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

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Question reference: S5W-25876

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 1 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what clinical assessment is required by NHS boards prior to changes in the treatments offered to patients.

In taking decisions around treatment and service provision, NHS Boards should consider the most up to date guidance available from a range of sources, including, for example, the Royal Colleges, the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN), the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the Scottish Medicines Consortium, the Scottish Health Technologies Group and the Scottish Government.

On an individual basis, it is the responsibility of clinicians, in consultation with their patients, to discuss and agree the best treatment options based on their individual clinical need.

Question reference: S5W-25869

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 1 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government which regional NHS boards include acupuncture as a treatment offered by pain management services.

NHS Board Pain Management Services Offering Acupuncture
NHS Ayrshire and Arran	No
NHS Borders	Yes
NHS Dumfries and Galloway	No
NHS Fife	Yes - available to individual patients for pain management, if individual assessment by a qualified clinician warrants its use. Ongoing use of acupuncture by way of a dedicated ‘acupuncture clinic’ is not provided.
NHS Forth Valley	Yes - needle acupuncture only.
NHS Grampian	No
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde	No
NHS Highland	No
NHS Lanarkshire	Yes
NHS Lothian	No
NHS Orkney	Do not offer acupuncture within a dedicated Pain Management Service, however acupuncture for pain management is offered by the physiotherapy team.
NHS Shetland	Don’t include acupuncture as a treatment offered by the Pain Service, but do offer acupuncture on a limited basis within physiotherapy, and still have some patients on the caseload who historically received acupuncture within the Pain service.
NHS Tayside	No
NHS Western Isles	Yes

Question reference: S5W-25619

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 31 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to provide funding to (a) local and (b) integration authorities to support social care providers’ winter resilience plans and, if so, how much will be proved to each authority.

Winter funding is allocated to NHS Boards on the basis they will work in partnership with integration authorities to plan the additional resources and capacity required across the whole system to ensure sustainability and resilience over the winter period. The winter plans from NHS Boards are reviewed against a number of factors and outcomes, including their coverage of health and social care provision.

Question reference: S5O-03705

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S5F-03662

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 28 October 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 31 October 2019

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to the projected £1.8 billion shortfall in NHS funding outlined in the Audit Scotland report, NHS in Scotland 2019.

Question reference: S5W-25504

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Rhoda Grant on 9 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what consideration has been given to using biodegradable period products as part of the free period products scheme.

The SPCB did consider using biodegradable period products as part of the free period products scheme however there is currently a significant difference in cost between biodegradable and non-biodegradable products. We will continue to monitor the market in this area and will consider introducing biodegradable period products if the costs become comparable.

We have recently introduced a wider range of free sanitary products to better assist women.

Question reference: S5W-25495

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 8 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the recently announced £4.8 million for cancer diagnostic services will be allocated toward (a) tackling immediate waiting times concerns and (b) measures to address long-standing workforce vacancies.

As part of the Waiting Times Improvement Plan the recently announced £4.8 million has been made available to Health Boards to specifically tackle immediate diagnostic waiting times concerns. This will ensure that those most urgent patients, including those with suspected cancer, continue to receive their diagnostics swiftly.

This funding is being utilised to increase capacity in the system, including provision of additional radiology (CT & MRI acquisition and reporting) and endoscopy capacity.

Officials are working closely with Health Boards to support recruitment and retention efforts. Over the next three years we are investing £4 million on domestic and international recruitment activity.

Question reference: S5W-25474

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 3 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it expects the new Baird Family Hospital and Anchor Centre to open in 2021 as scheduled.

Question reference: S5W-25475

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 3 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government when the independent review of the costs for the new Baird Family Hospital and Anchor Centre will be completed, and by what date the findings will be published.

Question reference: S5O-03653

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 October 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the commitment in its 2017-18 Programme for Government, what progress it has made with the appointment of school-based counsellors.