Parliamentary questions
Jackie Baillie
9,379 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
5 Oct 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any inequalities within NHS maternity services, and what plans it has to eliminate any such inequalities.
Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government co-funds and participates in the Perinatal Audit and Perinatal Mortality Review Tool as part of Mothers and Babies, Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK (MBRRACE-UK). The Scottish Government continues …
5 Oct 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many midwives there have been in the NHS in (a) Scotland and (b) each NHS board area, in each year since 2016, broken down by (i) headcount and (ii) full-time equivalent terms.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Information on how many midwives there have been in the NHS in (a) Scotland and (b) each NHS board area, in each year since 2016, broken down by (i) headcount and (ii) full-time equivalent terms can be found in the following link: NHSScotland workforce | Tur…
5 Oct 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people (a) were accepted onto pre-registration midwifery training courses, (b) started their pre-registration midwifery training, (c) were at any stage in their pre-registration midwifery training, and (d) successfully completed their pre-registration midwifery training, in each…
Answer · Humza Yousaf: (a) The number of people accepted onto pre-registration midwifery training courses since the 2016-17 academic year is shown in the following table: Year Number of acceptances 2016 175 2017 210 2018 225 2019 255 2020 310 2021 235 Source: NES, ba…
5 Oct 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the adequacy of NHS midwifery staffing in remote and rural areas.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that NHS Scotland has a skilled and sustainable workforce, we work in partnership with NHS Boards who are responsible for taking decisions about the configuration of midwifery services, commensurate with their …
27 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason multiple appointments for the same time are reportedly being allocated to residents in the Helensburgh area for their COVID-19 booster vaccine.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The number of appointments available at clinics are based on the number of staff available on a given date. For example, if there are three vaccinators available at a clinic at 9am on a specific date then 3 appointments would be available to allocate for that…
27 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason there are reportedly insufficient vaccinators to cover the number of people invited for vaccination appointments, in light of reports of this happening in Alexandria on 23 and 24 September 2022.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: In instances where staff are sick absences may occur at short notice which cannot be foreseen, and bank cover staff are not always available at short notice to replace staff. Every effort is made to ensure there is sufficient vaccinators on site, however, as …
27 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to work with (a) NHS boards and (b) health and social care partnerships to improve vaccination appointment processes.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Throughout the pandemic we have refined the COVID-19 and flu appointment scheduling system, working directly with Health Boards and Health and Social Care Partnerships to incorporate their feedback and improve processes. We have increased the number of train…
22 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it last provided funding for a face, arm, speech, time (FAST) campaign to raise awareness of stroke symptoms.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government last provided funding to support a FAST campaign in 2018. We receive many requests to run awareness campaigns, and we assess these carefully. Where there is not an active public campaign relating to a specific condition, the Scottish…
22 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will make funding available for a face, arm, speech, time (FAST) campaign to raise awareness of stroke symptoms in 2023.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government assesses the need for public health awareness campaigns regularly. Scottish Government officials will work closely with the Stroke Improvement Team, which provides support and guidance to Managed Clinical Networks and the National Advi…
22 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme will include a recommendation on bringing back the face, arm, speech, time (FAST) campaign to raise awareness of stroke symptoms.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme reports on NHS Board performance against the standards outlined in the Scottish Stroke Care Audit and the Stroke Improvement Plan. It is not within their remit to make recommendations about national campaigns.
22 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to increase the budget of the Long COVID Support Fund to reflect (a) inflation and (b) any growth in the number of people affected by Long COVID.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: As set out by the Deputy First Minister on 7 September 2022, there is a finite budget and, as a result of inflation eroding the purchasing power of available funding, the Scottish Government budget is now worth £1.7 billion less than it was in December 2021. …
22 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the £3 million earmarked for Long COVID care in the Programme for Government 2022-23 is the same £3 million announced by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care on 19 May 2022 during the Long COVID debate.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Yes. As previously stated during the long COVID debate on 19 th May 2022 we committed to allocate “ funding of £3 million to health boards across 2022-23 to bolster the support that they are already providing to people with long COVID ”. This was confirmed in…
21 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has been approached by any director of pharmacy in relation to amending regulations to make it easier to withhold remuneration from pharmacies that opt to close without an adequate reason for doing so.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government holds routine and ongoing discussions with all Health Board Directors of Pharmacy on a range of operational and policy issues regarding the delivery of NHS Pharmaceutical Care services. These include discussions on any proposed changes…
21 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will introduce a power for NHS boards to take over failing pharmacies.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government is not considering the introduction of powers for Health Boards to take over community pharmacies that are struggling to meet required standards. Any challenges faced by community pharmacy contractors in delivering existing pharmaceut…
21 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is aware of reports of locum pharmacists in Scotland being offered work elsewhere in the UK by a large pharmacy chain at the same time that the company was closing branches in Scotland due to a shortage of staff.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government is not aware of any practice by pharmacy chains offering work to Scottish locum pharmacists in other parts of the UK while agreeing to closures across the Scottish pharmacy network. Neither the Scottish Government or Health Boards ar…
21 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether pharmacies that close can still receive non-activity-based payments, and how much these are per day.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: All payments as part of the national contractual framework are published annually. The latest iteration can be found at SHOW - Scotlands Health On the Web - Publications, including payments for non-activity based services delivered as part of the Pharmaceut…
21 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to increase the range of actions that NHS boards can take when pharmacy branches close without an adequate reason for doing so.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government has no immediate plans to amend the current National Health Service ((Pharmaceutical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 2009. The Scottish Government is committed to review the current contractual arrangements in line with the recommenda…
21 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will empower the Care Inspectorate to regulate the business behaviour of companies that operate community pharmacies, including in relation to their premises, staffing levels, safety and treatment of patients.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) is the UK's independent regulator for pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacy premises and ensures pharmacy services are delivered in accordance with the required standards. There are no plans to instruct the C…
21 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what specific actions NHS boards can take to respond to and manage closures of pharmacy branches.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Health boards can take a range of actions in response to any breach of terms by a pharmacy contractor. Community pharmacy contractors are required to meet the Terms of Service as set out in Schedule 1 of the National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services) (…
21 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to undertake a consultation on pension arrangements for doctors.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government welcomes continued engagement with health service unions in developing appropriate proposals on pension issues. We are currently modelling member contribution rate structures for the NHS Pension Scheme (Scotland) and will shortly be co…
21 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will review the 4.5% pay offer to doctors, in light of a British Medical Association (BMA) survey finding that 78% of respondees would be willing to take some form of industrial action in order to deliver improved pay.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government along with the BMA and other stakeholders provide evidence to the Doctors and Dentist Review Bodies (DDRB) who make an independent recommendation on pay uplifts for medical and dental staff across the UK. We take part in this process …
21 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the British Medical Association's (BMA) reported view that 10% of the GP workforce could retire by the end of 2022 due to the "punitive" pension system in Scotland.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government is aware of the impact that the UK Government’s pension annual and life time allowances policy is having on the GP workforce in Scotland. There is limited action we can take to mitigate the impact as issues relating to pensions are a r…
21 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the British Medical Association (BMA) regarding pensions, and what agreements were reached.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: I announced on 4 October that the Scottish Government would be devolving powers to NHS Boards to utilise local flexibilities within NHS Pension arrangements, and offer ‘pension recycling’. This means NHS Boards will have the ability to assist staff affected b…
21 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason doctors in Scotland reportedly pay higher pension contributions than doctors in England and Wales, and what it plans to do to address this issue.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: We are still modelling potential structures based on updated scheme membership data and plan to engage with the Scheme Advisory Board on these shortly. The previous proposals we consulted on put forward broadly similar rates for lower earners to those in the …
21 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has allocated to NHS boards for the treatment of long COVID in the current financial year.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: All NHS Scotland Boards are providing assessment and support for people with long COVID, delivered across the full range of services provided by our NHS. In 2022-23, funding of £18 billion is provided for the health portfolio. This substantial investment is …
21 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will increase funding for long COVID, in light of the number of people with the condition reportedly having doubled since the announcement of £3 million of funding in 2021.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: £10 million of funding was announced for long COVID in 2021 for a 3 year period, with the first year’s expenditure being £3 million. We will monitor the progress of the initiatives being funded by this investment and use this to inform expenditure in the rema…
21 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many long COVID clinics have been created in Scotland, and where.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-10043 on 24 August 2022. 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-committe…
20 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what overseas visits are planned by the First Minister for the remainder of 2022-23.
Answer · Angus Robertson: Overseas visits undertaken by Scottish Ministers help protect and enhance Scotland’s interests, improve global networks, unlock new economic and trading opportunities and create domestic opportunities and benefits for the people of Scotland. For security reas…
20 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, following the reported cancellation of a planned trip by the First Minister to the UN General Assembly taking place from 20 to 26 September 2022 in New York, whether another minister is attending in the First Minister’s place, and, if so, which minister.
Answer · Angus Robertson: No plans were made for the First Minister, or any other Minister, to attend the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. The Minister for Environment and Land Reform represented Scotland at the Under 2 Coalition General Assembl…
8 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will direct the Water Industry Commission for Scotland to only take regulatory actions that are compatible with Scottish Water being able to deliver levels of water charges that are acceptable to Scottish Ministers at a time of high inflation.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Under the Water Industry (Scotland) Act 2002 Ministers can only give the Water Industry Commission Scotland directions of a general or specific character as to the financial management or administration of the Commission