Pauline McNeill

19 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is encouraging the use of faecal calprotectin tests, which help to improve the diagnosis for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). 

Answer · Jenni Minto: We expect all healthcare professionals to follow best practice and adhere to current guidelines and standards when providing care and support for people with suspected IBD, including the use of faecal calprotectin tests, to help improve diagnosis for inflamma…

19 Mar 2025 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding what support could be provided in Scotland to any Palestinian refugees resettled to the UK. 

Answer · Kaukab Stewart: I have written to the UK Government several times, most recently on 3 February calling for a resettlement route for refugees from Palestine who choose to leave. I have also called for those with family members in the UK to be supported to join them.We continu…

3 Feb 2025 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to encourage the prescription of medicinal cannabis on the NHS for the relief of chronic pain.

21 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recent IBD UK report, Crohn’s and Colitis Care in Scotland, and, in light of this, whether it will commit to allocating more resources to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) services to increase support and staffing for advice line services, with the a…

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government welcomes IBD UK’s latest report, Crohn’s and Colitis Care in Scotland: A Vision for Change and is committed to ensuring that all people living in Scotland with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) including Crohn’s Diseas…

20 Jan 2025 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government plans to make creating sexually explicit “deepfake” images and videos a crime.

8 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many children from Scotland have been sent to secure accommodation in (a) England and (b) Wales since 28 August 2024.

Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: The Scottish Government does not hold data on children from Scotland’s local authorities placed in secure accommodation outwith Scotland.The responsibility for the placement and management of Scottish children in secure accommodation on welfare grounds …

16 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the performance of ScotRail has been (a) ineach of the last five years and (b) since April 2024, including the number ofcancellations; what regular monitoring of this it carries out; what itsposition is on whether the level of performance has been satisfactory, and whatits reasons a…

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: ScotRail performance metrics, including cancellations are published on Office for Rail and Road website for the year up to April 2024. The Member may wish to contact ScotRail to secure information regarding its current performance. ScotRail performs well as c…

16 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what monitoring it carries out of the reasons for train delays and cancellations, and what that main problems are that lead to these.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government requires ScotRail and Network Rail in Scotland to co-operate in the management, monitoring and improvement of Scottish train performance. The Office for Rail and Road publishes performance data for Scotland on its website. Delays and c…

16 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last had discussions with ScotRailregarding expanding the (a) level and (b) frequency of Sunday servicesnationally.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Transport Scotland officials have regular discussions with ScotRail regarding various matters. ScotRail continuously reviews its services to best meet the passenger demand with the resource it has available.Nationally, more services run on a Sunday in the Dec…

16 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Network Rail regarding the relatability of its services (a) in Scotland and (b) cross border.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Transport Scotland officials have regular discussions with Network Rail regarding various matters. Performance of Network Rail is a matter for the Office of Rail and Road who holds Network Rail to account for delivering a safe, high-performing, and efficient …

16 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with ScotRail regarding increasing passenger numbers in the context of reducing car journeys.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Transport Scotland officials hold regular discussions with Scottish Rail Holdings and ScotRail. These discussions include considerations of any initiatives and incentives to encourage passengers to choose rail as an attractive and a more sustainable travel mo…

12 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the eligibility criteria for the flu vaccine have changed in the last three years.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advise flu vaccination for those aged 65 years and over. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Scotland expanded the programme to protect individuals, public services and the NHS. During the COVID-19 pandemic…

12 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the most up-to-date eligibility criteria are for the COVID-19 vaccine.

Answer · Jenni Minto: Following the advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which provides advice on immunisation to all four UK nations, for winter 2024, COVID-19 vaccination is being offered to the following groups in Scotland:Residents in care home…

12 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which groups are currently not eligible for COVID-19 vaccines.

Answer · Jenni Minto: Anyone who is not in one of the groups listed in the answer to S6W-32362 on 23 December 2024 is not eligible for COVID-19 vaccination this winter.All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facili…

12 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it ended the provision of regular COVID-19 vaccines for the whole population.

Answer · Jenni Minto: Eligibility for, and changes to, the COVID-19 vaccination programme in Scotland has always been based on the advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).In its statement of 8 November 2022 (published in January 2023), the JCVI advised…

11 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the proposal in the Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill to have jury sizes of 15 with a majority of at least 10 required to convict, what that majority would be if either one, two or three jurors dropped out.

Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government considers that, if one or more juror is excused during a trial, that should not place the accused person at a disadvantage or an advantage: the majority required for a conviction should not fluctuate depending on the number of jurors w…

13 Nov 2024 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider ring fencing funding in its forthcoming Budget to allocate to a Glasgow Airport rail link.

11 Nov 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will outline the violence reduction strategy across communities.

Answer · Siobhian Brown: In addition to our investment in policing, to strengthen our approach to address violence, in May 2023, we published a Violence Prevention Framework for Scotland. This sets out our strategy to prevent violence, and where it does occur, to reduce the harm. The…

11 Nov 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its strategy is for reducing knife crime, and how it will measure the effectiveness of this.

Answer · Siobhian Brown: Tackling all forms of violence including knife crime is a key priority for this government.Law enforcement and prosecution are essential in our overall approach to tackling violence, including knife crime. In addition to this, Scotland’s Violence Preven…

11 Nov 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it allocated to its violence reduction strategy in its 2024-25 Budget, and how this compared with each year since 2020-21.

Answer · Siobhian Brown: Funding allocated to its violence reduction strategy* are as follows:Year£0002020-211,848,0002021-221,884,5002022-232,041,5002023-242,041,5002024-252,016,500*These allocations of funding do not including additional Scottish Government funding to Police …

5 Nov 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the possibility of bringing forward the implementation of excise duty on vapes from 2026 to 2025.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government welcomes the UK Government’s commitment in the Autumn budget to introduce a duty on vapes from 2026 and renew the tobacco duty escalator. Our Tobacco and Vaping Framework recognises that price can be a critical factor in people&r…

5 Nov 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it plans to implement to regulate so-called high puff-count vapes, in light of them reportedly not being addressed in the Environmental Protection (Single-use Vapes) (Scotland) Regulations 2024, and reported concerns regarding their accessibility to young people and the pot…

Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government shares concerns about the rise in popularity of high puff-count vapes, their accessibility to young people and the associated health risks they pose. The Environmental Protection (Single-use Vapes) (Scotland) Regulations 2024 set out t…

5 Nov 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to review the Environmental Protection (Single-use Vapes) (Scotland) Regulations 2024 in light of the reported growing market share of so-called high puff-count vapes.

Answer · Gillian Martin: We share concerns regarding the growing market share of high puff-count vapes, however the definition of single-use within the Regulations sets out that a vape must be refillable and rechargeable. In addition to a rechargeable battery, it must have a replacea…

5 Nov 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact of so-called high puff-count vapes on (a) youth vaping and (b) the success of the proposed disposable vapes ban.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The 2023 Scottish Health Survey shows that among those aged 16-24 vape use is 22%.The Smoking and Vaping Among Scottish Adolescents Key findings - Vaping and smoking among Scottish adolescents - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) (2024) showed that 19% of those aged 11-…

5 Nov 2024 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to improve the legal aid system, in light of reports of senior defence lawyers saying they will no longer take on legal aid cases and the system being in crisis.

28 Oct 2024 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the reported rise in sex crimes.

16 Oct 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many secondary schools are currently running the Equally Safe programme.

Answer · Kaukab Stewart: Our Equally Safe strategy for preventing and eradicating violence against women and girls (VAWG) emphasises the importance of challenging the underpinning attitudes which enable such violence to take place.Our Equally Safe at School (ESAS) project, developed …

7 Oct 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of the current (a) COVID-19 and (b) flu vaccination programme, including in relation to (i) uptake, (ii) age group and (iii) how it is taking care of any transport issues for those wishing to attend an appointment.

Answer · Jenni Minto: Openness and transparency of vaccination programmes is essential to building trust with the public and easy access to uptake data is an important aspect of this.Public Health Scotland (PHS) will release the first COVID-19 and Seasonal Flu Vaccination public u…

23 Sep 2024 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to reports regarding the number of young people aged 11 to 14 who are involved in violent crime.

7 Aug 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will (a) implement a baseline for endometriosis care and (b) ensure that everyone with endometriosis gets access to care in line with NICE guidelines.

Answer · Jenni Minto: We are committed to ensuring those living with endometriosis symptoms can access the best possible care and support and that they benefit from healthcare services that are safe and effective.The Centre for Sustainable Delivery (CfSD) has developed and publish…