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-18869

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 22 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to introducing mandatory additional support needs training for (a) teachers, (b) visiting specialists and (c) pupil support assistants.

The Additional Support for Learning Act places duties on education authorities to identify, provide for and review the additional support needs of their pupils. It is for individual authorities to determine the training required for all staff to ensure pupils reach their full potential.

All initial teacher education programmes must align with the General Teaching Council for Scotland’s Standard for Provisional Registration. The Standard sets out that student teachers are required to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of additional support needs and to take account of learners with such needs.

The Scottish Government is working closely with local government partners to improve the experience of children and young people with additional support needs at school, implementing the recommendations of the 2020 additional support for learning review, including those relating to the professional learning of school staff. In November 2022, we published an updated action plan and a second progress report . A further update is due to be published in May 2024.

Question reference: S6W-18996

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 21 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting the recruitment of specialists in menopause.

Question reference: S6W-18995

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 21 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of how many specialists in menopause are currently working in each NHS board.

Question reference: S6W-18870

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 16 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has plans to introduce Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), which are currently in place in England.

In Scotland, children and young people's needs are met by planning for their learning and support through an individualised educational programme or Additional Support Plan. These set out targets for learning and the support to be provided. For children and young people who have complex or multiple needs, which require significant support from education and another agency or agencies, a statutory co-ordinated support plan (CSP) may be required. The purpose of the CSP is to support co-ordinated multi-agency planning to meet pupils' needs.

Question reference: S6O-02410

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 June 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill.

Question reference: S6W-18293

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 14 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether prescriptions for testosterone for women going through menopause should be made available for all women in every NHS board in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-18294

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 14 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the medication, Androfeme, should be made available for treatment of menopause for women in Scotland, and what discussions it has had with the UK Government in relation to this matter.

The regulations for the licensing, safety and efficacy of medicines are currently reserved to the UK Government and are the responsibility of the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). For a medicine to be routinely prescribed, it firstly needs to receive a licence from the MHRA. It is the responsibility of individual companies to apply to the MHRA for a marketing authorisation (licence). The application process requires a company to provide data demonstrating the quality, safety and efficacy of the medicine.

The Scottish Government has not had any discussions with the UK Government on the licensing of testosterone for women in perimenopause or menopause. AndroFeme ® is not licensed for the treatment of symptoms of menopause in the UK. The prescribing of an unlicensed medicine is a clinical decision by prescribers directly responsible for individual patients. Both its use and the oversight of the patient’s care are the responsibility of the prescribing clinician.

Question reference: S6W-18285

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 9 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can confirm how many sewage discharge points there are along the River (a) Don and (b) Dee; when these monitors were last monitored, and what assessment was made of them.

As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water I have asked them to respond. Their answer is:

The number of sewage discharge points for each river, including its tributaries, is:

River Don - 42 Wastewater Treatment Works and 99 discharge points
River Dee - 26 Wastewater Treatment Works and 69 discharge points

SEPA's licencing conditions do not currently require Scottish Water to report discharge data at these locations.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) publishes river water quality data on their website at: www.sepa.org.uk/data-visualisation/water-classification-hub. SEPA currently classifies waterbodies in the River Dee catchment as 92% at good or better water quality and the River Don catchment as 84% at good or better water quality.

Question reference: S6W-18295

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 8 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the current availability of hormone replacement therapy (HRT), in light of reports of supply issues.

There are over 70 HRT products available in the UK and supply issues are affecting only a small number of them.

The Scottish Government are aware that there have been continuing shortages across the UK due to a number of factors. The supply of medicines, including HRT products and the associated legislation, is a reserved matter for the UK Government. We continue to engage with the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) to seek a lasting solution.

A series of UK-wide Serious Shortage Protocols (SSPs) have been issued by DHSC, after consultation with the Scottish Government and other UK administrations, allowing community pharmacists to supply specific alternatives without needing to seek agreement from the prescribing doctor. An SSP is an additional tool to manage and mitigate medication shortages. This gives individuals the option to receive substitute products in a safe and effective way to ensure medication continues to be available to all.

Question reference: S6O-02377

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 June 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on any increase in water quality testing that is proposed for rivers in the north east.