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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 546 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S5F-03500

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 September 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 September 2019

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government will take in response to the sectarian disorder in Glasgow at the weekend.

Question reference: S5W-24584

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 August 2019
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 20 August 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what recent communication it has had with (a) third sector organisations and (b) integration joint boards regarding providing care and support to people with MS.

The Scottish Government works closely with third sector organisations to raise awareness of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and improve the support and care for those living with MS in Scotland.

During MS Awareness Week 2019 (22-29 April) the Minister for Public Health, Sport and Wellbeing visited the Revive MS therapy centre in Glasgow and spoke with a number of staff members and service users. The Minister also attended a Parliamentary reception on 23 April 2019 hosted by the MS Society and George Adam MSP to mark MS Awareness Week and to acknowledge the importance of research to the MS community.

On 24 April 2019, the Minister spoke at a Members Business debate about MS that welcomed the MS Society’s commitment to funding research into new treatments and a greater understanding of the causes of MS.

We are currently in the final stages of developing Scotland’s first National Action Plan on Neurological Conditions, which will be published later this year. Over the next five years we will work with the neurological community and partners, including integration joint boards and third sector organisations, to drive improvements for people with neurological conditions, including MS, to enable them to access the care and support they need to live their life well on their own terms.

Question reference: S5W-24304

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 July 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 30 July 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what the current waiting times are for multiple sclerosis treatment following diagnosis.

This information is not held centrally as we do not collect information on diagnosis for outpatient appointments within national returns. The member can obtain this information by contacting individual Health Boards.

Last year the Scottish Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Register reported that in 2017, 75% of people received contact from an MS specialist nurse within 10 working days of their diagnosis. This is an increase of 11 percentage points on 2016, and 25 percentage points since this Government established the register in 2010.

Additionally, once a referral was received by the MS Specialist Nurse, 97% of patients were contacted within 10 working days, an improvement of 3 percentage points on 2016. This is welcome but we want to continue to improve, and are supporting NHS Boards to deliver better care for people living with MS across Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-24305

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 July 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 26 July 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many neurology consultant vacancies there are, also broken down by NHS board.

There are 8.8 WTE consultant vacancies in neurology across NHS Scotland as at March 2019.

These are broken down by NHS board in the following table.

NHS Board	Neurology consultant vacancies (WTE) as at March 2019
NHS Borders	0.0
NHS Fife	1.0
NHS Lothian	0.0
NHS Highland	0.0
NHS Grampian	0.0
NHS Orkney	0.0
NHS Tayside	0.0
NHS Western Isles	0.0
NHS Shetland	0.0
NHS Ayrshire and Arran	1.8
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde	4.0
NHS Lanarkshire	0.0
NHS Forth Valley	1.0
NHS Dumfries and Galloway	1.0

Source: ISD Scotland, Medical and Dental dashboard

https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Workforce/Publications/2019-06-04/Medical-and-Dental.asp .

Question reference: S5W-24019

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 June 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 18 July 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how it proposes to work with companies to best deliver e-health technology in the NHS.

The development of Scotland’s National Digital Platform offers a unique opportunity to produce new products which will support service improvement, service change and emerging consumer demand. Part of this work will be to provide a standard route for companies to interface with the digital platform in a consistent way making it easier for new technology to support digital health and care.

One of Scotland’s Innovation Centres, the Digital Health and Care Institute (DHI) continues to support product innovation with a wide network of capabilities, allowing them to evaluate and invest in new solutions from across a wide range of suppliers aligned to prioritised health and care challenges. The DHI are able to act as a bridge between companies, industry, academia and our health and care services.

Question reference: S5W-23245

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 11 July 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of the NHS budget has been spent on mental health in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S5W-23733

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 June 2019
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 21 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how much revenue it has received from the UK Soft Drinks Industry Levy, and how it is spending this in Scotland.

The rules for how the Scottish Government is funded are set out in the Statement of Funding Policy. Changes in Scottish Government funding are determined by applying the Barnett formula to changes in UK government departmental spending, rather than allocating a proportion of revenues raised through the UK Soft Drinks Industry Levy. There is therefore no direct link between the revenue raised by the UK Government through the Soft Drinks Industry Levy and any element of the funding allocated to Scotland. The Scottish Government spends its money in accordance with the published budget as agreed by the Scottish Parliament.

Question reference: S5W-23730

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 June 2019
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 14 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how it will define products that will be subject to restrictions on the promotion and marketing of products high in fat, sugar and salt.

Question reference: S5W-23731

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 June 2019
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 14 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish a business and regulatory impact assessment for its proposed legislation to restrict the promotion and marketing of products high in fat, sugar and salt.

Question reference: S5W-23732

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 June 2019
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 14 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the effect on Scottish businesses of its proposed legislation to restrict the promotion and marketing of products high in fat, sugar and salt.

The consultation paper Reducing health harms of foods high in fat, sugar or salt included questions on business impact and support. In parallel, officials have engaged with industry to support the development of a Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA), providing industry with an opportunity to explain and quantify the economic impact of the proposals. This work is ongoing.

The Scottish Government will reflect on the responses to its consultation and ongoing work to develop impact assessments, including the BRIA, in considering what actions to take.