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-31483

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 November 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 4 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-30461 by Neil Gray on 22 October 2024, whether it will provide a breakdown of how the £4,474,000 allocated to the National Elective Coordination Unit will be spent.

Question reference: S6W-30881

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 25 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 14 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) services are appropriately resourced and staffed to meet the needs of the reported over 50,000 people in Scotland with Crohn’s disease and colitis.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all people in Scotland living with Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), including Crohn's disease and colitis, are able to access the best possible care and support, and benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put people at the centre of their care.

Scottish Government workforce planning guidance requires Boards to take a demand-led approach by determining future staffing requirements in line with healthcare needs within their locality.

Speciality training numbers are reviewed and considered annually by the Scottish Shape of Training Transition Group (SSoTTG), with subsequent recommendations made to Scottish Ministers around the need to increase training establishments. The most recent uplift in Gastroenterology (as the specialty which treats IBD) took place in 2022 when 10 additional posts were created. This saw the overall number of speciality training places on Scottish Gastroenterology training programmes increase to 47.

Question reference: S6W-30698

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-26075 by Jenni Minto on 18 March 2024, what the Scottish Expert Advisory Group (SEAG) has identified as specific challenges and opportunities for a Scottish programme, and whether SEAG is exploring examples of the Lung Health Check programmes in places such as Hull, where the Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is reportedly collaborating with Chiesi Ltd to enable early chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) diagnosis and timely initiation of evidence-based pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions to improve outcomes for participants of the Hull Lung Health Check programme.

The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) recommendation that the four UK Nations should move towards implementing a programme of targeted lung screening for those between 55-74 with a history of smoking, was based on evidence from the lung health check pilots which continue to inform the Scottish Expert Advisory Group (SEAG) work.

The UK NSC established an expert Lung Task Group to oversee modelling work and explore the issues around implementation, which is attended by all four UK nations. In addition, representatives from the SEAG attend both the NHS England Lung Screening Implementation Group and the Welsh equivalent. Representatives from these groups have in turn attended the SEAG, to share learning and develop evidence-based feasibility advice.

Officials continue to invest in the University of Edinburgh who have been conducting a research study, LungScot, into targeted lung health checks across four health boards. This important work will help to inform the considerations of the SEAG as work progresses towards a business case which will highlight the challenges and opportunities for a Scottish Programme.

Lung cancer remains a national priority, with Scotland's first optimal cancer diagnostic pathway for lung published 12 December 2022. This pathway sets optimal timeframes for each step to enable diagnosis by day twenty one and treatment for most by day forty two. Work continues to develop and share best practice to ensure patients receive faster access to treatment.

Question reference: S6W-30700

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-26793 by Jenni Minto on 2 May 2024, whether it has any plans to record this data, and what work has been undertaken with key stakeholders to determine the best ways to improve access to spirometry testing in respiratory care.

We recognise the importance of having access to meaningful data in relation to respiratory services and we continue to aim to develop a national respiratory audit programme with Public Health Scotland to achieve this. We have not been able to progress this this financial year due to the challenging fiscal position we face, but we aim to do so in the financial year 2025 to 2026.

Spirometry is already a key recommendation in national clinical guidelines, and we expect clinicians to deliver care in line with all relevant clinical guidelines when assessing patients who present themselves at healthcare settings with respiratory symptoms.

Question reference: S6W-30699

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-26790 by Jenni Minto on 2 May 2024, when it will provide an update on Public Health Scotland's development of a national respiratory audit programme.

We recognise the importance of having access to meaningful data in relation to improving respiratory services and understanding respiratory care in Scotland. Due to the extremely challenging fiscal position the Scottish Government is facing, we have not been able to progress the development of the national respiratory audit programme this financial year. We aim to do so in the financial year 2025 to 2026.

Question reference: S6W-30555

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 8 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported concerns that NHS Scotland is paying too much for clinical disposal needs, and when the contract for this was last tendered.

Management of the NHS clinical waste contract is a matter for Health Boards, and management of the NHS’s relationship with the clinical waste contractor is a matter for NHS National Services Scotland’s (NSS) National Procurement and Logistics Service.

Information regarding contracts tendered by NSS is publicly available and can be viewed on the Public Contracts Scotland website - Home - Public Contracts Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-30550

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 8 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding reported comments from NHS National Services Scotland that "Over 85 per cent of Scotland’s clinical waste is processed in Scotland by [its] contractor", what evidence it can provide that this is the case, in light of reports suggesting that a higher volume of clinical waste is transported to England and Wales from Scotland for incineration.

Question reference: S6O-03968

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what further policy changes it plans to bring forward to address reported concerns regarding the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill.

Question reference: S6W-30866

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 25 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 5 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to fulfil the commitment made in the Children's and Young People's Cancer Plan to expand access to specialist psychological support.

The psychological support considerations regarding specialist workforce for children and young people with cancer are currently being reviewed by the Managed Service Network for Children and Young People with Cancer (MSN CYPC) as part of a wider workforce review.

This review includes making clear how the current workforce could be upskilled, as well as how the MSN will prioritise various roles across the entirety of the patient pathway to support psychological needs. The Scottish Government is in regular contact with the MSN as their review continues.

Question reference: S6W-30867

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 25 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 5 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that all young people with cancer have access to specialist psychological support from the point of diagnosis to a minimum of two years post treatment.

The duration of access to psychological support for children and young people with cancer is led by clinical need.

In December 2022 Scottish Government committed to making recurring funding available to the existing specialist psychological support services for young people with cancer across Scotland. This commitment was successfully met in 2023-24 and continues to provide more certainty to these specialist roles.

The psychological support considerations regarding specialist workforce for children and young people with cancer is currently being reviewed by the Managed Service Network for Children and Young People with Cancer (MSN CYPC) as part of a wider workforce review. The Scottish Government is in regular contact with the MSN as their review continues.