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-09711

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 June 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 30 June 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that some local authorities do not provide reminders to (a) permanently blind and (b) other disabled people when their concessionary travel passes are due to expire, and whether it provides or plans to provide guidance to councils to encourage them to issue such reminders.

The Scottish Government is responsible for the management, operational delivery and policy issues relating to concessionary travel in Scotland which is delivered on the National Entitlement Card (NEC). Local authorities manage the NEC application and validation process locally and act as data controllers.

Transport Scotland issues guidance to local authorities to ensure the eligibility criteria is applied consistently across all local authorities, in accordance with current legislative requirements. Whilst Transport Scotland can encourage best practice, it is up to individual local authorities to determine an appropriate application and renewal process in their area which is fit for purpose and takes into account their own cost and resource limitations.

If there are any reports of particular issues I am happy to raise this with local authorities.

Question reference: S5O-01194

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 June 2017
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 29 June 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that all diabetes patients who would benefit from continuous glucose monitoring are able to access this technology.

There is now a well-established evidence base for the benefits of Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) as an aid to improve glycaemic control for a small number of people with Type 1 diabetes.

We have worked with the Scottish Diabetes Group (SDG) to develop an National Approach to support the uptake and increased provision of Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM).

The National Approach along with the Scottish Government funding detailed in director's letter DL(2017)13 will ensure more people than ever before will have access to this life changing technology.

Question reference: S5W-09726

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 June 2017
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 27 June 2017

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the most recent Information Service Division publication summary documents, Chronic Pain Waiting Times in NHSScotland Quarter ending 31 December 2016 and Chronic Pain Waiting Times in NHSScotland Quarter ending 31 March 2017, did not make public full data on chronic pain clinic waiting times, including the numbers of people (a) treated and (b) untreated, when this information was published previously.

Question reference: S5W-09716

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 June 2017
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 27 June 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in response to reports that NHS chronic pain clinics are facing a shortage of (a) staff and (b) resources.

It is the role of the Scottish Government to provide policies, frameworks and resources to NHS boards. In this context, it is a matter for NHS Boards to plan, budget for, and deliver the services required to meet the assessed needs of their resident populations - within the allocations provided.

Scottish Government maintains regular channels of communication and support to NHS boards to ensure services provided are of the best possible standard.

Question reference: S5W-09652

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 June 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 26 June 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what the outcomes were for cleft lip and palate surgery conducted in the (a) Edinburgh and (b) Glasgow hospital unit in 2016-17, and when the annual report of the unit will be published.

Question reference: S5W-09441

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 May 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 23 June 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has received in Barnett consequentials arising from UK Government spending (a) overall and (b) on health in each year since 1999, and how much it allocated to the NHS.

Between 2010-11 and 2016-17 the Scottish Government’s fiscal DEL budget has been reduced by the UK Government by 8.8% in real terms (£31.8 billion in 2010-11 to £29.0 billion in 2016-17).

Health resource consequentials received and allocated over that period are set out in the following table.

	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17
	£m	£m	£m	£m	£m	£m
Health resource consequentials from UK Government	280	249	292	284	348	397
Allocated by Scottish Government to frontline health budget	280	249	292	284	383	397

This shows that the Scottish Government has delivered its commitment made in 2010-11 to pass on health resource consequentials in full, with further additional investment over and above consequentials made by the Scottish Government in 2015-16.

Prior to the period outlined above, the figures are not available on a basis which is directly comparable between the Department of Health and the Scottish Government health portfolio. An example of this is the inclusion of spending on adult social care within figures for the Department of Health.

Question reference: S5O-01154

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 June 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 21 June 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to work with NHS Lothian to expand car parking capacity at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.

Question reference: S5W-09560

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2017
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 14 June 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what the timetable is of its recently announced plans to update regulations for the licensing of dog, cat and rabbit breeding and dealing.

Question reference: S5W-09549

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 13 June 2017

To ask the Scottish Government which organisations it has met to discuss extending free personal care to people under 65 with dementia or other similar conditions, and what action it has taken to encourage these organisations to participate in the feasibility study on this.

Scottish Government officials met with representatives from the Scotland Against the Care Tax Campaign during April 2017. In addition they have also met with local authority representatives at the beginning of June and also plan to hold a round table event with stakeholder and service user organisations in the near future.

I have myself, previously met with Amanda Kopel on a number of occasions to discuss her campaign to extend free personal care to people under the age of 65. Scottish Government officials will meet with a number of representatives of Disabled People’s Organisations before the completion of the Feasibility Study.

Information on how members of the public can contribute to the Feasibility Study can be found at: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Health/Support-Social-Care/Support/Older-People/Free-Personal-Nursing-Care/Extension-free-personal-care-under65

Question reference: S5W-09439

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 May 2017
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 13 June 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been referred to a clinical psychologist in each NHS board area in each year since 1999.

Data on referral rates by NHS board is published in the quarterly Child and Adolescent and Psychological Therapies mental Health Services Waiting Times in NHSScotland reports which are available online at: http://www.isdscotland.org/Publications/.

The referrals section of these reports provide a total of all referrals to a board in a quarter as well as the rate per 1,000 people, but does not specify the numbers that have been referred to clinical psychologists, this information would need to be requested from NHS boards.