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-03277

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 13 October 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what its role is in ensuring appropriate health and safety in schools.

Question reference: S5W-03276

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 13 October 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what advice it provides for parents who are concerned about health and safety in a school.

Health and safety legislation is not devolved to Scottish Government. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has UK wide responsibility for this matter.

The HSE’s current schools guidance can be found online at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/services/education/index.htm. Moreover, information about managing health and safety in school grounds can be found on Education Scotland's website at: http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/learningandteaching/approaches/outdoorlearning/placestolearnoutdoors/schoolgrounds/managingsafety.asp

Question reference: S5W-03219

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 11 October 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with integration authorities about the inclusion of services and support for people with musculoskeletal conditions in their strategic plans.

Health boards can with agreement from local partners delegate all services and support for people with musculoskeletal conditions to their local Health and Social Care Partnership for inclusion in strategic plans. Where the decision is taken by the Health board not to delegate a specific musculoskeletal service or specialty we expect both parties to work together to ensure that any interactions between delegated and non-delegated services are as seamless as possible.

The Scottish Government has regular contact with local Health and Social Care Partnerships regarding the implementation of their locally agreed strategic plans and their effectiveness in the delivery of better outcomes.

Question reference: S5W-03287

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 7 October 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the UK Chief Medical Officers' Alcohol Guidelines Review and what action it will take to (a) tackle excessive alcohol consumption and (b) help people to make informed choices about their alcohol consumption.

The Scottish Government is supportive of the review, and we have taken considerable action to reduce alcohol harm through our Alcohol Framework to help prevent problems arising in the first place, and ensuring support and treatment for those who are already experiencing problems. As part of the Alcohol Framework we have taken forward education programmes and social marketing campaigns to raise awareness of the risks associated with alcohol and will continue to do so through the next phase of the Alcohol Framework.

Question reference: S5W-03026

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 30 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it has issued regarding holding a morbidity and mortality conference when a person dies while being treated in an NHS hospital, and whether this contains a timeframe that indicates when these conferences should (a) begin and (b) conclude.

A Morbidity and Mortality Practice Guide for clinicians and health professionals is being developed jointly with NHS Education for Scotland and Health Improvement Scotland which will address governance processes across all specialties and will be consulted on during autumn 2016. This includes a proposed time frame for cases to be reviewed, from event to discussion and sharing of learning, of six weeks; however these timeframes are indicative. The draft guide also includes timelines for resultant improvement actions based on best practice.

Question reference: S5W-03025

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 30 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government whether the conclusions of morbidity and mortality conferences are considered when deciding whether to carry out fatal accident inquiries.

Morbidity and mortality conferences, forums or meetings provide a systematic approach to reviewing patient deaths and complications in care, as part of professional learning.

Where the Procurator Fiscal is carrying out a full investigation in relation to a death, in which there are concerns about the medical care provided to the deceased, it is normal practice for the Procurator Fiscal to request copies of any internal reviews undertaken by the relevant Health board. This may include the outcome of a morbidity and mortality conference.

The results together with any implementation of learning will be considered by Crown Counsel, when deciding whether or not a discretionary fatal accident inquiry will be instructed. The other relevant material will include the opinions of any independent expert(s) instructed by the Crown as well as the views of nearest relatives.

Question reference: S5W-03049

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 30 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many people infected with hepatitis C because of treatment with infected blood or blood products have (a) received a stage 1 payment from the Skipton Fund and (b) died without progressing to stage 2 from the Skipton Fund, also broken down by those who died leaving a widow, widower or partner.

762 people identified as infected in Scotland with Hepatitis C via NHS blood or blood products have received a Stage 1 lump sum payment of £20,000 from the Skipton Fund, to recognise chronic infection. Of those, the Skipton Fund is aware of 103 people who have been confirmed as deceased without progressing to Stage two. Stage two represents disease progression to more serious associated conditions - cirrhosis, liver cancer, liver transplant and B-cell lymphoma. Stage one represents chronic infection only and the impact on life expectancy is significantly less for the Stage one group. Highly effective treatments for Hepatitis C are now available.

The Skipton Fund does not have any reliable data on the number who died leaving a widow, widower or partner.

Question reference: S5O-00236

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 September 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 October 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to require local authorities to carry out additional training for teachers and other school personnel on how to deal with children who have an attachment disorder or are affected by trauma and loss.

Question reference: S5W-02986

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 28 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how it assesses the work done by each local community planning partnership on suicide prevention.

The Scottish Government sets national policy and direction for suicide prevention. It does not formally assess local suicide prevention action as this is a matter for local agencies to plan and implement, taking account of local needs and local circumstances.

Support to local Choose Life coordinators and their partners in implementing local action is provided by NHS Health Scotland's National Suicide Prevention Programme team on behalf of the Scottish Government.

Nationally we monitor annual statistics on deaths by suicide, using five-year rolling averages, which show that in the last ten years, there has been a reduction of 18% in the rate of suicide in Scotland. The work which is being done locally is supporting this reduction.

In 2017 we will publish a new Suicide Prevention Strategy; our development of this Strategy will include consideration of local suicide prevention actions and how best to support this in the future.

Question reference: S5W-02985

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 September 2016
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 28 September 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support Choose Life co-ordinators in the next five years.