Parliamentary questions

Miles Briggs

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

6 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that previous such steering groups did not achieve these, how it will ensure that the new National Advisory Committee on Chronic Pain leads to an improvement in services.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The planned National Advisory Committee on Chronic pain will be expected to guide the improvement of chronic pain management at all levels across health and social care. The Committee will, for example, work on the development of a dataset to allow for effect…

6 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason return patients who need regular treatment for chronic pain are not recorded as part of the 18-week referral to treatment target, and whether it plans to now do so.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-07758 on 30 March 2017. 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/2…

6 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to reduce waiting times for chronic pain treatment.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The most recent waiting times data published by NHS Information Services Division on 14 March 2017, showed that the percentage of patients receiving treatment at a pain clinic within 18 weeks has risen from 60.4% to 64.5%. This information can be accessed at …

6 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the report in The Herald on 6 March 2017, "Revealed: Hidden scandal of chronic pain wait times".

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government does not agree with the interpretation of waiting times data, as reported in The Herald on 6 March 2017. Accurate waiting times data is published by NHS Information Services Division and can be accessed on their website: http://www.isd…

2 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-06957 by Shona Robison on 2 March 2017, whether it will increase the amount of information held centrally in order to determine whether the SIGN guidance has led to a change in the incidence of venous thromboembolism (VTE).

Answer · Shona Robison: Further to the response to question S5W-06957, NHS National Services Scotland is able to supply annual data on the number of stays with a VTE diagnosis and the incidence rate per 10,000 stays. This data is available from 2006 upon request by the NHS Boards. T…

2 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-06956 by Shona Robison on 2 March 2017, what its response is to the suggestion that it would be useful if information was held at NHS board level to allow for comparisons.

Answer · Shona Robison: I refer to my answer S5W-07684 on 15 March 2017 which highlights the data available from NHS National Services Scotland. Additional data was collected locally for improvement and learning purposes as part of the VTE collaborative. The Scottish Government will…

1 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which NHS buildings have been identified as being at risk of structural defects similar to those identified in the report on Edinburgh school buildings by John Cole, broken down by level of risk, and what action it will take to ensure that all affected NHS buildings are made safe.

Answer · Shona Robison: Health Boards in Scotland are in the process of planning and conducting inspections of Healthcare Facilities in response to the guidance produced by the Scottish Futures Trust in response to the issue at the Edinburgh schools. At this point, there is no repor…

28 Feb 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that schools have adequate numbers of support staff.

27 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) male and (b) female prisoners require rehabilitation that is specifically related to a head injury.

Answer · Shona Robison: This information is not held centrally.

27 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) male and (b) female prisoners have a head injury that was a contributory factor in their offending behaviour.

Answer · Shona Robison: This information is not held centrally.

27 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve the way that it measures the prevalence of head injuries in prisons.

Answer · Shona Robison: The National Prisoner Heath Network 2016 report ‘’Brain Injury and Offending’’ suggests a number of recommendations for NHS Boards. We expect these to be considered and acted on as appropriate.

27 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that the screening tools in prisons for head injuries need to be improved and, if so, how it is supporting this.

Answer · Shona Robison: The National Prisoner Health Network (NPHN) 2016 report “Brain Injury and Offending” identified two screening tools that may be appropriate for use in Scottish prisons. A study is currently underway to evaluate these tools. The NPHN report is available at: ht…

27 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding the prevalence of head injuries in prisons.

Answer · Shona Robison: This information is not held centrally. The University of Glasgow recently carried out a study, with the preliminary findings presented in The National Prisoner Heath Network 2016 report ‘’Brain Injury and Offending’’. This is available at http://www.nphn.s…

22 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many vehicles there have been in its car service in each year since 1999, broken down by model.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The vehicle models utilised by the Government Car Service fleet since 2001 are set out in the following table: Year (1) 01 / 02 02 / 03 03 / 04 04 / 05 05 / 06 06 / 07 07 / 08 08 / 09 09 / 10 10 / 11 11 / 12 12 / 13 13 …

21 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the City of Edinburgh Council regarding traffic congestion and what support it is providing to the council to help it alleviate this.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Although the mitigation of congestion on local roads within Edinburgh is a matter for the City of Edinburgh Council, the Scottish Government recognises the important contribution that Edinburgh makes to the economy of Scotland. With this in mind, Transport Sc…

21 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the recent reports by (a) Inrix and (b) TomTom regarding traffic congestion in Edinburgh.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government is familiar with the content of recent studies. The Scottish Government recognises the important role that Edinburgh and its region plays in the economy of Scotland. As such, Transport Scotland, on behalf of the Scottish Government, is…

17 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the recent study into the impact of vitamin D use on respiratory conditions by Queen Mary University of London, and whether it has any plans to support additional research into the impact of vitamin D on such conditions.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government has noted the results of this study. Current advice on vitamin D is based on recommendations by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN). As part of their recent review on vitamin D, SACN concluded that there was insuffici…

16 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the reported concerns of Lothian-based businesses regarding rises in their non-domestic rates bills; what discussions it has had with the area's business organisations and representatives regarding the issue, and how many representations it has received from indiv…

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Scottish Government regularly engages with businesses across Scotland, including from the Lothians. Businesses in Lothian will benefit from a range of Scottish Government rate policies, including the decision to match the English poundage rate and cut th…

16 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many businesses in Lothian will see their non-domestic rates rise, broken down by the (a) type of business and (b) percentage increase.

Answer · Derek Mackay: Non-domestic rate bills for individual properties are arrived at after the application of any eligible reliefs by local Councils. It is therefore not possible to give the breakdown requested of net bills at this point.

13 Feb 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce the incidence of fly-tipping.