- Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 30 September 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 23 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what the legal status is of seasonal agricultural workers housed in caravan accommodation on agricultural land, with regards to that accommodation.
Answer
The rights that a worker has in tied accommodation will depend on the type of tenancy or occupancy agreement in place. If an employer gives an employee accommodation as part of the job and the employee has to live there to be able to do the job, they may have a Service Occupancy agreement. Rights will depend on what is written in the employment contract and will depend on the individual circumstances of the case. However, if an employee has a Private Residential Tenancy, then they will have the same rights as a private tenant.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 October 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 23 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has spent any money in the current financial year on transferring responsibility for the Winter Fuel Payment from Social Security Scotland back to the Department for Work and Pensions, and, if so, how much, and what this money was spent on.
Answer
The Scottish Government, including Social Security Scotland, have not incurred any additional costs in 2024-25 as a result of the Department for Work and Pensions administering a payment equivalent to Winter Fuel Payment to eligible Scottish clients in 2024.
- Asked by: Gillian Mackay, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 October 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 22 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, in light the commitment set out in its document, Stroke Improvement Plan 2023, to set up a forum “for regular engagement between stroke services from every NHS board”, whether it will confirm whether this forum has been established and, if so, (a) on what date it first met, (b) whether it will provide the names of each person nominated by each NHS board to serve on it and (c) what progress it is making towards improving the delivery of stroke services, and how this progress is being measured.
Answer
The Stroke Engagement Forum met for the first time on 2 October 2024. The agenda included items on acute stroke care and research involvement and involved the sharing of local practices and approaches to shared challenges. The next meeting of the group will be in early 2025.
The membership of the Stroke Engagement Forum comprises stroke clinicians, stroke managers, Scottish Government officials and third sector representatives. Members are invited as a representative of their NHS Board or organisation. Members are expected to consult with their professional groups, networks and other stakeholders as appropriate. This forum is to facilitate operational improvement and the sharing of best practice. It is not a public forum and the Scottish Government will not be publishing the names of the attendees.
Stroke service delivery continues to be measured via the Scottish Stroke Care Audit and the Board reviews conducted as part of the Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 October 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 22 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to consult with (a) the UK Government and (b) health ministers from other devolved administrations on co-ordinating national cancer registries in the collection, analysis and reporting of blood cancer data.
Answer
The key group responsible for co-ordinating the national cancer registries of all the UK nations, as well as the Republic of Ireland, is the UK and Ireland Association of Cancer Registries (UKIACR). Achieving consistency and comparability in the collection, analysis and reporting of cancer data are among the UKIACR’s Terms of Reference. The Director of the Scottish Cancer Registry represents Scotland on this group.
The UK and Ireland cancer registries all adhere, where possible, to the recommendations of the European Network of Cancer Registries (ENCR).
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 October 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 22 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to ensure that blood cancer is routinely included as a distinct category alongside solid tumours when reporting on key metrics such as prevalence, healthcare utilisation and other appropriate benchmarks.
Answer
Public Health Scotland (PHS) records all tumours using the ICD-O3 classification and is therefore able to routinely report on blood cancers in many different ways. This includes a variety of benchmarks such as incidence rates, quality performance indicators and survival.
- Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 October 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 22 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what proportion, expressed as a percentage, of the area of the inshore out to the six nautical mile limit is covered by a year-round prohibition on the use of mobile or active gear to (a) dredge for scallops and (b) trawl for nephrops norvegicus under any legal instrument as of April 2024.
Answer
The proportion, expressed as a percentage, of the area of the inshore out to the six nautical mile limit is covered by a year-round prohibition on the use of mobile or active gear to (a) dredge for scallops and (b) trawl for nephrops norvegicus under any legal instrument as of April 2024 is estimated to be 7.68%.
- Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 October 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Kate Forbes on 22 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether its policy of opposition to unconventional oil and gas extraction, or fracking, continues to apply in Green Freeports.
Answer
Scottish Ministers announced their finalised position of no support for unconventional oil and gas, commonly known as fracking, in 2019 having concluded that it is incompatible with our policies on climate change, energy transition and the decarbonisation of our economy. This means that no unconventional oil and gas activity, including fracking, can take place in Scotland, including within Green Freeports.
- Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 October 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 22 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the Coroner's Regulation 28 report, Susan Pollitt: Prevention of Future Deaths Report, dated 31 July 2024, what consideration it has given to the Coroner's "Matters of Concern" in relation to the role and increased use of Physician Associates and Anaesthesia Associates in NHS Scotland's workforce.
Answer
The Scottish Government is aware of the concerns raised by the Coroner in respect of this unfortunate case. We will await the responses of the recipients named in the report to help inform any future actions that may be applicable to Scotland, and will continue to work with stakeholders across the UK on matters of national scale.
The Anaesthesia Associates and Physician Associates Order 2024 was passed by the Scottish Parliament on 31 January 2024. It will bring the roles into statutory regulation for the first time when it comes into force on 13 December of this year, addressing one of the key concerns of the Coroner.
In the meantime, extant Scottish Government guidance to NHS Scotland Boards makes clear that all Physician Associates must be registered on the appropriate managed voluntary register. That guidance also recognises the importance of ensuring that patients are properly advised that they are being treated by a Physician Associate and not a doctor.
Building on the above, the Scottish Government will continue to work with partners through its Medical Associate Professionals (MAPs) Programme Board to consider appropriate utilisation of the role within NHS Scotland, taking into account developments over the coming months.
- Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 October 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 22 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will work with HM Coastguard and NHS boards to ensure that all hospital helicopter landing sites will be available for medical emergency evacuations from vessels, including fishing boats, cruise ships and oil and gas supply vessels and installations.
Answer
As set out in the answer to question S6W-30423 on 22 October 2023, the Civil Aviation Authority has made a series of safety recommendations regarding hospital helicopter landing sites following a tragic accident in Plymouth, in 2022. The safety recommendations apply across the UK and those that are applicable to Scottish sites are being acted on by NHS Boards, with support from NHS Assure.
While this work is ongoing, Search and Rescue helicopters will land at alternative sites where this is required for safety reasons. Scottish Air Ambulance and charity air ambulances can continue to land at NHS Scotland helipads.
All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.
- Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 October 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 22 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how many people who have been sentenced to prison in each year since 2016 were care-experienced.
Answer
I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:
Scottish Prison Service do not hold this information in the format requested.
Whilst we recognise the profound impact that experience of care can have on a person, SPS aims to support those in our care with care, compassion and in a consistent manner that recognises avenues for potential trauma.
SPS rely on those individuals coming into our care to either self-report that they are a care leaver, which will be annotated on Prisoner Records (PR2)) or anonymously report via the bi-annual Prisoner Survey.