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-24834

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 August 2019
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 4 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to review regulations relating to the marketing of vaping products in supermarkets and other retail outlets.

The Scottish Government is committed to consult and legislate on restricting the advertising and promotion of e-cigarettes. This will make Scotland the first country in Europe to do so. The proposed restrictions will not apply to any public health campaigns or adverts, and the proposal is to allow advertising at point of sale provided it is not seen from outside the premises.

The Scottish Government will launch this consultation around the end of 2019. The restrictions proposed will cover domestic advertising of e-cigarettes – on bill boards, on leaflets, on bus shelters etc. Advertising on TV, on the radio, on-line and in newspapers and magazines is already banned.

Question reference: S5W-24823

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 19 August 2019
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 4 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the introduction of a UK Government Bill to restrict the serving of foods high in fat, salt or sugar in schools by 2022, whether it has considered introducing a similar target.

Our school meal uptake is higher now than when current Scottish school food regulations were first introduced in 2008 and we are leading the way by becoming the first part of the UK to set a maximum amount of sugar and processed red meat that can be made available during the course of the school day.

The current regulations already include strict upper limits in relation to sugar and school caterers must plan their menus in a manner which prevents children and young people from consuming excessive amounts of sugar, fat, or salt over the course of the school week.

We will be amending the regulations further to make school meals even healthier and more closely aligned with the Scottish Dietary Goals.

The improvements to school food and drink are a key part of our commitment to strengthening children and young people’s healthy eating habits and halving childhood obesity by 2030.

Question reference: S5W-24689

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 12 August 2019
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 3 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the provisional levels of spending for the Tackling Child Poverty Fund set out in the report, Every Child, Every Chance: Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan: First year Progress Report 2018-19, to what areas or projects the remaining £18 million of the Fund will be allocated.

Question reference: S5T-01752

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 02 September 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government by what date the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh will open.

Question reference: S5W-24640

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 August 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 2 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many floods have been recorded at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People; what areas have been affected; what damage each flood caused; what the source was; how deep the water was recorded to be on each occasion; where the problematic drains are located, and at what capacity the drainage system has been operating compared to that expected when the hospital is fully operational.

Question reference: S5W-24652

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 August 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 2 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-01841 by Shona Robison on 5 September 2016, which states that completion of the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People was expected in 2017, what other dates it has previously given for its opening.

Question reference: S5W-24637

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 August 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 2 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on Multiplex’s suitability for future (a) public projects and (b) NHS projects, in light of its work building the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh and the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow.

In my response to S5W-24397 on 18 July 2019, I set out the events that led to my decision to postpone the move to the new hospital, the work I instructed to identify the factors that led to that decision, and what was required to be done to allow services to move to the new hospital. I also summarised the support being provided to the Board, patients and staff during this difficult period.

NHS Lothian staff are focused on resolving the issues and I will continue to keep Parliament informed of progress of the work being undertaken, the timeframe for moving to the new hospital and any other related issues.

In order to provide the necessary assurance to provide confidence the new hospital meets necessary guidance for safety, I have commissioned NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) to undertake a detailed assessment of the compliance of all building systems which could impact on the safety of patients and staff at the new site. An assessment of water, ventilation and drainage have been prioritised and the completed report on this first phase is expected next month.

An Oversight Board will provide advice to Ministers on the readiness of the facility to open and on the migration of services to the new facility. Membership of this group draws on clinical and technical expertise, and includes representatives from Scottish Government, NHS Lothian, Scottish Futures Trust, NSS and NHS Lothian Joint Staff Side. The group has undertaken its first meeting and will be providing regular progress updates to NHS Lothian staff.

The entire senior leadership in NHS Lothian is working hard to progress with finalising the rectification plans for ventilation. Development of these plans, which will include determining liability for rectification costs, will be subject to scrutiny by the Oversight Board.

To be clear, there are absolutely no plans to ‘pull down’ the building. Any suggestions that this is being planned are simply false.

No services in the current building have ceased or closed in anticipation of the move to the new building. Migration plans are being developed by NHS Lothian to consider whether individual departments could move to the new hospital in a phased manner. Plans for closure of the current building will be developed as part of the migration plans. NHS Lothian are in continued contact with the developer and as revised timelines become clearer, they will be able to agree a vacant possession date.

I was pleased to meet with staff side representatives on 13 August 2019 and set out the importance on information sharing between NHS Lothian and Staff Side partners. I expect NHS Lothian to keep the Trade Unions and Professional Organisations fully sighted on any issues which may affect staff and I communicated that message direct to them when I met.

Details are available on NHS Lothian’s website on the approval, procurement, and project costs:

https://org.nhslothian.scot/CapitalDevelopments/CurrentProjects/
ProudHistoriesNewChapters/BusinessCase/Pages/default.aspx

There has been an additional payment of £11.6 million since the full business case for the project was approved, which relates to a settlement agreement. Audit Scotland requested the external auditor, Scott-Moncrieff, to carry out a high level review of the arrangements around the settlement agreement. Following this review, Scott-Moncrieff, concluded that:

‘The priority of providing a safe and robust facility was in evidence throughout the board’s approach to the resolution of the dispute. Professional advice on technical standards, legal and commercial matters was taken throughout the process.’

The outcome of this review is publicly available in the Annual Audit report for 2018-19 for NHS Lothian.

Annual Service Payments were initiated on 23 February 2019 as per the terms of the contract.

Safe, effective and high quality clinical services continue to be delivered from the existing site in Sciennes and my officials are working very closely with the management of the Board and clinical professional organisations to ensure that we take all the necessary actions to allow the move to go ahead as quickly and safely as possible.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

Question reference: S5W-24649

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 August 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 2 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government (a) at what points in the process and (b) on what dates it approved the (i) overall design and (ii) opening arrangements of the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People.

Question reference: S5W-24646

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 August 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 2 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what risk analysis has been undertaken regarding the time of year for the opening of the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People and transfer from the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, including how this will be impacted by weather, the number of daylight hours, the number of procedures planned and overall sickness levels, and whether it will place a copy of this analysis in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe).

Question reference: S5W-24639

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 August 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 2 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) drainage and (b) water issues at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People involve; what percentage of the site’s footprint is affected, and how accessible the areas that require remedial work are.