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-28898

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 15 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to people who are diagnosed with ME, and what impact the COVID-19 outbreak is having on access to this.

The Scottish Good Practice Statement (SGPS) on ME/CFS provides information to assist professionals and members of the public with the diagnosis and treatment of this condition at: https://www.scot.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/GoodPracticeStatement.pdf

Last year we published a National Framework 'Neurological Care and Support in Scotland 2020-2025' that sets out an overview of current provision informed by lived experience engagement nationally with 17 commitments across five aims detailing how we will work with stakeholders and partners to drive improvement in health and social care from diagnosis to anticipatory care planning needs. Further information is available at https://www.gov.scot/publications/neurological-care-support-scotland-framework-action-2020-2025/. While this is not condition specific, it defines neurological conditions in line with the World Health Organisation and ICD-10 classification codes of which ME is included.

The findings from two projects we are currently undertaking with the Scottish Health Council and Public Health Scotland, coupled with the forthcoming updated National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guideline that takes account of latest evidence, will inform developments in care and support for ME/CFS in Scotland.

We are committed to ensuring people receive the correct information about the level of risk to them if they become infected by COVID-19 and what actions they should take to protect themselves if they are classed as at the highest risk of severe illness from the virus. We have published advice for people with long-term health conditions, including neurological conditions, at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-tailored-advice-for-those-who-live-with-specific-medical-conditions/ . The guidance has been widely circulated to clinicians, organisations supporting people with neurological conditions, including ME/CFS, for them to disseminate through their networks.

We have been clear that patient safety remains the utmost priority and NHS Scotland continues to deal with urgent non-Covid related referrals as well as providing on-going essential care provision. NHS Boards have mobilised their activity including the use of telephone and video consultations to minimise face to face contact unless absolutely necessary. The Chief Nursing Officer in Scotland has also written to NHS Board Nurse Directors to ensure they prioritise community support for the most vulnerable people to enable them to manage their conditions and remain in their own homes. We continue to work with NHS Boards and Integrated Joint Boards alongside the wider neurological community to understand and address the emerging implications from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Question reference: S5W-28900

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 15 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it is giving to possible increases in post-viral fatigue as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Some degree of post-viral fatigue is fairly common after a viral infection. We need to understand more about COVID-19 in particular to better know how to prevent infection, how to treat people that contract it and how to support people afterwards during rehabilitation and the longer term affects. Working with partners across the UK, Scotland is leading, enabling and delivering world-class COVID-19 research, a key element of the Government's overall response to the pandemic. Scotland forms part of a single national UK process led by the National Institute for Health Research and draws on expert advice to prioritise time critical COVID-19 studies, which hold the most potential for tackling the challenges faced ( https://www.nihr.ac.uk/covid-studies/ ). In addition, the Chief Scientist Office is funding 55 rapid research projects to better understand the effects of infection in order to inform and improve treatment and consequences of the virus. Further information is available at https://www.cso.scot.nhs.uk/rarc19projects/ .

Question reference: S5W-28899

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 15 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what advice it offers on the prescribing of graded exercise therapy to people who are diagnosed with ME, and what impact the COVID-19 outbreak is having on access to this.

Question reference: S5W-28759

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 April 2020
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 5 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many extremely vulnerable people who have been asked to shield at home from the COVID-19 outbreak have (a) requested and (b) received support from (i) local authorities (ii) supermarkets and (iii) the wholesaler, Brakes and Bidfood, and how many subsequently received this support.

We do not hold consistent data regarding the number of people requesting and receiving shielding support from local authorities.

As at 4 May, the details for all 38,108 people who have requested access to the priority delivery service have been passed to supermarkets. Details of new requests are passed on daily.

As at 4 May 49,575 people have requested weekly food packages. Under the Scottish Government’s agreement with Brakes and Bidfood, the two companies making deliveries, people who are shielding receive their first grocery box within 7 days of their request reaching Brakes and Bidfood. Thereafter they receive their box(es) once a week, until they cancel the deliveries. The exact day on which a person’s box will be delivered depends on which day of the week Brakes and Bidfood deliver to their postcode.

Question reference: S5O-04276

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 18 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the findings of the recent inquiry by the Cross Party Group on Tackling Islamophobia, which reported that only one in five victims of anti-Muslim hate crime report it to the police.

There’s no place in Scotland for hate crime or prejudice, including Islamophobia. I welcome the findings of the inquiry and remain committed to continue to engage with the CPG as they take forward this important work. We recognise that the under reporting of hate crime remains a significant issue and more needs to be done to tackle Islamophobia in Scotland. Our Tackling Prejudice and Building Connected Communities Action Group has prioritised raising awareness of hate crime and encouraging reporting. We also recently consulted on the UK’s All Party Parliamentary Group’s definition of Islamophobia to support our work in this area.

Question reference: S5O-04196

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 February 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to tackle inequalities among low-income families.

Question reference: S5O-04177

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 February 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and what was discussed.

Question reference: S5O-03978

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 December 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 January 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the independent review of the issues at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

Question reference: S5O-03942

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 December 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 December 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to provide additional welfare support for people in need over the Christmas and New Year period.

Question reference: S5W-26429

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 18 November 2019
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 2 December 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what specific advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation statement in July 2018 it used to decide that the boys' HPV vaccination programme should not be implemented via a catch-up vaccination programme.

I asked Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer to write to the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation to seek their expert view on the policy of no HPV catch up programme for boys and the rationale behind this.

The JCVI responded on 26 June confirming that they would be content not to make a recommendation that a catch up programme should be introduced on the basis that:

the success of 10 years of the girls’ programme has established good levels of herd protection which means that there would be limited additional benefits to be gained from a catch-up programme in boys;
the priority should be establishing the extension of the routine programme to include adolescent boys and ensuring high uptake in boys whilst maintaining the high uptake in the girls;
under standard economic methodology a catch up in older boys would not be cost effective.