Parliamentary questions
Jackie Baillie
9,379 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
13 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many supported accommodation places are available for mental health patients being discharged from hospital, and how this compares with each of the last five years.
Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of supported accommodation places that are available.Supported accommodation is provided by a range of providers, including local authorities, the third sector, and the independent sector. The nu…
7 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the reported increase in the number of people having to access private healthcare as a result of lengthy waiting lists is consistent with its pledge of maintaining an NHS that is free at the point of need.
Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government’s policy could not be clearer, our National Health Service must be maintained on its founding principles – publicly owned, publicly operated, and free at the point of need. As we have previously said, the provision of healt…
7 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether any of the £4.5million announced for long COVID, myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and other similar conditions has been allocated, and how much has been provided to individual NHS boards.
Answer · Jenni Minto: Supporting people with ME/CFS, long COVID and similar conditions is a priority for this government and this commitment is reiterated within the recent Programme for Government.Funding has not yet been allocated to individual NHS health boards. We want this mo…
7 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has provided to palliative care in each of the last 10 financial years.
Answer · Jenni Minto: In Scotland, it is for Integration Joint Boards to govern, plan and resource adult palliative care in their areas, including independent hospice care, using the delegated budgets under their control. As such, this information is not centrally available.
7 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the palliative care strategy has not yet been published.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government is aiming to publish the palliative care strategy - Palliative Care Matters for All – and its associated delivery plan, later this summer. This timing reflects the time taken to analyse the 169 responses to the consultation on th…
7 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the Palliative Care Strategy will be implemented.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government published a draft palliative care strategy ‘Palliative care matters for all’ on 02 October 2024 for consultation. The consultation closed on 10 January 2025. The responses have now been analysed, and the final version of th…
7 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the £5 million of hospice funding is to take account of the Agenda for Change pay rises only, or whether it is expected to cover the 2025-26 pay deal.
Answer · Jenni Minto: From 2025-26 we will align the support we provide for pay uplifts in the hospice sector to the outcomes of the NHS Agenda for Change negotiations. This will ensure that hospices will get the additional funding needed to see their healthcare staff match pay in…
7 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will outline the timing and criteria for the allocation of the £5 million for hospices, which was announced in February 2025.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish budget for 2025-26 includes £5 million of investment to support independent hospices to provide pay parity with NHS levels. Officials are working with the Chair of the Scottish Hospice Leadership Group to explore mechanisms for providing th…
6 May 2025 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister when the landslip shelter on the A83 at the Rest and Be Thankful will be complete.
28 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many full-time equivalent (FTE) (a) neuropsychiatrists and (b) neuropsychologists are employed in each NHS board.
Answer · Jenni Minto: a) There is no specific workforce data collected for neuropsychiatrists in Scotland or the rest of the UK. This is not a specialty or sub-specialty of psychiatry and would usually be a special interest of doctors trained in Old Age or General Adult Psychiatry…
28 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that people with Parkinson’s disease who experience mental health symptoms are able to access mental health support, including from psychiatrists, psychologists and community mental health teams.
Answer · Maree Todd: Our Mental Health & Wellbeing Strategy lays out our vision for improving mental health so anyone who needs help can get the right help, in the right place, at the right time for any aspect of their mental health. We expect that mental health care and trea…
28 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it assesses how many (a) neuropsychiatrists and (b) neuropsychologists are needed in NHS Scotland.
Answer · Jenni Minto: a) There is no specific workforce data collected for neuropsychiatrists in Scotland or the rest of the UK. This is not a specialty or sub-specialty of psychiatry and would usually be a special interest of doctors trained in Old Age or General Adult Psychiatry…
28 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the current waiting time is to see a (a) neuropsychiatrist and (b) neuropsychologist in each NHS board.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally.
28 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to ensuring that providers of psychological therapies understand the additional issues that people with Parkinson’s disease and other neurological conditions can face when accessing this support.
Answer · Jenni Minto: We expect all NHS Boards in Scotland to adhere to current guidelines and follow best practice when providing care for people with Parkinson’s disease and other neurological conditions.Our Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy published in 2023, sets out …
28 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to ensure that specialist consultants can prescribe clozapine for those people with Parkinson’s disease who experience the most severe and distressing hallucinations, wherever they live in Scotland.
Answer · Jenni Minto: Clozapine is available to NHS Health Boards in Scotland to prescribe as appropriate to patients with Parkinson’s Disease.It is for Health Boards to implement treatments within services, and the decision to prescribe Clozapine would be a clinical one bas…
28 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people with a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease have been admitted to hospital because of mental health symptoms in each of the last three years.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally.
28 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will work with Parkinson’s UK Scotland to ensure that people with Parkinson’s disease who experience mental health symptoms can access support that meets their needs.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government has worked closely with Parkinson’s UK Scotland over a number of years, including awarding £174,184 over three years to fund the development of Parkinson’s Connect in Scotland. This refers people to tailored advice an…
24 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the overall value has been of contracts provided by private sector contractors working for Scottish Water in each of the last 10 years.
Answer · Gillian Martin: I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-22819 on 23 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-a…
24 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether private sector contractors in the Scottish Water framework agreement are allowed to sub-contract.
Answer · Gillian Martin: As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water, and the Scottish Government does not hold the information, I have asked them to respond. Their reply is as follows:Scottish Water framework contractors are permitted to sub-contract work if they require add…
24 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is aware of any problems with Scottish Water’s Old Meldrum project; if so, what issues have arisen, and what the (a) original and (b) final cost of the work was.
Answer · Gillian Martin: As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water, and the Scottish Government does not hold the information, I have asked them to respond. Their reply is as follows:Scottish Water’s in-house capital project delivery team was asked to deliver a projec…
24 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which companies are included in the framework agreement for contractors providing services for Scottish Water.
Answer · Gillian Martin: I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-22818 on 23 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-a…
24 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the budget for private contractors providing services for Scottish Water was overspent in 2024-25, and, if so, by how much, and what the reasons were for the overspend.
Answer · Gillian Martin: As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water, and the Scottish Government does not hold the information, I have asked them to respond. Their reply is as follows:Scottish Water (Regulated) Contractor P&L expenditure for 2024-25 was £31.7m agai…
24 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how Scottish Water measures the performance of the private contractors that it engages to provide services.
Answer · Gillian Martin: As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water, and the Scottish Government does not hold the information, I have asked them to respond. Their reply is as follows:Scottish Water measures the performance of its partner organisations through a structured f…
23 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that Social Security Scotland staff who assess disability benefit applications have appropriate knowledge and understanding of childhood and young adult cancers and their impact.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Social Security Scotland staff who assess applications receive comprehensive training developed in consultation with people with lived experience of health conditions and disabilities.Due to the complexities and range of health conditions, decision makers are…
23 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Young Lives vs Cancer research, The Cost of Waiting, which states that almost one in two households with a child or young person with cancer had to use their savings, and three in five borrowed money, following a diagnosis, what consideration it has given to how such out…
Answer · Neil Gray: Eradicating child poverty in Scotland is a national mission and Mr Swinney’s top priority as First Minister.We fully appreciate how difficult a cancer diagnosis is for young people and their families. We are committed to making sure the necessary suppor…
23 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of disability benefit waiting times, in light of the Young Lives vs Cancer research, The Cost of Waiting, which states that almost half of young cancer patients in Scotland finish their active treatment before receiving a decision on their disability benefit a…
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: There are a number of factors that impact on how long it takes Social Security Scotland to make a decision on disability benefit applications, including the time taken to gather the supporting information required to make a decision on an application.Social S…
23 Apr 2025 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the finance secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding a different model for allocating funding to Integration Joint Boards, in light of a recent Accounts Commission report highlighting the unsustainable gaps in their finances.
23 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding Equality Impact Assessment reports relating to their work, whether any charities that face having their funding reduced by statutory funders should be (a) consulted in the drafting of the report and (b) given sight of the report prior to any decision being made.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: We must conduct an Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) at the earliest stages of developing new policies or revising existing ones. This includes strategies, legislation, guidance, frameworks, training, funding, reviews, and any other activities that affect peo…
23 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what recourse is open to any charities that have had funding withdrawn by (a) health and social care partnerships, (b) integration joint boards, (c) NHS boards and (d) local authorities based on inaccurate, inadequate or a lack of equality impact assessment reports.
Answer · Neil Gray: Each of the bodies referenced are responsible for setting their budgets in accordance with their strategic plans and to meet the needs of their local population. How they allocate funding to delivery partners to achieve their outcomes is a decision for them h…
23 Apr 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of all the court actions (a) initiated and (b) defended by the Scottish Ministers since 2007, and, for each, what the (i) total cost, broken down by (A) internal staff costs and (B) external legal fees and (ii) outcome was.
Answer · Shona Robison: This information is not held centrally. The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.