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: S6W-19804

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much money was allocated, in total, to establish the Pain Management Panel, including a breakdown of how much was spent on (a) marketing research, (b) social media recruitment methods and (c) final reports, also broken down by financial year.

Question reference: S6W-19680

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 03 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6F-02291 by Humza Yousaf on 29 June 2023, whether it will establish a national fund to assist (a) NHS boards, (b) local authorities and (c) other public sector bodies.

Question reference: S6W-19692

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-18451 by Michael Matheson on 14 June 2023, whether it can confirm the number of withdrawn trainees per year, since 2018, as a percentage of the total (a) nominated and (b) allocated to Scotland.

It will always be the case that a percentage of students will withdraw from Foundation placements The information as to the reason for withdrawal is limited based on the reliance of the student to provide the detail, but could be university related - either exam fails, or students were required to repeat their final year, or withdrawal due to personal circumstances.

(a) Percentage of allocated withdrawals from the total nominated number

Year	Nominated*	Allocated** to Scotland ‎ withdrawals	% of allocated to Scotland withdrawals from the nominated number
2018	821	Not available
2019	874	Not available
2020	852	26	3.05%
2021	894	35	3.91%
2022	981	44	4.48%
2023***	936	20	2.13%

*Nominated means a student that the Scottish medical schools believe will pass finals and can be admitted to the provisional register.

**Allocated – These numbers are made up of students from any medical school whose first preference is Scotland and have the highest-ranking score (ranking scored are based on a combination of their Educational Performance Measure score and Situational Judgement Test score)

*** Withdrawal numbers in 2023 subject to change

(b) Percentage of allocated withdrawals from the total allocated number

Year	Allocated to Scotland	Allocated to Scotland ‎ withdrawals	% of withdrawn trainees from the allocated number
2018	548	Not available	-
2019	560	Not available	-
2020	575	26	4.6%
2021	557	35	6.28%
2022	630	44	6.98%
2023*	655	20	3.05%

* Withdrawal numbers in 2023 subject to change

Question reference: S6W-19672

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 03 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government which public sector organisations have notified it that they have found or suspect reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete to be in their buildings.

The following organisations have contacted The Scottish Government on the presence or suspected presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete within their building estate:

NHS Scotland
Police Scotland
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service
East Lothian Council
West Lothian Council

We are in the process of contacting other public bodies to seek reassurance of both their awareness and of any action identified on this issue.

Question reference: S6W-19671

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 03 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government by what date it expects (a) local authorities, (b) NHS boards and (c) other public sector bodies to (i) have identified reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete in buildings, (ii) publish risk management plans and (iii) remove it entirely.

Question reference: S6W-19684

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 03 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what meetings ministers have had about reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, and whether it will publish the minutes and any other documentation that accompanied these.

Question reference: S6W-19559

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether any other part of the civil service made use of social media to advertise for the recruitment of paid patient panels to make recommendations on serious health conditions, and, if this is the case, what methods of verification were used, in light of reports that its Clinical Priorities Unit used paid volunteers to make recommendations on treatment pathways for chronic pain, rather than formally diagnosed representatives.

This is a matter for the relevant part of the civil service. The Scottish Government does not hold information for other parts of the civil service, for example those that serve UK Government ministers.

Regarding recruitment and verification for the Scottish Government Pain Panel, there are generally no preconditions specified, except for the requirement to acknowledge and honour an individual’s expressed willingness to contribute to a particular process based on their personal knowledge of the subject matter. The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring a range of people and organisations can contribute to collective means through a variety of ways. I also refer the member to the answer to question S6W-17660 on 19 May 2023. 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 .

Question reference: S6W-19679

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 03 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete in private sector buildings, including those that were initially built for the public sector, and how it will raise awareness of any problems related to its presence.

The focus of our activity remains engagement with public sector organisations to seek reassurance of both their awareness and any action identified on this issue. Maintaining the safety of buildings is the responsibility of building owners, and this includes responsibility for any assessment of the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete in private sector buildings.

Authoritative guidance on identification and assessment of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete is already published by organisations such as the Institution of Structural Engineers. We continue to engage with the UK government and such organisations to understand and support broader action being taken to raise awareness of this risk topic across all sectors.

Question reference: S6W-19676

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 03 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete in (a) public sector buildings and (b) privately owned buildings in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-19703

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 31 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with An Comunn Gàidhealach since May 2021, and what the agreed outcomes were of any such meetings.