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-04931

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 January 2012
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 23 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it has provided to local authorities about the need to maintain funding for independent advocacy services in the last year.

Local authorities and NHS boards are responsible for ensuring that advocacy is available to all who need it within their respective areas and that resources are matched to meet these needs.

The Guide to Commissioners, issued in 2010 and produced by the Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance is available to assist local authorities and NHS boards in the scoping of needs and procurement of advocacy services. Also relevant is the Guidance on the Procurement of Care and Support Services by public bodies in Scotland which was published jointly by the Scottish Government and COSLA in September 2010.

Question reference: S4W-04927

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 January 2012
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 20 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the recommendations contained in the Equality and Human Rights Commission report on its inquiry into human trafficking in Scotland; what action it will take in response, and when.

Human trafficking is an abhorrent crime and the Scottish Government is committed to making further progress in tackling the criminals who engage in it and supporting the victims who are subjected to it. We supported the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s Inquiry into Human Trafficking in Scotland and have publicly welcomed the contribution that it has made to our knowledge of this horrendous crime.

The Scottish Government is currently considering the recommendations contained within this report and others on the same subject. A response will be prepared in due course.

Question reference: S4O-00624

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 January 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the 20% reduction in college budgets will have in terms of staffing, student numbers and the range of courses available.

Question reference: S4W-04849

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 06 January 2012
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 18 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide funding for corrective surgery for breast implants where these have been manufactured by PIP.

No additional funding will be made available to NHS boards.

Where PIP implants have been provided by the private sector, it is expected that private health care providers will provide, without charge, the same level of service as NHSScotland would provide to NHS patients. This includes offering a consultation, where clinically appropriate removal of the implant and if the woman wishes provision of a replacement.

Question reference: S4W-04906

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 January 2012
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 18 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what mechanisms are in place to enable a GP to assess the competence of an alternative therapy practitioner to whom a patient with chronic pain is referred.

Guidance HDL (2005) 37, issued to NHS boards in August 2005 sets out the framework for the provision of these services in the NHS and clarifies that any NHS clinician wishing to make a referral for alternative treatment would be required to be satisfied of the value of the treatment and competence of the practitioner. The guidance is available online and can be found at:

http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/sehd/mels/hdl2005_37.pdf

The British Medical Association’s (BMA) guidance Referrals to complementary therapists regulated by statute - Guidance for GPs contains advice on referrals to complementary therapists:

regulated by statute

who are registered with the General Medical Councils GMC, or Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC); and,

delegation to other practitioners

The BMA guidance can be viewed at:

http://www.bma.org.uk/images/refcomtherap0406_tcm26-190153.pdf

Question reference: S4W-04905

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 January 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 18 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what the referral pathway is for a patient with chronic pain who is referred for alternative therapy.

We recognise that complementary therapies may offer relief to some people living with long term conditions including chronic pain, however, the Scottish Government does not fund or deliver complementary therapies directly.

It is open to NHS boards to make complementary therapy services available to their populations based on an assessment of needs within their respective areas. It is therefore for individual NHS boards to determine whether to make complementary therapies available in accordance with national and local priorities and in line with the health needs of their local population.

Guidance HDL (2005) 37 issued to boards in August 2005 sets out the framework for the provision of these services across NHSScotland. The guidance is available online and can be found at: http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/sehd/mels/hdl2005_37.pdf

Question reference: S4W-04907

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 January 2012
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 18 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive whether alternative therapy treatment for which a patient with chronic pain is referred is provided free of charge.

Question reference: S4W-04848

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 06 January 2012
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 17 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with private health providers about breast implants where these have been manufactured by PIP.

Question reference: S4W-04845

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 06 January 2012
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 16 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the UK Government about breast implants where these have been manufactured by PIP.

Question reference: S4W-04850

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 06 January 2012
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 16 January 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on whether the NHS should undertake corrective surgery for breast implants where these have been manufactured by PIP, or if the private sector should do so at no cost to the patient.