Questions and answers

Question reference: S5W-18220

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 13 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to ensure that local authorities are accurately and consistently recording information regarding the allocation and expenditure of funds that are received for the implementation of Continuing Care.

Question reference: S5W-18219

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 13 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to address concerns that, in many local authority areas, Continuing Care is underfunded and places additional pressure on council budgets.

Question reference: S5W-18226

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 13 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to address concerns that, in some instances, local authorities are spending the Continuing Care funding allocation on relieving other pressures in their areas.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-18223 on 13 September 2018.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx '

The Scottish Government would expect all young people who are eligible for Continuing Care and who chose to exercise their entitlement to be appropriately supported by the local authority, in meeting their statutory obligations.

Question reference: S5W-18223

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 13 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason some local authorities, such as Dumfries and Galloway, the Shetland Islands and East Dunbartonshire, are not aware of a ring-fenced grant for Continuing Care provision expenditure.

The Scottish Government does not provide ring-fenced funding for Continuing Care provision or indeed any of the provisions in the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014. Funding is included in the block grant which the Scottish Government provides to all local authorities as part of the annual local government finance settlement. It is the responsibility of each local authority to allocate the total financial resources available to it on the basis of local needs and priorities having first fulfilled its statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities including the Scottish Government's key strategic objectives.

Question reference: S5O-02310

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 August 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve and protect temporary and seasonal workers’ rights in Edinburgh.

Question reference: S5W-18215

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 29 August 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to provide financial support for clinical trials or treatments for motor neuron disease.

The Scottish Government provides over £500,000 annual funding for the NHS Research Scotland Neuroprogressive and Dementia Network. The role of the network is to support academic and commercial studies, including clinical trials, in neurodegenerative conditions that are taking place in the NHS in Scotland.

The provision of healthcare services is the responsibility of local NHS Boards, taking into account national policies/guidance, local service needs and priorities for investment. The breakdown of NHS Boards’ spend on services for Motor Neurone Disease (MND) is not held centrally. However, we can advise, in 2018-19, the health resource budget will increase by over £400 million to £13.1 billion and by the end of this parliament, the health resource budget will have increased by £2 billion.

Since 2012 the Scottish Government has provided £129,190 to third sector organisations to assist with their work supporting people living with MND, including care advisor posts for short term immediate care for people with MND, an equipment loan co-ordinator and delivery of a nationwide benefits advice service for people living with MND, their families and carers.

In addition, as noted in the reply to S5W-18214 on 29 August 2018, the Scottish Government has co-funded a Clinical Research Fellowship with MND Scotland designed to increase research capacity in MND research here in Scotland. The SG contribution to the fellowship is £96,000.

Question reference: S5W-18214

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 28 August 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with MND Scotland regarding support for clinical trials for motor neuron disease patients in Scotland.

Officials from the Chief Scientist Office met with MND Scotland at the Scottish Government sponsored Neuroprogressive Disease Research Day on ‎19 April 2018. This led directly to the announcement of a co-funded Clinical Research Fellowship designed to increase research capacity in MND research here in Scotland. The SG contribution to the fellowship is £96,000. The fellowship is currently advertised on the CSO website with a closing date for applications of 28 September 2018.

Question reference: S5W-18213

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 28 August 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support research and establish medical trials for motor neuron disease patients in Scotland.

We have delivered on the 2016 manifesto commitment to fund 3 Ph.D. Studentships in both Motor Neurone Disease and Multiple Sclerosis. The SPRINT-MND-MS programme sees the 6 Scottish Government-funded Ph.D.’s matched by an investment of 7 Ph.D.’s funded by a collaboration of 5 Scottish HEI’s to create an integrated and pan-Scotland MND/MS Ph.D. training programme. Already 9 of the 13 Ph.D.’s have been appointed with the final cohort to be recruited by early 2019 .

We have partnered with the University of Edinburgh to fund two 3 year postdoctoral scientist positions working on MND at the UK Dementia Research Institute. Their work will involve research on innovative clinical trial design in Motor Neurone Disease.

In partnership with MND Scotland and the MND Association, we are funding a Clinical Research Fellow at the University of Edinburgh's Euan MacDonald Centre for MND Research.

In August 2018 we announced a collaboration with MND Scotland to fund a second Clinical Research Fellow. We expect to appoint the successful candidate in early 2019.

In April 2018 we hosted the Scottish Neuroprogressive Conditions research day. This brought together stakeholders to discuss how to maximise the number of clinical trials in neurodegenerative conditions (including MND) in Scotland.

The Scottish Government provides over £500,000 annual funding for the NHS Research Scotland Neuroprogressive and Dementia Network. The role of the network is to support academic and commercial studies, including clinical trials, in neurodegenerative conditions (including MND) that are taking place in the NHS in Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-18216

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 24 August 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what collaborations it is supporting on a UK-wide basis into motor neuron disease research.

In April 2018 the Scottish Government announced that it would be providing half the funding for an almost £400,000 initiative at the Edinburgh hub of the UK-wide Dementia Research Institute to fund 2 postdoctoral scientists over 3 years. Their work will look at chemical compounds that have the potential to be developed into drugs to treat MND. These would then go through a process that could include clinical trials to test their safety and effectiveness.

We have also provided funding of £75,000 to partner with MND Scotland and the UK-wide charity the MND Association in supporting a Clinical Research Fellowship based at the Euan MacDonald centre for MND Research at the University of Edinburgh.

Through the Chief Scientist Office, the Scottish Government contributes around £10 million annually to allow Scottish-based researchers to apply for funding to the UK-wide research programmes from the National Institute for Health Research. These schemes are open to applications looking at the underlying causes, diagnosis and treatment of MND.

Question reference: S5W-17769

Asked by: Kezia Dugdale, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 July 2018
Current Status: Answered by Ash Denham on 2 August 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the appropriate training for licence holders in relation to authorising, managing or supervising the sale of alcohol is the Scottish Certificate for Personal Licence Holders (Refresher) course, with the exam based on course content taught on the day.

Chamber and committees