Parliamentary questions
Kenneth Gibson
2,008 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
22 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the location of manufacturing of advanced medicines or medicinal products is taken into account in the NHS Scotland procurement process.
Answer · Jenni Minto: Procurements that are subject to the application of international trade rules are governed by general principles of non-discrimination, equal treatment, transparency and proportionality. To require that the location of manufacturing of advanced medicines or m…
22 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what factors and processes aim to ensure that NHS patients have equal access to innovative medicines, including one-off gene-edited treatments for debilitating inherited conditions.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) provides advice to NHS Scotland on a ‘once for Scotland’ basis about the value for patients of newly licensed medicines, including innovative cell and gene therapies such as one-off gene-edited treatments for debilitati…
22 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to encourage high-value medicines manufacturing in Scotland.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: Last year, Scottish Enterprise (SE), working with Innovate UK, invested £15m to establish the state-of-the-art Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre. The facility works with a range of partners in the pharmaceutical industry to conduct research and …
22 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the Scottish Medicines Consortium methodologies remain fit for purpose in the assessment of gene-edited precision medicines where a single treatment may have lifelong benefit.
Answer · Jenni Minto: In Scotland, the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) appraises the clinical and cost-effectiveness of newly licensed medicines. The SMC has a transparent and robust process that is fully described on its website. It is worth noting that any SMC appraisal is…
20 Nov 2023 · SPCB Written Question
To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what advice was provided to MSPs and staff regarding the existence of a quarantine box for incoming emails, in addition to their inbox and junk mail.
Answer · Claire Baker (on behalf of the SPCB): The Quarantine mailbox provides a holding area for email messages that are automatically identified as potentially harmful (e.g., potential phishing and malware messages). The IT Helpdesk initially sent out emails to all users to raise awareness of the Jun…
17 Nov 2023 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to the Autumn Statement.
13 Nov 2023 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what impact UK Government annual financial settlements have on its ability to undertake long-term financial planning.
18 Oct 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the timescale is for Discretionary Funds to be released to colleges by the Student Awards Agency Scotland to enable this to be used to support students who are facing hardship.
Answer · Graeme Dey: On 6 October 2023 Student Awards Agency Scotland wrote to colleges and universities confirming the 2023-24 Higher Education (HE) Discretionary Funds allocations and guidance. The funds were issued to the sector during the week commencing 9 October 2023. Appro…
17 Oct 2023 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making on implementing the recommendations on the skills delivery landscape in the report, Fit for the Future: developing a post-school learning system to fuel economic transformation.
12 Oct 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much (a) it and (b) local authorities will save from a reduction in employer contributions to the Strathclyde Pension Fund.
Answer · Tom Arthur: The Scottish Government will not directly save money as a result of the reduction to employer contribution rates to the Strathclyde Pension Fund. Instead, it is the individual employers, including local authorities, who will save. The amount each scheme emp…
12 Oct 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-22009 by Michael Matheson on 11 October 2023, in light of its intention to "empower and support NHS leadership in the use of these new technologies, to help build and share a wider knowledge base, rather than appointing a single AI champion", how…
Answer · Michael Matheson: At its heart, AI is the leveraging of advanced digital technology using large data sets, and we are treating AI with the same rigour as any other new technology or innovation. As such, its use comes under existing digital and data governance mechanisms. At a …
10 Oct 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-21281 by Dorothy Bain on 21 September 2023, what its position is on whether a wait of five months for a family to receive a post-mortem report is acceptable.
Answer · Angela Constance: Bereaved families should not have to wait to receive final confirmation of the cause of death and it is imperative that information about their loved one is provided as soon as possible. As the Lord Advocate noted in her response to S6W-21281, there have been…
5 Oct 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made towards implementing the five actions in the September 2018 Data Scoping Taskforce report, Medicines Use and Digital Capabilities.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Improving Scotland’s health data capabilities remains a key objective in improving outcomes for patients. We are continuing to progress work to implement changes to how we improve data collection on medicine use and outcomes. Changes to existing systems or an…
4 Oct 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to standardise governance processes across the NHS to improve efficiency, reduce duplication and encourage innovation, and, if so, when it will do so.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Blueprint for Good Governance in NHS Scotland has been adopted by all NHS Boards. The second edition, published in December 2022, places more emphasis on the delivery mechanisms and the need to apply a continuous improvement approach to reviewing govern…
4 Oct 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to appoint an artificial intelligence champion for the NHS to enable its adoption wherever appropriate, and, if so, when it will do so.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The growth and development of AI offers our NHS the opportunity to make use of, and benefit from an exciting range of new and developing data based solutions. Our intention therefore is to empower and support NHS leadership in the use of these new technologie…
25 Sep 2023 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the rural affairs secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding support for businesses in the rural economy that provide team accommodation for employees due to a lack of affordable rural housing.
13 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in advance of its refreshed tobacco control action plan being published in autumn 2023, whether Public Health Scotland will be commissioned to update analysis on the estimated effects of reduced smoking prevalence on the three outcomes of smoking-attributable deaths, smoking-attributabl…
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government recognises that evidence is important in supporting policy design, monitoring progress and evaluation of impact. Our refreshed Tobacco Action Plan will be published in Autumn this year and is based on a wide range of evidence. This has…
12 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether families should wait more than four months after a post-mortem is carried out on a loved one to receive the post-mortem report.
Answer · Dorothy Bain: Bereaved families should not have to wait this time to receive final confirmation of the cause of death of a loved one, and this is not a situation which COPFS endorses. It is imperative that this information is provided as soon as possible, as these delays s…
7 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to reopen the Recovery Fund for Independent Cinemas for new applications, and, if so, when.
Answer · Angus Robertson: The Recovery Fund for Independent Cinemas , launched in February 2022, was the second of two funds designed to support the independent exhibition sector during and in the immediate aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. It followed the Independent Cinema Recove…
4 Sep 2023 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the rural affairs secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding support for businesses in the rural economy that provide team accommodation for employees due to a lack of affordable rural housing.
21 Aug 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it considers the impact on poverty is of parental smoking, and how many children it estimates are currently affected by this.
Answer · Jenni Minto: Our vision is to have a Tobacco-Free Scotland by lowering smoking rates in our communities to 5% or less by 2034. Our aim is to create a generation of young people who do not want to smoke, with all the health and economic benefits that follow. The Scottish …
21 Aug 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much NHS Scotland and other agencies spent on all forms of smoking cessation in the last year for which figures are available.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government provides funding annually to Health Boards for smoking cessation and prevention services. The funding is provided as part of a wider Outcomes Framework allocation, whereby budget is provided to Health Boards to cover a range of outcome…
21 Aug 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it estimates smoking cost the Scottish economy in the last year for which figures are available.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government is deeply concerned about the health and economic impacts of smoking, that’s why we want to create a tobacco free Scotland by 2034 and will be publishing our refreshed tobacco action plan in autumn this year which will provide a roadma…
21 Aug 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it estimates the cost to NHS Scotland of treating diseases caused by smoking was in the last year for which figures are available.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government does not hold this information.
21 Aug 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the UK Vaping Industry Association’s reported proposal for fines of up to £10,000 to be levied on retailers who sell to under-18s.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Tobacco and Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Act 2010 set outs the fines that can be levied and these are detailed below:offence of selling an NCP to a person under 18 - level 4 on the standard scale (£2,500)Offence of purchasing one on behalf of a per…
25 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which NHS boards are now testing pregnant women for pre-eclampsia using the placental growth factor (PlGF)-based test, following the recommendation on 23 March 2023 that all do so as part of routine maternity health care.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government expects all NHS Boards in Scotland to consider the recommendations in the Scottish Health Technologies Group report, published on 23 March 2023, and take steps to ensure that women who require access to placental growth factor (PlGF) b…
24 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when Police Scotland will have access to Scottish laboratory facilities that can test if someone has ingested rohypnol or sodium nitrite.
Answer · Angela Constance: Police Scotland have access to laboratory facilities at the Scottish Police Authority to test for the presence of rohypnol. We are not aware of any toxicology laboratories in Scotland that have a testing method for sodium nitrite in a criminal justice context…
19 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of all crimes were cybercrimes in the last year for which figures are available.
Answer · Angela Constance: In 2022-23 there were an estimated 14,890 police recorded cyber-crimes, accounting for 5% of all recorded crime in Scotland. This estimate is based on a review of crime records, whereby a random sample of cases was drawn across Scotland for those types of cri…
19 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of police resource is currently allocated to tackling cybercrime.
Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government does not hold information on the percentage of police resources that are dedicated to tackling cybercrime. The police budget has increased by £80 million in 2023-24 bringing the overall budget to over £1.45 billion. The allocation of …
19 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much was defrauded through cybercrime in the last year for which figures are available.
Answer · Angela Constance: The information requested is not held centrally. Estimates of Police Recorded cybercrime were most recently published in the Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2022-23 - (gov.scot (www.gov.scot) statistical publication and are based on a review of a sample of rec…