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: S4W-14228

Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 17 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-14201 by Alex Neil on 1 May 2013, what reassurances it has received from each supplier regarding their (a) services and (b) support for patients.

Question reference: S4W-14707

Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 17 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what weighting it gave to the provision of modern, well-decorated premises and access for disabled people when evaluating salon providers of hairpieces.

This is a matter for National Procurement, a division of NHS National Services Scotland, who advise that the NP506/13 Contract was awarded against the criteria of Cost, Quality of Premises and Health Board coverage.

The Quality of Premises criteria are based on a pass/fail against the essential features of the premises within the Invitation to Tender (ITT) response. Those premises that met the essential features at the paper submission stage were visited by NHS boards to ensure that they met these features and were also scored against the features. The Quality of Premises evaluation comprised 20% of the overall tender score.

Question reference: S4W-14229

Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 17 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-14201 by Alex Neil on 1 May 2013, whether each supplier provides wigs and other hairpieces for patients from ethnic minorities who experience hair loss as a result of cancer treatment.

Question reference: S4W-14706

Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 17 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-14370 by Alex Neil on 29 April 2013, how it made an assessment of patients' views when developing the tender documents for the supply of hairpieces.

Question reference: S4W-14230

Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 17 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-14201 by Alex Neil on 1 May 2013, whether it is aware of concerns expressed by parents of children who have experienced hair loss as a result of cancer treatment whose children have been denied wigs that match their ethnicity requirements and, if so, what discussion it had with each supplier regarding this.

Question reference: S4W-14702

Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 17 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government how it assists patients to deal with the issues involved when there is a change in hairpiece supplier.

This is a matter for National Procurement, a division of NHS National Services Scotland, which advise that the NP506 wigs contract must be tendered in line with EU Procurement Legislation timescales, and will be re-tendered at least every four years with the possibility of a change of supplier(s) after every tender.

For the latest contract, three of the four incumbent suppliers will continue on to the new contract, along with three new suppliers. Additionally, agents of the unsuccessful incumbent supplier may have the opportunity to become an agent for one of the successful suppliers to aid continuity of service. NHS Health boards will be involved with patients regarding any change to their supplier.

Question reference: S4W-14703

Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 17 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-14374 by Alex Neil on 1 May 2013, what consideration it has given to stipulating in the contract that all chemotherapy patients and people with alopecia must have services related to hairpieces provided within a reasonable travelling distance and what it defines as a reasonable travelling distance.

This is a matter for National Procurement, a division of NHS National Services Scotland, who advise that the new Wigs and associated services contract was awarded to an increased number of suppliers, with a view to improving the coverage of NHS Health boards through local premises of either contract suppliers, or their agents. As the contract suppliers are Small Medium Enterprises, there is no guarantee that premises will be available within a specified distance, hence the use of agents for this contract.

Question reference: S4W-14705

Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 17 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-14373 by Alex Neil on 1 May 2013, how it monitors service provision during the transition from one contract provider to another and whether it will report on any issues identified.

Question reference: S4W-14701

Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 17 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether NHS Fife will have access to an agency in Fife supplying services related to hairpieces from 1 June 2013.

Question reference: S4W-14704

Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 May 2013
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 17 May 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what emergency measures it will take to ensure the continued provision of NHS services to hairpiece users when a supplier has gone into liquidation.

National Procurement, a division of NHS National Services Scotland, advise that under the current Wigs contract which expires on 31 May 2013, there were three suppliers that were able to provide services in place of Turvey’s, with one of those suppliers buying over the business to ensure that open orders/prescriptions are fulfilled. As of 1 June 2013, under the NP506/13 Contract, there will be a further three new suppliers able to provide these services in Scotland.