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-10616

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 07 August 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 1 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether there are any differences between the figures for patients registered with an NHS dentist provided by Information Services Division Scotland and those provided by NHS boards.

The official statistics on NHS dental registration and participation are published in January of each year by Information Services Division (ISD).

The Scottish Government has been made aware of a discrepancy between the official statistics for the Western Isles and figures provided by the Board as a result of a freedom of information request.

ISD have been notified of the discrepancy and intend to include revised registration and participation figures in the next publication of the official statistics due for release in January 2018.

Question reference: S5W-10617

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 07 August 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 1 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many dental patients’ registrations have been placed in abeyance, broken down by NHS board.

Question reference: S5W-10614

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 07 August 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 1 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what treatment is available to dental patients whose registration has been placed in abeyance.

Patients whose registrations have been placed in abeyance can access either emergency and/or occasional treatment. Treatments available as occasional treatment include:

assessment of, and giving of advice to, a patient;
a radiological examination;
the extraction of deciduous or permanent teeth;
the repair and refixing of inlays, crowns and bridges, including, where immediately necessary, the provision of temporary crowns;
the replacement, repair or alterations of dentures or other dental appliances.

This list is not exhaustive and a full list of available treatments is set out in paragraph 18(2) of Schedule 1 of the NHS (General Dental Services) (Scotland) Regulations 2010.

Question reference: S5W-10681

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 August 2017
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 31 August 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding the number of anti-depressant prescriptions issued in each of the last three years by each NHS board.

This information is available in Medicines for Mental Health, Years 2004-05 - 2015-16 data, published online by Information Services Division of NHS National Services Scotland at http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Prescribing-and-medicines/Publications/data-tables.asp?id=1753#1753.

In addition, the Scottish Government has published Key Information on the use of Antidepressants in Scotland which can be found online at: http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0045/00456540.pdf.

Question reference: S5O-01207

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 August 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what support it can offer to companies affected by the downturn in the North Sea oil and gas industry that are not based in the north east.

Question reference: S5W-09972

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 June 2017
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 30 August 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Royal Bank of Scotland regarding the impact of job losses recently announced by the company.

Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise officials have been in contact with the Royal Bank of Scotland on the subject of their recent announcement. We have been informed that RBS will do everything it can to support those affected and we will look to see positive action being taken including redeployment into new roles where possible.

The Scottish Government will continue to engage with RBS and we will do everything we can to provide support and help to those affected in Scotland by job losses through the Finance Sector Jobs Taskforce and, if required, our initiative for responding to redundancy situations Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE).

Question reference: S5W-10622

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 August 2017
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 30 August 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the report, Proposal for Additional Control Measures on Domestic Cat Ownership in Scotland as a Conservation Action to Protect the Scottish Wildcat, by Anna Meredith.

Question reference: S5W-10623

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 August 2017
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 30 August 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what information it gathers on the number of domestic cats in Scotland, and what impact reported increases in this number will have on (a) pet cats and (b) the long-term future of the Scottish wildcat.

Free-ranging domestic cat numbers are being monitored in wildcat priority areas through survey work conducted by Scottish Wildcat Action. This survey work is too recent to establish whether there have been changes in the domestic cat populations in those areas. The Scottish Government is unaware of any historic long-term data on domestic cats of sufficient quality to allow assessment of population trends in Scotland and it is difficult to predict what effect an increased domestic cat population would have on pet cats.

One of the main threats to Scottish wildcat is hybridisation with domestic cat, with survey work and genetic analysis confirming widespread hybridisation. An increase in the domestic cat population within the range of the wildcat could result in a corresponding increase in the risk of further hybridisation with wildcats.

Question reference: S5W-10594

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 04 August 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 29 August 2017

To ask the Scottish Government when it will next publish figures on delayed discharges for mental health patients.

NHS Information Services Division publish the Delayed Discharge in NHS Scotland census on a monthly basis (http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Health-and-Social-Community-Care/Publications/data-tables2017.asp?id=1968#1968), showing the total numbers of patients who are delayed in their discharge from hospital in Scotland. Information is shown by NHS Board, local authority, reason, duration and location of delay, but is not broken down by specialties.

Question reference: S5W-10516

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 28 July 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 24 August 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding whether the Inquiries Act 2005 prohibits the UK Government from establishing a statutory inquiry without the permission of the Scottish Ministers.

As provided for in section 27 of the Inquiries Act 2005, Scottish Ministers expect to be consulted in relation to the Terms of Reference of any statutory inquiry if they are to include anything that will require the inquiry to determine any fact, or to make recommendations, wholly or primarily concerned with Scottish matters. In addition, the Scottish Ministers expect that the responsible UK Minister would also consult them should they consider giving any permission for the Chair of any inquiry to require the production of evidence, documents or other information that is wholly or primarily concerned with a Scottish matter; or production of evidence, documents or other items by Scottish Ministers.