Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-28587 on 2 December 2015, which is available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

In addition in Scotland we have developed a range of Quality Performance Indicators (QPIs), overseen by the National Cancer Quality Programme, for a wide range of tumour types. This programme of work will drive and support continuous quality improvement in cancer care across NHS Scotland.

All cancer QPIs can be found at the following link:

http://www.healthcareimprovementscotland.org/our_work/cancer_care_improvement/cancer_qpis/quality_performance_indicators.aspx.

The National Cancer Clinical Services Group has been set up to consider how best to deliver services that meets the needs of people with cancer, including the delivery of surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Both radiotherapy and chemotherapy are already delivered in five highly specialised cancer centres in Scotland, with an additional satellite centre that opened on 30 November 2015 in NHS Lanarkshire.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-28584 on 2 December 2015, which is available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

The Scottish Government welcomes the principle of publishing hospital and consultant level outcomes data and believes that measuring and reporting outcomes data for specific conditions and procedures, where available, is an essential tool to better understand and improve patient care.

The Innovative Healthcare Delivery Programme was recently established to develop a national data infrastructure for Scotland, linking primary, secondary, tertiary and ultimately, social care data, aimed at improving patient outcomes across the country. The first phase of this programme of work is underway looking at cancer intelligence data and systems across Scotland.

We are aware of the growing evidence of the benefits that surgical specialisation and multi-disciplinary team working can have on improving patient outcomes.

The National Cancer Clinical Services Group has been set up to consider how best to deliver services that meets the needs of people with cancer, including the delivery of surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Both radiotherapy and chemotherapy are already delivered in five highly specialised cancer centres in Scotland, with an additional satellite centre that opened on 30 November 2015 in NHS Lanarkshire.

The Scottish Government recognises that international events, including the rise of the so-called Islamic State and the terror attacks recently in Paris, have negatively impacted on Scotland’s faith communities, especially Scottish Muslim communities who can face increased levels of prejudice in the aftermath of such events. This is completely unacceptable and such bigotry and prejudice have no place in Scotland.

Police Scotland has issued guidance and advice following the attacks in Paris and has highlighted that, while the overall threat level in the UK is severe, people in Scotland remain safe to go about their day to day business.

We are fully committed to working with Police Scotland and others to ensure that incidents of hate crime which are motivated by religious hatred, whether online or in public, are investigated appropriately.

The Scottish Government is in the process of establishing an independent advisory group, chaired by Dr Duncan Morrow, which will engage with communities on the issue of hate crime, prejudice and community cohesion, with a view to presenting initial findings to ministers in 2016.

The Scottish Government continues to have a high level of engagement with Scotland’s Muslim communities and has been actively engaging with the Muslim communities, including the Muslim Council of Scotland, to hear their concerns and send a strong message on this issue.

The Scottish Government is aware Police Scotland was alerted to a suspected arson of a portacabin used as a temporary mosque in Auchinairn, Glasgow which occurred early in the morning on 17 November 2015. This is under investigation and Police Scotland is pursuing leads to find those responsible.

We have been clear that the actions of individuals with extremist views do not represent Islam as a religion and that the Muslim community should not have to apologise for this distortion of their faith.

The First Minister, Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Minister for Europe and International Development visited Glasgow Central Mosque on 15 November 2015 to meet with members of the Muslim community and provide a message of reassurance. The Minister for Learning, Science and Scotland’s Languages also visited Inverness Mosque on 17 November 2015 to meet with the community there. The Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs joined an event featuring a number of community and faith leaders at the Mosque on 20 November 2015.

The Scottish Government continues to support Scottish Interfaith Week to highlight the importance of dialogue and building relationships between communities of all faiths and none. The Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform spoke at the launch of the week on 22 November 2015.

The Scottish Government's approach to child poverty is articulated in the Child Poverty Strategy for Scotland 2014-17, which contains a detailed measurement framework addressing the wide range of drivers of poverty and the impacts poverty has on the lives of children and their families. The latest annual report on the strategy was published on 9 October 2015 and is available here: http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2015/10/9574.

The 'Prospects' section of the annual report sets out progress against various indicators which measure the social and emotional impact of poverty on children and young people, such as 'Children from low income households have improving levels of physical and mental health' and 'Children from low income households experience social inclusion and display social competence'. The Scottish Government has a variety of policies in place to drive forward progress in these areas. For example, we have increased the amount of funded early learning and childcare and invested in the Early Years Collaborative and Change Fund to transform early years services and embed prevention, and in 2015 the First Minister launched the Scottish Attainment Challenge, including the £100 million Scottish Attainment Fund. We have also placed health and wellbeing at the heart of the Curriculum for Excellence, reflecting its importance. Alongside numeracy and literacy, it is now one of the three core areas that are the responsibility of all staff in the school.

Yes. I met with representatives from the Scottish Youth Parliament on 28 October 2015 to discuss a number of issues, including their report, It's not a choice. There are clear links between the Scottish Youth Parliament's work on poverty and the Scottish Government's ongoing Fairer Scotland discussion. I agreed to hold a joint Fairer Scotland session to ensure that young people are fully engaged in the process and that event took place on 26 November 2015. I will also meet with the Scottish Youth Parliament's Social Justice Committee early in 2016 to discuss areas of shared interest.

The Scottish Government's approach to child poverty is articulated in the Child Poverty Strategy for Scotland 2014-17, which contains a detailed measurement framework addressing the wide range of drivers of poverty and the impacts poverty has on the lives of children and their families. The latest annual report on the strategy was published on 9 October 2015 and is available here: http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2015/10/9574.

The Scottish Government has not had any discussions with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde about staff resigning from the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital Glasgow due to a lack of facilities. The board has informed the Scottish Government that it is not aware of any member of staff who has resigned because of the facilities at the new hospital.