Sue Webber

11 Apr 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding the Chief Scientist Office provided for clinical research in each year since 2012.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Chief Scientist Office (CSO) provides funding to support and facilitate high quality applied research across a wide health and care remit CSO Approach to Funding – Chief Scientist Office (scot.nhs.uk) This includes funding in support of research in are…

15 Mar 2022 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is adapting its agriculture policy for crops and livestock due to the war in Ukraine.

7 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-05937 by Maree Todd on 28 February 2022, what the current capacity of the breast screening programme is, and how this compares with pre-COVID-19 levels before March 2020, as a result of the recent interventions made to increase the number of availab…

Answer · Maree Todd: Following the restart of the breast screening programme in August 2020, a number of steps continue to be taken to increase capacity in the breast screening programme, including through deploying additional mobile units and offering weekend and evening appoint…

7 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-06126 by Maree Todd on 28 February 2022, what assessment it has made, based on current projections, of when all screening centres will be able to offer women aged 53 to 70 a breast screening appointment within 39 months of their previous screening.

Answer · Maree Todd: Modelling work completed prior to omicron suggested it would be March 2023 before all screening centres in Scotland would reach the point of being able to offer breast screening rounds of 39 months. There are however a number of factors at play including the …

1 Mar 2022 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the comments by the president of COSLA, who said that local authorities are at breaking point.

1 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government from where it has located the additional £6 million funding for the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund, which it announced on 25 February 2022.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The additional funding to deliver the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for Adults in 2021-22 has been identified as part of the £120 million Mental Health Recovery & Renewal (MH R&R) Fund to ensure the delivery of commitments set out in the Mental…

22 Feb 2022 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it plans to provide to rural households to transition to net zero heating.

21 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of how many cases of breast cancer may not have been diagnosed as a result of women over 70 not being able to self-refer for routine breast cancer screening.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government does not hold data on the number of cases of breast cancer that may not have been diagnosed as a result of women over 70 not being able to self-refer for routine breast cancer screening. However, in the 3 year period 2016-17 to 2018-19…

21 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the current average length of time is between screening appointments for women aged between 50 and 70 eligible for the Breast Cancer Screening Programme, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Maree Todd: The data is not available in the format requested as the Scottish Breast Screening Programme (SBSP) is delivered from six screening centres, each covering a designated population. It should be noted that the data provided below is management information that …

21 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many breast cancer screening centres are currently meeting the target of offering all eligible women aged 50 to 70 their breast screening appointments within 39 months of their previous screening, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Maree Todd: The data is not available in the format requested as the Scottish Breast Screening Programme (SBSP) is delivered from six screening centres, each covering a designated population. The SBSP should offer an appointment to women within 36 months of their previou…

11 Jan 2022 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans to build 110,000 affordable homes by 2032.

8 Dec 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the role that clinical research has played in leading the country out of the COVID-19 pandemic, how it will support clinical research in the NHS to improve the care and treatment of patients with non-communicable diseases such as heart disease and stroke.

2 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the commitment in its Programme for Government 2021-22 to provide long term funding for third sector organisations includes governing bodies of sport and, if so, whether sportscotland will be given core funding, in order to provide funding to such governing bodies.

Answer · Maree Todd: We have committed to increase multi-year funding for the third sector and where possible we will do so. However, our ability to fulfil our devolved responsibilities remains hampered by a centralised UK budgeting approach that gives little fiscal flexibility. …

2 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to ensure that governing bodies of sport that rent office space from sportscotland are given a rent rebate.

Answer · Maree Todd: Sport scotland has followed Scottish Government guidance on rent charges for tenants. sport scotland have been clear that the COVID support fund was there to support any Scottish governing bodies (SGBs) that were in financial difficulty, this includes both t…

18 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether local authorities that have signed contracts, which may be up to 25 years, to provide aluminium, plastics and glass to waste management companies will be compensated if or when they are no longer able to provide these volumes as a result of a proportion being captured by the depo…

Answer · Lorna Slater: Recyclate contracts are typically much shorter than residual waste management arrangements, normally 1 to 3 years. Modelling by Zero Waste Scotland projects that for 29 out of the 32 Scottish local authorities, cost savings from residual waste reductions as a…

16 Nov 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to help tackle the reported affordable housing crisis in Edinburgh.

9 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is working with (a) NHS Scotland, (b) NHS Education for Scotland and (c) other relevant partners to develop a coherent workforce strategy that incorporates psychologists across the public sector.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: As announced in the NHS Recovery Plan, by the end of 2021 the Scottish Government will publish a National Workforce Strategy that supports the remobilisation, recovery and renewal of Health and Social Care Services. The strategy is being developed in collabor…

9 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to provide patients who have been hospitalised with COVID-19 with a structured, multidisciplinary rehabilitation package that includes specialist psychological services in both hospital and community settings.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: Last year, the Scottish Government commissioned Dr Nadine Cossette, a liaison psychiatrist, to examine the mental health needs of people hospitalised due to COVID-19. Dr Cossette’s report was published on Friday 2 October and is available online . Work is …

9 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting (a) NHS services, (b) social care providers and (c) others who employ frontline staff to increase (i) access to and (ii) support for evidence-based psychological employee wellbeing services.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: Throughout the pandemic, the Scottish Government has emphasised to Boards, Health and Social Care Partnerships and Local Authorities the on-going need to promote both the physical and the psychological wellbeing of everyone working in health and social care. …

9 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to meet any increased demand for psychological therapies, training or occupational health as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: During the COVID-19 pandemic we have worked closely with Health Boards to monitor the impact of COVID-19 on demand and capacity. Services are now working hard to return to previous activity levels and to deal with any backlogs that have developed, as well as …

9 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to meet any increased need for psychological therapies within remote and isolated communities as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: Our Transition and Recovery Plan recognised that there can be challenges relating to rural isolation, which may be increasingly felt by those in remote communities as a result of the pandemic. We have committed to working in partnership with the National Rura…

29 Sep 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure the future workforce can have access to vocational skills training, in light of the current staff shortages in certain sectors.

27 Sep 2021 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports of staffing shortages at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital leading to health professionals warning about patient safety.

8 Sep 2021 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason Scotland's Mental Health First Aid is reportedly not running any training courses at present.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: Scotland’s Mental Health First Aid programme is delivered as a face-to-face training event. In order to comply with the Scottish Government’s COVID-19 guidance and to protect public health, the delivery of these training courses was paused by Public Health Sc…

6 Sep 2021 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the use of face-to-face GP appointments.

23 Aug 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to reimburse payments made by local authorities and assessment centres to the SQA for exam-related services that were not provided in academic year 2020-21.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Charges for National Qualifications have remained unchanged since 2012-13 despite changes in costs. While charges contribute towards the cost of awarding National Qualifications they do not cover the full costs. In addition, 2020 and 2021 late entry fees have…

5 Aug 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment was made, prior to determining the new contract for the provision of Scottish National Standardised Assessments, of whether there were any risks associated with a change of provider, including whether there was any risk of disruption to schools or additional costs.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: As the contract for delivery of phase one of the Scottish National Standardised Assessments is due to expire in July 2022, the Scottish Government was legally required to compete the ongoing service. Returning to the market to compete public contracts enable…

5 Aug 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of the (a) assessment criteria used, and (b) weighting of the submitted bids, in relation to the process to determine the new contract for the provision of Scottish National Standardised Assessments.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Evaluation Guide and Award Criteria published as part of the Invitation to Tender determined the Quality: Price ratio for the evaluation process as 75:25. The emphasis placed on quality reflects the importance the Scottish Government attaches to deliverin…

5 Aug 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of the new contract for the provision of Scottish National Standardised Assessments, including details of any differences that exist between the new contract and the previous contract.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The new contract will see the continued provision of online assessments for children and young people in P1, P4, P7 and S3. The Specification of Requirements published as part of the Invitation to Tender identified the areas in which continuity of provision i…

5 Aug 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the current service provider submitted a bid for the new contract for the provision of the Scottish National Standardised Assessments and, if so, whether the bid it submitted was higher or lower in value to the bid submitted by the provider that has been selected.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: ACER UK Limited was one of three companies to submit a tender for the contract for phase two delivery of the national standardised assessments in Scotland – incorporating both the Scottish National Standardised Assessments and their Gaelic equivalent, the Mea…