- Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 12 March 2018
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 15 March 2018
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to comments by Samaritans Scotland that the draft suicide prevention plan is “very disappointing”.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 15 March 2018
- Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 22 February 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 9 March 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the comment by the Finance Director of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde that the board faces a deficit of up to £20 million by the end of March 2018, and how it will work with the board to address this.
Answer
As with all NHS Boards the Scottish Government expects NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to continue to focus on delivering existing savings schemes and to identify additional opportunities to deliver services within its resource allocation. In doing this it will remain paramount that a balanced approach is taken to finance and performance, with quality of care continuing to be prioritised.
The Director of Finance at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has indicated to the Scottish Government that the Board’s year end position continues to moderate month on month and that it is heading in a positive direction towards being balanced by the year end.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s resource budget will increase by £31.8 million to £2,154.5 million in 2018-19. In addition, the Board will receive a share of £175 million for investment in reform. This additional funding is provided as part of our twin approach of investment and reform, recognising the increasing demand and expectations placed on frontline services and being clear that the status quo is not an option.
Our estimate is that Conservative tax policies would have resulted in a reduction in the Scottish Government’s resource budget of £501 million in 2018-19.
If such a reduction was applied to NHS Territorial Boards, the impact on NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde's resource budget would amount to £111.9 million.
- Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 12 February 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 6 March 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking in light of reports that jobs could be lost at two major stores in Glasgow, and what discussions it has had or will have with Debenhams and Dunnes regarding the potential impact of job losses to the Glasgow economy.
Answer
We are disappointed at the news from Debenhams and Dunnes.
Our Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) team are working to support any affected employees. The PACE team worked closely with the staff affected by the planned Dunnes Stores closures, providing skills development and employability support to help them find alternative employment.
At this stage it is not clear how any changes at Debenhams may impact Glasgow staff. However, our PACE team have been in touch with Debenhams to offer support in the event that employees may face redundancy.
The Scottish Government recognises that the retail sector in Scotland is transforming in response to, among other things, significant changes to shopping habits and through new technology. There is no doubt that e-commerce is now having a significant impact. However Scotland’s Town Centre First Principle, agreed with COSLA, together with the range of measures in the Town Centre Action Plan, set the conditions and underpin activity designed to tackle key issues such as empty shops, diversify the town centre offer and thereby attract a range of businesses and services to locate there to build footfall for retail and other business areas. In Glasgow, as you will be well aware, the city centre continues to provide residents and visitors with an exciting mix of shopping, culture, leisure and entertainment experiences and Glasgow’s economy remains diverse and resilient.
However, I want to reassure you that we will continue to use all levers at our disposal to ensure that Scotland remains an attractive place for retailers to do business.
- Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 February 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 5 March 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many people have accessed services at each rape crisis centre in each year since 2014-15.
Answer
Rape Crisis Scotland publish annual reports which detail the number of people who have accessed services at each rape crisis centres across Scotland. These annual figures are as follows:
2014-15 – 2,665
2015-16 - 3,315
2016-17 - 4,108
- Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 09 February 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 28 February 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the comment set out in Proposal 5 of the report, Contaminated Blood: Financial Support: Conclusions and Recommendations, that "the operation of the schemes should be subject to
periodic review in conjunction with beneficiaries".
Answer
The operation of the Scottish Infected Blood Support Scheme will indeed be subject to periodic review in conjunction with the scheme's beneficiaries. The scheme has an advisory group that includes representation from the third sector and organisations representing scheme beneficiaries. Any procedural issues and developments are discussed with the group and several operational changes have already been made as a result of that ongoing scrutiny.
Professor David Goldberg of Health Protection Scotland is currently leading a clinical review of the impacts of hepatitis C (HCV) infection that is expected to report in the next few months. This review also involves organisations representing scheme beneficiaries. The review report will reflect on the evidence-base for the current scheme distinctions between chronic and advanced HCV support and consider options for tailoring support more closely to the specific level of health impact of HCV.
- Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 February 2018
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 1 March 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve the availability of more flexible hours in local authority nurseries.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 1 March 2018
- Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 January 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 16 February 2018
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-13782 by Humza Yousaf on 25 January 2018, what plans it has to set yearly targets in relation to zero-emission buses.
Answer
We have recently consulted on Low Emission Zones in Scotland. Local authorities have responsibility for designing Low Emission Zones, and will work together with Regional Transport Authorities and the Scottish Government to introduce Low Emission Zones that are designed to consistent national standards. Low Emission Zones will support the adoption of both low and zero emission vehicles, including buses. We envisage a steady growth in the proportion of low emission buses in the fleet to 50% by 2032 but have no current plans to set annual targets, including in relation to zero emission buses within the wider low emission category.
- Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 February 2018
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 22 February 2018
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what it is doing to improve support for pupils with additional support needs.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 22 February 2018
- Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 January 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Aileen Campbell on 8 February 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what support it has provided to Cervical Cancer Prevention Week 2018.
Answer
We fully support the aims of Cervical Cancer Prevention Week 2018 and we congratulate Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust on leading yet another successful awareness raising initiative to highlight the importance of cervical screening and its role in preventing cervical cancer. We encouraged people to take part in #SmearForSmear by promoting the campaign on our 'wee c' Twitter and Facebook pages.
The Scottish Government works closely with Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust on developing initiatives to improve participation within the Scottish Cervical Screening Programme. To enable the charity to expand their reach we are funding their innovative new outreach service targeting women less likely to attend cervical screening.
- Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 January 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Aileen Campbell on 7 February 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address the increase in cervical cancer mortality.
Answer
Thanks to cervical screening and the HPV vaccination programme cervical cancer is now preventable.
Cervical Screening is offered to women aged between 25 and 64 and we encourage all eligible women to take up their invitation. Cervical screening saves around 5,000 lives in the UK every year and prevents eight out of 10 cervical cancers from developing. Since the start of the programme in 1988 the incidence of cervical cancer has decreased by 26.8%, exceeding the 20% target set.
The HPV vaccination programme in Scotland started on 1 September 2008 with the vaccine being offered to girls at secondary schools across Scotland. It offers very good protection against the two types of HPV that cause 75% of the cases of cervical cancer. Uptake rates for the vaccine in Scotland are amongst the highest in the world, with uptake consistently exceeding 80%. However the vaccine does not protect against all cervical cancers, so regular screening is still important.
