Parliamentary questions

Miles Briggs

4,209 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

18 Jun 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce loneliness and isolation among older people.

14 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on implementing the recommendations of the Review on Access to New Medicines to allow people with type (a) 2 and (b) 3 of 5q spinal muscular atrophy to access the treatment, Spinraza.

Answer · Shona Robison: I wrote to the Health and Sport Committee on 17 May to provide a further update on the Scottish Government’s progress in delivering the recommendations from the Review of Access to New Medicines. A copy to which can be found here: http://www.parliament.scot/…

14 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to people with all forms of spinal muscular atrophy.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: It is the role of the Scottish Government to provide policies, frameworks and resources to NHS Boards. In this context, it is a matter for NHS Boards to plan, budget for, and deliver the services required to meet the assessed needs of their resident populatio…

13 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with NHS Lothian regarding the reported hot water pipe failure at the new Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh; what damage was caused by the incident, and what impact this will have on the opening of the facility.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government are in regular contact with NHS Lothian about the new Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh and we have been advised that the hot water pipe failure is unlikely to impact on the overall programme of works and the bu…

12 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many affordable homes have been built in each year since 2016, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The following table shows the number of affordable homes delivered in each year since 2016, broken down by local authority. Please note that as well as new build homes, the Affordable Housing Supply Programme includes rehabilitation projects, off-the-shelf p…

11 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many NHS-recorded smoking cessation attempts there have been by individuals in each of the last five years, also broken down by individual NHS board.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: NHS Scotland collects and publishes information on how many quit attempts are made through formal NHS smoking cessation services each year and how many of these are successful. The data which is available is contained within the Information Services Divisions…

8 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to calls for the introduction of screening for the genetic condition, 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, also known as DiGeorge syndrome.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government, like the rest of the UK, takes advice about all aspects of screening policy and supports implementation from the independent expert UK National Screening Committee. We have written to the National Screening Committee to highlight thi…

8 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how its work in implementing the UK Strategy for Rare Diseases will help patients with the genetic condition, 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, also known as DiGeorge syndrome.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government is fully committed to empowering people in terms of their health and social care. In 2014 the Scottish Implementation Plan “It’s Not Rare to Have a Rare Disease” was published. The Rare Disease Implementation Oversight Group was creat…

8 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to review the diagnosis and treatment of the genetic condition, 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, also known as DiGeorge syndrome, and whether it has made any assessment of studies of the condition.

Answer · Shona Robison: Prenatal microarray is the test recommended by the Scottish Genetics Consortium for investigation of foetal anomaly. This would detect 22q11 deletion (DiGeorge Syndrome) as well as the vast majority of other significant chromosomal imbalances. Microarray is a…

5 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether stakeholders from the third sector will be involved in reviewing the implementation of health and social care integration.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Ministerial Strategic Group for Health and Community Care (MSG) will be taking forward a review of progress of the Integration Authorities. The MSG includes representation from the third and independent sectors as well as representation from Scottish Gov…

5 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to review the implementation of health and social care integration.

Answer · Shona Robison: I made a commitment in Parliament on 2 May to review the progress of the Integration Authorities through the Ministerial Strategic Group for Health and Community Care (MSG), and that outputs arising from such a review would be shared with the Health and Sport…

31 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-14562 by Shona Robison on 28 February 2018, in light of the cabinet secretary's comment that "I expect to see improvements between now and the end of March 2018", what its response is to reports that waiting times for an initial orthopaedic appointm…

Answer · Shona Robison: I am pleased that NHSScotland saw a significant decrease in the number of patients waiting over 12 weeks for a first outpatient consultation on? 31 March 2018 with a reduction of around 23% since 30 September 2017. I was however extremely disappointed that wa…

30 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of the number of people in Scotland with phenylketonuria who are unable to consume the artificial sweetener, aspartame, and whether it has discussed with (a) the UK Government and (b) HM Revenue and Customs the impact on this group of the Soft Drinks Indu…

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Following the announcement by the UK Government of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy, many drinks manufacturers completed programmes to reformulate sugary drinks to lower or zero sugar alternatives. I understand that much of this reformulation used sucralose or s…

29 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what criteria the Scottish Medicines Consortium uses to distinguish between orphan and ultra-orphan medicines, and what its position is on whether a treatment with a licensed indication that it will treat approximately 100 patients should be classed as ultra-orphan.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) currently uses the following definitions: - End of life medicine: a medicine used to treat a condition at a stage that usually leads to death within three years with currently available treatments. - Orphan medicines…

29 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, when considering whether to fund sapropterin for the treatment of phenylketonuria, what account the (a) NHS will take of the need to safeguard the reproductive rights of women with the condition, including those who are pregnant and (b) Scottish Medicines Consortium will take of the soc…

Answer · Shona Robison: Clinical decisions on whether to prescribe any medicine are based on individual patient need and are a matter for the clinical judgment of the patient’s doctor in consultation with the patient, informed by advice and guidance about the medicine. The Scottish…

29 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the findings of the report, Review of Access to New Medicines, what progress has been made in ensuring access to treatments for (a) phenylketonuria and (b) other rare diseases.

Answer · Shona Robison: I wrote to the Health and Sport Committee on 17 May to provide a further update on the Scottish Government’s progress in delivering the recommendations from the Review of Access to New Medicines. I can confirm that the pharmaceutical company, BioMarin, has m…

21 May 2018 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address the reported recruitment and retention challenges in the social care sector.

Answer · Shona Robison: Attracting and retaining the right people, and raising the status of social care as a profession, is key to delivering quality care. That is why we have taken action to protect our social care services, including paying the real Living Wage to adult care work…

21 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many educational psychologist positions in each local authority in each year since 2010 have been (a) filled and (b) unfilled.

Answer · John Swinney: We have been working with the National Scottish Steering Group for Educational Psychologists (NSSGEP) on workforce planning to ensure a sustainable supply of educational psychologists to meet needs. On 25 May 2018 an agreement was reached between COSLA and th…

21 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications have been made to study the MSc in educational psychology course at the University of (a) Dundee and (b) Strathclyde in each year since 2010, and how many places were offered.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government does not hold information on postgraduate applications to study at Scottish higher education institutions, nor on how many places were offered. The information may be available from the two institutions concerned.