Alison Johnstone

8 Jan 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what progress it has made with plans to update and strengthen existing licensing legislation covering dog, cat and rabbit breeders, pet sellers, animal sanctuaries and rehoming activities.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The work to deliver this legislation is proceeding and our intention is to lay the new regulations before the Scottish Parliament at the earliest opportunity.

8 Jan 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to complete its review of the effectiveness of its Guidance on Dog Training Aids, and whether the findings will be made public.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government issued a consultation on 20 November 2019 to dog trainers, animal welfare organisations and enforcement agencies to seek evidence on the effectiveness of the guidance on dogs training aids that was published on 15 October 2018 with the…

5 Dec 2019 · First Minister's Question

Question to be taken in Chamber.

26 Nov 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take to reduce gear conflict in Scotland's fisheries.

18 Nov 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when its campaign to tackle sexual harassment in schools will begin.

Answer · Christina McKelvie: The sexual harassment campaign is at an advanced stage of development. As part of this, we are in the formative stages of developing a National Approach guidance document, similar to the anti-bullying strategy, to ensure consistency in messages on sexual hara…

14 Nov 2019 · First Minister's Question

Question to be taken in Chamber.

12 Nov 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to raise awareness of the minor ailment scheme.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: National campaigns to raise awareness of the Minor Ailment Service (MAS) run at regular intervals as part of the community pharmacy Public Health Service that requires all community pharmacies to display specific posters in their windows. Some health boards h…

12 Nov 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Scottish School of Primary Care comment that it created "an integrated model of working that shows promise for addressing the inverse care law’", for what reason funding for the Govan SHIP project has been discontinued.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government has a role in supporting the testing and development of new ways of working which are sustainable and can be mainstreamed. It is the responsibility of Integrated Joint Boards thereafter to decide whether to continue with local projects…

12 Nov 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the £250 million to be invested in direct support of general practice by 2021-22 will be spent.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: How the £250 million will be invested will be determined through negotiation with the BMA.

12 Nov 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to introduce a practitioner health programme, similar to that in England.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: A proposal, for bespoke practitioner support to help doctors suffering from mental illness and addictions is expected in the coming weeks from NHS Education Scotland. This will be fully considered by the Scottish Government, in the context of our ongoing effo…

11 Nov 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-25540 by Aileen Campbell on 8 October 2019, whether the money referred to in the answer is the same £500,000 that has been allocated to the Healthier, Wealthier Children approach from the Tackling Child Poverty Fund.      

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Yes, it is the same £500,000.

11 Nov 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration is given to the environmental impact of pharmaceutical products as part of the NHS procurement process, and what its position is on making it a requirement for manufacturers to provide such information.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: All public sector procurement is carried out in line with the Scottish Procurement Journey https://www.procurementjourney.scot/procurement-journey where consideration is given to all aspects of sustainability (environmental, economic and social) during the …

6 Nov 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-25781 by Jeane Freeman on 31 October 2019, whether it considers the recommendations made by the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Taskforce to have replaced those made in the audit of rejected referrals to Child and Adolescent Mental Health …

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Audit of Rejected Referrals recommendations are being delivered through the work of the Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Programme Board, as outlined in the answer to question S5W-25781. We are taking forward a number of actions to…

4 Nov 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when further information will be made available about the community wellbeing services that were announced in its Programme for Government.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government is jointly chairing a Children & Young People’s Mental Health & Wellbeing Programme Board in partnership with COSLA. The Board is currently developing a delivery framework for the community mental health and wellbeing services for chil…

30 Oct 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many carbon credits will be generated for Shell as part of its partnership with Forestry and Land Scotland.

28 Oct 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to publish a report on progress of the implementation of A Healthier Future - Scotland's Diet & Healthy Weight Delivery Plan.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: We plan to produce a progress report early next year.

28 Oct 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will provide an update on the publication of an Out of Home strategy to support healthier food choices, as set out in A Healthier Future - Scotland's Diet & Healthy Weight Delivery Plan.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Food Standards Scotland consulted on proposals for an Out of Home strategy and their Board made recommendations to the Scottish Government in September. We are now considering this advice and will provide an update in due course.

28 Oct 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £750 million invested in the Attainment Scotland Fund has been spent on programmes that include education on healthy eating and lifestyle.

Answer · John Swinney: The £750 million Attainment Scotland Fund is invested in a wide variety ways with local authorities and headteachers empowered to determine the most appropriate initiatives to close the poverty related attainment gap in literacy, numeracy and health and wellb…

28 Oct 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has consulted on a pre-conception action plan, as outlined in A Healthier Future - Scotland's Diet & Healthy Weight Delivery Plan.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: We are working with NHS Health Scotland to develop a pre-conception framework which will improve the information and support available to all women of child bearing age across Scotland, as well as their partners. The draft framework will focus on a range of f…

28 Oct 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to build on current infant feeding services with the aim of reducing the drop-off in breastfeeding rates at six to eight weeks by 10% by 2025, as expressed in A Healthier Future - Scotland's Diet & Healthy Weight Delivery Plan.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: We are supporting breastfeeding services by providing additional investment of more than £2 million. This additional funding is enabling Health Boards and third sector partners to meet the cost of local and national initiatives and quality improvement project…

28 Oct 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to upskill frontline staff to support parents and carers when making decisions about their child’s diet and nutrition, as outlined in A Healthier Future - Scotland's Diet & Healthy Weight Delivery Plan.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: We are developing a research proposal which will look at diet and healthy weight in the early years. This will inform how we best support frontline staff working with children and families.

28 Oct 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Healthy Body Image for Children and Young People Advisory Group will publish an interim report on its findings.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Advisory Group on Healthy Body Image for Children and Young People will not be publishing an interim report due to the time-limited nature of the Group. The Advisory Group will publish its final recommendations in early 2020.

28 Oct 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the additional £1 million allocated to supporting children experiencing food insecurity during school holidays will be spent.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government has focused £2 million of our £3.5 million Fair Food Fund in 2019-20 on tackling food insecurity during the school holidays. This funding is supporting organisations that provide healthy meals and activities during the school holidays,…

24 Oct 2019 · First Minister's Question

Question to be taken in the Chamber.

10 Oct 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on implementing the 29 recommendations in the audit of rejected referrals to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), which was published in June 2018.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government accepted all 29 recommendations in the Audit of Rejected Referrals report. As a direct response to the Audit’s findings, we announced the establishment of the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Taskforce which produced their fin…

10 Oct 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether social prescriptions for physical activity should be available to anyone who could improve their health through exercise, at no cost to the person.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Social prescribing is an emerging practice to complement healthcare provision, so that people can make informed choices about their care in line with their preferences. The Scottish Government recognises the many benefits of participation in sport and physic…

10 Oct 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has for the remaining £1 million of funding that was allocated to the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Task Force.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: In December 2018 the Minister for Mental Health announced that £4 million of investment would be distributed through NHS Education for Scotland (NES), to recruit additional CAMHS staff across Scotland who would be instrumental in reducing pressure on the exis…

10 Oct 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown by (a) job title and (b) NHS board of the 80 new Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) staff employed through the £4 million given to the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Task Force.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: As a result of the £4 million made available to recruit additional Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) staff across Scotland, funding was allocated to recruit 85.65 whole time equivalents. A breakdown of the posts by job title and NHS board is…

10 Oct 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to undertake a new audit of the provision of exercise referral schemes, in light of the last such audit being published by NHS Health Scotland and the University of Stirling in 2009.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: A new audit of exercise referral schemes, carried out by Loughborough University’s National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine, was published by NHS Health Scotland in September 2018. The report can be accessed at: http://www.healthscotland.scot/media/22…

2 Oct 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that assistants in schools for pupils with additional needs have the appropriate training or qualifications.