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-20691

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 December 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 15 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether NHS boards' Practical Obstetric Multi-professional Training (PROMPT) for health care professionals in maternity services includes a cardiotocography (CTG) scanning elopement.

PROMPT and SCOTTIE (Scottie core Obstetric teaching and training) are available for all midwifery and obstetric staff, neither covers CTG as this is covered by the more in-depth K2 or RCOG packages which are available as 8 hour stand-alone packages of training. All midwives and obstetricians must complete either PROMPT or SCOTTIE (some Boards choose to do both) every two years. Additional to this, all midwives and obstetricians must complete either the K2 or the Royal College of Midwives (RCM)/RCOG eLearning package at least every two years. The agreement of which package will be suitable to meet the needs of individual practitioners should be a personal decision, however as K2 has a cost this may be determined by the employing organisation.

Question reference: S5W-20292

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 November 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 20 December 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the suggestion of building a road and rail bridge between Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Question reference: S5O-02739

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 December 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the 38,000 people that Fair Start Scotland aims to support it expects to participate in each year to 2020.

Question reference: S5W-20087

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 November 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 6 December 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) VisitScotland and (b) Transport Scotland regarding the potential for cycle tourism at the proposed Maybole bypass.

Question reference: S5O-02678

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 December 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 December 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure that sport and physical activity are available to all, irrespective of background or personal circumstances.

Question reference: S5O-02610

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 November 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 November 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to boost tourism in rural areas through the promotion of industrial heritage sites.

Question reference: S5W-19619

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 26 October 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 20 November 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports from clinicians that accessing the drug, Orkambi, by people with cystic fibrosis, is time consuming, and leads to inequitable access for patients, and what action it can take to simplify the process.

The Scottish Government has undertaken to review the Peer Approved Clinical System (PACS) Tier Two six and twelve months after it commenced on 1 June 2018. As part of those reviews we will expect to receive feedback from Health Boards and clinicians.

PACS Tier Two allows clinicians to apply for individual patient access to medicines which would otherwise be routinely unavailable to them, such as Orkambi. We strongly encourage clinicians to make use of this system if they judge a medicine as appropriate for their individual patient’s needs. Importantly, the cost of the medicine is not a decision-making criterion in this process and there is no requirement to demonstrate patient exceptionality compared to the patient population.

Question reference: S5O-02542

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 November 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 November 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure that farmers have access to public procurement contracts for food.

Question reference: S5F-02759

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 November 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 November 2018

To ask the First Minister, in light of the study, Defying Arthritis at Every Age, what the Scottish Government is doing to reduce loneliness and isolation among people with the condition.

Question reference: S5W-19620

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 26 October 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 2 November 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is considering giving the cystic fibrosis drug, Orkambi, ultra orphan status, and, if so, when it will publish its findings.