low income and material deprivation, and persistent poverty).

(2) Examination of the three drivers of poverty via the child poverty measurement framework (income from employment, cost of living, and income from social security and benefits in-kind) and

(3) monitoring impact of key interventions on child poverty.

The hyperlinks to all key documents mentioned above are included in the background note.

Question reference: S6W-26737

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 08 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 15 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-08992 by Humza Yousaf on 17 June 2022, what it has done to support NHS boards to test the introduction of models of care for long COVID, and how this has benefitted the management of other long-term and complex conditions, including Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME).

We have established a £10 million long COVID Support Fund, which aims to support NHS Boards to increase the capacity of existing services providing support to people with long COVID, develop these into more clearly defined pathways and to provide a more co-ordinated experience for those accessing support.

We have also commissioned NHS National Services Scotland to establish a National Strategic Network for long COVID. This brings together representatives from NHS Boards across Scotland to provide a forum for the exchange of learning and best practice in delivering supporting and services for people with long COVID.

In May 2023 we published an analysis of survey responses from NHS Scotland Boards on their arrangements for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) care. This is accessible at https://www.gov.scot/publications/myalgic-encephalomyelitis-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-cfs-services-scotland-findings-analysis-surveys-issued-nhs-boards-autumn-2022/ . The report highlights examples noted by NHS Boards of where practice developments relating to ME/CFS and long COVID respectively may have mutually supportive benefits for patient care, and the management of other long term conditions which share common symptoms.

Question reference: S6W-26579

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 15 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many practitioners have been trained to be cervical screening sample takers in each of the last five years.