Tess White

12 Sep 2023 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the work of its international offices.

31 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its commitment to develop a National Centre for Remote and Rural Health and Social Care.

Answer · Michael Matheson: As set out in the Programme for Government 2023-24, the Scottish Government has committed £3,03m in 2023-26 to progressing the National Centre for Remote and Rural Health and Care, which is expected to launch in October 2023.

31 Jul 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported figures from ChargePlace Scotland, which shows that there were 7,977 complaints lodged from members of the public regarding the charging network for electric vehicles between November 2021 and October 2022.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government have invested over £65 million in ChargePlace Scotland (CPS), Scotland’s public charging network, which now has more than 2500 publicly available charge points, over 90,000 member registrations and over 2.3 million successful charging …

31 Jul 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the reformed payment system for NHS dentistry in tackling oral health inequality across Scotland.

Answer · Jenni Minto: It is not possible to make a precise assessment of the payment reform changes and their impact on future oral health inequality patterns at this stage. The Government has for some time been working apace on payment reform for NHS dentistry, and on the 27 Jul…

31 Jul 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on any discussions it has had with representatives from the care sector, in light of reports that care homes are closing at a rate of one per week.

Answer · Maree Todd: Scottish Government regularly engages with representatives from the care sector to discuss the challenges facing social care and how we can work together to improve services.

31 Jul 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the 2023 Recruitment Scotland Fill Rates, for what reason the medical trainee recruitment fill rates for clinical oncology ST3 is at 27.78% and medical oncology ST3 is at 33.33% at this stage in the recruitment year for trainee doctors.  

Answer · Michael Matheson: The number of posts advertised annually by NHS Education for Scotland is determined by two factors: (1) the number of trainees who have completed training, obtained a CCT (Certificate of Completion of Training) and whose posts are therefore vacant, and (2) wh…

31 Jul 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the number of properties in (a) Aberdeenshire and (b) Angus that are still to be connected to superfast broadband under its R100 scheme, and by what date it expects these properties to be connected. 

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government is enabling access to superfast broadband through the R100 contracts (North, Central and South) and the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (SBVS). As at 30 June 2023, the total number of properties included in the R100 contracts y…

31 Jul 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last received an update from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service on its work to expand and strengthen the national Community Asset Register on behalf of Scotland's resilience community, and when a new digital platform for the register is expected to become operational. 

Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government last received an update from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) on the national Community Asset Register (CAR) at a meeting in early June 2023. SFRS confirmed that a CAR ‘action plan’ has been developed, to monitor progress of…

31 Jul 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Storm Arwen review recommendations update: October 2022, whether it will provide an update on its work regarding the enhanced engagement programme between the Scottish Government, resilience partnerships, and key national organisations, which ran from October 2022 to Mar…

Answer · Angela Constance: In response to the recommendations of the Storm Arwen review report, the Scottish Government undertook a programme of enhanced engagement with key resilience organisations which included a series of Winter Preparedness Meetings. Following the conclusion of th…

31 Jul 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the GP IT programme that is outlined in Care in the Digital Age: Delivery Plan 2022-23, whether all NHS boards are on schedule to have selected an accredited system by the end of January 2024, ahead of roll out to GP practices by June 2026.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The rollout of the new National GP IT system is being delivered by the national ‘GP IT’ re-provisioning programme and is now fully underway with the first 4 NHS Health Boards(NHS Tayside, Lanarkshire, Lothian and Grampian). To date there are 110 GP practices …

31 Jul 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on (a) the recent outbreaks of avian influenza in Scotland, including in the north east, and (b) the discussions that it has had with its counterparts in England and Wales regarding the risk of further avian influenza outbreaks and the appropriate contai…

Answer · Gillian Martin: The 2022-23 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) outbreak season started on 1 Oct 2022. HPAI H5N1 has since been confirmed (as 15 August) in 197 premises in the UK: 30 in Scotland, 8 in Wales, 1 in Northern Ireland and 158 in England. Of the 30 infected p…

31 Jul 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the timeframe for delivering the Digital Front Door platform, which the document, Care in the Digital Age: Delivery Plan 2022-23, indicates is due for release in October 2023.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The 2023-2024 Delivery Plan which was recently published confirms that we expect the Digital Front Door to be delivered by the end of the current Parliamentary term in 2026. You can read more about the Digital Front Door in our delivery plan here - Care in …

31 Jul 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has invested in digital health technologies in each of the past three years.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Core central funding for digital technologies across health and social care in each of the past three years is as below: 22-23 - £99,522 21-22 - £ 112,267 20-21 - £103,232

27 Jul 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its announcement on 25 July 2023 that three specialist intensive care neonatal units will be based in Aberdeen Maternity Unit, Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, when the units will become operational.

Answer · Jenni Minto: We are planning on the basis that the full model should be implemented by mid 2025.To aid with implementation we will work with regional chief executives and strategic planning leads to undertake modelling and capacity work to help develop local implementatio…

27 Jul 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, as part of the new model of neonatal intensive care recommended by the 2017 Best Start report, whether the number of "local" neonatal units is anticipated to increase in order to minimise separation from families when babies are born prematurely and require specialist care.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Best Start, published in January 2017, outlined a new model of neonatal service provision which emphasises parents as key partners in caring for their baby; aims to keep mothers and babies together as much as possible, with services designed around them; …

27 Jul 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many claims have been made to the Young Patients Family Fund since it was first introduced in 2021, and how many claims have been successful.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Young Patients Family Fund (YPFF) has been available since July 2021. We ask NHS Boards to report on the number of claims, including successful claims, which have been made to the fund. In 2021/22, NHS Boards reported that 4,983 claims were made under t…

27 Jul 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the implementation of the 76 recommendations from the Best Start report on maternity and neonatal care in Scotland, which was published in 2017.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government continues to improve provision of maternity and neonatal services through implementation of The Best Start: A Five Year forward plan for Maternity and Neonatal care in Scotland. We receive regular reporting from Health Boards showing…

27 Jul 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the objective of the Strategic Framework for Action on Palliative and End of Life Care to ensure that “by 2021 everyone who needs palliative care will have access to it”, and whether this has been met.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government remains committed to ensuring that everyone who needs it can access seamless, timely and high-quality palliative care. We are currently developing a new National Strategy for Palliative and End of Life Care for Scotland. As part of th…

27 Jul 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reported concerns over safe staffing levels in midwifery, what action it is taking with NHS boards to ensure that women receive appropriate maternity aftercare following birth in hospitals, midwife-led birthing units and community settings.

Answer · Jenni Minto: NHS Boards are responsible for planning and providing services based on the needs of their local population, this includes women who receive maternity aftercare following birth in hospitals, midwife-led birthing units and community settings.

27 Jul 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what urgent action it is taking to reduce waiting lists for social care, in light of recent reports that 3,964 people are waiting for a social care package and 6,253 are waiting for an assessment.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government is aware of the pressures faced by the Social Care sector at present and while the Scottish Government has overall responsibility for health and social care policy in Scotland, it is local authorities and health and social care partner…

27 Jul 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the publication of the Transport Scotland report, Women's and girls' views and experiences of personal safety when using public transport, which was published in March 2023, what work is being undertaken with stakeholders to implement the report’s ten recommendations.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The research report published in March shows that women and girls are being forced to adapt their own behaviour and change their travel habits in order to feel safe on public transport – which is simply unacceptable. The research makes ten recommendations to …

27 Jul 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to Marie Curie’s report, How many people need palliative care?, which was published in July 2023, and estimates the projected need for palliative care in Scotland will increase by 17.1% by 2048 to 64,587 people.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government remains committed to ensuring that everyone who needs it can access seamless, timely and high-quality palliative care. We are currently developing a new National Strategy for Palliative and End of Life Care for Scotland and, as part o…

24 Jul 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what it is doing to meet the short-term action in the Women's Health Plan to establish a dedicated menopause policy post within the Scottish Government.

Answer · Jenni Minto: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-09277 on 4 July 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/…

24 Jul 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that the number of road deaths increased by 17% between April 2022 and March 2023, what assessment it has made of the Road Safety Framework and the Vision Zero goal for no serious injuries or road deaths by 2050.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government is clear that one life lost on our roads is one too many and along with partners is committed to eradicating fatal and serious collisions on our roads. Scotland’s Road Safety Framework to 2030 sets out a vision for Scotland to have th…

20 Jul 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the total cost has been of providing people in custody in HMP Grampian with mobile phones, since the policy was announced in April 2020.

Answer · Angela Constance: I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows: During the period April 2020 to June 2023 the total costs are assessed as £477K. Permanent In Cell Telephony means individuals in pr…

20 Jul 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the announcement that landline phones will be installed across the Scottish prison estate for use by people in custody, how much the procurement and installation costs of this scheme will be for HMP Grampian.

Answer · Angela Constance: I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows: SPS has assessed the procurement and installation costs for the project at HMP Grampian as £554,995 (excluding VAT). The cost includes…

30 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the finding in a recent Royal College of Radiologists report that just 10% of clinical directors in Scotland think that they have enough radiologists to deliver safe and effective patient care, compared with a UK average of 24%.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government actively supports health boards across Scotland to plan locally for service need and service delivery. From September 2006 to March 2023 we have increased the Consultant Radiologist workforce from 223.5 whole time equivalent (WTE) pos…

30 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address the reported 24% shortfall in clinical radiology consultants, which is forecast to increase to 34% by 2027.

Answer · Michael Matheson: We continue to invest heavily in our future consultant workforce and have been increasing the number of available training places in Radiology in line with recommendations made by the Scottish Shape of Training Transition Group (SSoTTG). In 2018 we committed…

15 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the work that it is doing in partnership across the UK to explore the safe use of artificial intelligence (AI) in health and social care.

Answer · Michael Matheson: We welcome opportunities to collaborate with UK partners on the safe and ethical use of AI in health and social care, and will continue our ongoing conversations with NHS England and other UK agencies on this topic.

15 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to NHS boards to tackle waiting times for colposcopy.

Answer · Michael Matheson: To support scope based diagnostics we have published an Endoscopy and Urology Diagnostic Recovery and Renewal Plan which is backed by a £70m investment. The plan focuses on key areas such as: Balancing Demand and Capacity; Workforce Training and Development…