Parliamentary questions
Carol Mochan
846 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
5 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many dedicated units for women experiencing baby loss and/or pregnancy complication there are in Scotland's hospitals.
Answer · Maree Todd: Scottish Government do not hold this information centrally, however, a scoping exercise into the availability of services within NHS Boards for miscarriage and unexpected pregnancy complications is underway. The results of this exercise will be analysed over …
5 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to delivering a dedicated unit for women experiencing baby loss and/or pregnancy complication in every NHS board area.
Answer · Maree Todd: As outlined in the Programme for Government 2021 – 22 A Fairer, Greener Scotland: Programme for Government 2021-22 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) published in September 2021, the Scottish Government is committed to establishing a dignified and compassionate misc…
29 Jun 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what work is currently underway, or how it plans, to address the reported rural recruitment issues being experienced in (a) podiatry and (b) other allied health professions.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: As part of the Scottish Government’s work to develop a sustainable healthcare workforce, we continue to look for opportunities to increase levels of recruitment and retention of healthcare staff in rural areas through the development of our Remote and Rural w…
29 Jun 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will provide an update on the temporary enhanced mileage rate for NHS Scotland staff that is due to end in July 2022, in light of reported concerns of community staff in rural areas who may travel large distances in their roles.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: NHS Employer and Staff Side representatives discussed the temporary increase at a meeting on 7 July and agreed to extend the enhanced rates for a further 4 months, until 30 November 2022. This was confirmed to the service on 12 July.
29 Jun 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will introduce a flexible educational approach and adopt modern apprenticeships for podiatry in order to attract higher numbers to the profession and address the reported ageing workforce.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Allied Health Professions (AHP) Education and Workforce Policy Review is currently examining whether AHP education provision, including podiatry, is congruent to the needs of our students and future workforce. Whilst recommendations have not yet been agre…
28 Jun 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-06942 by Clare Haughey on 14 March 2022, regarding the £25 million in funding made available over the last five years to support the training of social workers, whether it will provide a breakdown of how the funding has been spent, and how many more…
Answer · Clare Haughey: As you have correctly stated, over the last five years, the Scottish Government has provided £25m to support the training of social workers by funding distributed by the Scottish Social Services Council. This includes approximately £2.7m per year for post-gra…
28 Jun 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve the recruitment of social workers in Scotland, in light of the findings of the report Setting the Bar for Social Work in Scotland that the number of graduates from social work courses fell for five years in succession between 2013 and 2018 as a result o…
Answer · Clare Haughey: The Scottish Government welcomes the Setting the Bar for Social Work in Scotland report and will consider and discuss the findings with its partners to inform and develop future social work workforce policy. Social workers make a highly skilled, unique and va…
28 Jun 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve the recruitment and retention of business support staff across all social work team types, in light of the findings of the report Setting the Bar for Social Work in Scotland that there has been an average loss of 32.9% of staff in this role between 2019…
Answer · Clare Haughey: The Scottish Government welcomes the Setting the Bar report and will consider and discuss the findings with its partners to inform and develop future social work workforce policy. Social workers, and the business support staff that assist them, are primarily…
28 Jun 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-06939 by Clare Haughey on 14 March 2022, whether if it will consider running public information campaigns (a) to raise awareness of the potential to study social work and (b) about the profession more widely in Scotland, in light of the report Setti…
Answer · Clare Haughey: The Scottish Government welcomes the Setting the Bar for Social Work in Scotland report and will consider and discuss the findings with its partners to inform and develop future social work workforce policy. Social workers make a highly skilled, unique and va…
28 Jun 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve the retention of social workers in Scotland, in light of the findings of the report Setting the Bar for Social Work in Scotland that one in four social workers leave the profession within six years of qualifying.
Answer · Clare Haughey: The Scottish Government welcomes the Setting the Bar report and will consider and discuss the findings with its partners to inform and develop future social work workforce policy. Social workers make a highly skilled, unique and valuable contribution to suppo…
28 Jun 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address the recruitment and retention challenges affecting Scotland’s social work profession identified in the report Setting the Bar for Social Work in Scotland, which have reportedly left the size of the workforce relatively unchanged in recent years.
Answer · Clare Haughey: The Scottish Government welcomes the Setting the Bar report and will consider and discuss the findings with its partners to inform and develop future social work workforce policy. Social workers make a highly skilled, unique and valuable contribution to suppo…
22 Jun 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to act on new research published by Epilepsy Scotland, which highlights reported significant caseloads of more than 1,000 patients for many Epilepsy Specialist Nurses across Scotland and a 15% reduction in such nurses since 2021.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all people living in Scotland with epilepsy are able to access the best possible care and support, and benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put people at the centre of their care. …
22 Jun 2022 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what preparations have been made to protect the economy of rural communities in areas like South Scotland from a repeat of the storms experienced last year.
20 Jun 2022 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister when the Scottish Government plans to appoint a Women's Health Champion, in light of the appointment of a Women's Health Ambassador for England.
15 Jun 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the recommendations of the Ventilation Short-Life Working Group (a) were submitted to the Scottish Government and (b) will be published, and what the reasons are for any delay.
Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-09259 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/…
15 Jun 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether it is giving sufficient funding to local authorities to provide the number of permanent teaching posts that are required to meet the needs of children and young people.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Since the start of the pandemic, the Scottish Government has provided £240m funding to local authorities to support the recruitment of additional teachers and support staff. We have committed further permanent funding of £145.5m to support education staffing…
15 Jun 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many secondary school STEM subject teachers are women.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The following table shows the number of Full Time Equivalent (FTE) teachers with STEM subjects listed as their main subject as reported during the 2021 census of teachers in publicly funded schools in Scotland. The figures exclude head teachers and deputy he…
15 Jun 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what specific financial support is in place for teachers who are unable to find employment.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Universal Credit is available as support for those unemployed and there are other benefits such as Employment Support Allowance (ESA) and Job Seekers Allowance (JSA), however these are all reserved to the UK Government. Furthermore Employment Law is also rese…
15 Jun 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports of female teachers with experience and qualifications in STEM subjects being unable to find employment in a school setting.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The recruitment and deployment of teachers is a matter for individual local authorities, as they are responsible for using available resources to provide a complement of staff which meets the needs of each of their schools and its pupils based on local needs …
15 Jun 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it supports women who have qualifications in STEM subjects to find employment in (a) teaching and (b) STEM-related industries.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The recruitment and deployment of teachers is a matter for individual local authorities, as they are responsible for using available resources to provide a complement of staff which meets the needs of each of their schools and its pupils based on local needs …
15 Jun 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has appointed someone to a dedicated menopause policy post, as outlined in the short-term targets of its Women’s Health Plan.
Answer · Maree Todd: Yes. The post was filled in 2021.
15 Jun 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is on track to meet all the short-term targets outlined in its Women's Health Plan published in August 2021.
Answer · Maree Todd: A Women’s Health Plan Implementation Programme Board has been established to ensure that progress is achieved against the actions within the Plan. Good progress is being been made against the actions in the first year of the plan. A first progress report, wh…
14 Jun 2022 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions justice ministers have had with ministerial colleagues regarding using antisocial behaviour laws to prevent people carrying out intimidating protests outside abortion clinics.
6 Jun 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason no NHS board reportedly provides abortion care up to the legal limit.
Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government is continuing to work with NHS Boards to improve abortion services, including NHS Boards providing abortions up to the legal limit. Some NHS Boards provide abortion services up to the legal limit for fetal anomalies, however we are awa…
31 May 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when further details will be released on the care coordinator roles, including the timeline for introduction, as referred to by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care in the debate on long COVID on 19 May 2022, and whether these roles will also support patients with other long-…
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The specification of, and recruitment to staff roles supported by investment through the long COVID Support Fund is a matter for individual NHS Boards. The Strategic Network for long COVID managed by NHS National Services Scotland is providing support to NHS…
31 May 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that its investment in the provision of support for patients with long COVID will also take account of those with other related chronic conditions.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-08992 on 17 June 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 May 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported cost of living crisis, what measures it has put in place to ensure that the relatives of clinically extremely vulnerable people can access their family members safely at home without being left out of pocket.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: As a result of the pandemic, local PPE Hubs were set up all over Scotland to provide free PPE to people providing social care support who need it, including unpaid carers. The Scottish Government continues to offer free PPE for unpaid carers and provision has…
10 May 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what further plans it may bring forward to encourage young families to invest in home renewables and make more environmentally sustainable lifestyle choices.
Answer · Patrick Harvie: We are committed to a Just Transition, reducing emissions from our homes and buildings in a way that leaves no one behind. Planned actions that will support a wide range of households, including young families, to invest in home renewables and make sustainabl…
10 May 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what initiatives, including financial support initiatives, it has in place to support young families to install renewable energy technologies in their homes.
Answer · Patrick Harvie: The Scottish Government, through the Home Energy Scotland (HES) provides interest-free loans and grant funding to improve the energy efficiency of homes in Scotland. Funding is available in the form of interest-free loans with up to 75% cashback for eligible…
10 May 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recommendations of the Independent Review of the Role of Incineration in the Waste Hierarchy in Scotland, and, in particular, recommendation 4, which states that no further planning permission should be granted to incineration infrastructure unless balanced by…
Answer · Lorna Slater: We are carefully considering the recommendations of the Independent Review of the Role of Incineration in Scotland’s Waste Hierarchy. We will set out our initial response to the recommendations in June 2022.