Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-18910

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 22 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many properties have been removed from the R100 build scope since 2017, broken down by (a) lot and (b) year.

Our Reaching 100% (R100) commitment is delivered through three strands of activity – the R100 contracts, the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (R100 SBVS) and continued commercial build.

While a property may move between these strands, for example properties can move from being eligible for R100 SBVS to being delivered commercially, no properties are removed from the overall scope of the programme.

Question reference: S6W-18912

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 22 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how many properties are expected to receive new connections of superfast broadband through the R100 build scheme by its completion.

The R100 contracts are expected to connect over 114,000 premises upon completion. Around 99% of those connections will be fibre to the premises (FTTP) which is capable of delivering gigabit download speeds, over 30 times faster than our original superfast commitment.

For those who live or work in premises that are outwith the reach of commercial and R100 contract build plans, the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (SBVS) remains available and offers up to £5,000 to secure a superfast broadband connection. As this is a demand-led scheme it is not possible to provide dates by which people might be connected.

There is also on-going delivery of commercial superfast broadband networks and we continue to engage with the industry to understand their future plans.

Question reference: S6W-18930

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 22 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact of delays to the R100 programme on access to digital healthcare services for remote and rural patients.

Our investment through the R100 programme will be transformational for many of Scotland’s most rural communities and is providing a full fibre backbone that will enable reliable connectivity services to be delivered.

An individual’s ability to access digital healthcare can be impacted by a number of factors, not just their rurality and the availability of digital infrastructure in their area.

That is why, while recognising the importance of access to digital healthcare, it should be promoted as one choice for patients but not the only available option. Digital healthcare programmes are subject to Equality Impact Assessments (EQIAs) to assess the impact of accessibility.

Question reference: S6O-02429

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 June 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to "support the constitutional protection of the specific interests and needs of island communities", as outlined in its latest Building a New Scotland paper.

Question reference: S6W-18906

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 21 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on whether the University of Strathclyde is involved in any fishing trials or surveys, or computer modelling work regarding fish stocks in the River Clyde.

The University of Strathclyde, through a PhD project co-supervised with Marine Directorate staff, is involved in data collation and stock assessment modelling for demersal fish stocks in the Clyde. The project uses fisheries-dependent data (from logbooks for landings), routine Marine Directorate on-board observer sampling data (for fish not officially landed), and fisheries-independent data from the Scottish West Coast groundfish survey. The PhD project is in the writing-up phase, aiming to submit at the end of the summer 2023.

Question reference: S6W-18936

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 21 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that there is equal access to women's health services across all parts of Scotland.

The Women’s Health Plan sets out actions which aim to address women’s health inequalities by raising awareness around women’s health, improving access to health care for women across their lives, and reducing inequalities in health outcomes for women and girls.

NHS Boards are responsible for determining and delivering the services required by their local populations. For NHS Boards that cover remote and rural settings, local planning is expected to take account of the particular needs of these populations. Integration Authorities also engage and consult with a range of stakeholders, and work with local communities and professionals to improve outcomes and sustainability of provision through service redesign.

Question reference: S6W-18933

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 21 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that any patients who have lost access to NHS dental care, but who require regular NHS dental prescriptions, are able to continue to access any such prescriptions without having to pay for them privately.

Question reference: S6W-18907

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 21 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government which universities and research establishments are currently working with Marine Scotland in relation to fishing issues on the River Clyde.

The University of Strathclyde, through a PhD project co-supervised with Marine Directorate staff, is involved in data collation and stock assessment modelling for demersal fish stocks in the Clyde. The project uses fisheries-dependent data (from logbooks for landings), routine Marine Directorate on-board observer sampling data (for fish not officially landed), and fisheries-independent data from the Scottish West Coast groundfish survey. The PhD project is in the writing-up phase, aiming to submit at the end of the summer 2023.

Question reference: S6W-18931

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 21 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what work it is undertaking to ensure that digital access to medical records, with appropriate safeguards, is facilitated between neighbouring NHS boards, and to other medical services, such as community pharmacies.

We continue to work with key partners across Scotland to ensure that information, with the appropriate safeguards in place, is available to all staff when and where they need it. Regional Clinical Portals support NHS Boards to allow clinicians to access different pieces of information about an individual patient as a single electronic record including those patients from other NHS Boards if and when required.

The portal will scan the many clinical systems searching for records pertinent to the patient and assemble the results into a meaningful view on screen. The portal also allows a clinician with suitable access scrutinise the clinical information presented for a more detailed view, and to move into other systems without having to re-authenticate or reselect the patient.

Community Pharmacy gained access to the Emergency Care Summary (ECS) for all community pharmacists and registered technicians during COVID 19. It remains available in all NHS Boards, and is an effective tool to deliver enhanced and efficient patient care.

Question reference: S6W-18928

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 21 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact that the reported scarcity of NHS dental care availability in Dumfries and Galloway will have on the (a) oral and (b) general health of the population.

The Scottish Government is aware of emerging access issues within NHS Dumfries and Galloway, noting that this is an area which has suffered disproportionately with dental workforce issues in the past – an issue has only been heightened by the significant loss of EU workforce as a result of Brexit.

While an overall assessment of the impact of local access issues has not been undertaken, as it is a matter for the NHS Board, Scottish Government is working closely with the recently appointed Board Dental Taskforce to help understand and mitigate against the drivers of access issues. This includes strategic planning on the design and implementation of more sustainable dental services across the Board area. While this work continues, unregistered patients will continue to be able to access emergency and urgent care via Public Dental Service clinics.

Chamber and committees