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: S4W-24489

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 February 2015
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 3 March 2015

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-24330 by Jamie Hepburn on 17 February 2015, whether it will address the issue raised in the question regarding what action it has taken to improve psychological services in light of the criticism by the Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network (SIGN).

In November 2010 the Scottish Government introduced the Health improvement, Efficiency, Access and Treatment target: ‘Deliver faster access to mental health services by delivering 18 weeks referral to treatment for Psychological therapies from December 2014’ We have published The Matrix: a Guide to Delivering Evidence-based Psychological Therapies in Scotland on what treatments are effective for which conditions. The matrix also stresses that services must provide adequate supervision for staff delivering psychological interventions, to ensure patient safety and the delivery of evidence-based care. Through NHS Education Scotland, we are working to assess and develop workforce capacity to ensure that a range of staff are equipped to deliver therapies.

Question reference: S4O-04061

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 February 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 March 2015

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what assistance it gives to school pupils from remote and rural areas to visit the Parliament.

Question reference: S4W-24329

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 February 2015
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 19 February 2015

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the commitment in the 2010 Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network (SIGN) 114 report, Non-pharmaceutical management of depression in adults, that the report would "be considered for review in three years", has not been met.

Any decision whether to update a guideline is based on the volume of new evidence to update that recommendation and Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network (SIGN) Council will prioritise topics for update in line with capacity within the SIGN programme.

In accordance with SIGN procedures, SIGN 114 is being considered for review along with all other guidelines which are more than three years old.

Question reference: S4W-24332

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 February 2015
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 19 February 2015

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason there is no Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network guideline for the general management, including pharmaceutical, of depression.

Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) guidelines are derived from a systematic review of the scientific literature and are designed to accelerate the translation of new knowledge into action to meet the aim of reducing variations in practice, and improving outcomes. The range of evidence considered in the production of any particular guideline is based on the scope of the guideline and discussions with the multi-disciplinary guideline development.

Question reference: S4W-24331

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 February 2015
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 19 February 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether GPs are trained to (a) diagnose all mental health conditions and personality disorders and (b) identify the appropriate management of the conditions.

All general practitioners are registered medical practitioners. All UK University undergraduate programmes in medicine include training in the diagnosis and management of mental disorder (including personality disorder) and illness. Graduation as a medical doctor requires all students to pass examination in psychiatry.

As part of the Quality and Outcomes Framework, GPs report on the ongoing management of several conditions, including schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder and other psychoses.

Question reference: S4O-04036

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 February 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 February 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what is being done to comply with the habitats directive to conserve freshwater pearl mussels in the River Spey.

Question reference: S4W-24330

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 February 2015
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 17 February 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what action was taken to improve psychological services following the observation in the 2010 Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network (SIGN) 114 report, Non-pharmaceutical management of depression in adults, that the "provision of psychological therapy services across Scotland [was] patchy, idiosyncratic and largely uncoordinated".

Faster access to specialist mental health services for children and young people and to psychological therapies for people of all ages is one of our key challenges. Scotland was the first UK country to introduce a waiting times target.

In 2009, Audit Scotland published an Overview of Mental Health Services which highlighted areas for improvement. One of the key messages from the report was that basic management information on waiting times is needed for agencies to plan and manage mental health services more effectively.

In November 2010, we set a HEAT target to ‘Deliver faster access to mental health services by delivering 18 weeks referral to treatment for psychological therapies from December 2014'.

Currently, the average waiting time for psychological therapies is 8 weeks, and 9 weeks for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, with the majority of people needing treatment being seen within 18 weeks.

Question reference: S4W-24298

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 February 2015
Current Status: Answered by Aileen McLeod on 17 February 2015

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-24156 by Aileen McLeod on 8 January 2015, if “the water quality in the River Spey has in fact improved from an already high base over the last 10 years”, what it considers the reason is for the reported 50% drop in freshwater pearl mussels.

Further to the answer to question S4W-24156, whilst Scottish Natural Heritage’s report of site condition monitoring survey of freshwater pearl mussels in the River Spey during 2013 and 2014 suggests four possible reasons for the decline in the Spey’s freshwater pearl mussel population (namely impacts associated with the proliferation of ranunculus, water level, water quality and wildlife crime), the exact cause (or causes) has yet to be established and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency is continuing to investigate. Such investigation is primarily via an analysis of all of the relevant environmental data gathered over the last ten years.

Question reference: S4W-24299

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 February 2015
Current Status: Answered by Aileen McLeod on 17 February 2015

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-24156 by Aileen McLeod on 8 January 2015, when the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and Scottish Natural Heritage will conclude their work on the current ecological status standards for the River Spey Special Area of Conservation and other sites designated under the birds and habitats directives, and on what date the results will be published.

As stated in the response to PQ S4W-24298 on 17 February 2015, the Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) 2013-14 site condition monitoring survey of the River Spey Special Area of Conservation suggested four possible reasons for the decline in pearl mussel population, and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is continuing to investigate.

As part of a separate exercise initiated at the end of 2013, the Scottish Government has asked SEPA and SNH to work together to draw together the appropriate objectives and standards for water bodies within conservation sites. There is currently no publication date set for this, however the estimated timetable for work to be completed is as follows:

SEPA aims to complete an assessment of the implications of SNH’s initial proposals by mid-2015.

SNH will review its initial proposals in the light of SEPA’s assessment and finalise its proposed objectives for water bodies in conservation sites.

The proposals will then be submitted to the Scottish Government for consideration. If appropriate, the Scottish Government will issue a public consultation later in 2015.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

Question reference: S4W-24142

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 January 2015
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 5 February 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what enforcement action has been taken against fish farms found to be in breach of regulations regarding the protection of wild fish.