Chamber and committees

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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: S5W-24107

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 July 2019
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 18 July 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many people with an eating disorder have been supported by the NHS in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

Information is not held centrally on numbers supported by the NHS with an eating disorder. However, the numbers of patients admitted to hospital with an eating disorder, broken down by NHS Board since 1999 can be provided.

Number of patients admitted to hospital with eating disorder diagnoses1 by health board of treatment, 1999 - 2017

	19 99	20 00	20 01	20 02	20 03	20 04	20 05	20 06	20 07	20 08	20 09	20 10	20 11	20 12	20 13	20 14	20 15	20 16	20 17
Ayrshire & Arran	22	14	12	17	15	16	16	21	21	22	20	23	23	17	23	17	15	26	16
Borders	*	5	10	5	6	*	5	8	7	8	*	8	11	11	12	8	6	12	10
Dumfries & Galloway	15	16	10	13	10	9	6	*	9	9	9	13	13	7	12	22	17	19	19
Fife	14	19	14	14	11	9	12	10	21	15	23	10	13	10	18	16	16	18	26
Forth Valley	19	17	15	12	10	12	13	10	7	12	9	8	12	13	13	7	5	10	20
Grampian	30	25	22	26	32	44	39	37	44	35	55	40	51	59	54	80	60	48	64
Greater Glasgow & Clyde	71	56	65	64	64	51	56	78	79	71	69	66	61	90	94	108	103	112	115
Highland	14	18	14	17	16	22	20	18	20	20	25	18	36	33	29	39	40	27	39
Island Boards 2	5	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	6	6	*	5	9	*	*	7	5
Lanarkshire	16	20	18	15	21	16	33	22	21	13	15	16	24	35	28	23	24	41	31
Lothian	39	65	55	59	59	75	68	69	75	76	76	73	63	106	101	110	105	103	92
Other 3	-	-	-	-	*	-	8	16	11	7	*	13	16	*	9	32	50	54	44
Tayside	25	14	13	23	15	25	14	18	24	22	26	31	29	40	32	32	31	32	28

Source: SMR01, SMR04

Notes

* - Denotes values which have been suppressed to protect patient confidentiality.

1 - An eating disorder diagnosis is based on current classifications in Chapter V of the ICD-10 Classification of Mental and Behavioural Disorders.

The codes used to identify an eating disorder diagnosis are F50.0 through F50.9.

2 - Due to small numbers, the Orkney, Shetland, and Western Isles health boards have been grouped under Island Boards to protect patient confidentiality.

3 - Due to small numbers, the National Facility, Non-NHS Provider/Location, and State Hospital health boards have been grouped under Other to protect patient confidentiality.

Question reference: S5W-24108

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 July 2019
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 18 July 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many people with an eating disorder have been referred by the NHS to a dietician in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

Question reference: S5W-24103

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 July 2019
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 18 July 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the report, Student Academic Experience Survey 2018, by the Higher Education Policy Institute and AdvanceHE, on student support at universities, colleges and other institutions and their preparedness to contact parents where students display mental health concerns.

The Scottish Government, in its Ten Year Mental Health Strategy (2017 – 27), recognised the unique challenges students face. The findings and comments in the Survey reflect these challenges. The Scottish Government is already investing in student mental health and wellbeing through its support for NUS Scotland’s Think Positive initiative. All universities and colleges are also being asked to develop a strategy for mental health and work with NUS Scotland and their local student association to develop a Student Mental Health Agreement. In addition, colleges have access to a ring-fenced £50.5m Access and Inclusion Fund which they can use to ensure that every student has an equal chance of completing their studies, including students requiring mental health support.

A Student Mental Health and Well-Being Working Group has been established to collaboratively support the implementation of the 2018-19 Programme for Government commitment to provide more than 80 additional counsellors in Further and Higher Education over the next four years, with an investment of around £20 million. Representatives from the university and college sector, including Colleges Scotland and Universities Scotland, NHS Scotland and Health and Social Care Partnerships are included in this Group, alongside other key stakeholders. I am sure the Group will want to consider contact permissions.

Question reference: S5W-24094

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 July 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 18 July 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many appointments to see a migraine specialist there have been in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

Question reference: S5W-24109

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 July 2019
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 18 July 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) average and (b) longest waiting time to access cognitive therapy has been for people with an eating disorder in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

Question reference: S5W-24100

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 July 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 18 July 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of NHS waste has been sent to landfill in each year since 2007.

Scottish Government do not hold information on the amount of waste that has been set to a landfill going back to 2007. Since 2016, a national contract has been available for domestic waste across NHSScotland and this is used currently by 11 NHS Boards. The total amount of waste collected via this contract was 20,753 tonnes in 2017, and 20,848 tonnes in 2018. Of these totals, 20.5% (2017) and 23.7% (2018) was either recycled, reclaimed or reused. The majority of the remaining residual waste is sent to landfill. These totals do not include clinical waste or construction and demolition waste which are subject to separate contracts and collection regimes

NHSScotland are working towards the reduction of all waste types and aspire to the Scotland-wide challenge to recycling of 70% of all waste types with a maximum of 5% permitted in landfill by 2025, as part of “Scotland’s zero waste plan”.

Additionally, NHS National Services Scotland is in the process of procuring a new waste data tool that will improve the provision of waste data going forward.

Question reference: S5W-24104

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 July 2019
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 18 July 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with universities, colleges and other institutions regarding the provision of (a) mental health, (b) general practice and (c) sexual health clinic services for students.

A Student Mental Health and Well-Being Working Group has been established to collaboratively support the implementation of the 2018-19 Programme for Government commitment to provide more than 80 additional counsellors in Further and Higher Education over the next four years, with an investment of around £20 million. Representatives from the university and college sector, including Colleges Scotland and Universities Scotland, NHS Scotland and Health and Social Care Partnerships are included in this Group, alongside other key stakeholders. Part of the remit of the Group is to also support improved local partnerships between colleges and universities and NHS Scotland, Health and Social Care Partnerships, local authorities and the third sector.

We also provided funding to Universities Scotland for the preparation and distribution of 50,000 stickers, which will provide information for students on where to get help in respect of Gender Based Violence and mental health issues and will be for use in student accommodation, student’s unions, sports areas and teaching and learning areas. These were launched on the 9 May 2019.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that sexual health services in Scotland are all-inclusive and accessible to all individuals and groups. It is the responsibility of NHS Boards and Local Authorities to ensure that young people have access to appropriate sexual health services in their local area. The Scottish Government has funded the Sexual Health Scotland website, which provides a source of information and advice and signposting to local services to young people in all parts of Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-24099

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 July 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 18 July 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had regarding the establishment of a national NHS staff bank.

Since 2016, through the Bank, Agency and Rostering Group (and its predecessor the MASNET group) the Scottish Government has engaged with NHS Boards on Staff Bank developments. Through this, Staff Banks have expanded to include nursing, medical, AHP and administration staff, and to work on a regional basis, allowing staff the opportunity to work across NHS Board boundaries. Representation on this groups includes Scottish Government, NHS Employers and Staff Side representation.

The case for a national Staff Bank has been fully considered. Evidence shows that in most cases such a service would provide limited benefit due to the fact the majority of staff prefer to work within their local radius. There are however areas where technological advances mean a national bank would be of benefit. Such a case is the Radiology Reporting Service, which will launch in late summer 2019, allowing Radiology staff the opportunity to provide additional reporting capacity across NHSScotland through the use of a national IT connectivity platform that enables images taken anywhere in Scotland to be reported on from anywhere in Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-24096

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 July 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 18 July 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many patients who have started an initial consultation through the NHS have gone on to have surgery in the private sector in each year since 1999.

Question reference: S5W-24197

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 July 2019
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 17 July 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many respite care breaks have been provided to carers in each year since 2007.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-20315 on 13 December 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

There have been a further 18,556 voluntary sector short breaks provided to carers during the period 2018-19. Please see the breakdown in the following table. These figures are for the number of breaks funded and there may be more than one carer benefiting from each break. It should be noted that Shared Care Scotland figures for 2018-19 are estimated and figures from April 2019 are not yet available.

Number of short breaks provided through the voluntary sector Short Breaks Fund in 2018-19, and total since 2010

Year

Shared Care Scotland :

Better Breaks,

Creative Breaks

Time to Live

Family Fund :

Take a Break

Total number of breaks

2018-19

16,525

2,031

18,556*

Total of overall Short Breaks since 2010

84,186*

13,466

97,652*

* Contains estimated number for 2018-19.

To support the development of statutory short breaks under the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016, the Scottish Government is funding Shared Care Scotland and Healthcare Improvement Scotland to run a short breaks market shaping project. Membership is made up of short break commissioners from a range of local authority areas who are working to share and learn about the realities of creating market shaping strategies. The group aims to produce a toolkit which will be shared with others involved in shaping sustainable markets in social care and, in particular, short breaks across Scotland.