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-01226

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 July 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 29 July 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether priorities for its Policy Priorities scheme for grant funding via the Chief Scientist Office have been identified and, if so, whether it will publish these.

Question reference: S5W-01227

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 July 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 29 July 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how much medical research funding it has provided to (a) motor neurone disease, (b) multiple sclerosis (MS), (c) stroke, (d) heart disease and (e) cancer since 2011.

The Scottish Government supports medical research financially by three routes: (1) through research and infrastructure support allocations to the NHS Boards, (2) by its contribution to the Office for the Strategic Co-ordination of Health Research which allows Scottish researchers to bid for National Institute for Health Research Grants and (3) through the research funding committees and fellowship schemes run by the Chief Scientist Office. The Scottish Government does not routinely hold information of funding allocated for research into specific health conditions via routes 1 and 2.

The following table shows the figures for funding awarded via the Chief Scientist Office research funding committees and fellowship schemes for the period 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2016. The figures also include the Chief Scientist Office contribution to a number of co-funding initiatives with medical research charities.

Motor Neurone Disease	£75,000
Multiple Sclerosis	£211,433
Stroke	£3,864,934
Cardiovascular Disease	£1,927,025
Cancer	£9,709,622

Question reference: S5W-01229

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 July 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 29 July 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what work it is doing to support Scottish-based medical researchers following the EU referendum result.

Question reference: S5W-01228

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 July 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 29 July 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what the value has been of its medical research budget in each year since 2007.

Question reference: S5W-01331

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 11 July 2016
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 27 July 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that Scotland is able to eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030 and by what date it expects to have eliminated it.

The Scottish Government has regular discussions with NHS boards through the Scottish Health Protection Network’s Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Programme. A number of the framework sub-groups, which meet regularly, are involved in action relevant to this aspiration, including the prevention, diagnoses, testing and treatment, and information and data. On 28 May 2016 the World Health Assembly adopted the first ever Global Viral Hepatitis Strategy and made a commitment to the elimination of viral hepatitis as a major public health threat by 2030. The Scottish Government supports this international commitment and is working towards elimination by 2030.

Question reference: S5W-01142

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 27 July 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the number and country of origin of NHS staff from other EU member states in each year since 2007.

Under this government we currently have the highest NHS staffing levels ever, and we greatly value the significant contribution made to our health service by our dedicated NHS workforce – including those doctors, nurses and other staff from EU countries who care for us daily.

As members of the EU, free movement of staff has not required us to hold information on numbers of EU citizens working within NHSScotland. However, on the basis of information from the Office of National Statistics, it is estimated that EU citizens account for approximately five per cent of the NHSScotland workforce.

The Scottish Government assures EU citizens working in Scotland that we want them here, we value their contribution, and we will be doing everything we can to make sure they can continue with us without detriment.

Question reference: S5W-01330

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 11 July 2016
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 27 July 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken to ensure the introduction of opt-out blood borne virus testing in prisons.

Question reference: S5W-01545

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 15 July 2016
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 26 July 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how the £250 million announced for social care by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport on 26 February 2016 will be allocated.

The Scottish Government is distributing the £250 million to health Bbs via their annual allocations, using the same allocation formula as was used for distribution of the Integrated Care Fund. This approach takes account of funding formulae used for the NHS and local government, using a 1:1 ratio of the National Resource Allocation Committee formula for the NHS and grant aided expenditure formula for local government.

Question reference: S5W-01035

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 27 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 21 July 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether the NHS targets review will have an independent chair.

Question reference: S5W-01036

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 27 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 21 July 2016

To ask the Scottish Government which current targets will be exempted from the NHS targets review, broken down by the reason for not including them.

The scope of the NHS targets review will focus on the 20 existing local delivery plan standards. The review will encompass cancer waiting times targets – linking in with the Scottish Government’s Cancer Strategy which includes a commitment to review cancer waiting times targets. In that strategy we said that we will examine whether additional targets for treatment or diagnosis would improve outcomes for people with cancer.