Parliamentary questions

Foysol Choudhury

467 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

14 Nov 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that the implementation of the Shared Rural Network plans consider the most appropriate locations to place 4G masts for public benefit, in order to not unnecessarily damage wild land.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government has no formal role in the Shared Rural Network (SRN) programme which is a joint venture between the UK Government and the UK's four main mobile network operators. However we fully recognise the need to ensure that SRN deployment in Sc…

14 Nov 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the launch of Pancreatic Cancer UK’s report, Faster. Fairer. Funded., what assessment it has made of the merits of implementing an optimal care pathway for pancreatic cancer.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government awarded the Scottish HepatoPancreatoBiliary Network funding of £653,000 over two years to redesign the pancreatic and liver cancer pathways. The Pathway Improvement Project is now live across all health boards. This pilot is the firs…

14 Nov 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of pancreatic cancer survival rates in Scotland in relation to other comparable nations.

Answer · Jenni Minto: Cancer is a priority for the Scottish Government and our focus remains on increasing survival rates across all cancers. The one-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer in Scotland is around 25% whilst the five-year survival rate is just over 5%, similar to r…

8 Nov 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered extending concessionary travel for over-60s to include the Edinburgh Trams, in light of a reported reduction in the number of buses and trains running from West Lothian to Edinburgh city centre.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Any decision to extend local concessions to the trams rests with the City of Edinburgh Council. The Scottish Government has no role in the ownership and operation of the tram system which is run by Transport for Edinburgh. The Scottish Government currently ha…

8 Nov 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will announce the details and scope of the proposed independent review of Adult Disability Payments.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-22241 on 13 November 2023 which provides an overview of the scope of the review. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be fo…

8 Nov 2023 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to help schools to support children who wish to pursue a career in the culture and arts sector.

6 Nov 2023 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking following Reform Scotland’s recent report, NHS 2048: Future-proofing Scotland’s Health and Social Care, which found that 11 NHS boards have seen waiting times for hip operations at least double from the point of decision since 2019.

1 Nov 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent estimate it has made of the total costs incurred per chronic kidney disease patient who undergoes dialysis treatment at home compared with dialysis treatment in hospital.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

1 Nov 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Kidney Care UK publication, Home Dialysis Energy Reimbursement in Scotland, what assistance it will offer to NHS boards to enable the full, fair and timely reimbursement of energy costs for kidney disease patients who undergo dialysis at home.

Answer · Jenni Minto: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-22410 on? 7 November 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…

1 Nov 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Islamophobia Awareness Month 2023, what action it is taking to support Police Scotland in recognising and tackling Islamophobic abuse (a) in person and (b) online.

Answer · Siobhian Brown: Islamophobia Awareness Month (IAM) shines a light on the continuing presence of Islamophobia in our society, and the impact that anti-Muslim hatred can have. The Scottish Government is taking action to implement our new Hate Crime Strategy for tackling all f…

1 Nov 2023 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the rural affairs secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding the development of rural skills to help deliver its commitments in relation to peatland restoration in the Programme for Government 2023-24.

30 Oct 2023 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to ensure that dentists are suitably funded to be able to continue taking on NHS patients, in light of reports that some dentists in Edinburgh are ceasing to accept NHS patients altogether.

30 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that Social Security Scotland is collecting supporting information before making a decision about a claimant's application, in order to take the onus off the claimant.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Social Security Scotland uses supporting information to assist in the decision making process for Adult Disability Payment and Child Disability Payment. It assists case managers in considering how people are impacted by their conditions or disabilities to inf…

25 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that there are specialist practitioners, including (a) Auditory Verbal therapists, (b) BSL teachers and (c) teachers of the deaf, to enable more deaf children to have an equal start at school and the same opportunities in life as their hearing peers.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The teaching standards set by the General Teaching Council for Scotland require teachers to be able to identify and respond appropriately to pupils with difficulties in or barriers to learning. Initial Teacher Educations supports student teachers to be able t…

25 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the effectiveness of Auditory Verbal therapy in improving outcomes for deaf children whose families want them to learn spoken language.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: NHS Health Boards and local authorities are responsible for the provision of, and funding for, services for deaf children. This includes the provision of specific therapeutic approaches. The Scottish Government funds the Scottish Sensory Centre and CALL S…

17 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what funding is allocated to craft and making opportunities in schools to ensure that every child and young person has the opportunity to engage with 10 hours of these activities as part of their learning.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Core funding to support the delivery of school-age education, including the technologies curriculum (which includes craft and making), is provided via the block grant to local authorities. In addition, the Scottish Government supports the removal of core curr…

13 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what specific forms of consultation will be used during the independent review of Adult Disability Payment.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: It will be for the Chair of the independent review of Adult Disability Payment to decide how best to engage with a variety of audiences. The independent review will secure the input of disabled people.

13 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the (a) launch date for and (b) scope of the independent review of Adult Disability Payment.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The process of recruiting a Chair for the independent review is underway and an advert is currently live. The following matters are within the scope of the review:the activities and descriptors that determine entitlement to Adult Disability Payment, includin…

27 Sep 2023 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to implement the Anti-Racist Curriculum Principles, which were published in June.

26 Sep 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider asking Public Health Scotland to audit the data that it holds on the impact of migraine and identify any gaps in reporting across (a) incidence, (b) access to treatments and (c) the interface with health inequalities.

Answer · Jenni Minto: We understand the distress and pain that migraines cause and want to ensure that everyone living with this debilitating condition can access the best possible care and support. The Neurology Specialty Delivery Group (SDG), commissioned via the National Centr…

26 Sep 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that NHS boards can review the migraine needs of their populations and assess whether existing services meet those needs, including workforce planning.

Answer · Jenni Minto: We have worked to develop and implement a quality assurance programme for the General Standards for Neurological Care and Support. A Self-evaluation tool was published by Healthcare Improvement Scotland in April 2023, to help enable services to measure thei…

25 Sep 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what immediate action it is taking to ensure that festivals, such as the Lammermuir Festival, receive any funding that they need, in order for such festivals to be able to continue to bring music to rural areas.

Answer · Christina McKelvie: The Scottish Government appreciates the important contribution that rural music festivals such as Lammermuir Festival can make to Scotland’s music sector. Creative Scotland provides funding for rural music festivals (classed as those not held in cities and w…

20 Sep 2023 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors waiting times for medical procedures that require anaesthetic, and which may be required to allow people to return to work.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Waiting times for medical procedures that require anaesthetic are monitored by new outpatient national standards and the Treatment Time Guarantee for inpatient and day-case. Over 2.8 million inpatients and day cases have benefited from the 12-weeks treatment…

13 Sep 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide a timeline for when a decision on phase 3 of the Learning Estate Investment Programme funding will be made.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: I understand that local authorities are keen to get clarity on Phase 3 of the Learning Estate Investment Programme. We previously wrote to local authorities to explain that consideration of potential Phase 3 projects was still ongoing. It is important to rec…

12 Sep 2023 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide an update on how it plans to regularly monitor and evaluate the implementation of its Hate Crime Strategy for Scotland, in the lead up to the review that is planned for 2028.

12 Sep 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide an update on the discussions between Transport Scotland and the developer regarding the Ferrymuir Gait access issue.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Transport Scotland remains in positive dialogue with Ambassador Living (the developer for Forthview Housing Development) to reach an agreement on the use of Ferrymuir Gait as an access. This is following a legal process in order to finalise matters, which Tra…

11 Sep 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what more it will do to prevent older people from being evicted by private care providers, in light of reports of pensioners facing eviction due to a lack of family funds and refusal by care homes to accept council funding.

Answer · Maree Todd: In the current system care home providers should clearly set out their terms and conditions to residents and their families in the contractual arrangements; these are covered by consumer protection laws. The Scottish Government acknowledges, however, that t…

4 Sep 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken to improve myeloma cancer diagnoses, and what is being done to increase public awareness of this type of cancer, in light of reports that myeloma patients face some of the longest times to diagnosis of any cancer.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Scotland’s first Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Services (RCDSs) – established within existing NHS infrastructure – are operational in NHS Ayrshire and Arran, NHS Dumfries and Galloway, NHS Fife, NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Borders. The Services provide primary care wit…

29 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider simplifying the referral process for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to ensure that children can swiftly receive the help that they need.

Answer · Maree Todd: We are working to improve neurodevelopmental support for children and young people, including children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to ensure that children and young people can receive the support they need quickly. Our National Neurod…