Mary Scanlon

25 Jan 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it will receive in Barnett consequentials each year from the UK Government’s allocation of £75 million over the next five years to fund additional specialist perinatal mental health services; whether it will allocate the money toward such services in Scotland, and what the reaso…

Answer · John Swinney: At a Spending Review Barnett consequentials are determined on a departmental level as opposed to a programme level. It is therefore not possible to isolate the financial impact of individual UK Government spending decisions. Last year we announced investmen…

21 Jan 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to address the £96 million NHS maintenance backlog that was classified as “high risk” and referred to in the Audit Scotland report, NHS in Scotland 2015, which was discussed by the Public Audit Committee at its meeting on 2 December 2015.

Answer · Shona Robison: In 2011, NHS Scotland published the first Annual State of NHSScotland Assets and Facilities Report (SAFR) which estimated the level of high risk backlog maintenance to be £232 million. The following table uses the backlog originally reported in the 2011 SAFR …

21 Jan 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the long-term financial strategy for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is now in place, in light of the recommendation in the Audit Scotland report of May 2015 that this should be completed as a "matter of urgency".

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Audit Scotland recommended that the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) should agree a long-term financial strategy by 31 March 2016. The SFRS is on schedule to deliver the strategy by this date.

21 Jan 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether its next mental health strategy will include and extend support for parents, as well as children and young people, with a focus on promoting attachment and preventing poor mental health.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: We have engaged in early dialogue with a number of stakeholders about the next mental health strategy which will be produced in 2016, and informed by further engagement with interested parties.

21 Jan 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what is being done to fund in-work support programmes to support people’s mental health work.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: See Me is Scotland’s national campaign to end mental health stigma and discrimination. Scottish Government provides £1 million per year in addition to £0.5 million from Comic Relief to support the See Me programme. See Me Workplace is part of the See Me anti …

21 Jan 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what is being done to ensure that all GP surgeries have access to dedicated mental health support services.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Mental health services are a priority for this government; this has been demonstrated through the additional £150 million funding which has been allocated to improve mental health services over the next five years. This includes £10 million for primary care m…

21 Jan 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to help NHS boards meet their waiting times targets for psychological therapies.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: NHS boards and local authorities are responsible for working with their partners to provide care, services and support which meets the assessed needs of people living with mental health problems in line with their statutory obligations and Scottish Government…

21 Jan 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will respond to the 85% of GPs who told the Scottish Association for Mental Health that there were gaps in service provision for patients and the 87% of GPs who said that they wanted more information on local social prescribing services.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: NHS boards and local authorities are responsible for working with their partners to provide care, services and support which meets the assessed needs of people living with mental health problems in line with their statutory obligations and Scottish Government…

21 Jan 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what investment is planned to recruit more staff in mental health services.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: NHS boards and local authorities will invest in staff to ensure an appropriately skilled workforce is in place to deliver efficient and high quality mental health services from the overall funding they receive from the Scottish Government. We have made avai…

21 Jan 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what is being done to increase the availability of supported social prescribing for mental health patients.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Mental health services are a priority for this government; this priority has been further demonstrated through the additional £150 million funding which has been allocated to improve mental health services over the next five years. Through the advisory group…

21 Jan 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what is being done to develop a range of quickly accessible mental health services with health and social care professionals and third sector partners.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: This £150 million will be used in its entirety to improve mental health services, care professionals and third sector partners playing an important role. In 2015 I announced investment of £100 million to improve mental health services over the next five year…

7 Jan 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many alternative budget proposals the Scottish Executive considered between 1999 and 2007 and from which party groups.

Answer · John Swinney: An account of engagement between previous administrations and other party groups around successive budget Bills is available through the Scottish Parliament's Official Report, which documents the discussions that took place during the annual budget Bill proce…

7 Jan 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many miles of the A9 from Perth to Inverness are (a) dual carriageway, (b) single carriageway, (c) dual carriageway under construction and (d) planned for dual carriageway.

Answer · Keith Brown: This government has committed to dual all remaining single carriageway on the A9 between Perth and Inverness. Currently, between Perth and Inverness, the A9 has 30 miles of dual carriageway, 80 miles of single carriageway and 4.7 miles of dual carriageway und…

7 Jan 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the A9 from Perth to Inverness will be completed.

Answer · Keith Brown: It is anticipated that the construction of the new dualling between Perth and Inverness will be completed by 2025 in line with commitments made in the Infrastructure Investment Plan on 6 December 2011.

5 Jan 2016 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to address neglect and abuse in residential care homes for older people.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: No care home resident should ever be subject to any form of harm or abuse, and it should be remembered that the vast majority of residential care homes provide high-quality care. The Care Inspectorate investigates complaints against registered care homes and …

24 Dec 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-28834 by Maureen Watt on 17 December 2015, whether the NHS is legally responsible for poor quality dental services carried out by contracted general dental practitioners.

Answer · Maureen Watt: General dental practitioners are independent contractors. Independent general dental practitioners are individually responsible for dental services which they carry out.

23 Dec 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the new mental health strategy will include services being made accessible to (a) further and (b) higher education students.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that everyone with mental health problems can access high quality mental health services. Further and higher education students can continue to access these services through their local NHS board. We are worki…

23 Dec 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that NHS mental health services are available to students attending university.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Government sets national direction of policy on mental health and provides funding to agencies – including NHS boards and local authorities – to support implementation of policy. The management of local actions in implementing national policy, a…

21 Dec 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-28835 by Maureen Watt on 17 December 2015, how many dental practices have been designated as unfit for the delivery of services as a result of the inspection process in each of the last eight years.

Answer · Maureen Watt: This is a matter for NHS boards and the information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

21 Dec 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-28834 by Maureen Watt on 17 December 2015, whether NHS boards are responsible for any poor quality dentistry services carried out by general dental practitioners contracted by the NHS.

Answer · Maureen Watt: NHS boards are responsible for the delivery of NHS general dental services in their area, and will take action in response to instances of poor quality dental services. Actions available to health boards include: (i) asking dental practice advisers to provi…

16 Dec 2015 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has overspent on its estimated ICT budget in the last five years.

3 Dec 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what responsibility NHS boards have in (a) monitoring and (b) maintaining the performance of independently-contracted dental practitioners that they provide financial support for.

Answer · Maureen Watt: NHS boards are responsible for monitoring grant-aided dental practices throughout the grant period, including visiting the practice annually to ensure that the grant conditions are being complied with, preparing an annual report, confirming the number of pati…

3 Dec 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what measures are used to determine (a) satisfactory dental practice and (b) high quality oral health for dental patients.

Answer · Maureen Watt: The Scottish Government has in place a number of measures to determine (a) satisfactory dental practice and (b) high quality oral health for dental patients. All dental practices offering NHS general dental services (GDS) are inspected on a three-year rollin…

3 Dec 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action NHS boards must take in response to complaints from dental patients.

Answer · Maureen Watt: In accordance with the Patient Rights (Feedback, Comments, Concerns and Complaints) (Scotland) Directions 2012, NHS boards must ensure that their service providers, including general dental practitioners, submit quarterly reports on complaints. These reports …

3 Dec 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how (a) NHS boards and (b) patients are informed of the findings of inspections of dental practices.

Answer · Maureen Watt: NHS boards undertake the inspection of dental practices and are fully aware of the findings made at the time of inspection. Dental practices inspected after 1 January 2013 must display confirmation from the NHS board that the practice inspection has been suc…

3 Dec 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how often dental practices are inspected, and what aspects of their work are reviewed.

Answer · Maureen Watt: NHS dental practices are currently inspected on a rolling three-yearly cycle. The aspects reviewed are: staffing, premises and equipment, practice documentation, practice management processes and individual dental surgery suitability. There is also a formal …

3 Dec 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what responsibility NHS boards have with regard to the quality of dentistry services.

Answer · Maureen Watt: NHS boards have a responsibility to help ensure that dental practices deliver quality services which are safe, effective and person-centred.

11 Nov 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the report by DF Concerts that was due on completion of the project for T in the Park, in accordance with paragraph 4.2 of the letter offering the grant of £150,000 in July 2015.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government looks forward to receiving a report from DF Concerts and Events on the performance and impact of the T in the Park event in due course and, in line with our commitment to openness and transparency, will make that report available subje…

5 Nov 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which rivers it is considering giving protected area status to in order to conserve freshwater pearl mussels.

Answer · Aileen McLeod: Any consideration will follow receipt of Scottish Natural Heritage's report.

5 Nov 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when Scottish Natural Heritage completed its review of freshwater pearl mussel protection measures and of potential new areas to designate protected status, and when it will publish its response to the findings.

Answer · Aileen McLeod: Scottish Natural Heritage is finalising its report to the Scottish Government on the adequacy of the Scottish suite of Special Areas of Conservation for freshwater pearl mussel. Should any decisions be taken following receipt of the advice, they will be annou…