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-22756

Asked by: Hanzala Malik, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 October 2014
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 28 October 2014

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-22556 by Alex Neil on 1 October 2014, what decision regarding Prostate Cancer UK’s call for a national cancer patient experience survey that will carry analysis by (a) region, (b) ethnicity and (c) age was reached at the October meeting of the Scottish Cancer Taskforce.

The Scottish Cancer Taskforce agreed to develop a Scottish cancer patient experience survey in collaboration with third sector partners when they met on 3 October 2014. This commitment was announced on 12 October 2014.

Details on the specific methodology that would allow any analysis to be comparable to the Welsh, English and Northern Irish surveys is still to be finalised, however it is hoped that a Scottish cancer patient experience survey will be available by the end of 2015.

Question reference: S4O-03612

Asked by: Hanzala Malik, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 October 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 October 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to stem the reported decline in the number of female students studying part time vocational courses.

Question reference: S4W-22554

Asked by: Hanzala Malik, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 September 2014
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 1 October 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on each of the findings of the Prostate Cancer UK report, Men United v Prostate Cancer: Five inequalities, five solutions.

Question reference: S4W-22556

Asked by: Hanzala Malik, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 September 2014
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 1 October 2014

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will implement Prostate Cancer UK’s call for (a) a national cancer patient experience survey that will carry analysis by (i) region, (ii) ethnicity and (iii) age and (b) the inclusion of prostate cancer in the next phase of the Detect Cancer Early Initiative, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

The Scottish Cancer Taskforce discussed the possibility of a cancer patient experience survey in Scotland in their meeting on 27 June 2014. The taskforce agreed that further investigation should take place, including examination of the methodology behind the surveys which have taken place in other parts of the UK. This will be discussed at the next meeting of the taskforce on 3 October 2014.

The Detect Cancer Early Programme Board has discussed the inclusion of additional tumour groups, including tumours of the prostate, into the programme, and has consulted with clinicians and members of the Scottish Cancer Coalition through an options appraisal process. This data is being further analysed, and will be discussed at the next meeting of the Detect Cancer Early Programme Board in October 2014.

Question reference: S4W-22557

Asked by: Hanzala Malik, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 September 2014
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 1 October 2014

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will implement Prostate Cancer UK’s call to (a) increase (i) GP and (ii) patient awareness of the Prostate Cancer Risk Management Programme and (b) develop national guidelines on the management of each of the possible life-changing side effects of prostate cancer treatment, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

A Prostate Cancer Risk Management Programme information pack was issued to GPs across NHS Scotland, urologists and histopathologists working in Scottish hospitals, and also those working in Scottish prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing laboratories in 2009. This was subsequently tailored to suit a Scottish audience and is available on the Scottish Government website at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Health/Services/Cancer/Risk-Management

The pack provides guidance to medical practitioners on the information and help that should be provided to patients before PSA testing is undertaken, and the support that may be required by men as they deal with the consequences of the PSA test and any resulting diagnosis.

In order to help men decide whether or not to take the test, an information sheet has been provided to give balanced information about the advantages and disadvantages of doing so. This can be found at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0039/00398270.pdf

It is for the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network to determine priorities for development of Scottish national clinical guidelines. We also expect clinicians to take account of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Guideline No. 175 (January 2014) on Diagnosis and Treatment of Prostate Cancer Guideline No. 175 (January 2014) on Diagnosis and Treatment of Prostate Cancer, which includes advice on managing patients with serious complications of treatment including erectile dysfunction, urinary incontinence and radiation-induced enteropathy.

Question reference: S4O-03554

Asked by: Hanzala Malik, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 September 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 October 2014

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to use its International Development Fund to provide support to the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

Question reference: S4W-22555

Asked by: Hanzala Malik, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 September 2014
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 23 September 2014

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its announcement that robot-assisted surgery is to be introduced by the NHS for prostate cancer patients, whether it will include Prostate Cancer UK as part of the group of charities to be consulted on the second facility proposed for the central belt.

Question reference: S4O-03522

Asked by: Hanzala Malik, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 September 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 September 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what evaluation it is undertaking of the Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework 2011-15 and when it will publish the framework for work beyond 2015.

Question reference: S4W-22198

Asked by: Hanzala Malik, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 July 2014
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 7 August 2014

To ask the Scottish Government whether it approved the flyer sent out by Practitioner Services Division with NHS schedules advertising an MSc course in restorative dentistry stating that it would help NHS practitioners increase their private income.

Question reference: S4O-03452

Asked by: Hanzala Malik, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 August 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 August 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to address the gender balance in science and maths in schools to increase the number of female students studying science, technology, engineering and maths at degree level.