Parliamentary questions
Sandesh Gulhane
385 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
20 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the current arrangements are to allow pharmacists working in the community to access their patients’ clinical records; which records they can see, and whether they can amend records to include consultations and items prescribed by the pharmacist.
Answer · Jenni Minto: Community pharmacists and pharmacy technicians gained access to the Emergency Care Summary (ECS) on 2 October 2023. The ECS provides information on recent acute and repeat prescriptions and allergies. They also have access to the Key Information Summary (KIS)…
20 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken to review the current reported restrictions on pharmacists working in the community having access to full clinical records for patients in their care to ensure safe prescribing.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Chief Pharmaceutical Officer has commissioned work to explore how the required level of access to clinical records by community pharmacists can be delivered.
20 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason pharmacists working in communities reportedly do not have full access to clinical records for people in their care.
Answer · Jenni Minto: Community pharmacists currently have access to the Emergency Care Summary (ECS) which provides information on recent acute and repeat prescriptions and allergies and the Key Information Summary (KIS) where available, which provides information about a person&…
20 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its policy goals are for pharmacists working in the community in relation to being able to access full clinical records for patients in their care to ensure safe prescribing, and when it expects these goals to be met.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government is committed to collaborate with key partners across the NHS in Scotland to ensure that relevant information, with the appropriate safeguards in place, is available to all healthcare professionals, including community pharmacists, when…
19 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of the delay in implementing the Fracture Liaison Service audit on the ability to (a) evaluate gaps in osteoporosis care and (b) prevent avoidable fractures.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Public Health Scotland (PHS) scoping exercise of Fracture Liaison Services (FLS) across NHS Boards, and subsequent business case, identified a need for a Scotland-wide FLS audit. Scottish Government acted on these findings and commissioned PHS to implemen…
19 Mar 2025 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports of some teachers requesting self-defence classes due to the prevalence of violence in schools.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: It is the Government’s understanding that Freedom of Information requests recently released by Scotland’s Councils found that only two teachers across Scotland have made this request, whilst fifteen other Councils that responded said no requests h…
5 Mar 2025 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the progress with the cladding remediation programme.
24 Feb 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people in Scotland have (a) transfusion dependent thalassaemia and (b) sickle cell disease, also broken down by how many might be eligible for treatment with exagamglogene autotemcel, a gene-edited therapy manufactured in Scotland, if this was made available.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government does not hold data centrally on the numbers of people with transfusion-dependent thalassaemia or sickle cell disease.The question of how many might be eligible for exagamglogene autotemcel treatment, if it were available, would be a ma…
24 Feb 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, following the treatment, exagamglogene autotemcel, which is a gene-edited therapy manufactured in Scotland, being approved for use in England to treat (a) transfusion dependent thalassaemia and (b) sickle cell disease, what engagement it is having with the NHS and suppliers toward …
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has received a submission through the Ultra-Orphan Pathway from the marketing authorisation holder, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, for exagamglogene autotemcel (Casgevy®) for the treatment of transfusion-dependent ß-…
29 Jan 2025 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support and grow the night-time economy in Glasgow.
21 Jan 2025 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the replacement of HMP Barlinnie, including in relation to the delivery date and cost.
16 Dec 2024 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister what steps the Scottish Government is taking in response to the reported announcement that NHS Scotland's IT software supplier, INPS, has entered administration, in light of concerns that this could leave GPs without the digital infrastructure to maintain electronic health records.
12 Dec 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the recommended protocol is for (a) disposing of and (b) obtaining replacement sharps bins.
Answer · Neil Gray: The supply of sharps boxes and management of their return is linked to prescribing practice and contract arrangements between the health board and its contractors. Therefore, specific arrangements in any health board area would require to be requested from th…
12 Dec 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that contracts with pharmacies in NHS Lothian to receive and replace used sharps bins for patients requiring to take injectable medicines have ended due to lack of funds.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government is aware that currently some individuals across NHS Lothian are experiencing difficulties disposing of their sharps waste.While the provision of NHS pharmaceutical services is the responsibility of the Scottish Government, the responsi…
11 Dec 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that primary care clinical teams can provide the best (a) prevention, (b) diagnosis and (c) treatment of chronic kidney disease.
Answer · Neil Gray: General Practitioners are experienced in preventing, diagnosing, and treating chronic kidney disease and follow established professional guidelines, including those by NICE, in supporting patients through this chronic condition.Professional clinical managemen…
11 Dec 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for which conditions policy will be developed as a result of the additional funding for long-term conditions outlined in its draft Budget 2025-26.
Answer · Jenni Minto: In addition to funding to support the expansion of access to diabetes technology already announced in the financial year 2024-2025, the draft Budget for 2025-2026 contains funding to support continued policy development for long term conditions including diab…
11 Dec 2024 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to tackle any fraud in Social Security Scotland.
3 Dec 2024 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what public information and public messaging campaigns that it has commissioned or funded are currently available in Hindi.
20 Nov 2024 · SPCB Oral Question
To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it will give consideration to expanding the Parliament's medical equipment.
20 Nov 2024 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commit to redrafting its Disability Equality Plan, in light of the reported criticisms from the organisations that were asked to be involved in its co-production.
14 Nov 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the Cladding Assurance Register, provided for in the Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Act 2024, will be established.
Answer · Paul McLennan: The Scottish Government plans to commence the Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Act 2024 in its entirety in early 2025.
14 Nov 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the Cladding Assurance Register will be publicly accessible.
Answer · Paul McLennan: Ministers are developing plans for access to the Cladding Assurance Register, and will announce arrangements shortly.
7 Nov 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to introducing Hindi as a national qualification modern language, in light of Scotland’s Census 2022 reportedly showing that Indians are the second largest immigrant population in Scotland.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government fully recognises the importance of young people learning languages, including languages spoken in our communities. The introduction of new qualifications is a matter for the Scottish Qualification Authority (SQA). To establish a new Na…
29 Oct 2024 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government by what date it expects all farmers to receivepayment through the Basic Payment Scheme.
15 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that the wait time for urgent neurology referrals at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow is now 50 weeks.
Answer · Neil Gray: We know that some people are waiting too long for treatment, and we remain determined to provide the necessary support to drive improvements in waiting times. Across NHS Scotland, patients who require urgent care continue to be prioritised across services.NHS…
15 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the complexity of the cladding remediation process for those involved, and what steps it has taken to expedite the delivery of remediation works.
Answer · Paul McLennan: We have made significant progress in the last few months, including the passage of the Housing (Cladding Remediation) Scotland Bill and publication of the technical specification for the Single Building Assessment (SBA).We will publish the SBA Standards this …
15 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in addition to the 29 Glasgow entries in the pilot phase of the Cladding Remediation Programme, how many further properties it anticipates will be identified as having unsafe cladding in Glasgow, and, if this data is not yet available, what efforts it has made to determine the number of…
Answer · Paul McLennan: We have made significant progress in the last few months, including the passage of the Housing (Cladding Remediation) Scotland Bill and publication of the technical specification for the Single Building Assessment (SBA).We will publish the SBA Standards this …
15 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, of the 29 Glasgow entries in the pilot phase of the Cladding Remediation Programme, how many entries have had (a) Single Building Assessments carried out, (b) works started to mitigate or remediate risks and (c) remediation works fully completed.
Answer · Paul McLennan: The Scottish Government has received the report for a Single Building Assessment (SBA) based on the specification published on 21 June 2024 for one of the pilot entries in Glasgow.An invitation to tender has been issued to undertake SBAs based on the specific…
15 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether there is a target timescale for the completion of cladding remediation works (a) at the 107 pilot entries in the pilot of the Cladding Remediation Programme and (b) on all residential properties affected by dangerous cladding.
Answer · Paul McLennan: The Scottish Government has received the report for a Single Building Assessment (SBA) based on the specification published on 21 June 2024 for one of the pilot entries. An invitation to tender has been issued to undertake SBAs based on the specification publ…
14 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that Public Health Scotland collects A&E data by more detailed categories than are published, such as by patient triage category, whether it will consider asking Public Health Scotland to expand the details in its regular A&E publications.
Answer · Neil Gray: There are no immediate plans to ask Public Health Scotland (PHS) to expand the content within their Accident and Emergency publications.Due to data quality and completeness issues, PHS do not publish information on the full list of data items in the A&E d…