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: S6O-02829

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 November 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with Glasgow City Council and Glasgow Life regarding the future provision of public services and facilities in the region, including the Glasgow National Hockey Centre.

Question reference: S6O-02760

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 November 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government from which part of its Budget the additional £300 million pledged for the National Health Service will be allocated.

Question reference: S6W-22124

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 October 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 7 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans to consult on proposals to restrict the promotion of less healthy food.

As I set out in my statement to Parliament in May, I will begin to take forward a more focused consultation in the autumn on the detail of proposed regulations to restrict the promotion of less healthy food and drink where those are sold to the public. We have begun engaging with stakeholders as part of this process. It is important that engagement on our proposals is extensive and as inclusive as possible.

Question reference: S6W-22312

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 October 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 6 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it is planning to have with the British Healthcare Trades Association, on behalf of its dispensing appliance contractor members, regarding the design and development of the proposed Digital Prescribing and Dispensing Pathways programme.

Governance for the programme is provided by the Digital Prescribing and Dispensing Programme Board which met for the first time in November 2021. The Board has met regularly since then and stakeholder representation includes:

NHS Board Primary Care Leads
NHS Board Directors of Pharmacy
NHS Board e-Health Leads
Royal College of General Practitioners Scotland
Scottish General Practitioners Committee (of the British Medical Association)
Community Pharmacy Scotland
Non-Medical Prescribers Group
NSS Contractor Prescribing Payments team

At each meeting, the Board discusses key issues and interdependencies such as appliance supply. This will ensure that we continue to develop and adapt as necessary through the life of the programme. At the appropriate time, we will consider engaging with other stakeholders, such as the British Healthcare Trades Association.

If stakeholders wish to keep up to date on progress, including a quarterly newsletter, the latest information can be found on the NSS’ website . The programme also welcomes any feedback and comments, and these can be submitted by emailing: [email protected].

Question reference: S6W-22311

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 October 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 6 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of what impact the proposed Digital Prescribing and Dispensing Pathways programme is likely to have on dispensing appliance contractors (DACs) contracted to the NHS to dispense stoma and incontinence care appliances against prescriptions issued by GPs and specialist nurse prescribers.

When launched, the initial iteration of the solution will replace the paper prescription with a digital solution. We will achieve this by developing an end-to-end digital solution for in-hours prescribing from general practices through to community pharmacy dispensing. Appliance items which are prescribed from in-hours general practice for community pharmacy dispensing, will come under the new process at this time.

If NHS health boards have alternative arrangements in place for appliance prescribing and dispensing, then these may be included in subsequent phases of the programme. Appliances for patients will continue to be prescribed and dispensed during any period of change.

Work is also underway to produce an Equality Impact Assessment which will provide a wide view of how the digital solution will affect people. These findings will be used to ensure that we can mitigate against any challenges or issues in the design of the DPDP digital solution while ensuring that it is inclusive and accessible.

Question reference: S6W-22125

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 October 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 6 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide full details of its digital prescribing and dispensing programme for pharmacy, including implementation dates and any consultation with stakeholders.

Full details of the digital prescribing and dispensing programme are publicly available on NHS National Services Scotland website. See https://www.nss.nhs.scot/national-programmes/digital-prescribing-and-dispensing-pathways/about-the-digital-prescribing-and-dispensing-pathways-programme/ .

Through this website, information on stakeholder engagement is detailed within quarterly newsletters which also confirm progress against key milestones. The programme as a whole remains on track, as set out in our Digital Health and Care Delivery Plan.

Question reference: S6W-22120

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 October 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 30 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the UK Government’s proposal to hold a free vote in Parliament on phasing out smoking in England, whether it will replicate such a proposal for Scotland.

The Scottish Government is committed to doing everything in its power to reduce smoking prevalence in Scotland, lowering smoking rates in our communities to 5% or less by 2034.

We are taking part in a UK-wide consultation on creating a smoke-free generation and tackling youth vaping, which includes the proposal on raising the age of sale for tobacco products by one year each year for those born on or after 1 January 2009.

Any decision to allow members of the Government a free vote would be a decision taken by Cabinet collectively, following analysis of the consultation responses and once a decision on next steps is taken.

Question reference: S6W-22123

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 October 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 30 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its Diet and healthy weight: monitoring report 2023 update.

The Diet and Healthy Weight Monitoring report was not published in 2022 and, as set out at the time, we have engaged with users to decide on the future of this publication. An announcement will be made shortly informed by the outcome of user engagement. Most of the data previously included in the Diet and Healthy Weight Monitoring report is now presented in the Scottish Health Survey with the remaining few indicators available in other publications. Results from the 2022 Scottish Health Survey will be published on 5 December 2023. Data for the indicators on sales of soft drinks with added sugar, confectionery, biscuits, cakes and pastries are available on the Food Standards Scotland website and type 2 diabetes prevalence is available in the Scottish Diabetes Survey report.

Question reference: S6W-22128

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 October 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 30 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its new palliative care strategy, in light of it initially being due in 2021.

Question reference: S6W-22129

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 October 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 30 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to tackle the reported rising number of cases of sexually transmitted infections.

The Scottish Government’s forthcoming Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Action Plan will set out priority areas for action over the next three years. Ensuring that people have access to the information and services they need to make informed choices and take care of their sexual health are key outcomes of the plan.

A national sexually transmitted infection (STI) awareness campaign led by Public Health Scotland launched in July with targeted work for groups who have seen the highest rates of STIs, particularly gonorrhoea.

The Scottish Government is also investing in a national roll-out of an online STI testing service.