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-23014

Asked by: Nanette Milne, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 November 2014
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 13 November 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to ensure that all eligible 70 to 79-year-olds are aware that they are entitled to be vaccinated against shingles and whether it would consider a public awareness campaign.

Those eligible for the shingles vaccine receive a letter from their GP practice inviting them to attend for immunisation. GPs can if they wish offer the shingles vaccination at the same time as the seasonal flu vaccine.

In 2013, following feedback from members of the target audience, a poster and leaflet were developed to support the introduction of the shingles vaccine in Scotland. As well as providing the key messages about the vaccine, the leaflet and poster provide details of the NHS inform helpline should members of the public want to phone up to find out more about the vaccine/how to access it. The offer of the vaccine also has a dedicated section on the national immunisation website: www.immunisationscotland.org.uk/shingles

Copies of the materials are distributed to all GP practices in Scotland, along with a link to a template letter to help GP practices call up their eligible patients.

The Scottish immunisation programme coordination group monitors uptake of this vaccine and will consider further publicity if required.

Question reference: S4W-22984

Asked by: Nanette Milne, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 November 2014
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 12 November 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with NHS boards regarding displaying the number of nurses on duty.

Application of the Nursing and Midwifery Workload and Workforce Planning tools has been mandatory since April 2013, and all NHS boards are expected to use the tools to inform local nursing and workforce planning.

As part of the wider mandating process, NHS boards are required to develop annual workforce plans and Local Delivery Plans (LDPs). LDPs should set out the approach that the board is taking to ensure the mandatory application of the nursing and midwifery workload and workforce planning tools, how this process is informing workforce planning and how the board is communicating information to key stakeholders.

NHS boards are reviewing processes and developing systems to ensure transparency in terms of reporting nurse staffing numbers and special educational needs and disabilities serves as a forum for sharing best practice.

Question reference: S4W-22985

Asked by: Nanette Milne, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 November 2014
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 12 November 2014

To ask the Scottish Government when data from Healthcare Improvement Scotland’s indicators for palliative and end of life care will be reported (a) at NHS board level and (b) nationally.

Question reference: S4W-22986

Asked by: Nanette Milne, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 November 2014
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 12 November 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how many cleaning staff have been directly employed by each NHS board in each year since 1999.

Information on how many cleaning staff have been directly employed by each NHS board in each year since 1999 is not centrally held.

Cleaning duties for the hospital environment and patient equipment in NHSScotland are routinely carried out as part of the duties of a number of healthcare professionals which may include domestic staff and nurses, amongst others. Prior to the introduction of Agenda for Change in 2006, catering, domestic, laundry and other services would have been recorded as ancillary staff under the Whitley system. These sub job families are now recorded under hotel services.

Published information on the pre Agenda for Change ancillary staff group from 30 September 1999 to 30 September 2006 can be found by following the link:

http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Workforce/Historic-Data/WFG01_HB_REG.xls

Published information on the number of hotel services from 30 September 2007 to 30 June 2014 can be found on the following link:

http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Workforce/Publications/2014-08-26/Non-Medical_Trend_J2014.xls?44849140

Question reference: S4O-03677

Asked by: Nanette Milne, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 November 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 November 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what action Police Scotland is taking to address the issue of puppy farms and puppies being imported illegally.

Question reference: S4W-20419

Asked by: Nanette Milne, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 March 2014
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 28 October 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how many ministerial car journeys have been to Yes Scotland meetings, broken down by (a) minister, (b) distance and (c) cost of journey.

Ministers are entitled to use government car service services for all journeys which have as their principal purpose the performance of their ministerial duties; this includes journeys to or from Government business.

In the period to 27 March 2014, there was one occasion where ministers attended ministerial events immediately prior to a Yes Scotland event. The details of this journey are as follows:

The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities and the Minister for External Affairs and International Development: 16 January 2013 – Scottish Parliament - Glasgow

We do not break the costs down to individual journeys and therefore there are no costs directly associated with this journey.

Question reference: S4W-22392

Asked by: Nanette Milne, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 August 2014
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 12 September 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the recent report by the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society that considered the impact of chronic fatigue on people with the condition and whether it will prioritise the management of chronic fatigue for people with long-term conditions.

The National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society and 2020health’s report Invisible Disease: RA and Chronic Fatigue 2014 details the substantial effect that chronic fatigue has on people with rheumatoid arthritis. The findings from this national survey help to highlight the difficulties that people with the condition face. By conducting such valuable research, this should help raise the profile of this symptom of rheumatoid arthritis.

In September 2010 we published a Scottish Good Practice Statement on myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME)/chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), for GPs, as part of the process of ensuring that people receive better and more consistent standards of care, including quicker and more reliable diagnosis. Although all NHS boards have been made aware of the statement, it is a matter for individual boards whether or not to take it forward.

Funding had also been provided to NHS Lothian to develop a two year ME/CFS pilot project drawing on a number of approaches including graded exercise, lifestyle management, vocational rehabilitation and pain management. The Scottish Government hopes that other boards might be encouraged to consider a similar approach should evaluation prove successful.

Question reference: S4W-22390

Asked by: Nanette Milne, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 August 2014
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 12 September 2014

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will launch a campaign to raise awareness of the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and the benefits of early diagnosis.

Question reference: S4W-22427

Asked by: Nanette Milne, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 August 2014
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 11 September 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it will give to NHS boards about the use of quadrivalent influenza vaccine (QIV) in light of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation's position that, “all other factors being equal, QIV is preferable to trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine”.

The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) issued guidance to the NHS in Scotland in relation to both the routine seasonal flu programme and the childhood flu programme on 18 June 2014. These letters provide professional guidance for those involved in delivering vaccination.

The algorithm for selecting the most appropriate flu vaccine for different eligible groups is complex, particularly when taking into account those who cannot have the nasal flu vaccine. Full information is provided to practitioners within the CMO letters and the associated influenza chapter of the Green Book, Immunisation against Infectious Disease.

Question reference: S4W-22396

Asked by: Nanette Milne, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 August 2014
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 11 September 2014

To ask the Scottish Government when the national audit of early rheumatoid arthritis will be published and what its position is on the findings.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland’s (HIS) predecessor organisation, NHS Quality Improvement Scotland, funded the Scottish Society for Rheumatology in 2009 to develop and test a web based system of audit. This was not solely focused on early rheumatoid arthritis, but it provided the Scottish Society for Rheumatology with some useful information on rheumatoid arthritis. As this did not constitute a national audit, HIS has no current plans to publish this work from 2009-2011. HIS are in communication with the Scottish Society for Rheumatology about how their findings from the project may be used.