Jackson Carlaw

17 Jun 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the business and regulatory impact assessment and regulations relating to the Health (Tobacco, Nicotine etc. and Care) (Scotland) Bill will be published.

Answer · Maureen Watt: The business and regulatory impact assessment for the Health (Tobacco, Nicotine etc. and Care) (Scotland) Bill will be published by 31 July 2015. The Scottish Parliament’s consideration of the Bill will determine what regulations are made under it. It is ther…

8 Jun 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address the reported concerns raised by patients and staff regarding the recently-opened South Glasgow University Hospital.

Answer · Shona Robison: Over the last month NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has undertaken one of the largest service redesigns in the UK with the new £842 million Southern General Hospitals project. This is one of the largest hospitals in Europe – it replaces out of date facilities a…

12 May 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it works with voluntary sector organisations that support people living with neurological conditions.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: We work with the voluntary sector in a number of ways, including through their representation on the National Neurological Advisory Group (NNAG), and their role in leading some of the NNAG work groups. We also support charities through funding projects that …

12 May 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it develops its priorities to improve lives for people living with neurological conditions.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: We are working closely with our stakeholders, including the National Neurological Advisory Group, the third sector, clinicians, and specialist nurses to identify priorities to ensure that people in Scotland living with a neurological condition have access to …

11 May 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to devolve powers to local communities.

2 Apr 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will introduce a public health bill to regulate electronic cigarettes.

Answer · Maureen Watt: We aim to introduce the public health bill prior to summer recess.

2 Apr 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its findings from its consultation, Electronic Cigarettes and Strengthening Tobacco Control in Scotland, which ended on 2 January 2015.

Answer · Maureen Watt: The analysis of the consultation on Electronic Cigarettes and Strengthening Tobacco Control in Scotland will be published the week commencing 4 May 2015.

23 Mar 2015 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects minimum unit pricing of alcohol to be implemented.

19 Mar 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the Scottish Ambulance Service's decision to restructure its Community Resilience Department due to a lack of funding.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Ambulance Service work in partnership with a number of public and voluntary organisations including the British Heart Foundation who contribute towards service delivery costs in delivery community resilience related functions and services includi…

19 Mar 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many public access defibrillators are available in each NHS board area.

Answer · Maureen Watt: There are no centrally collected figures on the number of public access defibrillators available in each NHS board area. The Scottish Government will launch the Scottish Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Strategy on 27 March 2015 which aims to improve all the k…

19 Mar 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it costs to start a Community First Responder scheme and what the annual running cost is for training and equipment.

Answer · Shona Robison: The information requested is broken down in the following table: Item Cost including VAT Total initial start-up cost of a community first responder scheme excluding vehicle costs or expenses claims Costs vary depending on number of volunteers per scheme –…

19 Mar 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many medical emergencies Community First Responders have responded to in each year since their introduction, broken down by NHS board area.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Ambulance Service has provided information relating to Community First Responder activity back to 2006. NHS Health Board Territory Community First Responder Scheme Activity 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 TOTAL Ayrshire …

19 Mar 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many Community First Responder groups there are, broken down by NHS board area.

Answer · Shona Robison: There are currently 123 Community First Responder Groups throughout Scotland. The Scottish Ambulance Service has information as to how many groups there are broken down by the service’s operational divisions, and that is why the information is presented as su…

27 Jan 2015 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve survival rates from brain cancers.

15 Jan 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of funding for Action on Hearing Loss Scotland’s Hear to Help service being withdrawn from March 2015, what contingencies it has introduced to deal with any (a) increase in demand and (b) impact on waiting times at audiology departments in NHS (i) Greater Glasgow and Clyde, (i…

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Funding for the Hear to Help service has not been withdrawn. The Scottish Government provided funding for the Borders project over the financial years 2007-10 with further funding made available to seven pilot projects in 2011-12. The services provided by th…

15 Jan 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that people who have been provided with NHS hearing aids with the assistance of Action on Hearing Loss Scotland’s Hear to Help service will have their devices maintained or replaced after funding for the scheme is withdrawn in March 2015.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Funding for the Hear to Help service has not been withdrawn. The Scottish Government provided funding for the Borders project over the financial years 2007-10 with further funding made available to seven pilot projects in 2011-12. The services provided by th…

9 Dec 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it will allocate to the New Medicines Fund in each of its first five years, and for how long the fund will operate.

Answer · Shona Robison: For planning purposes, the 2015-16 draft budget currently includes £40 million to be utilised for the New Medicines Fund for both 2014-15 and 2015-16. We anticipate that there will be an ongoing need for mechanisms such as the New Medicines Fund beyond April …

9 Dec 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether NHS boards can use the New Medicines Fund to meet the costs of products that have been rejected by the Scottish Medicines Consortium but for which funding requests have been or will be made using the (a) individual patient treatment request and (b) peer approved clinical system p…

Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-22884 on 11 November 2014. 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/parliamenta…

27 Oct 2014 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what safeguards are in place to ensure that sex offenders are appropriately rehoused.

7 Oct 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it will make available for addressing hepatitis C in the revised Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework due to be published in the summer of 2015.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The revised Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework is currently in development and no decisions about funding will be made until that is finalised. However, the plan at present is to maintain funding at existing levels to ensure that current activity c…

7 Oct 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it will make available for the development and implementation of the revised Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework due to be published in the summer of 2015.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The revised Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework is currently in development and no decisions about funding will be made until that is finalised. However, the plan at present is to maintain funding at existing levels to ensure that current activity c…

7 Oct 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has made available to address hepatitis C as part of the Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework in each of the last four years.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government has provided £28.7 million funding each year towards the Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework since 2011. Of this, approximately £14.5 million has been allocated annually to support activities on viral hepatitis. This funding …

7 Oct 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has made available to support the development and implementation of the Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework in each of the last four years.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Since the launch of the Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework in 2011 the Scottish Government has made £28.7 million available each year to support sexual health, HIV and viral hepatitis work. £26.7 million of this funding has been directly allocated …

6 Oct 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what safeguards (a) are and (b) will be put in place to ensure that the SNP representatives on The Smith Commission and their advisers cannot use the services of Scottish Government (i) staff and (ii) resources.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: It is Scottish Government policy to engage with The Smith Commission’s consideration of proposals for the devolution of further powers to the Scottish Parliament. Ministers, including the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth in his…

30 Sep 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on independent schools having charitable status.  

19 Aug 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4T-00763 by Michael Matheson on 12 August 2014 (Official Report, c. 33250), what the outcome was of the minister’s meeting with Health Protection Scotland to discuss the Ebola virus, and how the World Health Organization’s approval for the use of exper…

Answer · Michael Matheson: I met with Heath Protection Scotland (HPS) on 19 August 2014 to discuss Scotland’s preparedness for any possible cases of Ebola virus. HPS reported the risk to the people of Scotland remains very low and the NHS stands ready to respond to any suspected cases,…

12 Aug 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that people with fibromyalgia have their condition recognised by employers and the wider community.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government recognises that fibromyalgia can be a difficult and debilitating condition. As with all long term conditions we are committed to providing the best care and support to people living with fibromyalgia and have funded third sector led in…

11 Aug 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on police stations having mental health nurses assigned to them, similar to the pilot exercise being carried out in England.

6 Aug 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-21124 by Alex Neil on 29 May 2014, when the Scottish Public Inquiry into Hepatitis C/HIV acquired infection from NHS treatment in Scotland with blood and blood products is due to present its final report.

Answer · Alex Neil: Lord Penrose, Chairman of the Scottish Public Inquiry into Hepatitis C/HIV acquired infection from NHS treatment in Scotland with blood and blood products (The Penrose Inquiry) wrote to me on 28 May 2014 updating me on the inquiry’s progress. As the member w…

17 Jun 2014 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will address the attainment gap between girls and boys identified in the 2014 edition of the Summary statistics for attainment, leaver destinations and healthy living.