Nanette Milne

1 Mar 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) households, (b) farmers and (c) businesses in each local authority area have applied for support from the flooding relief scheme, and how many (i) have (A) received and (B) are awaiting payment and (ii) had their applications rejected.

Answer · Aileen McLeod: The Scottish Government does not currently hold the requested information. Local authorities are administering the grant scheme and are in the process of considering claims and making payments. At the end of the financial year we will be asking local authorit…

10 Feb 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to undertake a revaluation of properties ahead of any reform to the council tax.

Answer · Marco Biagi: The Scottish Government will bring forward proposals for reform to the council tax that will reflect the principles of the Commission on Local Tax Reform’s report before the end of the parliamentary term. We therefore have no such plans.

10 Feb 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many households in each local authority area would be affected by the new higher council tax bands proposed by the Commission on Local Tax Reform, also broken down by Scottish Parliament constituency.

Answer · Marco Biagi: This information does not exist. The Commission on Local Tax Reform did not make such a proposal.

2 Feb 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what scientific advice it has sought since the post of Chief Scientific Adviser for Scotland has been vacant, and who provided it.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: Since the Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) post was vacated the remaining chief scientists, covering health and rural affairs, food and the environment, continue to carry out key tasks that would usually be done by the CSA for Scotland. The Scottish Government…

2 Feb 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-27075 by Alasdair Allan on 7 September 2015, on what date it will announce the appointment of the Chief Scientific Adviser for Scotland.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The post of Chief Scientific Adviser for Scotland has been advertised since 22 December 2015. The deadline for applications is 29 February 2016. Interviews will be held in April 2016, and we expect that the successful candidate will be announced as soon as po…

1 Feb 2016 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans to reform local government funding.

25 Jan 2016 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will undertake a national strategic review of flooding infrastructure and management following the latest incidents.

Answer · Aileen McLeod: Although the impacts of the recent flooding are still being felt and will continue to be assessed over the coming weeks, we have not received any indication that any of Scotland’s flood defences were overwhelmed in the way that has happened during the extreme…

14 Jan 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what compensation and support it will provide to farms bordering the River Dee that have been flooded.

Answer · Aileen McLeod: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-29332 on 22 January 2016. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentary…

14 Jan 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the cost to farmers of the recent flooding.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Scottish Ministers have been proactive to visit those communities affected by recent flooding events. I have visited a number of farm businesses and engaged directly with NFU Scotland. The agriculture wet weather group has been a valuable forum for engaging w…

11 Jan 2016 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the potential impact on its national physical activity strategy, how many school playing fields have been sold or developed since 1999.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: As a statutory consultee under the terms of the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 2013, sportscotland has been consulted on 1,569 planning applications since 1 January 1999. Of these consultations, it is estim…

5 Jan 2016 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of access to advanced radiotherapy.

18 Nov 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many patients have missed (a) GP and (b) hospital appointments in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government does not hold information on how many patients have missed GP appointments. The number of first outpatient appointments at consultant-led clinics where the patient did not attend (DNA) for calendar years 1999-2014: NHS Board of Treat…

12 Nov 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason practitioner psychologists cannot complete a Section 47 certificate of incapacity under Part 5 of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 and whether it will consider allowing them to do so.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 originally enabled only the medical practitioner primarily responsible for the medical treatment of the adult to certify incapacity in regard to medical treatment. This was later amended by section 35(2)(b) of th…

26 Oct 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Economy has made of the future funding formula for NHS boards.

19 Oct 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many council tenants it estimates would have exercised their right to buy but will no longer be able to after 1 August 2016.

7 Oct 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will support the establishment of a network of neurological care coordinators.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: It is a matter for NHS boards to provide the services required to meet the assessed needs of their populations, including any networking arrangements that may be beneficial for patients. The Scottish Government has provided improvement funding of up to £210,…

1 Oct 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the average waiting time is for a heart scan in each NHS board.

Answer · Shona Robison: The specific information requested is not held centrally. Waiting time data is collected by specialism only and not by condition, although most patients requiring a heart scan will be subject to a diagnostic test and are likely to receive their treatment at a…

1 Oct 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people in each NHS board area are not registered with a GP.

Answer · Shona Robison: The information requested is not held centrally. The Information Services Division of National Services Scotland produces practice population size reports every quarter. These can be accessed at the following website: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics…

29 Sep 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the comment in the Citizens Advice Scotland report, The Cost of Saying Goodbye, that people trying to meet the cost of a burial or cremation face a “postcode lottery”; what recent discussions it has had with local authorities regarding these costs, and what its po…

Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government is aware of the ongoing concerns around the increasing cost of funerals in Scotland. I announced on 5 October 2015 that John Birrell, the chair of the Scottish Working Group on Funeral Poverty, will consider funeral costs with a view t…

22 Sep 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage healthy eating among children and young people, and what its position is on the findings in the Scottish Health Survey 2014 that 14% of children meet the recommended minimum daily fruit and vegetable consumption and 31% are at risk of becoming overwe…

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Government notes the 2014 Scottish Health Survey’s figures concerning children’s weight and diet. We recognise the need for action and accordingly already have a broad range of actions underway including: statutory nutritional standards for food…

22 Sep 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce child health inequalities, and what its position is on the finding in the Scottish Health Survey 2014 that children in deprived areas are more likely to have unhealthy eating habits and be overweight.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Equally Well, the report of the Ministerial Task Force on Health Inequalities, shifted the emphasis of our approach from dealing with the consequences of health inequalities to tackling the underlying causes of poverty and employment while providing support f…

22 Sep 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many GP surgeries have operated a restricted patient list in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Shona Robison: Circumstances will arise where a practice experiences capacity issues and is unable to routinely accept new patients onto its list. We expect health boards to work with practices as constructively and as flexibly as is appropriate to help manage the situation.

31 Aug 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have not been registered with a GP in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Shona Robison: The information requested is not held centrally. Information Services Division of National Services Scotland produce practice population size reports every quarter. These can be accessed at the following web site: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Gen…

7 Aug 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the criteria used during the Scottish Medicines Consortium Patient and Clinician Engagement group process.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) developed the Patient and Clinician Engagement (PACE) process with input from stakeholders. The Scottish Government has previously stated that there will be a formal review of the new SMC approach in 2015-16 and that we…

7 Aug 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of how the Scottish Medicines Consortium takes account of recommendations from Patient and Clinician Engagement groups in its final decisions.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) developed the Patient and Clinician Engagement (PACE) process with input from stakeholders. The Scottish Government’s position remains that the views of those involved in PACE should be a determining factor in decisions…

7 Aug 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the New Medicines Fund has been spent on (a) medicines not yet assessed, (b) medicines approved, (c) individual patient requests for medicines not approved and (d) medicines approved by the Scottish Government but not approved by the Scottish Medicines Consortium.

Answer · Shona Robison: In 2014-15 NHS boards required £1 million to support the Scottish Medicines Consortium decisions and £20.5 million to support individual and group patient treatment requests from the New Medicines Fund. The funding is not required by NHS boards for this purpo…

7 Aug 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-22884 by Alex Neil on 11 November 2014, what guidance has been issued to NHS boards on how they can access resources from the New Medicines Fund.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government has provided information to NHS boards on the scope of the New Medicines Fund and will continue to provide any appropriate guidance for NHS as and when necessary. The Scottish Government works with NHS boards to ensure that relevant ex…

7 Aug 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it expects the peer approved clinical system to change patients’ access to medicines.

Answer · Shona Robison: The intention of the peer approved clinical system has always been that it will operate in an environment where there is a reduced reliance on individual requests for medicines. As set out in the Task and Finish Group report presented to the Health and Sport …

7 Aug 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of NHS boards’ implementation of the guidance that approval of individual patient treatment requests should be based on clinical need.

Answer · Shona Robison: There has been significant increase in patient access to orphan, ultra-orphan and end of life medicines through the changed approach to individual patient treatment requests. In 2012-13 around 50 patients across Scotland accessed orphan, ultra-orphan and end …

7 Aug 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the peer approved clinical system will be based on an assessment of a patient’s clinical need.

Answer · Shona Robison: Yes it will together with wider considerations on how decisions impact on all patients within NHSScotland.