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: S4W-22597

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 September 2014
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 3 October 2014

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4O-03527 by Michael Matheson on 24 September 2014, which IVF centres have not met the 12-month waiting time target, also broken down by current waiting time.

The 12 month waiting time target does not start until 31 March 2015. Waiting times are currently up to 15 months in the IVF centre located within NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. Current waiting time broken down by referring NHS board as follows:

NHS Ayrshire and Arran	12 months
NHS Dumfries and Galloway	12 months
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde	15 months
NHS Lanarkshire	12 months

Question reference: S4O-03577

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 October 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 October 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on severance packages in the college sector since 2011.

Question reference: S4O-03552

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 September 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 October 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how much it spent in 2013-14 on renovating historic buildings in West Scotland.

Question reference: S4O-03527

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 September 2014
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 24 September 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how IVF and other infertility services will be affected by possible NHS budget reductions.

There are no planned budget reductions to IVF or other infertility services, nor indeed wider NHS budgets. The Scottish Government has a record of protecting and increasing the NHS budget, and our latest £12.1 billion resource budget reflects a funding increase in real terms for both 2014-15 and 2015-16.

That is why we’re improving IVF services by committing to providing equitable access to IVF treatment and a maximum waiting time of 12 months for IVF by 31 March 2015. To support this, we have invested £6 million in IVF services over the last two years, specifically to reduce IVF waiting times, with a further £6 million being invested in the current financial year 2014-15.

This funding has made a dramatic impact in reducing waiting times for IVF treatment in all areas across Scotland, with the majority of centres having waiting times of less than 12 months. To ensure waiting times remain at 12 months or less, a further £6 million IVF funding is planned for 2015-16, subject to parliamentary approval of the draft budget.

Question reference: S4W-22115

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 July 2014
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 12 August 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have an epidermoid brain cyst; how many are receiving gamma knife treatment for this, and how many consultants specialise in treating the condition, broken down by NHS board.

Question reference: S4W-22125

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 July 2014
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 11 August 2014

To ask the Scottish Government whether there is a right of appeal for local authorities to challenge planning recommendations made by Scottish Government reporters and if such right has been removed, when.

The recommendations made by reporters in examining a planning authority’s local development plan are largely binding on planning authorities who may only depart from recommendations in specific defined circumstances. These are set out in the Town and Country Planning (Grounds for Declining to Follow Recommendations) (Scotland) Regulations 2009 which came into force on 28 February 2009. These procedures were introduced in the Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006, promoted by the previous administration.

Question reference: S4W-22126

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 July 2014
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 11 August 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what local circumstances Scottish Government reporters take into account when making planning recommendations.

Regulation 21 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Planning) (Scotland) Regulations 2008 limits the scope of the matters to be assessed in the examination to issues raised in unresolved representations. The reporters will fully consider the representation, the council’s statement on the matters raised, comments from any other body in relation to the representation, national planning policy and any other information the reporters consider necessary to make recommendations on the unresolved representation. These procedures were introduced in the Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006, promoted by the previous administration.

Question reference: S4W-22127

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 July 2014
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 11 August 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance there is for Scottish Government reporters making planning recommendations.

Reporters are required to carry out an examination for a local development plan and make recommendations in accordance with the Town and Country Planning Act 1997, the Town and Country Planning (Development Planning) (Scotland) Regulations 2008, Scottish Government Circular 6/2013, Scottish Planning Policy and the National Planning Framework. The examination is restricted to the matters raised in unresolved representations. These procedures were introduced in the Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006, promoted by the previous administration.

Question reference: S4W-22128

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 July 2014
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 4 August 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the World Health Organization's Consolidated guidelines on HIV prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care for key populations.

HIV continues to be a priority for the Scottish Government and as such, we welcome the World Health Organization’s consolidated guidelines.

HIV policy, as set out in The Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework, focusses on the key populations in Scotland who are vulnerable to HIV, namely men who have sex with men and those from areas of high prevalence.

The Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework will be refreshed in 2015 and the Scottish Government will consider all relevant evidence including this guidance when refreshing the framework.

Question reference: S4W-22129

Asked by: Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 July 2014
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 4 August 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on calls for sexually active gay and bisexual men to take antiretroviral drugs to reduce the spread of HIV.

The British HIV Association/British Association for Sexual Health and HIV Position Statement on pre-exposure prophylaxis in the UK advises that more clinical research is needed before the benefits, risks and cost effectiveness of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) can be fully known and advised that “ad hoc prescribing [of PrEP] is avoided, and that PrEP is only prescribed in the context of a clinical research study in the UK”.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has also noted that “despite some encouraging results, a number of questions remain unanswered regarding PrEP. For example, the cost-effectiveness of PrEP in the long term requires further investigation, as it is likely to depend on high levels of adherence to the treatment.”

Research trials are currently underway and we will await the outcome of these and further advice from the British HIV Association and the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV before reviewing the existing recommendations.