David Stewart

20 Dec 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to produce an updated action plan for dealing with heart disease.  

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government’s Heart Disease Improvement Plan has been the cornerstone of the work of the National Advisory Committee on Heart Disease. Huge progress has been made, and continues to be made in all the priority areas. We will take advice from our S…

20 Dec 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made in implementing the recommendations of the (a) Better Heart Disease and Stroke Action Plan and (b) Heart Disease Improvement Plan.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Prevention, diagnosis and treatment of heart disease is a national clinical priority for Scotland, as outlined in the Better Heart Disease and Stroke Care Action Plan, published in 2009 and subsequently in the Heart Disease Improvement Plan of 2014, which has…

19 Dec 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the Highlands and Islands exemption to the Air Departure Tax.

Answer · Kate Forbes: We have had a series of meetings and discussions with HMT, at both Ministerial and official levels, to try to find a solution to the issue of the Highlands and Islands exemption.

17 Dec 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to ban the use of fax machines by the NHS and, if so, whether usage will be phased out by March 2020.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government has no plans to ban the use of fax machines in NHSScotland.

17 Dec 2018 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of the capacity of NHS 24 to deal with demand over the Christmas period.

13 Dec 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the reported increase in revenue made by the alcohol industry since the introduction of minimum unit pricing.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: NHS Health Scotland are leading a wide ranging evaluation programme over the next five years which includes exploring the impact minimum unit pricing has on the alcohol market. It is too early to assess the impact of minimum unit pricing on alcohol consumptio…

13 Dec 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to introduce a social responsibility levy.

Answer · Ash Denham: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-16065 on 27 April 2018. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/…

11 Dec 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has asked the DWP to cease recovery action against recipients of carer's allowance who have been overpaid.

11 Dec 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the review into alleged bullying and harassment at NHS Highland will take account of the views of patients.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: As part of its scope the review aims to understand what, if any cultural issues have led to any bullying, or harassment, and a culture where such allegations apparently cannot be raised and responded to locally. John Sturrock QC will be holding a series of pr…

10 Dec 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the implications of the European Withdrawal Act 2018 for publicly-owned and operated ferry services.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Scottish Ministers and officials are engaging with the industry and with the UK Government to ensure that Scottish interests are well represented in discussions being led at Westminster. Discussions with the UK Government have included the implications of th…

4 Dec 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many consultants are in receipt of merit awards (a) overall and (b) in categories (i) A+, (ii) A and (iii) B, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Merit awards are known as Distinction Awards in NHSScotland. These awards have been frozen since 2010. As of September 2018 there were a total of 226 Award holders. This figure is broken down by categories and Health Boards in the following table: Board A+…

4 Dec 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the cost of merit awards to consultants has been in each year since 2015, including 2018 to date, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: In Scotland, Merit Awards are known as Distinction Awards for NHS Consultants. The Distinction Award Scheme has been frozen since 2010. The following table details the annual costs over the last 3 financial years. The 2018 figures are not yet available. Cos…

4 Dec 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the full national implementation of the Scottish Primary Care Information Resource system will be completed.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: As at 7 December 2018, SPIRE has been deployed to 93% of GP practices in Scotland. The deployment of the remaining 7% is being completed in line with known software and server upgrades in the Health Boards (outwith the control of the SPIRE project). We expect…

4 Dec 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made with the Heart Disease Improvement Plan since 2014, and what plans it has to refresh the plan.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The number of new cases of coronary heart disease (CHD) has decreased by 27% between 2007 and 2017. Even more importantly, the mortality rate has also decreased by 40% in the last 10 years. This indicates that the Scottish Government’s Heart Disease Improveme…

4 Dec 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to monitor (a) uptake of and (b) outcomes from cardiac rehabilitation, and whether it will consider participating in the National Audit of Cardiac Rehabilitation.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Cardiac rehabilitation is a priority in our Heart Disease Improvement Plan (2014). Work is currently underway with Health Boards, to implement an assessment needs cardiac rehabilitation model with intervention, that will be based on need and choice, providing…

26 Nov 2018 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its position on legislating to ensure that all new-build social housing has working sprinkler systems installed.

19 Nov 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of the North Coast 500 on tourism and infrastructure, and how best the route can be used to develop these.

Answer · Ben Macpherson: Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), who chair the North Coast 500 working group established to support communities and business along the route, commissioned a baseline assessment of the impacts of the route, published in 2017. Initial evidence demonstrat…

15 Nov 2018 · SPCB Oral Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what discussions it has had with Police Scotland regarding the provision of home security assessment reports for Members.

30 Oct 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact assessment it has undertaken of the long-term effect on the economy of stockpiling goods and commodities.

29 Oct 2018 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what recent discussions the Scottish Government has had with the European Commission regarding the Highlands and Islands exemption from the Air Departure Tax.

24 Oct 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is the proposal by Reform Scotland to establish a rail infrastructure commission.

Answer · Michael Matheson: We agree with Reform Scotland that many of Network Rail’s central functions would be more effectively carried out if they were devolved to the Scottish route. The UK Rail Review affords the opportunity to explore this further. Within the current arrangements…

22 Oct 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its acceptance of the recommendations in the report, Clinical Review of the Impacts of Hepatitis C: Short Life Working Group Report for the Scottish Government, when it expects to provide payments to people affected by contaminated blood-borne viruses, including hepatitis C …

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Government already provides a range of payments to those infected with hepatitis c and/or HIV and their widows, widowers or partners through the Scottish Infected Blood Support Scheme (SIBSS), as recommended by the Financial Review Group in 2015.…

22 Oct 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the timetable is for implementing each recommendation in the report, Clinical Review of the Impacts of Hepatitis C: Short Life Working Group Report for the Scottish Government.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Application forms were issued on 16 October 2018 to all those currently eligible for the new annual payments for those with chronic hepatitis c (HCV) and those for the widows, widowers or partners of those with chronic HCV who have died, which were both key r…

16 Oct 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with ACAS about it becoming involved in investigating allegations of bullying and harassment at NHS Highland.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government has offered external, independent support, to help NHS Highland understand and address the substance of the allegations and we are working to progress this. Paul Gray, NHS Scotland Chief Executive has offered to meet the clinicians wh…

12 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what restrictions are applied to people with implantable cardiovascular defibrillators that prevent them from having magnetic resonance imaging scans.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Almost all modern implantable devices such as implantable cardiovascular defibrillators (ICDs) and pacemakers are magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) compatible so that the patient would be able to receive an MRI. For patients with older devices which are not M…

10 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the first stage of recruitment of 400 locally-based jobs in Social Security Scotland, how many will be based in the Highlands and Islands, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Nineteen Local Delivery Relationship Leads have been recruited to date, with two of these people to be based in the Highlands and Islands. One will be located in the Highlands and one in Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. While some Local Authorities, including Orkne…

4 Sep 2018 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its assessment of the anticipated security of supply of medical isotopes after the UK leaves the EU.

29 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to mark the centenary of the Forestry Commission in 2019.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: 2019 will be a very significant year for forestry in Scotland. We will complete the devolution of forestry to Scotland, and will recognise the many and varied achievements of the forestry sector in the 100 years since the introduction of the 1919 Forestry Act…

17 Jul 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to introduce the Service Pupil Premium in schools that attract the children of military personnel, similar to the scheme adopted elsewhere in the UK.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government has no plans to introduce a Service Pupil Premium. In Scotland, the Additional Support for Learning Act places education authorities under duties to identify, provide for and review the additional support needs of their pupils. This ap…

13 Jul 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many working fax machines has each regional NHS board had in (a) 2016, (b) 2017 and (c) 2018.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government does not hold this information. It is a matter for individual Health Boards.