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: S5W-23955

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 21 June 2019
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 11 July 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-23681 by Clare Haughey on 20 June 2019, how access can be gained to its response and action plan to help address recommendations in the Mental Welfare Commission's 2014 report, Dignity and Respect.

Question reference: S5W-23956

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 21 June 2019
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 11 July 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-23680 by Clare Haughey on 20 June 2019, whether it will commission and publish the independent expert study on trends in the prescribing of psychoactive medications for people with dementia before the end of 2020.

Question reference: S5W-23931

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 June 2019
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 11 July 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made or plans regarding the effectiveness of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, including its use elsewhere in the UK and overseas; how people in Scotland can access this, and what its position is on making it available on the NHS.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation is not routinely available in Scotland on the NHS. Local health boards are best placed to provide or arrange provision of any evidence based treatment and services.

The needs and treatment of every patient will differ depending on range of factors. Should a patient put forward an interest in transcranial magnetic stimulation as a part of their treatment plan, they should, along with their family discuss the full range of evidence based options with the consultant responsible for the patient's care.

Should it be required, the consultant can make a case to the respective health board for the treatment. This could include accessing the treatment somewhere else in the UK, including a different nation.

Question reference: S5W-24195

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 July 2019
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 11 July 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many children currently receive two hours or two periods of PE at school each week.

As part of the annual Heathy Living survey the Scottish Government collects information on schools meeting PE targets of at least 120 of Physical Education per week in primary schools and 100 minutes (two periods) of PE in secondary schools. This information can be found, along with the pupil roll of the schools at the time of the Healthy Living survey in table 29 in the Healthy Living Survey supplementary tables, available on the Scottish Government website here:

https://www2.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/MealsSD/mealspesd

Question reference: S5W-24193

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 July 2019
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 11 July 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many health and food technology teachers there have been in each local authority area in each year since 2007.

Question reference: S5W-24185

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 July 2019
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 11 July 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many deaths from alcoholic liver disease have been recorded in each year since 2007.

Alcoholic Liver disease is one of 15 conditions included in the Alcohol Specific Deaths statistics published annually by National Records of Scotland.

Data for number of deaths by underlying cause of death is available in table 2 of the NRS Alcohol-specific Deaths (new National Statistics definition) Data Tables which are available at the following link.

https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/files//statistics/alcohol-deaths/2018/alcohol-specific-deaths-18-all-tabs.xlsx

The data for alcoholic liver disease is detailed in the following table.

Alcohol-specific deaths (new National Statistics definition) by underlying cause of death (ICD-10): registered in Scotland, 2007 to 2018

Year	Underlying Cause of Death (ICD-10). Total for K70 - Alcoholic liver disease
2007	920
2008	936
2009	820
2010	814
2011	764
2012	646
2013	682
2014	658
2015	650
2016	729
2017	738
2018	708

Question reference: S5W-23921

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 June 2019
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 10 July 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many alcohol-related hospital admissions there have been in each of the last five years, also broken down NHS board.

The information requested is provided in the table that follows.

Number of alcohol related hospital admissions (stays). Scotland and NHS Board, 2013-14 to 2017-18.

HEALTH BOARD	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18
NHS Ayrshire & Arran	3,346	3,163	2,999	3,137	3,093
NHS Borders	682	545	525	555	514
NHS Dumfries & Galloway	870	709	751	712	731
NHS Fife	2,381	2,367	2,305	2,444	2,441
NHS Forth Valley	1,629	1,559	1,703	1,590	1,694
NHS Grampian	3,124	2,856	2,887	2,953	2,895
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde	11,782	11,460	11,639	12,273	11,460
NHS Highland	2,380	2,391	2,348	2,210	2,162
NHS Lanarkshire	5,072	4,906	5,264	5,431	5,571
NHS Lothian	5,427	5,364	5,139	4,943	4,821
NHS Orkney	321	160	154	*	*
NHS Shetland	*	135	*	140	151
NHS Tayside	2,288	2,388	2,198	2,274	2,247
NHS Western Isles	*	*	213	*	202
SCOTLAND	39,718	38,186	38,278	39,023	38,153

Source: ISD (2019) Alcohol-Related Hospital Statistics Scotland 2017-18

* Value has been suppressed due to potential risk of disclosure and to maintain patient confidentiality.

The information requested is publically available from ISD, via its annual Alcohol-Related Hospital Statistics Scotland publication, which can be accessed via the following links:

Alcohol-Related Hospital Statistics Scotland 2017-18: https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Drugs-and-Alcohol-Misuse/Publications/2019-02-26/2019-02-26-ARHS-Report.pdf .
Excel workbook: https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Drugs-and-Alcohol-Misuse/Publications/2019-02-26/2019-02-26-ARHS-Data.xlsx

Question reference: S5W-23859

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 June 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 5 July 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of people with lung cancer in each of the last five years have been diagnosed with the condition at stage (a) 1, (b) 2, (c) 3 and (d) 4.

Question reference: S5W-23860

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 June 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 5 July 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve the early (a) detection and (b) diagnosis of lung cancer.

Our commitment to early detection is reflected in our £42 million Detect Cancer Early (DCE) Programme that aims to increase the proportion of breast, bowel and lung cancers diagnosed early in Scotland.

(a) Social marketing has a key role to play in the early detection of lung cancer. Sir Alex Ferguson has fronted DCE’s marketing activity since 2013 to raise awareness of the benefits of early detection, while reminding people that lung cancer is no longer a death sentence. This has contributed to the 31.0% increase in stage one lung diagnoses in the most deprived areas of Scotland since DCE began. A new social marketing approach is now being explored with key stakeholders and leading clinicians to ensure the public stay alert to possible signs and symptoms and feel empowered to act early.

(b) To support primary care clinicians in diagnosing cancer early, DCE funded a clinical refresh of the Scottish Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer, with updated evidence published January 2019. Eight pathways were included in the refresh, including lung. In collaboration with Cancer Research UK and Macmillan Cancer Support, work continues across NHSScotland to ensure the guidance is fully disseminated and adopted.

Meanwhile, the Scottish Government is currently exploring what opportunities exist for Scotland to contribute to the emerging evidence base for lung cancer screening. Officials have recently met with academics, the Chair of the UK National Screening Committee, and the Scottish Screening Committee to discuss ongoing studies and trials, to identify where Scotland can best add value. These discussions are ongoing and any recommendations will be carefully considered.

Question reference: S5W-23682

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 June 2019
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 2 July 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is aware of antipsychotic medication being commonly used as a chemical restraint, and what its position is on giving such medication to older people with dementia and concerns regarding an increased risk of premature death from doing so.

In 2012 the Scottish Government commissioned and published a first independent expert study on trends in the prescribing of antipsychotic and other psychotropic medications for people with dementia, between 2001 and 2011. It showed that, from 2009, there had been a decline in the initiation of new antipsychotics and a moderately decreasing trend in antipsychotic use. To assess trends since then, the Scottish Government will commission and publish a further independent expert study on trends in the prescribing of antipsychotic and other psychotropic medications for people with dementia in all settings since 2011, in line with commitment 18 in Scotland’s National Dementia Strategy 2017-2020.

The Scottish Government’s first Dementia Standards (2011) are clear that people with dementia have the right to receive a full range of therapeutic interventions to help alleviate stress and distress and that psychoactive medications including antipsychotic medications should only be used if no alternative interventions are available. Carers should be fully involved in discussions on the use of such medications including their benefit and associated risks.

The 2018 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence dementia guideline includes an evidence-based assessment of the benefits and risks associated with the prescribing of antipsychotic medications to people with dementia. The guideline does not identify an increased risk of premature death from prescribing antipsychotic medication in these circumstances.