Parliamentary questions
Sue Webber
256 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
21 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been allocated to drug (a) prevention, (b) treatment and (c) harm reduction initiatives for the financial year 2024-25, and what its position is on whether these resources will be adequate to tackle the reported 10% increase in suspected drug deaths in 2023.
Answer · Christina McKelvie: Full budget allocations for 2024-25 are still to be confirmed. It is not possible to disaggregate the full budget by these themes as Alcohol and Drug Partnerships receive around three quarters of the total drugs and alcohol budget to distribute at the local …
21 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported 10% rise in Scotland’s suspected drug deaths in 2023, whether it will increase funding levels for treatment.
Answer · Christina McKelvie: Drug deaths remain a public health emergency and services have seen a significant increase in funding as a result of the National Mission. This increase of funding into drug policy represents a 67% increase from 2014-15 to 2023-24 according to Audit Scotland …
21 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported 10% rise in Scotland’s suspected drug deaths in 2023, what additional measures it will take to improve access to treatment.
Answer · Christina McKelvie: In response to the increasing risk profile of people using drugs in Scotland, the Scottish Government will continue to work to extend the coverage of MAT standards beyond just Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST) so that people and services can be clear on what …
12 Mar 2024 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that hundreds of sex offenders have been able to change their name in the past two years, what it can do to ensure the safety of the public, particularly in areas like EH14 and EH54, which reportedly have the joint highest number of sex offenders registered across Ed…
5 Mar 2024 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has for any major rail development projects beyond the end of 2024.
30 Jan 2024 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the most recent Police Scotland Officer and Staff Numbers statistics showing the number of police officers in Police Scotland's Edinburgh division.
30 Jan 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to his letter of 10 January 2024, when the Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants’ Rights will attend the multi-agency meeting with Transport Scotland, West Lothian Council, Winchburgh Developments Ltd and Network Rail to further discuss a proposal for a r…
Answer · Jim Fairlie: I am answering the question as this topic now falls into my Ministerial portfolio. As the Member is aware, the Scottish Government’s understanding of the station proposal is that it is and has always been a developer led station, as outlined in Winchburgh D…
17 Jan 2024 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what financial support will be made available to farmers in 2024-25.
16 Jan 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made regarding whether prehabilitation improves oncological outcomes for patients, in light of its Cancer Action Plan for Scotland 2023-2026, which emphasises the benefits of prehabilitation.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The evidence for prehabilitation across several areas of oncological care has grown and demonstrates that a multi-modal tired intervention can lead to better functional outcomes and improve other important outcomes associated with cancer treatment including q…
16 Jan 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to monitor equity of access to prehabilitation for cancer patients (a) nationally and (b) in comparison to other UK nations, and at what intervals the figures will be published.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Cancer prehabilitation is a complex, multi-modal intervention and personalised to suit individual need. It is not achieved through accessing a single service, nor is it likely to be delivered in a single setting. As such, no single mechanism or metric has bee…
16 Jan 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the publication of its Scottish Cancer Strategy for Scotland 2023-2026, how much funding has been committed specifically to prehabilitation, and when it will be allocated to NHS boards.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Up to £1 million was allocated in 2023 for prehabilitation to NHS boards via the Transforming Cancer Care programme. This has been distributed via the Regional Cancer Networks through regionally agreed prioritisation processes. £80,000 was allocated to Maggi…
16 Jan 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what is being done to improve access to prehabilitation for less survivable cancers, especially in areas of deprivation.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Cancer remains a national priority for the NHS and Scottish Government which is why we published a ten year strategy in June 2023, focused on improving cancer survival and providing equitable access to treatment. The strategy and plan take a comprehensive app…
16 Jan 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the outcomes have been of its £270,000 of funding for the provision of prehabilitation through the eight Maggie’s Centres across Scotland; how many patients have been supported with prehabilitation to date; whether it will provide a breakdown of the different types of cancers that t…
Answer · Michael Matheson: A report detailing the impact of the initial pilot by Maggie’s can be found here . From November 2021 to December 2023, 2494 people affected by cancer have been supported via Maggie’s. During the initial pilot phase, people with 34 different cancer types,…
16 Jan 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that patients who require targeted and specialised prehabilitation, as stated in its report, Key Principles for Implementing Cancer Prehabilitation, are accessing prehabilitation, and what the outcomes are for these patients.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Centre for Sustainable Delivery is leading improvement and pathway redesign work via their Macmillan National Improvement Advisor for Cancer Prehabilitation. This will see core outcome measures agreed for use across Scotland, and introduce processes for d…
16 Jan 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to urgently provide equitable access to prehabilitation, especially for patients with a less survivable cancer.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Cancer Action Plan 2023-2026 sets out our ambitious programme of work to ensure access to cancer prehabilitation. The Scottish Government is working with experts across health and social care to ensure timely access to all services providing the multi-mo…
7 Dec 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to address the lack of services for children and young people with ME, as highlighted in the report, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) Services in Scotland: Findings from an analysis of surveys issued to NHS Boards in Autumn 2022, published in M…
Answer · Jenni Minto: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-23717 on 19 December 2023. 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-commit…
7 Dec 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to address the gaps in service provision for people with ME, as identified in the report, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) Services in Scotland: Findings from an analysis of surveys issued to NHS Boards in Autumn 2022, published in May 2023.
Answer · Jenni Minto: Our published analysis of health board data on ME/CFS care has established a clearer picture of the variation in service provision around Scotland. We are considering these findings in identifying areas where there is the potential to further explore or su…
4 Dec 2023 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is planning any new infrastructure investments in the next financial year in connection with City and Regional Growth Deals.
20 Nov 2023 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister what work is being done to support the expanding role of the GP surgery.
2 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether its guidance for people with weakened immune systems regarding the COVID-19 winter booster vaccination has been adapted from previous vaccine programmes to reflect any benefit of repeat vaccines for at-risk groups.
Answer · Jenni Minto: Information and resources on vaccination are regularly updated to reflect the most recent scientific data and evidence. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advice for those at risk, including those with a weakened immune system, is tha…
2 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what targeted communications are being used to encourage more people with weakened immune systems to get their COVID-19 winter booster vaccination.
Answer · Paul McLennan: This year’s COVID-19 vaccine marketing and communication plan utilises a number of communication channels to reach those with a weakened immune system, under the “Don’t let your protection fade” campaign. The accompanying marketing toolkit includes a range of…
24 Oct 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates that the reported shortage of the drug, Antabuse, will end, and what action it can take in the future to avoid shortages of drugs such as Antabuse from occurring.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government is aware that there was a UK-wide supply issue with the availability of Antabuse® (disulfiram) tablets earlier this year. The supply disruption has now been stabilised and supplies of Antabuse® (disulfiram) tablets are returning to nor…
24 Oct 2023 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports of a potential £200 million rise in non-domestic rates.
25 Sep 2023 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of the use of antidepressants in Scotland.
20 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to improve awareness of the COVID-19 post-exposure treatments available to people at high risk, and of how people can access such treatments.
Answer · Jenni Minto: Letters were issued to individuals at higher risk from COVID-19 in December 2021 and April 2022, notifying them of their potential eligibility for COVID-19 treatments. Registered care home providers also received letters advising them on access arrangements i…
20 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what COVID-19 surveillance measures it will activate this autumn and winter to protect people with weakened immune systems who remain vulnerable to COVID-19.
Answer · Jenni Minto: In Scotland, respiratory infection levels, including those of COVID-19, and their impact are monitored using various sources of data, including microbiological sampling and laboratory test results from community and hospital settings, NHS 24 calls, primary ca…
20 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support, including financial support, has been offered to NHS boards to bring forward the start date for autumn COVID-19 and flu vaccination programmes, in response to the detection of the BA.2.86 COVID-19 variant, also known as the Pirola variant.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The winter 2023 programme was always due to start on 4 September, so there was no need to bring that date forward. Our original plan was to start vaccination with those at lower risk and call those at highest risk slightly later in the programme, from mid-Oct…
5 Sep 2023 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the number of alcohol-specific deaths in 2022.
4 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-19817 by Elena Whitham on 17 July 2023, what steps the MAT Implementation Support Team (MIST) is taking to work with (a) Alcohol and Drug Partnerships (ADPs) and (b) local health boards to facilitate the sharing of good practice examples to support …
Answer · Elena Whitham: The MAT Implementation Support Team (MIST) was established to work with and support local areas to build improvement-based capacity and capability so that they would be able to implement and sustain the MAT standards locally. MIST support is provided through…
4 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-19814 by Elena Whitham on 17 July 2023, whether it will commit to ring-fencing funding for Royal Colleges for training and education programmes to raise awareness of the implementation of Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) standards.
Answer · Elena Whitham: The Scottish Government is keen to raise awareness of the implementation of Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) standards and there could be a role for Royal Colleges in contributing to this. However, the training and education programmes provided by Royal C…