Parliamentary questions
Jackie Baillie
9,379 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
11 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to ensure that dental nurses, working in practices with NHS contracts, have the same terms and conditions as other NHS employees, including pension entitlements.
Answer · Maree Todd: Where NHS dental services are provided by independent dental contractors, staff including dental nurses are employed by the practice, and not the NHS Board. Terms of service and pension arrangements are set by the practice owner(s). Where NHS dental services…
11 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers there to be a dental nursing shortage, and if this is the case, what specific actions it is taking to (a) address the shortage and (b) increase the number of students studying dental nursing.
Answer · Maree Todd: Dental nursing is not a controlled subject and so the Scottish Government, via the Scottish Funding Council does not specify any intake targets for dental nursing. The Scottish Government has no oversight or control of the dental nursing workforce. Rather, we…
11 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many dental nursing student places were available in Scotland for the financial years (a) 2020-21, (b) 2021-22 and (c) 2022-23.
Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government does not hold all the data requested. However for 2020-21 (and 2021-2022 for modern apprenticeships), the number of students studying towards a dental nursing qualification was: Modern Apprenticeships;In 2020-21, there were 312 starts…
11 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many dental nursing vacancies currently exist across Scotland, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The information requested on how many dental nursing vacancies currently exist across Scotland, broken down by NHS board is not held centrally by The Scottish Government.
4 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many additional staff will be recruited for the planned national treatment centres, broken down by each site.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government is committed to the recruitment of a minimum of 1,500 additional staff to support the operation of Scotland’s National Treatment Centres (NTCs) and is supporting a range of activity to achieve this. This includes support for domestic …
4 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much of the total budget for the national treatment centres has been (a) allocated and (b) spent to date, broken down by financial year.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: There is no specific budget allocated for the National Treatment Centre Programme, instead the Health portfolio are required to manage this programme within the overall portfolio capital allocation. The spend to date is: Year £m 2017-18 2.2 2018-19 4.4 …
4 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many national treatment centres have opened since 1 May 2021, and when any remaining national treatment centres are due to open.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Since 1 May 2021, significant progress has been made on the National Treatment Centre (NTC) Programme. The National Eye Centre at NHS Golden Jubilee, which opened in November 2020, has providing significant additional capacity cataracts procedures to patient…
4 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many new medical and nursing staff have been permanently recruited for the NHS Golden Jubilee's National Treatment Centre.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government is committed to the recruitment of a minimum of 1,500 additional staff to support the operation of Scotland’s National Treatment Centres (NTCs) and is supporting a range of activity to achieve this. The recruitment data we collate is …
4 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many elective surgeries have been completed at NHS Golden Jubilee's National Treatment Centre since it opened to date, broken down by month.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The following table provides a breakdown of the core activity undertaken at the National Eye Centre at NHS Golden Jubilee, by month, since it opened in November 2020 up to the end of June 2022. This does not include activity undertaken in main theatres at th…
21 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether people over 75 will have access to free COVID-19 lateral flow tests in order to protect them from the spread of the virus.
Answer · Maree Todd: Scotland’s widespread vaccination coverage and access to new Covid treatments have meant we are now in different phase of the pandemic. On 1 May, testing changed from a population-wide intervention to a targeted response, focused on reducing severe harm of th…
21 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide free COVID-19 lateral flow tests to unpaid carers in order to protect the clinically vulnerable.
Answer · Maree Todd: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-09976 on 16 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…
21 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it will address reported concerns from unpaid carers regarding access to free COVID-19 lateral flow tests.
Answer · Maree Todd: LFD testing remains in place for specific population groups including unpaid carers, in order to in order to protect people in higher risk settings. LFD tests can be ordered online through the GOV.UK portal, or by calling 119. More information can be found o…
21 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will extend access to antiviral medication to treat COVID-19 to people with illnesses such as Parkinson’s disease.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The UK Department of Health and Social Care has recently established an expert panel to provide advice to the UK Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) on which patient cohorts should be eligible for access to COVID-19 treatments, including whether changes should be m…
20 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the cancer survival statistics published on 5 July 2022 did not contain any analysis of deprivation in the same way as the previous cancer survival statistics published in January 2021.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: This is a matter for Public Health Scotland. The information requested is not held centrally.
20 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether an analysis of deprivation was carried out but not published for the cancer survival statistics published on 5 July 2022.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: This is a matter for Public Health Scotland. The information requested is not held centrally.
20 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether future cancer survival statistics will include an analysis of deprivation.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: This is a matter for Public Health Scotland. The information requested is not held centrally.
20 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether all future cancer statistics publications will include an analysis of deprivation.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: This is a matter for Public Health Scotland. The information requested is not held centrally.
12 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason socio-economic deprivation influences in cancer occurrence and survival were not detailed in the most recent Public Health Scotland report, Cancer survival statistics: people diagnosed with cancer during 2015 to 2019.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: This is a matter for Public Health Scotland. The information requested is not held centrally.
11 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking against any private care companies that are not paying the £10.50 minimum wage to adult social care staff working in commissioned services.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: The law on employment rights and duties is reserved to the UK Parliament and so the Scottish Government do not currently have the legal powers to set mandatory minimum rates of pay or a stand-alone right to take legal action to ensure this minimum hourly rate…
11 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many applications (a) have been made and (b) were successful for the Social Care Staff Support Fund since it became active in June 2020.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government launched the Social Care Staff Support Fund on 25 June 2020 to ensure that social care workers receive their expected income should they be off ill or self-isolating due to coronavirus. Staffing costs claimed through sustainability pa…
11 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many cases it is aware of in which private care companies have not paid the £10.50 minimum wage to adult social care staff working in commissioned services.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: This uplift in the minimum hourly rate of pay for adult social care workers, delivering direct care, is being delivered through Local Government contracts and funding to deliver this took effect from 1 April 2022; with the Scottish Government transferring £20…
11 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking to ensure that the £10.50 minimum wage for adult social care staff in commissioned services is being paid by private care companies.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: The law on employment rights and duties is reserved to the UK Parliament and so the Scottish Government do not currently have the legal powers to set mandatory minimum rates of pay or a stand-alone right to take legal action to ensure this minimum hourly rate…
11 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the budget was for the Social Care Staff Support Fund in financial years (a) 2020-21, (b) 2021-22 and (c) 2022/23, and how much was allocated in each of those years.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government has supported additional staffing costs, including the Social Care Staff Support Fund, through sustainability payment funding to Integration Authorities. £561 million in 2020-21 and over £700 million in 2021-22 was allocated to Integr…
11 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to continue the Social Care Staff Support Fund beyond September 2022.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Social Care Staff Support Fund was set up in June 2020 using emergency powers provided by the Coronavirus (No.2) (Scotland) Act. This provision is intended for a group of workers who, due to the nature of their work or work environment, may be expected to…
11 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the latest data is on what percentage of individuals admitted to NHS Scotland are assessed for venous thromboembolism.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: It is not possible to provide the percentage of individuals admitted to NHS Scotland who are assessed for venous thromboembolism (VTE) as this data is not routinely recorded. The General/Acute and Inpatient Day case Dataset (SMR01) contains records where pu…
11 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to advance diagnostics relating to thrombosis and similar artery and vein clot conditions.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The guidelines for the diagnosis of thrombosis and similar artery and vein clot conditions are provided by the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN), specifically SIGN 122 for the prevention and management of venous thromboembolism. The Diagnost…
11 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it intends to reduce thrombosis-related deaths through early preventative measures, similar to those seen in England and Wales.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: All NHS Boards in Scotland already have access to resources to support the early prevention of thrombosis-related deaths. These include SIGN 122, the national clinical guideline for the prevention and management of venous thromboembolism. The implementation o…
5 Jul 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when the Scottish National Investment Bank’s gender equality strategy will be published.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government expects the Bank to publish its Gender Equality Strategy later this summer. As part of a wider Equality Strategy, we expect this to set out the Bank’s approach to advancing equality in Scotland across its activities and in line with le…
13 Jun 2022 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government is doing to tackle the reported growing use of locum staff in the NHS.
1 Jun 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the cost is for the three new ferries for Dunoon and Kilcreggan, as at May 2022.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The current estimate for new passenger vessels for the Dunoon and Kilcreggan routes is approximately £9 million per vessel. This is subject to the conclusion of the business case process, review of designs and specifications and further consideration of shipb…