Parliamentary questions
Sandesh Gulhane
385 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
4 Nov 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of babies received their 6-8 week review on time in each year since 2019.
Answer · Maree Todd: Public Health Scotland collect and publish data on the coverage of health visitor 6-8 week reviews pertaining to each financial year. In 2019-20, of children who became eligible for their 6-8 week review, coverage was 91.4% and in 2020-21 coverage was 91.8%. …
4 Nov 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take to increase the uptake of the COVID-19 vaccination by pregnant women.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: We will continue to provide advice and support to pregnant women regarding the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination to allow them to make informed choices. Multiple resources across platform and in print, like the Public Health Scotland (PHS) leaflet: PHS COVID…
4 Nov 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the average waiting time for breastfeeding support services was in each month between March 2019 and September 2021.
Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government recognises the positive health benefits of breastfeeding for mothers and babies and expects breastfeeding support to be available to mothers whenever this is required, particularly in the early days and weeks of a baby’s life. Informa…
4 Nov 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to increase the uptake of the COVID-19 vaccination by pregnant women.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: We continue to provide advice and support to pregnant women regarding the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination to allow them to make an informed choice. Copies of the Public Health Scotland (PHS) leaflet: PHS COVID-19 Vaccine Important Information about pregnan…
4 Nov 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether face-to-face breastfeeding support services are available to all women who request them.
Answer · Maree Todd: Scotland was the first country in the UK to achieve 100% Unicef UK Baby Friendly Initiative accreditation in Maternity and Community and Neonatal services. Scottish Government has invested in the Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI) across NHS Scotland to provide s…
4 Nov 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of babies that were eligible for a first health visitor check received one on time in each year since 2019.
Answer · Maree Todd: Public Health Scotland collect and publish data on the coverage of health visitor first visits pertaining to each financial year. In 2019-20, of children who became eligible for their first health visitor review, coverage was 97.5% and in 2020/21 coverage was…
4 Nov 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many pregnant women have been admitted to an intensive care unit as a result of contracting COVID-19.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: During the period March 2020 to September 2021 there were 99 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in pregnancy that were associated with a critical care admission. However, Public Health Scotland note that general or critical care admission may be unrelated to COVID-…
29 Oct 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether experience from England’s Long COVID clinics is being used to inform the training of NHS staff on service delivery in Scotland.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Our approach to service development and staff training is informed by UK-wide clinical guidance developed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) and the Royal College of General …
29 Oct 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether experience from long COVID clinics in England is being used to inform service development in Scotland, and, if so, how this is being done.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Our approach to service development and staff training is informed by UK-wide clinical guidance developed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) and the Royal College of General …
29 Oct 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding (a) it has allocated to and (b) has been distributed through the Woods in and Around Towns programme in each year since its inception.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Woods In and Around Towns (WIAT) programme provides support to expand and sustainably manage Scotland’s urban woodlands while encouraging people to use and enjoy them. The programme supports activities in socially deprived communities and contributes to i…
29 Oct 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to expand the Woods in and Around Towns scheme.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: During this Parliamentary term we are committed to consulting on ways to increase easily accessible, sustainably managed woodlands, including native woodlands, in urban or peri-urban areas, as part of a just transition. Understanding the benefits currently be…
29 Oct 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support local authorities are receiving to apply for the Woods in and Around Town scheme, and what its position is on whether the available support is sufficient to meet the current demand for access to urban woods that are close to where people live.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: Since April 2015 the Scottish Government has provided funding to support the planting of over 1.85 million trees and the creation of more than 925 hectares of new urban woodlands to provide opportunities for people to use and enjoy their local woods. Around …
27 Oct 2021 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what measures it has put in place to ensure that COVID-19 vaccine trial volunteers have the same access to public events and travel as other people.
26 Oct 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to join the National Pancreatic Cancer Audit.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The national pancreatic cancer audit is an NHS England initiative and Scotland participates in UK audits (Scottish Cancer Registry data is provided by Public Health Scotland). The Scottish HepatoPancreatoBiliary Network (SHPBN) has reported HepatoPancreatoBil…
26 Oct 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address the reported survivability bias in the Cancer Patient Experience Survey to ensure that experiences of patients with a less survivable cancer are captured.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The care experience survey programme, of which the Cancer Patient Experience Survey is part of, is due to be under review shortly to allow for the context of COVID-19. The Scottish Cancer Patient Experience Survey is run in partnership with Macmillan Cancer …
12 Oct 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take, and within what timescale, to ensure that NICE guidelines for patients with cerebral palsy are fully implemented to ensure that everyone with the condition has access to a review by a cerebral palsy specialist once a year.
Answer · Maree Todd: We are committed to ensuring that all people living in Scotland with Cerebral Palsy are able to access the best possible care and support, and benefit from services that are safe, effective and put the person at the centre of their care. Over the next five y…
5 Oct 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to its announcement in March 2021 of a £13 million investment in the year 2021-22 to establish Scotland’s own genomic sequencing service to support the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, what progress has been made on this, and how it will be expanded to include human genomics i…
Answer · Maree Todd: Phase 1 of the upscale of the NHS SARS-CoV-2 Genomics sequencing service from 200 samples to 684 samples/week is complete. Phase 2 to further expand the service will continue throughout the rest of the year to achieve an increase of up to 1000 samples/day. I…
5 Oct 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the commitment in its Programme for Government to invest in genetic labs and frontline genetics services, what process it will undertake to establish what new tests should be made available in Scotland.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The National Services Division (NSD) in NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) have commissioning responsibility for the Scottish Genetic Laboratories. NSD are currently conducting a review of NHS Scotland’s genomics services which will include reviewing the Sc…
5 Oct 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in the light of the commitment in its Programme for Government to invest in genetic labs and frontline genetics services, what level of investment will be made, and over what time period.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The level of future funding associated with this Programme for Government commitment will not be confirmed until publication of the Scottish Government multi-year spending review, currently expected to be spring of 2022. The Scottish Budget for 2022/23 will b…
5 Oct 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which genomic tests that are commissioned by the NHS in England and listed in the NHS England Genomic Test Directory are not currently available in NHS Scotland, and what the timeline is for these tests to be available to NHS Scotland patients.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The National Services Division (NSD) in NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) have commissioning responsibility for the Scottish Genetic Laboratories. NSD are currently conducting a review of NHS Scotland’s genomics services which includes reviewing the Scotti…
5 Oct 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which genomic tests that identify companion biomarkers for access to medicines accepted by the Scottish Medicines Consortium are not currently available in NHS Scotland, and what the timeline is for these tests to be available to NHS Scotland patients.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The National Services Division (NSD) in NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) have commissioning responsibility for the Scottish Genetic Laboratories. NSD are currently conducting a review of NHS Scotland’s genomic services which includes a review of the Scott…
5 Oct 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the comments in its Programme for Government regarding the increased demand for genetic and molecular diagnostic testing linked to new advanced medicines, what steps NHS Scotland is taking to identify as early as possible the required tests for any medicine being considered …
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) liaises closely with colleagues from National Services Division (NSD) in NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) to share intelligence on emerging new medicines that may require a companion diagnostic test. NSD has commiss…
14 Jun 2021 · Topical Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the disturbing events at Euro 2020 with a player experiencing a cardiac arrest on the pitch, whether it will consider subsidising automated external defibrillator purchases for amateur sports grounds.
9 Jun 2021 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what impact the presumption against short sentences has had on the number of people who are sent to jail for assaulting emergency workers.
2 Jun 2021 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to encourage new entrants into farming.