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: S5F-04901

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 15 March 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 March 2021

To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government will adopt the Scottish mesh survivors charter.

Question reference: S5W-34987

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 15 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what equalities impact assessment was carried out regarding the roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccination programme.

Question reference: S5W-35610

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 01 March 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 12 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what actions are available to Police Scotland when a person or organisation deliberately withholds materials that are subject to a search warrant.

Question reference: S5W-35759

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 05 March 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 12 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with the (a) energy, (b) house building, (c) environment and (d) community sectors regarding the national developments to be incorporated in the National Planning Framework 4.

No decisions have been made on the national developments that may be included in the draft National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) this autumn and we have not proactively organised meetings with these sectors to discuss national developments.

Suggestions for national developments were invited during the early engagement ‘Call for Ideas’ period, which closed at the end of April 2020. Between May 2020 and 8 March 2021, officials from the Scottish Government’s Planning and Architecture Division have accepted invitations to discuss national developments from a variety of organisations listed below:

Aberdeen Harbour Board

Cairngorms National Park Authority

Drax

East Lothian Council

Forth Ports

Grangemouth Investment Zone Group

Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority

National Walking and Cycling Network Steering Group

NatureScot

Orkney Islands Council

Peel Ports

Scottish Power Energy Networks

Scottish & Southern Electricity Networks

Sustrans

Wallace Land

Preparation of NPF4 is also being supported by a range of impact assessments and we have commissioned and met with AECOM and LUC consultancies to support our assessment of candidate National Developments. We are also engaging with Public Health Scotland on this work.

Question reference: S5W-35760

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 05 March 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 12 March 2021

To ask Scottish Government what plans it has to meet communities that might be affected by the national developments that will be incorporated in the National Planning Framework 4.

Our programme for engagement is clear that we will consider how best to support communities which may be impacted by a national development proposal. We will follow this up by setting out our approach to engagement in a Participation Statement for National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) to be published alongside the draft NPF4 when it is laid in Parliament this autumn. The Parliamentary process, and the extensive public consultation we will carry out at the same time, will provide a significant opportunity for people and organisations to comment on the draft spatial strategy, policies and proposed national developments later this year.

Question reference: S5W-35781

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 05 March 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 12 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-35332 by Jeane Freeman on 5 March 2021, whether it will be possible for doctors, surgeons and services from outside the UK and EU to bid for these mesh removal services.

Question reference: S5W-35502

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 26 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 12 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many removal of transobturator meshes with the bilateral groin incision approach procedures were performed (a) prior to and (b) since 1 May 2019; how many surgeons took part, broken down by the number of procedures each performed; what information it has regarding who trained the surgeons, and (i) how many procedures they have carried out, (ii) when they carried out their first procedure, (iii) what evidence was accepted to confirm their accreditation, and who is responsible for the (A) trainer's appointment and (B) monitoring of their skills.

The information requested is not collected or held by the Scottish Government.

With regard to skills acquisition, accreditation and monitoring of surgeons’ skills and performing such procedures, I would draw your attention to the Chief Medical Officer’s submission to the Public Petitions Committee in November 2020, in which he outlined the standard training curriculum and the Revalidation process. This is available online at: Chief Medical Officer and Secretariat Division.dot (parliament.scot) . In addition, you will be aware of the work that is ongoing to develop a General Medical Council-approved credential in mesh removal, which will provide further assurance for the service here, as well as reassurance for patients.

Scotland has also committed to joining a UK-wide database of procedures which is currently being developed having been unavoidably delayed by the necessary response to the Covid-19 pandemic. This will allow comparison of activity and outcomes across the UK designated specialist centres.

Question reference: S5W-35331

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 11 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether the NHS will refund mesh-injured women who have used life savings or have borrowed money to fund removal abroad by internationally-recognised mesh surgeons.

In line with a commitment I gave previously, Scottish Government officials have investigated whether there exists appropriate statutory authority to refund patients who have arranged and received treatment privately, and not through a referral from an NHS Board. Further to this consideration, it has been concluded that there are not legal powers to use public funds to reimburse persons in these circumstances.

Question reference: S5W-35454

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 22 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 11 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what priority will be given to university staff in the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out.

We are adhering to the priority list devised by the Joint Committee of Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) who have advised an age-based programme will capture those with clinical risk factors as the risk of death is very strongly linked with age, more so than any other factor. A number of university staff may fall into the priority risk groups set out by the JCVI; these individuals will receive an invitation to their vaccine appointment.

Question reference: S5O-05119

Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 March 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made on the pardoning of miners convicted of offences relating to the strike in 1984-85.