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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 1651 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S5W-08651

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 April 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 18 April 2017

To ask the Scottish Government when it will provide a substantive answer to question S5W-05435, which received a holding response on 9 January 2017, and what the reason is for the delay.

Question reference: S5W-08413

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 13 April 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to adding medical education as part of the new GP contract.

The Scottish Government is continuing to work with Scotland’s five medical schools to ensure that we have a sustainable workforce for NHS Scotland. This includes working closely with universities to deliver our medical education package which will increase supply and widen access. Through this package we are investing to increase medical undergraduate places and we are establishing Scotland’s first graduate medical entry programme and a pre-medical entry programme. A key component of our ongoing collaboration includes promoting positive learning experiences of working in general practice at undergraduate level as this should help encourage more medical students to choose general practice as a future career.

The GP contract is formulated through a process of bilateral discussion, and agreement, between the Scottish General Practitioners Committee and the Scottish Government. These negotiations are commercially sensitive; details will be published once they have concluded.

Question reference: S5W-08414

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 13 April 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will invest more money to encourage the development of the longitudinal clerkship pilot project launched by NHS Highland, NHS Dumfries and Galloway and the University of Dundee, and whether it will encourage other Scottish medical schools to introduce similar projects.

The Scottish Government welcomes the collaborative approach between NHS Highland, NHS Dumfries and Galloway and the University of Dundee in relation to longitudinal clerkships which aim to give undergraduates more meaningful exposure to primary care and remote and rural working.

Through the Scottish Government Remote and Rural Educational Development Group the Scottish Government is working with medical schools to meaningfully increase student exposure to remote & rural placements and allow medical schools to exchange best practice.

The Scottish Government is committed to achieving a more sustainable medical workforce by matching financial resources to priorities including in relation to Additional Cost of Teaching (ACT) spend.

Question reference: S5W-05435

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 10 April 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) inpatients and (b) day case patients have received ophthalmology treatment in the last 12 months, broken down by (i) national total and (ii) NHS board; out of those patients, how many were (a) seen by a consultant within 12 weeks and (B) given treatment within 18 weeks in each NHS board area, and what the average waiting time was for ophthalmology during the last 12 months in each NHS board area, set out in (1) weeks and (2) days.

The information on inpatient and day case ophthalmology waits is provided in the following table.

NUMBER OF INPATIENTS AND DAY CASES TREATED (COMPLETED WAITS) AND NUMBERS WHO WAITED 12 WEEKS OR LESS, NUMBER OVER 12 WEEKS AND MEDIAN WAITS IN WEEKS AND DAYS FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2015-16 BY NHS BOARD

Board	Number Seen	<=12 Weeks	>12 Weeks	Median (Weeks)	Median (Days)
Ayrshire and Arran	4,100	4,020	80	3.9	27
Borders	990	989	1	5.3	37
Dumfries and Galloway	2,070	2,032	38	7.7	54
Fife	268*	265	3	6.9	48
Forth Valley	2,020	2,017	3	9.0	63
Grampian	3,727	3,144	583	8.7	61
Greater Glasgow and Clyde	11,379	11,379	0	5.7	40
Highland	2,070	1,839	231	8.3	58
Lanarkshire	3,966	3,093	873	10.7	75
Lothian	7,693	7,532	161	6.0	42
Orkney	170	152	18	5.1	36
Shetland	99	99	0	9.9	69
Tayside	4,008	3,956	52	6.3	44
Western Isles	463	463	0	4.9	34
NHSScotland	43,023	40,980	2,043	6.9	48

Source: ISD Waiting Times Data Warehouse

* In 2015-16 cataract patients had been classified as review outpatients. The Board have advised that in 2015-16 a total of 2,281 cataracts were undertaken.

The Golden Jubilee is expanding its ophthalmology capacity by 2,500 procedure in 2017-18 to support Boards across the whole of Scotland reduce waits. The Scottish Government has already committed to invest £200 million to create five new elective centres and to expand the Golden Jubilee to meet future changing demographics over the next 10-15 years. These new centres will carry out procedures such as cataract operation and will allow people to be seen more quickly for planned surgery. This will also help the NHS to meet increasing demand from a growing elderly population, taking pressure off unplanned and emergency treatment.

Question reference: S5O-00840

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 March 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support Dingwall’s economy.

Question reference: S5W-07849

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 22 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government when the first low-emission zone will be in operation.

Question reference: S5W-07852

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 22 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what classification of vehicles will be allowed to use low-emission zones, and what charges will apply to diesel vehicles entering them.

Question reference: S5W-07854

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 22 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with COSLA regarding low-emission zones.

Question reference: S5W-07850

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 22 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many local authorities have applied to establish low-emission zones, and what (a) guidance and (b) support it is offering to assist them.

Question reference: S5W-07847

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 22 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the (a) UK Government and (b) European Commission regarding the EU emission trading scheme.

As indicated when I gave evidence to the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee on 22 February 2017, I have already written to the UK Government setting out the Scottish Government's hope and expectation that we will continue to remain part of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). I continue to press the UK Government for clarity on its approach to the EU ETS in the forthcoming Brexit negotiations, and my officials remain in contact with UK Government counterparts on this matter. I attended the EU Environment Council on 28 February, where the future Phase IV of the EU ETS (2021-30) was discussed. The UK Government leads on discussions with the European Commission and with Member States on the EU ETS, on behalf of all the devolved administrations, and so the Scottish Government has not had direct discussion with the European Commission regarding this matter.