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: S5W-27604

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 10 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-21999 by John Swinney on 19 March 2019, whether it will provide the same information for 2018-19.

Average per-pupil spending on additional support for learning in Scotland was £3,286 in 2018-19.

Data detailing spending on additional support for learning is collected from local authorities via the Local Financial Returns (LFR). This per-pupil spend figure shows gross revenue expenditure on additional support for learning in primary, secondary and special education from the local financial returns (£653,080), divided by the number of pupils identified as having additional support needs recorded in the 2018 Pupil Census.

Local authorities are asked to provide this LFR data in line with relevant guidance to ensure returns are completed on a consistent basis to allow for a reasonable degree of comparability. However, these figures may be affected by variations in local accounting practices and Education strategies. It is important to consider these factors when making comparisons between local authorities and years.

This data also cannot capture the full detail of the support provided to pupils, as a result of provision made for the whole pupil population, from which children and young people with additional support needs also benefit.

LFR data for 2017-18 (revised) showed that local authorities spent £633 million on additional support for learning (on pre-primary, primary, secondary and special education). Compared with £661 million in 2018-19, this represents a 2.2% increase in real terms (4.3% in cash terms).

Sources:

1. Local Financial Returns – Education (LFR 01) statistical return provided by local authorities to the Scottish Government (2017-18 and 2018-19).

2. Pupil Census – published annually - for further details go to: https://www2.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/dspupcensus/dspupcensus18 .

Question reference: S5W-27663

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 10 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what the average waiting time has been to see a dermatologist in each year since 2007, broken down by NHS board.

The average waiting time to see a dermatologist is available for new outpatients and inpatient/day cases quarterly, since December 2012 and NHS Board on ISD’s website. Please find the following link to the NHS Waiting Times Stage of Treatment publication where the data files are available:

https://beta.isdscotland.org/find-publications-and-data/healthcare-resources/waiting-times/nhs-waiting-times-stage-of-treatment/ .

Question reference: S5W-27668

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 10 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many cases of MRSA have been reported in each year since 1999, broken down by hospital.

Health Protection Scotland has published quarterly data on both healthcare associated and community associated Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemias (SABs) at Board level since October 2017. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) are not reported on individually due to small numbers of MRSA cases, but are part of the overall SAB data. The most recent quarterly report, published in January 2020, can be found on the Health Protection Scotland website here .

Mandatory reporting of MRSA infections commenced across Scotland in 2003. Historic data is available from the Health Protection Scotland archive here , however any data published before October 2017 does not specify whether infections were healthcare or community associated.

Since 2007, rates of MRSA infections have reduced significantly. In their latest Healthcare Associated Infection Annual Report (May 2019), Health Protection Scotland reported a decreasing year on year trend in Scotland’s MRSA infection rate between 2014 and 2018.

Question reference: S5W-27695

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 10 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to establish priority assessment areas in hospitals for people suspected as having the coronavirus, COVID-19.

Question reference: S5W-27703

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 10 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether data is recorded for each non-melanoma skin cancer a patient develops, or whether only the first non-melanoma skin cancer is recorded.

Question reference: S5W-27694

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 10 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what the process and timescale is for testing a person who is suspected of having the coronavirus, COVID-19, after being identified through contract tracing.

Question reference: S5W-27705

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 10 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment has been made of anticipated non-melanoma skin cancer incidence rates in the next five years.

Question reference: S5W-27704

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 10 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been diagnosed with non-melanoma skin cancer in each NHS board in each of the last five years, also broken down by (a) age, (b) gender, (c) type of non-melanoma skin cancer diagnosis and (d) stage at diagnosis.

ISD publish annual cancer incidence figures for non-melanoma skin cancer. The latest published figures using data from the Scottish Cancer Registry are for data up to 2017. 2018 data is due to be published on 28-04-2020. Annual cancer incidence figures for non-melanoma skin cancer are available on the ISD website split by sex and NHS Board at: https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Cancer/Publications/2019-04-30/i_cancer_skin.xls . Five-yearly cancer incidence figures for non-melanoma skin cancer are available on the ISD website split by sex, age group and NHS Board. Figures by age group and NHS Board are produced for five-yearly figures only to protect patient confidentiality. The following annual and five-yearly figures are also available for Basal cell carcinoma of the skin and Squamous cell carcinoma of the skin at these links. Information on stage at diagnosis is not available in the Scottish Cancer Registry for non-melanoma skin cancer. https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Cancer/Publications/2019-04-30/si_cancer_skin.xls

Question reference: S5T-02062

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 March 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the concerns raised by the former chair of NHS Lothian regarding the new Royal Hospital for Children and Young People.

Question reference: S5W-27376

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 9 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-27060 by Jeane Freeman on 5 February 2020, what the findings have been from the stress audits carried out by NHS boards.

Findings from stress audits are not collated by the Scottish Government .

Stress audits are part of the monitoring and evaluation process on the effectiveness of NHS Boards` stress at work policies and support services. They include consideration of staff experience reports, sickness absence rates and staff turnover rates.

Boards` policies should equip staff and managers with tools to identify the risk of stress, intervene appropriately and encourage staff to get help at an early stage.

We expect NHS Boards to assess and mitigate the risks of stress whilst supporting staff to manage stress in the workplace. This includes where it has been added to, or caused by stress in their personal lives.