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-03693

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 20 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the NHS Tayside oncologists who were found by the General Medical Council to have acted appropriately, in line with professional clinical practice, when administering treatment to breast cancer patients, despite concerns expressed in the 2019 Health Improvement Scotland report.

Scottish Government representatives last met with oncologists in Tayside linked with the HIS report in July 2020, where all independent reviews of the service were discussed, as well the ongoing delivery of the breast cancer services in Tayside. During the work of the Independent Advisory Group (Tayside Breast Cancer) which reported in August 2019, there was also discussion with the same oncologists as part of the group’s evidence gathering.

Question reference: S6W-03600

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the board of NHS Tayside regarding the recruitment of oncologists.

Scottish Government officials have a weekly call with NHS Tayside’s Cancer Team to track all patients on an urgent suspicion of cancer (USC) pathway and update on service delivery, including workforce.

In March 2021, after a request for national support, Scottish Government representatives met with NHS Tayside Chief Executive and senior medical staff and other health boards to provide support to ensure the continuation of its breast oncology services following the departure of one consultant.

We are continuing to work with NHS Tayside to ensure the long term continuation of service for women in the NHS Tayside area. A new consultant has been appointed who took up post in mid-July and there is ongoing recruitment for a further post. Ongoing clinical support will continue to be provided by NHS Grampian.

Question reference: S6W-03601

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the board of NHS Tayside regarding how it supports oncologists.

To support Cancer and Diagnostic services the Scottish Government has invested £10 million to support cancer services during and beyond the pandemic. This will support increased access to cancer diagnostics and staffing. A further £9 million will also be allocated this year to support diagnostic imaging capacity. We have also invested in mobile units located in NHS Highland and NHS Tayside to increase capacity.

Question reference: S6W-03599

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the board of NHS Tayside regarding patients who reportedly received under-doses of the drug, docetaxel.

Question reference: S6O-00357

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what measures are in place to protect the autonomy of Scotland’s universities.

Question reference: S6O-00326

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 October 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what actions the constitution secretary is taking to continually improve interactions with the other devolved administrations as well as the UK Government.

Question reference: S6W-03141

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 4 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to run a government-funded retail advertising campaign to enhance footfall in city centres in advance of the Christmas period.

The Scottish Government is aware of the issues facing city centre retail and related sectors as a result of the pandemic. The City Centre Recovery Task Force has engaged with external stakeholders, including those from the retail sector, to inform its recommendations. The work of the City Centre Recovery Task Force has been taken forward in tandem with development of a Retail Strategy, which focuses on the future needs of the retail sector in Scotland.

We will provide more information on all of our plans for action to help our city centres recover when we publish the recommendations of the Task Force this autumn.

Question reference: S6W-03146

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 4 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to publish the conclusions and recommendations of its City Centre Recovery taskforce.

Question reference: S6W-03143

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 1 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans and policy regarding the freeze on council tax.

Question reference: S6W-03142

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 1 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on whether it plans to introduce a high street voucher scheme similar to that in Northern Ireland.

The Scottish Government is supporting the rollout of the new Scotland Loves Local Loyalty Card, part of our £10 million Scotland Loves Local programme.

The card is a quick and efficient way to encourage spend and sales growth in our local economies and, thanks to Scottish Government funding, is the first of its kind on a national scale.

We have no plans to replicate the Northern Ireland scheme at present but will be interested to see the impact it makes.