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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 287 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6O-02607

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 September 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on cladding remediation in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-21415

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 22 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recent report by Epilepsy Consortium Scotland, Specialist Epilepsy Appointments, which emphasises the importance of face-to-face care, but found that 40% of patients had only attended their specialist epilepsy appointments by telephone since March 2020.

Delivering person-centred care is a priority for both NHS Scotland and the Scottish Government. As far as possible services should be organised around people’s needs, enabling them to be involved in their care in a way that is meaningful and tailored to their personal preference.

In December 2021 we published practical guidance for NHS clinicians on undertaking virtual consultations with people affected by neurological conditions: Digital Consulting in Neurology | TEC Scotland

The guidance considers when virtual consultations may be an appropriate option to offer. It states clearly that patients should be given the opportunity to decide how they wish to be seen. It is for NHS boards to decide how specialist epilepsy appointments are arranged in their area.

Question reference: S6O-02576

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 September 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking ahead of the festive period to support poultry farms, in light of the potential threat of avian flu.

Question reference: S6W-20948

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 14 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its commitment to develop a National Centre for Remote and Rural Health and Social Care.

Question reference: S6O-02521

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 September 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the work of its international offices.

Question reference: S6W-20348

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 30 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it last received an update from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service on its work to expand and strengthen the national Community Asset Register on behalf of Scotland's resilience community, and when a new digital platform for the register is expected to become operational.

The Scottish Government last received an update from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) on the national Community Asset Register (CAR) at a meeting in early June 2023. SFRS confirmed that a CAR ‘action plan’ has been developed, to monitor progress of the actions required to improve the CAR, and SFRS will keep SG officials updated as progress is made. Before the end of 2023, SFRS plans to carry out further promotion of the CAR internally, and to review the Service Level Agreement between SFRS and the other emergency responders. SFRS also reiterated its intention to continue to further develop the digital platform currently being used for the CAR but has stated, however, that the planned Information & Communication Technology (ICT) improvements could not be delivered in the current financial year due to existing demands within the current SFRS ICT work plan. The necessary improvements are to be tabled for discussion as a priority for inclusion in the 2024-2025 ICT work plan.

Question reference: S6W-20354

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 29 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the reformed payment system for NHS dentistry in tackling oral health inequality across Scotland.

It is not possible to make a precise assessment of the payment reform changes and their impact on future oral health inequality patterns at this stage.

The Government has for some time been working apace on payment reform for NHS dentistry, and on the 27 July this was communicated to the sector, with implementation scheduled for 1 November 2023. The new model seeks to improve and protect patients’ oral health by focussing on more patient-centred care such as preventative periodontal – gum disease – treatments.

This is a complex, far reaching change with longer-term implications. Payment reform will provide a range of data that will enable the Government to assess the impact on dental activity and longer-term oral health inequality patterns. The enhanced payments to practices for the treatment of patients in Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 1 areas has also been retained.

Payment reform should also be seen in the context of well-established and proven programmes such as Childsmile which specifically targets child oral health inequalities by providing fluoride varnish treatment to nursery and early years schoolchildren from SIMD 1 areas. Tackling oral health inequalities requires a multi-faceted approach, not necessarily confined to the patient-dentist relationship, and a recognition that intervention in the early years is critical to the establishment of good oral health habits.

Question reference: S6W-20346

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 28 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on (a) the recent outbreaks of avian influenza in Scotland, including in the north east, and (b) the discussions that it has had with its counterparts in England and Wales regarding the risk of further avian influenza outbreaks and the appropriate containment measures.

The 2022-23 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) outbreak season started on 1 Oct 2022. HPAI H5N1 has since been confirmed (as 15 August) in 197 premises in the UK: 30 in Scotland, 8 in Wales, 1 in Northern Ireland and 158 in England. Of the 30 infected premises in Scotland 18 have been in commercial premises, 9 in backyard flocks and 3 captive bird premises. 16 of the cases have been in the North East of which 11 were in commercial premises, 3 in back yard flocks and 2 in captive bird premises.

One case of Low Pathogenic Avian Influenza (LPAI) H7N3 has also been confirmed in premises in Scotland this season.

APHA carries out year-round avian influenza surveillance of dead wild birds submitted via public reports and warden patrols across Great Britain on behalf of Scottish Government, Defra and Welsh Government. It is not designed to provide how wild birds are impacted by the disease but provide an indicator of the presence of disease in a specific area to help establish background risk levels to poultry and other captive birds. This information helps support how Scottish Government responds to changing disease risk. From 1 October 2022, the GB Dead Wild Bird Surveillance Scheme has identified 1,552 wild birds infected with HPAI H5N1, with 326 findings of HPAI H5N1 in Scotland. The surveillance scheme is designed to detect the presence of avian influenza.

NatureScot’s Wild Bird Mortality Surveillance Network, set up to provide early intelligence on the spread of the outbreak on wild birds and to give an indication of the impacts on different species, has received reports of a total of 10,087 dead and sick wild birds since 17 October 2022. Just under half of these (4,244) have been reported from NE Scotland (Aberdeenshire, Angus, Moray). This data is provided from key areas selected for monitoring and does not represent total wild bird deaths which will be much higher and may not all be solely attributable to HPAI H5N1. On 11 August Ministers launched the Wild Bird HPAI Response Plan that sets out how the Scottish Government and its partners will respond to any further outbreaks of HPAI in wild birds in Scotland.

However, this recent spike in wild bird occurrences has not translated into a corresponding spike in cases amongst poultry and captive birds. Although Scotland has confirmed 30 poultry and captive bird premises infected with H5N1 since October 2022, only 9 cases have occurred since 1 April 2023.

Scotland’s Chief Vet and officials continue to monitor the situation closely and remain in daily contact with other UK administrations to discuss policy options, control measures and future strategies for the control of avian influenza. The Scottish Government will continue to review the range of potential proportionate responses available. Together the three nations of Great Britain have an agreed notifiable avian disease control strategy which underpins our collective response to the disease.

Question reference: S6W-20345

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 28 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the GP IT programme that is outlined in Care in the Digital Age: Delivery Plan 2022-23, whether all NHS boards are on schedule to have selected an accredited system by the end of January 2024, ahead of roll out to GP practices by June 2026.

The rollout of the new National GP IT system is being delivered by the national ‘GP IT’ re-provisioning programme and is now fully underway with the first 4 NHS Health Boards(NHS Tayside, Lanarkshire, Lothian and Grampian). To date there are 110 GP practices currently live with the new system. We expect all Health Boards to enter into agreements with the Supplier by mid-2024, and full rollout completed by 2026. More information is available in our refreshed delivery plan of the Digital Strategy: Care in the Digital Age: Delivery Plan 2023-24 (www.gov.scot)

Question reference: S6W-20344

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 28 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the timeframe for delivering the Digital Front Door platform, which the document, Care in the Digital Age: Delivery Plan 2022-23, indicates is due for release in October 2023.