Parliamentary questions
Miles Briggs
4,209 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
1 Feb 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the budget was for the Safer Roads campaign, which was designed to target men aged 22 to 40 and raise awareness of the risks of driving on country roads.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-06779 on 22 February 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/parliamentarybusine…
1 Feb 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many health checks have been carried out in each year since 1999, also broken down by how many 40-year-olds were given a check.
Answer · Shona Robison: This information is not held centrally. Individual NHS Boards may record this information locally at their own discretion.
1 Feb 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the average waiting time has been for (a) children and (b) adults to see an Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) specialist in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Shona Robison: The information requested is provided in the following tables. It should be noted that data prior to the introduction of New Ways of Defining and Measuring Waiting Times in 2008 is from Scottish Morbidity Records (SMR00) and are not directly comparable. MEDI…
1 Feb 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much was budgeted for each road safety campaign in 2016-17.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-06779 on 22 February 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/parliamentarybusine…
1 Feb 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that sentencing for housebreaking is (a) appropriate and (b) acts as a deterrent.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Sentencing in criminal cases including for housebreaking is a matter for the court. The Scottish Government does not comment on nor intervene in any specific cases. Housebreaking is generally prosecuted under the common law with maximum penalties up to life …
1 Feb 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to (a) reduce the number of young people who commit housebreaking and (b) ensure that youths who commit housebreaking are appropriately sentenced.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Sentencing in criminal cases including for housebreaking is a matter for the court. The Scottish Government does not comment on nor intervene in any specific cases. Housebreaking is generally prosecuted under the common law with maximum penalties up to life …
1 Feb 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the reported increase in housebreaking across Edinburgh.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Day to day decisions on policing matters are a matter for Police Scotland, with the oversight of the Scottish Police Authority. Police Scotland continue to tackle housebreaking through the City’s dedicated housebreaking team and a range of tactics and measure…
31 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what salary is paid to the Director of the Scottish Health Council and what the salary range is for managers.
Answer · Shona Robison: Details of the remuneration of the Director of the Scottish Health Council are available publically on page 33 of Health Improvement Scotland’s Annual Accounts 2015-2016 Report at: http://www.healthcareimprovementscotland.org/previous_resources/policy_and_st…
31 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to promote the RNIB bus charter.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: I signed a joint letter, with RNIB and Guide Dogs Scotland, to the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) to help promote and encourage bus operators to sign up to the RNIB Bus Charter. CPT has raised this with its members and has agreed to promote the Ch…
31 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what remuneration (a) the chair and (b) members of the Committee of the Scottish Health Council receive and how many days per week this is based on.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Chair of the Scottish Health Council and the members of the Scottish Health Council committee receive a daily rate of £157.09. The Chair of the Scottish Health Council has a basic requirement of two days (15 hours) per month. Members of the Scottish Healt…
31 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that bus services are user-friendly for people who are blind or partially sighted.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: In line with our Accessible Travel Framework, the Scottish Government is supportive of the provision of information in an accessible way to blind or partially sighted bus passengers. The installation and use of audio-visual display technology is a matter for …
31 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many bus companies have signed up to the RNIB bus charter.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Currently four bus companies in Scotland have signed up to the Charter: First, Stagecoach, Lothian Buses and McGill's.
31 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) full- and (b) part-time staff are employed at the Scottish Health Council.
Answer · Shona Robison: There are 51 whole time equivalent (full-time) and 15 part-time (10.75 whole time equivalent) staff currently employed within the Scottish Health Council.
30 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to people with agoraphobia and whether it plans to review this.
Answer · Maureen Watt: The Scottish Government promotes evidence based practice for psychological therapies and has funded NHS Education for Scotland to publish the Matrix, which provides a summary of the information on the current evidence base for various therapeutic approaches a…
30 Jan 2017 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the impact has been on West Lothian of the recent road closures arising from engineering and bridge works by Network Rail.
Answer · Fergus Ewing: The closure of the A71 at West Calder Station was authorised by West Lothian Council to allow Network Rail to undertake essential preparatory electrification works. Traffic management arrangements are being monitored jointly by West Lothian Council and Networ…
30 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on introducing fixed recoverable costs in lower-value clinical negligence claims and whether it plans to launch a consultation on this.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government does not have plans to launch a consultation on introducing fixed recoverable costs in lower value clinical negligence claims. However, under current plans, from September 2017, as part of the new Simple Procedure in Scotland, there wi…
30 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many prescription items were uncollected after (a) one week, (b) two weeks, (c) three weeks and (d) four weeks or more in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board; how much this has cost the NHS; what action it is taking to reduce this, and wha…
Answer · Shona Robison: Information on the number of prescription items uncollected within the time periods requested and the associated costs of those medicines is not readily available. Each community pharmacy contractor will have a standard operating procedure for dispensing med…
27 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to increase the number of therapists employed in mental health services in (a) Lothian and (b) Scotland.
Answer · Maureen Watt: The Scottish Government remain determined to hit the target of 90% of people seen within 18 weeks from referral to treatment for Psychological Therapies. We will continue to work with Boards, including NHS Lothian, to make sure that happens right across Scotl…
27 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with NHS Lothian regarding recruiting therapists to work in mental health services.
Answer · Maureen Watt: The additional £150 million for funding announced for mental health includes £54 million funding for mental health improvement. This has been designed as a comprehensive package of support and offers a new approach to improvement of mental health services. W…
27 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in response to reports that NHS Lothian has said that it cannot currently meet the 18-week waiting target for psychological therapy.
Answer · Maureen Watt: The Scottish Government remain determined to hit the target of 90% of people seen within 18 weeks from referral to treatment for Psychological Therapies. We will continue to work with Boards, including NHS Lothian to make sure that happens right across Scotla…
26 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of concerns that there is a lack of suitable disabled access at Uphall railway station, whether it has made, or plans to make, representations to the railway authorities on this matter.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: I can confirm that there is step free level access to both platforms at Uphall station. However I recognise that due to the absence of lifts the route between the platforms can be difficult for some passengers who have reduced mobility. There are no plans at …
25 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to develop the A720 as a smart motorway.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government is committed to making best use of available road capacity as we deliver an efficient transport system which can support sustainable economic growth. Work is underway to explore how best Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) can be appli…
25 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the target for the treatment of hepatitis C is for 2017-18, also broken down by the target for each NHS board, and how much it will make available to (a) the NHS and (b) each board to help achieve this.
Answer · Shona Robison: The National target for 2017-18 has not yet been finalised. NHS Boards will be advised of the target for 2017-18 before the start of the new financial year. The hepatitis C treatment target is a national minimum target for the whole of Scotland and there ar…
24 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address the reported increase in cervical cancer mortality.
Answer · Shona Robison: Cervical Screening is offered to women aged between 25 and 64 and we encourage all eligible women to take up their invitation. Cervical screening can reduce cases of cervical cancer and death. It saves around 5,000 lives in the UK every year and prevents eigh…
24 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what steps it is taking to increase cervical screening coverage for (a) black and minority ethnic women and (b) women (i) from disadvantaged backgrounds and (ii) with learning disabilities.
Answer · Shona Robison: Scottish Government officials work closely with Cervical Screening Coordinators from all NHS Boards to develop initiatives to improve uptake for all women and to promote cervical screening services by communicating effectively with a range of audiences. Recen…
24 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it provided to Cervical Cancer Prevention Week 2017.
Answer · Shona Robison: We fully support the aims of Cervical Cancer Prevention Week 2017 and congratulate Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust in leading this initiative highlighting the importance of cervical screening and its role in preventing cervical cancer. We work closely with Jo's to…
24 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what steps it is taking to address the reported decline in cervical screening coverage.
Answer · Shona Robison: Increasing coverage in the Scottish Cervical Screening Programme is a key objective for the Scottish Government and work continues on helping address the fall in cervical screening uptake rates. It is disappointing that uptake is dropping however on the 8th …
24 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-05994 by Aileen Campbell on 23 January 2017, what research it is undertaking or supporting, or plans to undertake or support, into the impact of low vitamin D levels for non-musculoskeletal health outcomes, including neuropsychological functioning.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government has no current plans to undertake research on vitamin D and non-musculoskeletal health outcomes at this time. A number of other organisations fund research and we will continue to monitor further research that emerges on vitamin D. T…
24 Jan 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much the City of Edinburgh Council has already received in recognition of its capital city status in each year since this funding has been provided, and how much it will receive in 2017-18.
Answer · Derek Mackay: The Scottish Government has provided the City of Edinburgh Council with extra funding in recognition of its position as capital city since the 2008-09 local government finance settlement. For each financial year between 2008-09 and 2010-11 the Council receive…
23 Jan 2017 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the recent claim by Bliss Scotland that three quarters of the country's neonatal units do not have enough nurses.