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-15049

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 13 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 10 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding was allocated to the National Wellbeing Hub in the financial year (a) 2020-21 and (b) 2021-22.

Question reference: S6W-15639

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Elena Whitham on 10 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when it plans to achieve full compliance with the Aarhus Convention.

The Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee (“ACCC”) has previously welcomed significant progress made by Scotland in addressing the concerns identified by the ACCC. In response to decision VII/8s, issued by the ACCC in October 2021, the UK submitted an action plan to the ACCC on 1 July 2022. Work is in progress in relation to the areas of concern raised by the ACCC in order to strengthen Scotland’s compliance. The Scottish Government has now introduced an exemption from court fees for Aarhus Convention cases in the Court of Session. The Scottish Civil Justice Council is undertaking a review of court rules relating to Protective Expenses Orders, and this is currently underway. Policy development is ongoing in relation to a new Human Rights Bill, which is to include a human right to a healthy environment. The Scottish Government is committed to introducing legislation to reform legal aid in the course of the current Parliament. This work is informed by ongoing engagement with stakeholders. The deadline for addressing areas of concern set out in the Action Plan is October 2024. The Scottish Government is committed to strengthening compliance with the requirements of the Aarhus Convention.

Question reference: S6W-15500

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 03 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 10 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what specific steps it is taking to engage with Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) people to meet the target of recruiting 4% BME teachers in schools by 2030, as recommended in the report, Teaching in a diverse Scotland: increasing and retaining minority ethnic teachers.

The Scottish Government is clear that the continued under-representation of minority ethnic teachers, at all levels, is unacceptable and requires continued action. Through our Diversity in the Teaching Profession and Education Workforce (DITPEW) working group we are taking a range of specific steps - all of which are predicated on engagement with minority ethnic people with anti racist and educational expertise - to meet the 4% target. These include:

Appointing 2 minority ethnic, senior education professionals to co-chair the DITPEW working group and drive forward Professor Arshad's recommendations. DITPEW working group members also have lived experience of racism, professional experience in education and in developing anti-racist practice.
Working with the General Teaching Council for Scotland to develop the new National Race Diversity Lead post which is supported by SG funding in 2022-24. It sees the postholder working across local authorities, regional improvement collaboratives and schools, to facilitate increased racial diversity within the teaching profession.
Working with Dr Khadija Mohammed, Associate Dean of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at University of the West of Scotland in the development of an anti-racist framework for Initial Teacher Education (ITE) providers. The framework's aim is to ensure that minority ethnic ITE students have an anti-racist experience from initial application stage through to becoming a newly qualified teacher.
Working with minority ethnic teachers to deliver sessions through the Developing the Young Workforce Live platform, aimed at encouraging minority ethnic children and young people to consider teaching as a career.

Key to informing the development and delivery of these ambitions is the annual Scottish Government Diversity in the Teaching Profession Data report, which will be published at the end of March.

Question reference: S6W-15340

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 10 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many post-foundation specialty training post vacancies for junior doctors in NHS Scotland have not been filled in each year since 2018.

Question reference: S6W-15386

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 24 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 10 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many NHS Scotland staff are currently employed in primarily equality and diversity-focused roles, and how much of the NHS budget has been allocated towards employing equality and diversity staff in each year since 2020.

Question reference: S6W-15318

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 24 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 10 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the current estimated survival rate is in Scotland following a diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma.

Question reference: S6W-15380

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 10 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recent Prostate Cancer UK report into regional inequalities in diagnoses of prostate cancer, what its response is to the reported possibility that, in the course of diagnosis, pre-biopsy MRIs are not being routinely undertaken and assessed by a radiologist, thereby omitting the grading of tumours and undercutting the risk management of slow-growing, non-harmful prostate cancers, and whether it has investigated if any such practices have occurred.

We have noted this Prostate Cancer UK research and are discussing it with various clinicians and experts in the NHS. Currently, pre-biopsy MRIs are not mandated in Scotland. However the National Cancer Quality Steering Group utilise ‘Patients with prostate cancer who undergo biopsy should be evaluated initially with a pre-biopsy biparametric MRI (bpMRI) or multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) and reported using a PI-RADS/Likert system of gradings’ as a Quality Improvement Indicator.

In addition to this the Scottish Government is due to undertake a survey of health boards to determine the practises in this area throughout the country.

Question reference: S6W-15139

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 10 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve outcomes for patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Scottish Government has funded Modernising Patient Pathways Programme (MPPP) which has a specific workstream continuing to promote improvements in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) care for patients across Scotland in partnership with third-sector and people with lived experience. Scotland’s national IBD Steering Group has identified priority areas for work over the next two years. This includes consideration of referral pathways and models of IBD care to drive a more standardised and equitable service across Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-15140

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 10 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) presented at A&E due to an IBD flare-up in 2022.

Question reference: S6W-15061

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 10 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the current average length of time is for which agreed interim care placements are in place, broken down by local authority area.

	Advertised	Filled	Fill Rate	Unfilled
2018	1,125	958	85%	167
2019	1,096	1,015	93%	81
2020	1,062	1,015	96%	47
2021	1,088	1,020	94%	68
2022	1,155	1,073	93%	82