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-17642

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 06 July 2018
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 20 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on prioritising adopted children on waiting lists for child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), as is done in England.

Question reference: S5W-17641

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 06 July 2018
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 20 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason medication to treat ADHD cannot be prescribed by a nurse practitioner who has diagnosed it, which can lead to a further wait to see a doctor.

Medication for ADHD should only be initiated by a healthcare professional with training and expertise in diagnosing and managing ADHD.

A range of non-medical healthcare professionals, including some nurse practitioners, can undertake additional training to enable them to prescribe medicines for patients. This includes the treatment of ADHD. These professionals are identified by an annotation next to their name in the relevant professional register and must always work within their own level of professional competence and expertise.

It is for local health boards to decide where this type of role would be required and where it would benefit the needs of the local population.

Question reference: S5W-17403

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 19 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what criteria the Edinburgh Division of Police Scotland uses when considering whether to deploy hand-held speed enforcement devices, and whether it will confirm on what streets these devices have been used over the last 12 months.

Question reference: S5W-17640

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 06 July 2018
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 17 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on some parents reportedly being told that their children cannot be prioritised on waiting lists for child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) following them threatening suicide, unless they make an active attempt.

Decisions about how urgently to assess referrals must be clinically driven, however any suggestion that services are not receiving or accepting referrals unless the individual is an immediate suicide risk is completely unacceptable. We are aware that young people and their parents not feeling that their case was deemed serious enough was a theme that emerged during the audit of Rejected Referrals to CAMHS.

It is important to hear the voices of children, young people and their families, even when what they have to say is difficult or uncomfortable. On the basis of what they have told us, we are taking strong and immediate action following the publication of the Rejected Referrals report on 29 June. We have announced a Task Force, chaired by Dr Dame Denise Coia, to examine the whole approach to children’s mental health services, and have committed to an initial £5 million of investment to help reshape provision.

We will continue to listen to the views and experiences of children and young people who use mental health services, in particular through Young Scot’s Youth Commission which will report in March 2019.

Question reference: S5W-17401

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 13 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many hand-held speed enforcement devices are owned by the Edinburgh Division of Police Scotland, and how many of its officers are trained to use these.

Question reference: S5W-17405

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 13 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what the unit cost is of a new hand-held speed enforcement device, and how much it costs Police Scotland to train an officer on their use.

Question reference: S5W-17400

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 13 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many speeding infringements have been recorded in the last 12 months by officers using hand-held speed enforcement devices in the Edinburgh Division of Police Scotland; how many fines were issued, and how much was raised.

Question reference: S5W-17437

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 22 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 13 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to following the Welsh Government's example by introducing and funding a "Real Nappy Campaign", which aims to encourage more parents to make the switch to cotton nappies.

Question reference: S5W-17438

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 22 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 13 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on introducing a nappy recycling scheme run by local authorities, similar to that available in local authorities in Wales.

The Scottish Government has considered a similar scheme. Zero Waste Scotland carried out a trial collection of disposable nappies for recycling in 2014. This was operated in 4 Council areas and the disposable nappies were recycled in the West Midlands, at a facility that is now closed. The availability of recycling infrastructure for these products is key to the success of any such scheme, and we remain open to discussions with any recycling / reprocessing companies who may be interested in investing on Scottish infrastructure.

The evaluation of the pilot is available at: https://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/content/evaluation-absorbent-hygiene-products-collection-trials-Scotland .

Question reference: S5W-17350

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 6 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how much police time has been spent on cannabis-related offences in each of the last three years.