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-27721

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 18 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with third sector organisations regarding its plans for No Smoking Day 2020.

The Scottish Government worked with ASH Scotland to promote No Smoking Day on 11 March. A social media campaign – highlighted the positive outcomes people have achieved through quitting tobacco products and raised awareness of the free NHS Quit Your Way approach – encouraging those thinking of quitting to do so. A communications toolkit, developed with Scottish Government funding, was shared throughout the organisation’s network.

Question reference: S5O-04282

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 March 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in response to the independent review of the Humanitarian Emergency Fund.

Question reference: S5W-27725

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 11 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how much additional funding smoking cessation services will receive under the respiratory care action plan.

In December 2019, the draft Respiratory Care Action Plan for Scotland was published for consultation. It sets out our commitments for driving improvement in the diagnosis, care, treatment and support for people living with respiratory conditions.

Smoking cessation sits alongside a wide range of government policy, including the Scottish Government's Tobacco Control Plan, published in June 2018. This Plan sets out our determination to provide the best possible support for those people who want to give up smoking.

The Scottish Government currently provides £9 million per year to fund free NHS Smoking Cessation Services.

Question reference: S5O-04240

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 March 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its Cleaner Air for Scotland strategy.

Question reference: S5O-04200

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 February 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to protect local authority services, in light of the claim by COSLA that the proposals in its draft Budget "will hit vulnerable communities the hardest".

Question reference: S5O-04170

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 February 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the number of teachers in post.

Question reference: S5O-04094

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 January 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how much revenue has been raised by the Large Business Supplement since 2016.

Question reference: S5W-26817

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 January 2020
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 20 January 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle bogus callers who pretend to be meter readers in (a) the Mid Scotland and Fife region and (b) Scotland.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting the work of its partners – including Police Scotland. Trading Standards, Neighbourhood Watch Scotland and Crimestoppers Scotland – to raise awareness of doorstep crime and provide practical advice in terms of prevention in all parts of Scotland including Mid Scotland and Fife.

The Scottish Government has also provided Neighbourhood Watch Scotland with £115,000 and Crimestoppers Scotland £92,000 funding in 2019-20 to assist with their work in addressing crime, community safety and empowering victims to speak up.

Initiatives such as the Nominated Neighbour Scheme help to build the resilience of our communities to doorstep crime and since 2017 the Scottish Government has also implemented a Nuisance Calls Action Plan to tackle the scourge of nuisance and scam telephone calls. This includes the funding of call blocking units for vulnerable consumers.

Question reference: S5W-26818

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 January 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 20 January 2020

To ask the Scottish Government which guidelines it uses to underpin stroke care, and to what degree these guidelines have been embedded into the care that patients receive in each NHS board.

Clinical guidelines such as NICE and SIGN are recommendations to aid healthcare and other professionals in caring for people with specific conditions. The guidelines are based on the best available evidence.

The implementation of these guidelines are the responsibility of NHS Boards and their operating divisions, reinforced and supported by their clinical governance arrangements.

Over the past 10 years, the number of people in Scotland dying from stroke has decreased by 42%. This is significant progress but we want to secure even better outcomes. That is why the Programme for Government 2019-20 commits to developing a programme to improve stroke pathways and services, including prevention, treatment and care. In particular, we will review and improve the current stroke care bundle, which comprises of four key components: admission to a stroke unit, swallow screen, brain scan and aspirin. This work will improve outcomes for patients and will enable us to scope out and define what a progressive stroke unit looks like. Consideration of relevant guidelines will form part of this Programme for Government commitment to review and improve current services.

Question reference: S5W-26819

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 January 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 20 January 2020

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason SIGN guideline 108 has been withdrawn; how this decision was made; what the impact of its withdrawal is on (a) health professionals providing care and (b) patients being treated for stroke, and what plans it has to update stroke guidelines.

Clinical guidelines such as NICE and SIGN are recommendations to aid healthcare and other professionals in caring for people with specific conditions. There are various sets of guidelines that clinicians can consider for the management, treatment and care of stroke patients. There is no expectation that clinicians in NHS Board areas would base their management on any one set of guidelines and they are encouraged to make best use of the guidelines that are available.

In relation to SIGN guidelines, they are withdrawn if they are over 10 years old to ensure that they remain relevant and safe. SIGN guideline 108 has been withdrawn for this reason.

The Guideline Programme Advisory Group, a subgroup of the SIGN Council, prioritises proposals for new guidelines or updates of existing guidelines against agreed criteria while considering the work programmes of other parts of Health Improvement Scotland - as well as other guideline developers - to avoid potential duplication of effort.

As part of the Programme for Government commitments in relation to stroke, the National Advisory Committee for Stroke has agreed to review and consider all relevant guidelines to ensure they are up-to-date and relevant.