Parliamentary questions
Carol Mochan
846 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
30 Apr 2025 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the work that it is doing to improve women’s health outcomes.
16 Apr 2025 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to protect the ongoing viability of local and regional museums and galleries.
9 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many applicants there were for health visitor training in 2024; what percentage were accepted onto a training programme, and how many completed their training.
Answer · Neil Gray: This information is not held by the Scottish Government and is a matter for Higher Education Institutes and NHS Boards.
9 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to ensure that all NHS boards have met the implementation date for the Pathway of Maternity Care clinical guidance.
Answer · Jenni Minto: In February the Scottish Government published the new Pathway of Maternity Care Clinical Guidance and Schedule, which describes the core care that women and their babies should receive. The Pathway supports the Best Start ethos of maternity care, which emphas…
9 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to publish any data received to date from the ongoing Fracture Liaison Service audit.
Answer · Jenni Minto: In line with all newly commissioned audits, Scottish Government expects the Fracture Liaison Services (FLS) audit to take time to collect, analyse and develop high-quality, standardised data across NHS Boards in order to drive improvements and support clinica…
9 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made with the implementation of the miscarriage framework, and what action it is taking to ensure that all NHS boards will be able to facilitate the pathways outlined.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Delivery Framework for Miscarriage Care in Scotland has 34 actions/deliverables. Actions have been prioritised for implementation effective from 1 April 2025, with immediate action expected to be delivered in the first 6 months, short term in the first fi…
27 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its commitment to improve access to abortion services, whether it will provide a surgical service for women seeking an abortion in their second trimester of pregnancy and, if so, when it will do so.
Answer · Jenni Minto: As a priority, the Scottish Government is working with Health Boards and other key stakeholders to ensure that all patients can access abortion services up to the legal gestational limit within Scotland. A new Task and Finish Group is now being set up by the …
27 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that women seeking an abortion are informed of all the treatment options that they are legally entitled to.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The 2022 Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) Sexual Health Standards set out that patients should have access to information on both medical and surgical abortion to enable an informed choice of abortion method.Information on available methods of abortion i…
27 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that women seeking an abortion are able to access their legal right to a surgical procedure, in light of reports that some are having to travel to England for this.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government expects Health Boards to offer patients a clinically appropriate abortion method. The 2022 Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) Sexual Health Standards set out that patients should have access to information on both medical and surgic…
21 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its commitment in 2021 to do so, by what date it will publish a public consultation on ending the use of pig farrowing crates.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: The proposed consultation on phasing out the use farrowing crates for pigs was originally intended to have been delivered jointly across all UK administrations. However, progress on a number of important pieces of animal welfare legislation have been signific…
21 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to support pig farmers who wish to replace conventional farrowing crates with free farrowing systems.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: The Scottish Government funds research into farm animal welfare research at Scotland's Rural College (SRUC), including the development of alternative farrowing systems enabling producers to make informed decisions when they are considering options for renewin…
21 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with the UK Government regarding working jointly towards ending the use of pig farrowing crates.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: The Scottish Government continues to engage with the UK Government and the other devolved administrations to discuss animal welfare improvements and remains committed to consulting on phasing out the use of farrowing crates.
20 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it has engaged with the construction sector in East Ayrshire to determine the demand for roof slating and tiling apprenticeship opportunities in the area, in light of reports that the National Federation of Roofing Contractors was unable to get a course re-established at Ayrshire Col…
Answer · Graeme Dey: Skills Development Scotland has operational responsibility for delivery of apprenticeships in Scotland, including assessment of demand. There are currently 3 different pathways linked to the roofing sector (embedded within Modern Apprenticeship Construction f…
20 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that apprentices have equitable access to learning opportunities, and what its response is to reports that some roofing apprentices in East Ayrshire have a two-hour journey to and from college for training.
Answer · Graeme Dey: We are committed to ensuring that apprentices have equitable access to learning opportunities regardless of their background or circumstances. This commitment is reflected through various policies and initiatives aimed at promoting equality, diversity and inc…
17 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the autumn 2024 deadline not being met, when it expects to deliver the Fracture Liaison Service audit, and what steps it has taken to expediate this.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Fracture Liaison Services (FLS) audit was commissioned by Scottish Government in July 2024. Whilst there was an initial delay regarding recruitment, this has now been completed, and progress now continues at pace.Public Health Scotland are responsible for…
14 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to specifically improve and enable timely access to gynaecology services and treatment.
Answer · Jenni Minto: In 2024-25, we allocated over £450,000 to gynaecology from our £30 million targeted investment in planned care, delivering around 3,500 additional new outpatient appointments.The 2025-26 Budget will provide a record £21.7 billion for Health …
14 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting health and social care partnerships to implement the recommendations in the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland 2021 report on care and treatment for people with alcohol-related brain damage.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government supports Health and Social Care Partnerships with funding provided to Health Boards and local authorities to implement guidance, such as that published by the Mental Welfare Commission on alcohol-related brain damage.That will be suppl…
14 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether all NHS boards have assessed the needs of patients with advanced or complex Parkinson’s disease in their area and ensured that services have been designed to meet patients’ needs.
Answer · Jenni Minto: While the Scottish Government sets the strategic policy for the NHS in Scotland, it is NHS Boards and healthcare professionals locally who have responsibility for both service delivery and ensuring people receive the right care for them, taking into account r…
14 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that all patients across Scotland who have Parkinson’s disease have equal access to all appropriate Scottish Medicines Consortium-approved therapies, taking into consideration geographical variation in access to care.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government is committed to increasing the availability of safe and effective medicines that people in Scotland would benefit from. The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) assesses the clinical and cost effectiveness of newly licensed medicines on…
14 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the (a) continuation of the Managed Alcohol Programme (MAP) in Scotland and (b) importance of MAP in addressing alcohol-related brain damage.
Answer · Jenni Minto: We continue to fund the Managed Alcohol Programme pilot in Glasgow being run by Simon Community Scotland. We await the evaluation of the pilot being undertaken by the University of Stirling before reaching a position on future expansion.The MAP pilot itself d…
14 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will develop a specific standard for the provision of alcohol-related brain damage services in every health and social care partnership.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government has committed in our Cross Government Plan for tackling substance use harms to developing standards for alcohol and drug treatment and recovery.In the development of those standards, ARBD is a particular condition that will be a focus …
14 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it has done to ensure that maternity wards and units are held to, and maintained at, an appropriate standard.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government has commissioned Healthcare Improvement Scotland to develop a set of maternity standards, designed to drive improvements in care at a local level and support consistency of service design and delivery across Scotland. This process has …
14 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to improve the experiences of women and girls when visiting their GP, in light of reports of some feeling dismissed or "gaslit" about their symptoms.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Women’s Health Plan sets out that healthcare for women should be holistic, inclusive, respectful, centred around the individual and responsive to their needs and choices.In 2023, we carried out research on ‘Women's experiences of discriminatio…
14 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to increase training on alcohol-related brain damage for health and social care staff.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government will encourage local delivery partners such as Health and Social Care Partnerships to identify training needs and ensure staff are able to receive all relevant training.The need for more specific training on ARBD is now something local…
14 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to raise public awareness of alcohol-related brain damage.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government has committed in our Cross Government Plan for tackling substance use harms to publishing a National Specification for alcohol and drug treatment and support services.The Specification will include advice and requirements for local are…
14 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it is actively reducing stigma by raising and normalising period awareness in all sporting environments.
Answer · Maree Todd: Since 2019, the Scottish Government has been supporting the sport sector to offer free period products; reducing stigma and addressing overarching gender equality.I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-30734 on 11 November 2024. All answers to writt…
14 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to support the roll-out of alcohol-related brain damage services across Scotland to ensure equal access to support and treatment for all patients.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government is keen to see equal access to support for all alcohol conditions, including ARBD, and will continue to encourage local areas to base service provision on local needs.We have committed to publishing a National Specification for alcohol…
14 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its progress on reducing endometriosis diagnosis waiting times, and when it will publish data on this.
Answer · Jenni Minto: Through the actions in our Women’s Health Plan we have taken steps to support both women and health professionals to learn more about endometriosis, the symptoms and treatment options, so that waiting times for diagnosis can improve.This includes the de…
14 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what guidance has been given to NHS boards on the provision of Scottish Medicines Consortium-approved therapies for patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) appraises newly licensed medicines for clinical and cost-effectiveness to help Health Boards determine whether a medicine should be accepted for routine use within the NHS in Scotland. Following the appraisal process, t…
14 Mar 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the (a) continuation of the Primary Care Alcohol Nurse Outreach Service (PCANOS) and (b) importance of PCANOS in addressing alcohol-related brain damage.
Answer · Jenni Minto: NHS GGC agreed in May 2024 that its PCANOS model and staff would be embedded into their specialist Alcohol and Drug Recovery Services in order to ensure long term sustainability. The realignment of PCANOS expertise into Glasgow Alcohol and Drug Recovery Servi…