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-29651

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 February 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 26 February 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-28817 by Maureen Watt on 14 December 2015, what discussions it has had with each NHS board regarding the waiting times target for hepatitis C treatment.

Question reference: S4W-29650

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 February 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 26 February 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors waiting times for hepatitis C treatment.

Information on waiting times for hepatitis C is not collected centrally as acute hospital waiting times are collected at specialty level only and not by condition. Most patients with hepatitis C requiring hospital care will be seen within the specialty of gastroenterology and figures are published quarterly by Information Services Division Scotland. The Scottish Government also receives monthly management information at specialty level against the 12 weeks outpatient waiting time target and the 12 week inpatient and day case legal treatment time guarantee and this is closely monitored by Scottish Ministers. Also Scottish Government officials meet with individual NHS board to discuss all waiting time performance including in the specialty of gastroenterology.

Under the Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework, NHS boards are set an annual treatment target for hepatitis C. During 2015-20 the aim is for at least 1,500 people per year to be initiated onto antiviral therapy.

Question reference: S4W-29835

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 08 February 2016
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Burgess on 24 February 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-29493 by Margaret Burgess on 4 February 2016, what percentage of (a) social landlords and (b) private home owners has used Home Energy Scotland advice centres in each year since 2007-08.

The Scottish Government funds the Energy Saving Trust annually to provide a range of advice and support on domestic energy efficiency. This includes the Home Energy Scotland (HES) advice service.

The following table details the percentage of private home owners and social landlords who have taken up the service since 2008-09.

The advice network was established in April 2008 so figures for 2007-08 are not available.

Financial year	Owner occupier	Housing association	Local authority	All social housing
2008-09	4.8%	0.8%	1.8%	1.4%
2009-10	9.7%	2.6%	5.3%	4.1%
2010-11	12.9%	4.6%	6.8%	5.8%
2011-12	6.4%	0.8%	1.5%	1.2%
2012-13	6.3%	0.6%	1.5%	1.1%
2013-14	5.1%	0.6%	1.0%	0.8%
2014-15	5.1%	1.0%	1.8%	1.4%
2015-16 (to 9 February 2016)	4.3%	0.6%	1.0%	0.8%

Notes:

Based on the number of households with resolved interactions recorded by HES (i.e. social housing figures reflect tenants in social rented properties that have contacted HES).

Covers all the services and schemes offered through contact to HES.

“All social housing” figure is assuming that there are only housing associations and local authorities.

Question reference: S4W-29738

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 05 February 2016
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 24 February 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4O-05208 by Michael Matheson on 6 January 2015 (Official Report, c. 6), how many such incidents there are each year, and what proportion of all police incidents this represents.

Question reference: S4W-29737

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 05 February 2016
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 24 February 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how much police time is spent each year on attending incidents involving people with potential mental health problems.

Question reference: S4W-29658

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 February 2016
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 23 February 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether secondary appointments have been delayed in NHS Lanarkshire's pain services due to the intake of new chronic pain patients since April 2015.

Question reference: S4W-29656

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 February 2016
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 23 February 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether there has been an increase in the number of new chronic pain patient referrals to NHS Lanarkshire's pain clinics from April 2015 and, if so, what increase.

Question reference: S4W-29657

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 February 2016
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 23 February 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether staffing levels in NHS Lanarkshire's conventional chronic pain services have been increased since April 2015.

Question reference: S4W-29580

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 29 January 2016
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 9 February 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how the £50 million for mental health services will be spent, broken down by (a) NHS board, (b) type of treatment and (c) group of professionals who will receive the money.

Last year we announced additional investment of £100 million to improve mental health services over five years. The Draft Budget 2016-17 provides a further £50 million, resulting in a total package of £150 million to 2019-20.

As we announced in January 2016, £54.1 million of this package will be allocated to NHS boards over four years to improve access to psychological therapies for people of all ages, including children and adolescents.

£4.8 million will be invested in improving support for boards to identify enables and barriers to improving access and meeting Local Delivery Plan (LDP) standards through the creation of a ‘Mental Health Access Improvement Support Team’;

£24.6 million will be invested to support workforce development to improve both the training and capacity of those providing psychological therapies to people of all ages; and £24.7 million will be invested to support boards to improve their capacity to meet the LDP standards and engage with the improvement programme.

We are working with NHS boards, other public sector partners and the third sector on priorities for the remaining spend, in line with our forthcoming mental health strategy.

Question reference: S4T-01315

Asked by: Jim Hume, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 08 February 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 February 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on reports of a 50% increase in households requesting financial assistance to pay fuel and heating bills.