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: S6W-04011

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 8 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what the cost is of designing and implementing the new SEPA registration system for its Deposit Return Scheme.

Capital and resource funding for SEPA’s programme to plan, track, and deliver the regulator function for Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), including development and delivery of a digital producer registration service, is agreed between SEPA and the Scottish Government as part of the annual Budget process.

Once DRS goes live, the annual registration fee paid by producers with a turnover of greater than £85,000 per year will cover the cost of ongoing maintenance of the registration service and regulation of the scheme.

Question reference: S6O-00303

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 October 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on the commitments in its Programme for Government to tackle the consumption of tobacco, alcohol and unhealthy food and drinks.

Question reference: S6O-00141

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support businesses in relation to developing a sustainable green economy.

Question reference: S6O-00107

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support the growth of social enterprises and other not-for-profit community enterprises.

Question reference: S6O-00075

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 August 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the net zero secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding action to support small and medium-sized businesses to reduce their carbon emissions, as part of wider efforts to reach net zero targets.

Question reference: S6W-01495

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 July 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 13 August 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to eradicate the giant hogweed at the Tarbolton Moss landfill site, in light of concerns that these plants can produce seeds that remain viable for 10 years, which could spread along the course of the River Ayr.

I am pleased to report that work to remove giant hogweed from the site began on 22 July 2021.

The Scottish Government has agreed to fund the first phase of work at the Tarbolton landfill site, which will begin to reduce the environmental and amenity impact of the site. Funding for the control of hogweed was agreed as part of this first phase of work.

While the Scottish Government is not responsible for the site, we continue to work with our public partners to consider further recommendations from a site investigation for the longer-term restoration of the site.

Question reference: S6O-00002

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure the suitable long-term monitoring and management of Tarbolton Landfill.

Question reference: S5W-35488

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 11 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many episodes of venous thromboembolism (VTE) occurred between 1 April 2020 and 1 December 2020, also broken down by how many were associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is not recorded as a single separate diagnosis and represents a range of conditions. VTE is likely to be the underlying condition in almost all cases with a recorded diagnosis of pulmonary embolism. Some, though not all, cases with the diagnosis ‘phlebitis and thrombophlebitis of the lower extremities’ are associated with VTE, particularly where the site is the deep veins of the leg.

The number of hospital stays in NHS Scotland with a recorded diagnosis of pulmonary embolism or with ‘phlebitis and thrombophlebitis of the lower extremities’ for the time period 1 April 2020 to 30 September 2020 are shown in the following table. (Data for the period up to December 2020 will be available from 25 May 2021.) It is not possible to say how many of these episodes were specifically related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Venous thromboembolism may occur at many sites other than the lower extremities, including the portal, renal and cerebral circulations, but these cases are not included here.

Table: Number of hospital stays for pulmonary embolism and for ‘phlebitis and thrombophlebitis of the lower extremities’* (without mention of pulmonary embolism) in NHS Scotland, 1 April 2020 to 30 September 2020.
‎

	Pulmonary embolism **	Phlebitis and thrombophlebitis of the lower extremities, without a diagnosis of pulmonary embolism *
Stays	2,821	1,140

* includes phlebitis and thrombophlebitis of femoral, deep or unspecified vessels of the lower extremities (ICD10 I80.1, I80.2, I80.3)

** based on ICD10 code I26

Source: Public Health Scotland, SMR01
‎ Extracted: March 2021

Question reference: S5W-35612

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 March 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 10 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of COVID-19 on the provision of weight management services.

We are aware that the pandemic has impacted the delivery of weight management services across Scotland. Staff have been redeployed to acute COVID-19 response, which has resulted in the pausing of some in-person weight management services across Boards over the past year.

Boards are required to report quarterly to the Scottish Government on their progress in relation to the Framework for the Prevention, Early Detection and Early Intervention of Type 2 Diabetes. This reporting mechanism allows us to assess any impact of COVID-19 on weight management services that are integral to Type 2 Diabetes care.

The provision of weight management services has continued throughout the pandemic on digital platforms such as NHS Near Me. Boards are refocusing pre-COVID services to include digital and technological solutions to improve flexibility of care. Further information on Near Me can be found here https://www.nearme.scot/ .

Public Health Scotland will publish a national report this year on the core national weight management dataset, incorporating data analyses and reflections on COVID-19 impact on data collection. This report is expected in May 2021. We will use this dataset to assess the weight management services currently offered and the outcomes achieved by users.

Question reference: S5W-35614

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 March 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 10 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it supports the aims of World Obesity Day 2021, and whether it plans to tackle weight stigma as part of its obesity strategy, A healthier future: Scotland's diet and healthy weight delivery plan.

We support the mission of World Obesity Day, which aligns with the five key outcomes set out in our 2018 Diet and Healthy Weight Delivery Plan: giving children the best start in life; creating a healthier food environment; better access to weight management services; leadership; and reducing health inequalities. The Delivery Plan is at https://www.gov.scot/publications/healthier-future-scotlands-diet-healthy-weight-delivery-plan/ .

Evidence shows that people living with obesity often experience stigma from employers, health professionals, the media as well as from family and friends. This stigma and weight bias has been associated with poorer mental health, negative experiences of healthcare provision, which can then be a barrier to accessing support that could help people live healthier lives. This is why we have included actions in our Delivery Plan action to address weight-based stigma and discrimination. Included in our Delivery Plan is the commitment to better understand the extent to which weight-based stigma prevents young people from seeking health care advice, treatment and support through research. The Delivery Plan also contains a commitment to act upon the findings.

In March 2020, the Mental Health Foundation co-chaired the Scottish Government’s Advisory Group on Good Body Image for children and young people, and published a report with a number of recommendations relating to the eradication of weight stigma and bias. The report can be accessed here: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/sites/default/files/MHF_Body-Image2020_Report_ONLINE-VERSION%20%281%29.pdf .

In response to this publication, Public Health Scotland are developing weight stigma discrimination training and communication guidelines that will initially be aimed at health care professionals in the NHS but will also be freely available for anyone to access.

In 2020-21 we provided Obesity Action Scotland with over £200,000 of grant funding. Obesity Action Scotland provide leadership and advocacy to health professionals, policy makers and the public on preventing, and reducing obesity and overweight in Scotland by:

Raising awareness and understanding of health harms and drivers
Identifying and pursuing effective prevention strategies
Undertaking appropriate research and evidence gathering
Promoting healthy weight