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: S5O-01160

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 June 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 June 2017

To ask the Scottish Government when it last discussed policing in Edinburgh with Police Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-09255

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 May 2017
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 2 June 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £150 million that it announced for mental health in 2015 (a) remains unallocated and (b) has been allocated, broken down by (i) initiative and (ii) how long it will apply for.

The £150 million commitment for innovation and improvement was first made to begin in the calendar year 2016, running to the end of 2020. This was subsequently updated and built upon following the most recent Programme for Government (PFG) to be at least £150million from 2017-18 to 2021-22.

We have been clear on the intention that at least £150 million will be spent on innovation and improvement over both five year periods. In short, the £25.4 million spent for innovation and improvement prior to 2017-18 is in addition to the £150 million set out in the most recent PFG.

In 2017-18 the contribution to the £150million fund is £30 million. Allocations for this and future years are under consideration and will be subject to future Spending Reviews and decisions by Scottish Ministers and Parliament.

Question reference: S5T-00559

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 22 May 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take in response to the reported increase in the number of GP practices being run directly by NHS boards.

Question reference: S5W-08818

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 April 2017
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 10 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it has taken to support the promotion of healthy food to children and to protect them from the marketing of unhealthy foods, and how is any success being measured.

The Scottish Government has taken a broad range of measures to support the promotion of healthy food to children including:

Eat Better Feel Better, our social marketing campaign run for the past three years which builds on previous campaigns;
Big Breakfast Events through the Healthy Living Programme in partnership with the Scottish Grocers Federation; and
The Curriculum for Excellence with its focus on children and young people leaving school equipped with the knowledge, skills and experiences they need to make positive lifestyle choices.

We evaluate programmes and monitor progress to determine their impact by a variety of ways depending on the nature of the programme.

Question reference: S5W-09074

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 April 2017
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 10 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-01277 by Jamie Hepburn on 1 August 2016, what assessment it has made of Individual Placement and Support, and whether it will be made routinely available across the country to people with mental health problems as part of Fair Start Scotland.

During the design and development of Fair Start Scotland, we consulted with experts in mental health as well as carrying out research into what works in helping people with mental health conditions into work. We held several meetings of a Mental Health Advisory Group and concluded that Individual Placement and Support was a successful evidence based approach to helping people with severe and enduring mental health conditions into work.

In the Invitation to Tender for Fair Start Scotland, we have been clear that Individual Placement and Support for those with severe and enduring mental health conditions must be available and offered where required.

Question reference: S5W-08817

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 April 2017
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 9 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what funding is available to ensure mental health multidisciplinary teams have routine access to dieticians to prevent people with mental health problems developing physical health conditions, and to support them to manage the impact of medications on physical health.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all patients have appropriate and timely access to the services they need in NHS Scotland. The management of local actions in implementing national policy, and decisions on local spending priorities, are the responsibility of relevant local agencies. This includes assessing the needs of local populations. It is therefore the responsibility of NHS Boards and local authorities to work with their partners and regularly review spending decisions to ensure they deliver fit for purpose services which respond to the needs of their local population, including the level of service provision required regarding dieticians.

We know that people with severe and enduring mental illness may have their lives shortened by 15 to 20 years because of physical ill-health. This is a significant health inequality, and tackling this premature mortality is a key ambition in the Mental Health Strategy 2017-27.

Question reference: S5W-08704

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 April 2017
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 5 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to increase the number of people with autism (a) taking up a modern apprenticeship and (b) accessing full-time employment.

In response to Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) recommendations, Skills Development Scotland (SDS) published its Equalities Action Plan for Modern Apprenticeships in Scotland on 2 December 2015.

The plan has a focus to increase the number of young disabled people; Ethnic minority groups and care leavers entering Modern Apprenticeships.

In order to attract and support young people on the autistic spectrum to be successful in a Modern Apprenticeship (MA) and other employment opportunities, Skills Development Scotland (SDS) has engaged in a number of approaches to attract young people to available opportunities and to ensure that support is optimised once they have embarked upon their opportunity.

As part of the Scottish Strategy for Autism Scottish Government have worked with partners to increase the number of people with autism taking up employment. We funded Values into Action Scotland’s three-year project ‘Diversity Works 4 U’ to support young people with autism to access Modern Apprenticeships (MA) and to ensure the MA scheme is both inclusive and fully responsive to the needs of autistic people.

We have also supported a range of other supported employment models, including Project SEARCH, to support people with autism to find and sustain in employment. We will continue to work with our partners to promote personal outcomes approaches and to support more autistic people to take up employment.

Question reference: S5W-08816

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 April 2017
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 3 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what role community level schemes play in providing access to affordable nutritious food play as outlined in the 2017-2027 Mental Health Strategy, particularly in communities at higher risk of developing mental health problems.

Improving food access is an important part of the Scottish Government’s work to tackle health inequalities and close the opportunity gap. Community food initiatives are a key route through which we are working to improve food access in communities across Scotland.

Through Community Food and Health Scotland (CFHS), the Scottish Government supports work within low-income communities to improve access to, and take-up of, a healthy diet. As part of their work, CFHS engage with community food initiatives to highlight the positive impact that work involving food can have on mental health and wellbeing.

For 2016-17, the Scottish Government also provided £95k to community food networks across Scotland, to help them build capacity and support local food projects which improve access to healthy, affordable food in the community.

Question reference: S5W-08933

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 21 April 2017
Current Status: Answered by Mark McDonald on 3 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-03289 by Aileen Campbell on 28 October 2016, what progress it is making with the development of the child and adolescent health and wellbeing strategy; by what date it will be published; how it will align with the mental health strategy, and how it will ensure the meaningful engagement of children and young people with its (a) development, (b) implementation and (c) roll-out.

Work around the child and adolescent health and wellbeing strategy is continuing to develop and will be published to coincide with the Year of the Young Person in 2018. The Scottish Government is ensuring there is a joined up approach to this work involving many policy areas, including alignment with the Mental Health Strategy.

Engagement with a wide range of experts and stakeholders is being planned and there will be meaningful involvement of children and young people throughout the development, implementation and roll-out.

Question reference: S5W-08705

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 April 2017
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 3 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-07621 by Aileen Campbell on 31 March 2017, for what reason this figure is lower than the figures for England and Wales, which were given in response to House of Lords parliamentary question QWA HL5369 on 21 February 2017.

In Scotland, almost all abortions are carried out in NHS hospitals, but for women in England and Wales, a majority take place in the independent sector. The independent sector in England and Wales has well established arrangements in place to provide privately-funded abortion care to women resident in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, in addition to providing NHS-funded care for residents of England and Wales.