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 1031 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S4W-26173

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 June 2015
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 26 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers it a priority that all public health and social care providers are compliant with the provisions of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and, if so, how it ensures that compliance is maintained.

Question reference: S4W-26157

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 June 2015
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 25 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government when the business and regulatory impact assessment and regulations relating to the Health (Tobacco, Nicotine etc. and Care) (Scotland) Bill will be published.

Question reference: S4W-26171

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 June 2015
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 25 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to create an independent regulatory body to ensure compliance with the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 for all public bodies.

Question reference: S4W-26174

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 June 2015
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 25 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government who is the legally required compliance officer to ensure that all public healthcare bodies act within the scope of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and what their (a) qualifications and (b) experience are.

Question reference: S4W-25997

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 June 2015
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 18 June 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address the reported concerns raised by patients and staff regarding the recently-opened South Glasgow University Hospital.

Over the last month NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has undertaken one of the largest service redesigns in the UK with the new £842 million Southern General Hospitals project. This is one of the largest hospitals in Europe – it replaces out of date facilities across Scotland and will transform the care provided for patients. Whilst the transition of services is now complete, it will inevitably take time for these changes to completely bed in, with staff getting used to the new working environment.

We should not lose sight of the scale of this transition. The board is confident that the new hospital has the physical capacity and staffing levels to treat quickly and efficiently the anticipated 106,000 unscheduled patients every year. The entire South Glasgow campus has approximately 1,630 adult acute beds – slightly more than the three hospitals it replaces – with 1,109 of these in the new hospital itself. There is a new, state of the art children’s hospital with 256 beds, and approximately 10,500 staff work on the campus.

I know the board are fully committed to working constructively with all stakeholders to effectively address the issues that have been raised. I have been, and continue to be, in close contact with senior management at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde over the transfer. I visited the A&E at South Glasgow University Hospital on 3 June 2015 to hear from staff about how the new teams are working together. During my visit the hospital was functioning well. Staff from the three previous sites have come together quickly and are working hard to improve performance and drive down waits. Planned and scheduled services are operating very well and, in some places, are outperforming the rest of the country. Similarly, long A&E waits have reduced significantly on 2014. This represents considerable progress already. Nonetheless, performance against the four hour A&E target has dipped and is some way off the national average, so there is more to do and I have been clear that the health board must drive further improvement over the coming months.

To this end, I confirmed on 16 June 2015 that the Scottish Government will be offering the South Glasgow University Hospital additional expert support to help improve A&E waiting times, following a request from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. The Scottish Government is happy to offer the considerable expertise in unscheduled care at our disposal which will help the health board establish and embed improved management systems to ensure the smooth transfer of patients through the A&E department at the hospital. In turn, this should assist with the necessary steady improvement in local performance against the four hour A&E target, whilst sustaining the reduction in longer waits we have already seen.

Members can be assured that the government will keep progress under close review.

Question reference: S4W-25515

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 May 2015
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 21 May 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how it works with voluntary sector organisations that support people living with neurological conditions.

We work with the voluntary sector in a number of ways, including through their representation on the National Neurological Advisory Group (NNAG), and their role in leading some of the NNAG work groups.

We also support charities through funding projects that help to ensure people in Scotland living with a neurological condition have access to high quality person centred safe and effective healthcare services.

Question reference: S4W-25514

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 May 2015
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 21 May 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how it develops its priorities to improve lives for people living with neurological conditions.

Question reference: S4O-04338

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 May 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 May 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to devolve powers to local communities.

Question reference: S4W-25239

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 April 2015
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 30 April 2015

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its findings from its consultation, Electronic Cigarettes and Strengthening Tobacco Control in Scotland, which ended on 2 January 2015.

Question reference: S4W-25252

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 April 2015
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 29 April 2015

To ask the Scottish Government when it will introduce a public health bill to regulate electronic cigarettes.