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-23828

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 4 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support women with ovarian cancer in rural and remote areas, where access to treatment may be lacking.

The Scottish Government wants cancer patients to be treated as close to home as clinically appropriate. However, as treatments for some cancers become more complex and expensive, it becomes impossible to deliver them in every location.

Cancer services require a highly specialised workforce. In order to ensure the future sustainability of our services, we published our ten-year Cancer Strategy in which we have committed to modelling cancer workforce requirements and continue to grow the number of training places to expand our workforce.

As part of the Scottish Government’s work to develop a sustainable healthcare workforce, we continue to look for opportunities to increase levels of recruitment and retention of healthcare staff in rural areas and will develop a Rural Workforce Recruitment Strategy by the end of 2024. This will support employers to ensure that the health and social care needs of people, including women with ovarian cancer who live in rural communities, are met.

Question reference: S6W-23830

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 4 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-21016 by Michael Matheson on 19 September 2023, whether it will provide further details of what was discussed in the meeting between the Deputy National Clinical Director, Scottish Government officials, the Northern Cancer Alliance and the South East Scotland Cancer Network.

Question reference: S6W-23894

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 15 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 3 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether provision to match NHS pay awards in the charitable hospice sector to ensure pay parity will be included in the upcoming Budget for 2024-25.

As the Deputy First Minister set out in her Budget Statement on 19 December 2023, the financial position across Scottish Government is extremely challenging and work is ongoing to identify measures to address the continued challenges in 2024-25 and beyond.

Integration Joint Boards are responsible for the governance, planning, and resourcing of adult palliative care services, including hospices, using the integrated budget under their control. We will therefore continue to work with Integration Joint Boards and independent hospices to explore solutions and options for longer term sustainable planning and commissioning for the independent hospice sector.

Question reference: S6W-24042

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 3 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many patients have been treated for long COVID by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde in each year from 2021 to date.

Question reference: S6W-24043

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 3 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide a full list of long COVID services being offered by each territorial NHS board.

This is a matter for each territorial NHS Board. The information requested is not held centrally.

Care and support for people with long COVID is being provided across the full range of services delivered by our NHS. This includes assessment in a setting close to home by local primary care teams, and referral to community-based rehabilitation services or secondary care settings for further investigation of specific complications where clinically appropriate.

Question reference: S6W-23898

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 15 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 3 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the commitment made in the Strategic Framework for Action on Palliative and End of Life Care to ensure that “by 2021 everyone who needs palliative care will have access to it” has reportedly not been delivered.

The Scottish Government remains committed to ensuring that everyone who needs it can access seamless, timely and high-quality palliative care.

We are currently developing a new National Strategy for Palliative and End of Life Care for Scotland. As part of this work, we are reviewing the information and evidence we have, and need, to develop the strategy. This includes gathering data on current and projected needs for palliative care at a population level, mapping governance, services and support across Scotland, and building on our understanding of people’s experiences of palliative and end of life care.

The outputs of this work will give us a clearer picture of the delivery and accessibility of palliative care across Scotland, and will inform a new strategy that reflects what really matters to people experiencing serious illness, dying and bereavement.

Question reference: S6W-23899

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 15 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 3 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason its palliative care strategy, which had initially been due in 2021, has not yet been published.

The Scottish Government remains committed to ensuring that everyone who needs it can access seamless, timely and high-quality palliative care.

We have appointed a National Clinical Lead for Palliative and End of Life Care to drive this, supported by a Clinical and Practice Advisory Group and a wide-reaching Strategy Steering Group.

The Steering Group is currently reviewing the information and evidence we have and need to develop the strategy, including mapping services and support across Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-23900

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 15 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 29 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the comment by the Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health during the members’ business debate on motion S6M-11352 on 6 December 2023, in relation to the publication of the new palliative care strategy in 2024, that she “would love to give a more precise indication” and “will go back to [her] officials to get the date”, whether it will provide the publication date for the strategy.

Question reference: S6W-23395

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 29 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to data that reportedly shows that the number of excess deaths in Scotland is 10.1% higher than the pre-pandemic five-year-average.

Question reference: S6W-23800

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 11 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 29 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many places are currently available for babies at the (a) Aberdeen Neonatal Unit, (b) Wishaw Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, (c) Simpsons Special Care Babies, Edinburgh, and (d) Royal Hospital for Children Neonatal Unit, Glasgow.

Neonatal cot capacity is managed on a network basis through a daily call attended by all Neonatal Units. The availability of beds is not solely down to the availability of neonatal cots, but also maternal beds and the availability of specialists to support both mother and baby. This ensures that for any woman or baby who requires immediate delivery, suitable arrangements are made.

The Options Appraisal Report , published on 25 July 2023 describes the process undertaken to determine the three final Neonatal Intensive Care Units. Annex D of the report outlines the cot availability for each Neonatal Unit.

Additional information can found on the hospital’s websites or requested directly.