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-25995

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 18 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what steps have been taken to review public health messaging on long COVID.

NHS Inform has a dedicated long COVID microsite for people with ongoing symptoms after Covid-19, accessible at Long-term effects of COVID-19 | NHS inform . The information was updated in November 2023 following a user research exercise conducted with people living with long COVID to understand their experiences of accessing the information and identify areas for further development of the content.

More broadly, current COVID-19 specific guidance is still in place for the public and wider guidance for individuals and non-clinical workplaces, promoting a risk-based approach to building resilience to respiratory infections, including COVID-19. Any change in guidance will be driven by the data and evidence gathered, as well as expert advice.

Question reference: S6W-25994

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 18 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered any spending changes to funding for long COVID, in light of the recommendations of the COVID-19 Recovery Committee’s report, Long COVID.

We remain committed to delivering the £10 million long COVID Support Fund in full. The 2024-25 budget published on 19 December 2023 outlines our plans to make £3 million from the long COVID Support Fund available over 2024-25. We anticipate that the remainder of the funding will be allocated over 2025-26.

Following the publication of the COVID-19 Recovery Committee’s report on long COVID, we have confirmed that we will consider baselining long COVID Support funding for NHS Boards at a level to be determined based on progress made by NHS Boards over 2023-24.

Question reference: S6W-26001

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 18 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what monitoring has been undertaken to ensure that long COVID services provide equitable care across all NHS boards and do not widen existing health inequalities for patients in deprived areas.

As set out in my answer to question S6W-26000 on 18 March 2024, patient related experience and patient outcome measures will be recorded through NHS Boards’ use of the C-19 YRS digital screening tool. The provision of health data through this tool will assist in understanding the provision and effectiveness of long COVID services. Where possible, the data will be disaggregated by age, gender, ethnicity, and deprivation quintile. This will support understanding of any inequitable variation in service provision, experience and outcomes which may need to be addressed through service changes.

The long COVID National Strategic Network has contracted the University of Leeds to support the initial evaluation of long COVID services in Scotland, using data from the C19-YRS tool. The outputs of the evaluation are expected following the end of the financial year.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

Question reference: S6W-25998

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 18 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide a breakdown of which NHS boards have specific doctor-led services for long COVID patients.

Question reference: S6W-25999

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 18 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether long COVID data from the Scottish Health Survey have been used in the development of its long COVID service design.

Data from the Scottish Health Survey did not inform the development of ‘Coronavirus (COVID-19): Scotland's Long Covid service’, published on 30 September 2021. This is because the results of the Scottish Health Survey 2021, which included questions on long COVID for the first time, were published on 8 November 2022.

Responsibility for service delivery rests locally with NHS Boards who configure services taking into account local circumstances and the reasonable needs of their patient populations.

Question reference: S6W-26029

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 15 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether the £237.5 million of Barnett consequential funding arising from the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Budget statement on 6 March 2024, as a result of the NHS productivity plan, will all be spent on the NHS in Scotland.

HM Treasury’s costing for the NHS productivity plan shows funding starting in 2025-26. Therefore no consequentials are expected in 2024-25 in relation to the plan, and the position is only expected to become clear at the next UK spending review.

The Health consequentials of £237 million for 2024-25 arising from the Chancellor’s Spring Statement are less than the £470 million in-year Health funding received for 2023-24 and less than is needed given the pressures faced.

While we are considering the outcome of the UK budget and what it means for NHS Scotland we are committed to passing on frontline health consequentials and have indeed gone further than consequentials in our investment in this budget.

Question reference: S6F-02918

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 11 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 March 2024

To ask the First Minister what urgent action is being taken to address long waits in A&E departments, in light of reports that over 7,300 patients waited for more than a day in 2023, with some waiting much longer.

Question reference: S6W-25806

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 11 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason Care Inspectorate employees are reportedly still waiting to receive a 2023-24 pay offer, in light of employees of similar organisations, including Scottish Government civil servants, having already received pay offers for this financial year.

Question reference: S6W-25805

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 11 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has received a proposal for a 2023-24 pay offer from the Care Inspectorate, and, if so, when any such offer will be approved.

The Scottish Government has received the Care Inspectorate pay offer proposal for 2023-24. The Care Inspectorate has since made a pay award offer for financial years 2023-24 and 2024-25 during week commencing 19 February 2024.

The Care Inspectorate’s recognised trade unions agreed to ballot their members on this offer. The results of the trade union ballots are expected in the second week of March. Should the offer be accepted, the Care Inspectorate intends to pay their staff the first element of the 2023-24 award in their March 2024 salaries.

Question reference: S6W-25804

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 11 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported concerns that the Care Inspectorate has not yet made a formal pay offer to employees for the 2023-24 financial year.

I understand that there has been reported concerns regarding the pay deal offer from the Care Inspectorate. I can confirm that the Care Inspectorate made a pay award offer for financial years 2023-24 and 2024-25 during week commencing 19 February 2024. The Care Inspectorate’s recognised trade unions agreed to ballot their members on this offer.

The results of the trade union ballots are expected in the second week of March. Should the offer be accepted, the Care Inspectorate intends to pay their staff the first element of the 2023-24 award in their March 2024 salaries.