- Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 February 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 5 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many patients were on waiting lists for rheumatology services (a) in total and (b) for over three months, in each of the last five years.
Answer
Public Health Scotland's (PHS) Stage of treatment (Sot) Publication provides statistics on the length of time patients wait to be seen as a new outpatient or admitted for treatment as an inpatient or day case The latest publication release contains data to quarter ending 31 December 2024
Longer trend information can be found in the following tables:
New outpatient appointments (‘1.6 Table’): https://publichealthscotland.scot/media/31761/newop_mar25.xlsx
Inpatient or day case admission (‘2.6 Table’): https://publichealthscotland.scot/media/31760/ipdc_mar25.xlsx
- Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 February 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 5 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many patients were on waiting lists for physiotherapy (a) in total and (b) for over three months, in each of the last five years.
Answer
The requested statistics are collected and published by Public Health Scotland (PHS).Published statistics on the length of time patients wait for a first outpatient appointment at Allied Health Professional (AHP) led Musculoskeletal (MSK) services are available at: https://publichealthscotland.scot
- Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 February 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 5 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) contractors and (b) sub-contractors received funding from the £3.7 million it has provided for the Offshore Skills Energy Passport.
Answer
OPITO was the sole recipient of Scottish Government’s Just Transition Fund support for developing the Offshore Energy Skills Passport over the period 2022 to 2024. Our records show that five sub-contractors were engaged by OPITO in supporting the Passport project over this time.
- Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 February 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 5 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many patients were on waiting lists for orthopaedic surgery (a) in total and (b) for over a year, in each of the last five years.
Answer
Public Health Scotland's (PHS) Stage of Treatment (SoT) publication provides statistics on the length of time patients wait to be seen as a new outpatient or admitted for treatment as an inpatient or day case. The latest publication release contains data up to quarter ending 31 December 2024
Statistics relating to the total number of ongoing waits and the number of waits with a wait length over 52 weeks by specialty from 31 December 2019 can be found in the ‘Waits over 52 weeks’ data table in sheets ‘Table 3.1.1’ for new outpatient appointments, and ‘Table 3.2.1’ for inpatient or day case admissions:
Stage of treatment waiting times - Inpatients, day cases and new outpatients quarter ending 30 December 2024 - NHS waiting times - stage of treatment - Publications - Public Health Scotland
Longer trend information can be found in the following tables:
New outpatient appointments (‘1.6 Table’): https://publichealthscotland.scot/media/31761/newop_mar25.xlsx
Inpatient or day case admission (‘2.6 Table’): https://publichealthscotland.scot/media/31760/ipdc_mar25.xlsx
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 21 February 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 5 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-27451 by Fiona Hyslop on 23 May 2024, what repair works have been completed, broken down by date, and what works (a) are still to be completed and (b) have since been identified, also broken down by the (i) the cost and (ii) date of completion of these works.
Answer
A revised version of the maintenance programme listing, updated February 2025, can be found in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. Number 65666).
Table A lists the works completed in 2024-25 with the recorded construction costs indicated against the month in which the works were recorded as being finished, bearing in mind that some works could have taken several months to undertake.
Table B provides an updated listing of works that have been identified and included within the forward maintenance programme along with the current estimated construction costs. Some of works are already underway and others will be programmed over the coming months/years in line with our annual prioritisation process. The timing of these works is also subject to the availability of funding and operational constraints.
- Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 21 February 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 5 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered the impact of the usage of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and similar thermoplastics in the food and beverage industry on the (a) inshore, (b) coastal and (c) offshore deepwater marine environment.
Answer
We know the majority of marine litter is plastic and we know that it has a negative impact on the health of our environment and biodiversity. That is why the Scottish Government’s policy is to reduce the consumption of single use materials. This is in line with the waste hierarchy, which prioritises reduction and reuse over all other interventions.
To help tackle the most problematic types of marine litter the Scottish Government published an updated Marine Litter Strategy in 2022 with an action plan, this will drive forward our work from 2022 to 2027 and co-ordinates the efforts of our stakeholders and partners.
- Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 21 February 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 5 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered the impact of the usage of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and similar thermoplastics in the food and beverage industry on (a) malignant, (b) respiratory and (c) cardiovascular health.
Answer
The Scottish Government has not researched the impact of PET on malignant, respiratory or cardiovascular health. The Scottish Government’s policy is to reduce the consumption of single use materials. This is in line with the waste hierarchy, which prioritises reduction and reuse over all other interventions.
As a Regulated product, food contact materials need to be authorised before they can be used and placed on the market.
Regulation 178/2002 aims to protect human health and consumer’s interest in relation to food. It applies to all stages of production, processing and distribution of food and feed with some exceptions. Food businesses must comply with food and feed safety law.
- Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 21 February 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 5 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to reduce the usage of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and similar thermoplastics in the food and beverage industry.
Answer
The Scottish Government’s policy is to reduce the consumption of single use materials regardless of composition, rather than to target specific material types or to displace one single use material with another. This is in line with the waste hierarchy, which prioritises reduction and reuse over all other interventions.
Our commitment to the circular economy is clear from the passing of the Circular Economy Act last year and our publication of the Circular Economy and Waste Route Map last year.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 03 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 5 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the publication of the Natural Capital Market Framework and further to the answer to question S6W-30678 by Mairi Gougeon on 29 October 2024, whether it considers offshore private finance investments as ethical investments under the terms of the Framework.
Answer
The Scottish Government’s Natural Capital Market Framework applies only to investment within Scotland and, where relevant, to governance within the wider UK for UK emissions and impacts.
Responsible private investment in Scotland’s natural capital through the Peatland Code (PC) and the Woodland Carbon Code (WCC) is already supporting our response to the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. The WCC and PC generate high-integrity, independently verified carbon units from woodland creation and peatland restoration respectively. Companies can use these units to support appropriate neutrality or net zero claims on their UK-based carbon emissions.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 February 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 5 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it sought or received any expert advice on construction cost controls for the replacement of HMP Inverness and, if so, whether it will publish this.
Answer
I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:
The SPS engaged the services of legal advisers and cost consultants to advise on cost controls within the contract. It would not be appropriate for SPS to publish this advice as it is commercially sensitive information, however, SPS will publish a summary of their Business Case on their website.