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-22480

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 9 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason 10-15% of care home beds are reportedly lying empty given high demand for bed capacity.

The figure of 10-15% reflects data taken from the 2022 Care Home Census. The latest census will be published in due course and may reflect different data.

Reasons behind this figure include: the fact that registered beds do not necessarily equate to available beds for a wide range of reasons; a UK-wide staff shortage in the social care sector which has an impact on bed availability; different care home providers using different business models which can affect the number of people that can be admitted at any one time.

Question reference: S6W-22474

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 9 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates (a) phase one, (b) phase two and (c) phase three of the medium-term solution to address the problems with the A83 will be completed.

The Scottish Government is committed to an infrastructure solution to address landslip risks at the A83 Rest and Be Thankful and shares the urgency communities and businesses place on maintaining and improving connectivity of this vital route.

The medium term solution consists of improvements to the existing Old Military Road through the Glen Croe corridor to make it a more resilient diversion route until the long term solution is in place. These improvements will improve the resilience of the diversion route, reduce journey times, and are the quickest to implement, of relatively lower cost and would have the least impacts overall across the range of criteria assessed of the medium term options considered.

A detailed programme for the proposed improvements is being developed. These include debris catch fences, temporary bunds, drainage improvements and widening and discrete realignment to improve bends and avoid flooding. It is expected that these works will be carried out on a phased basis starting later this year with Phase 1 which is realignment of the southern end of the route. It is anticipated that Phases 2 and 3 will commence in financial year 2024-25, subject to obtaining any necessary statutory authorisation consents. Construction of these phases is expected to take approximately 12 months subject to weather conditions.

Question reference: S6W-22433

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 8 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its reported decision to downgrade neonatal services at University Hospital Wishaw, whether an implementation working group has been established; if so, what any such group’s (a) terms of reference, (b) membership and (b) timescale for completion of its work are, and whether its papers will be published.

Scottish Government has asked Health Board Chief Executives within each region to nominate a lead Chief Executive to plan and deliver the changes to neonatal intensive care through the Regional Planning infrastructure. Health Boards will submit detailed implementation plans to the Best Start Programme Board and the NHS Chief Operating Officer, with the expectation that the National model is rolled out by 2025. To support planning, the Scottish Government has commissioned national modelling and capacity work.

The Best Start Implementation Programme Board is considering the future role of the Perinatal Sub Group (which undertook the Options Appraisal Process) to support implementation.

It is the responsibility of the Regional lead Chief Executives to determine whether they will set up implementation working groups and set their terms of reference and membership, and whether they will publish their papers. Timescales for completion of implementation have been set by the Scottish Government.

Question reference: S6W-22447

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 27 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 7 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Kidney Care UK publication, Home Dialysis Energy Reimbursement in Scotland, what support is available to people with chronic kidney disease who undertake home dialysis and experience higher energy bills as a result of their treatment.

Question reference: S6W-22449

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 27 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 7 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of energy costs are reimbursed to patients with chronic kidney disease who undergo NHS dialysis treatment at home.

Question reference: S6W-22451

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 27 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 7 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the average cost of running an energy-dependent piece of medical equipment, such as a dialysis machine, in the home, and whether it has assessed the adequacy of government grants or NHS reimbursement policies in covering these costs.

Question reference: S6W-22448

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 27 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 7 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many people it estimates there currently are who have chronic kidney disease and are not being reimbursed for the costs of their home dialysis treatment.

Question reference: S6W-22450

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 27 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 7 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of any savings to hospitals that transfer patients undergoing high energy use intensity treatment in hospital to home treatment, such as home dialysis for people with chronic kidney disease.

Question reference: S6W-22434

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 7 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its reported decision to downgrade neonatal services at University Hospital Wishaw, what engagement it had with any affected families before making this decision.

Families told us, as part of the Best Start engagement process, that they wanted the best care possible for their babies. Evidence tells us that the very smallest and sickest babies will get the best outcomes if they care cared for in high volume units.

This change will affect families in many different parts of Scotland, and the Chief Executive of Bliss sits on the Best Start Programme Board and was a participant in the options appraisal process, representing the views of neonatal families.

Scottish Government will be consulting with families in the affected areas on implementation of the new model, so that we can take account of their concerns when the pathways and processes for the new model of care are designed. This will affect a very small number of families, however, it is important that we hear the voices of those families to input into design of service delivery.

Neonatal units will also continue to seek parent feedback locally to ensure opportunities to improve experiences of care for families are identified.

Question reference: S6W-22468

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 7 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of concerns about the quality of auditory brainstem response (ABR) testing outlined in the report of the Independent Review of Audiology in Scotland, what action it has taken to conduct a wider audit of the assessment of infant ABR cases referred from the Universal Newborn Hearing Screening programme.