Parliamentary questions
Miles Briggs
4,209 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
22 Nov 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the World Health Organization (WHO) regarding women who have been potentially exposed to diethylstilbestrol (DES).
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government has not had any discussions with the World Health Organization (WHO) regarding women who have been potentially exposed to diethylstilbestrol (DES).The regulation for the licensing, safety and efficacy of medicines is reserved to the UK…
22 Nov 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the findings of the University of Manchester research article, All present and correct? Alternative provision and school attendance, and, in light of this research, what action it is taking to (a) increase collaborative working at local authority level to imp…
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government is committed to improving attendance in Scottish schools. Last year, we requested that Education Scotland undertake a 'deep dive' to support greater understanding of the issue and the reasons for it.Within the resulting report 'Improvi…
22 Nov 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what review of cancer screening has been carried out regarding women who have been potentially exposed to diethylstilbestrol (DES), broken down by age range.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government, along with the other UK nations, relies on advice about screening programmes from the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), an independent expert advisory group. The UK NSC is not currently considering a targeted screening proposa…
13 Nov 2024 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the number of people who are not aware of a Do Not Resuscitate order being placed on their medical notes, including in relation to next of kin and power of attorney holders.
6 Nov 2024 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it will make available to fully fund and protect hospice care services, in light of the increase in national insurance contributions in the UK Budget and any impact of the Agenda for Change on hospice budgets.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Finance Secretary wrote to the Treasury on 31 October seeking urgent clarification on the increase to employer national insurance contributions.We are clear that this change must be fully funded so that there is no impact on our frontline services. Clarit…
29 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what digital solutions are being explored to improve the reading age in schools.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: There are a range of commercial digital products available to schools aimed at improving children's reading.Some schools in Scotland are already using these approaches to improve children's reading and Education Scotland, the Scottish education agency, will c…
29 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what specific actions have been taken in the current parliamentary session to improve the average reading age in schools.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Literacy, which includes reading, remains the responsibility of all educators and a key priority in the National Improvement Framework. The National Improvement Framework and improvement plan 2024 included a range of actions to support literacy under the Nati…
29 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment has been made of the reported decline in the reading age of pupils in schools.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government takes into account a broad range of data and evidence when considering priorities to improve and support literacy including reading.For example, Scotland’s performance in the PISA (Reading) international survey in 2022 was above …
25 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-28172 by Neil Gray on 19 June 2024, what further steps have been taken to fulfil the commitment in the cancer strategy for children and young people to expand access to specialist psychological support.
Answer · Neil Gray: As noted in the answer to the question S6W-28172, the specialist psychological workforce for children and young people with cancer is currently being reviewed by the Managed Service Network for Children and Young People with Cancer (MSN CYPC) as part of a wid…
25 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken to increase the digitisation of patient records for young people with cancer, and whether it will consider creating a Scottish equivalent of the NHS England app to make accessing medical records and NHS services easier for young cancer patients and their famili…
Answer · Neil Gray: The Digitisation of records is an operational responsibility of individual Health Boards and GP practices. At a national level and building on the existing use of electronic patient record systems, we are focussed on allowing medical records, including cancer…
25 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many new skilled workers the renewables industry estimates will be needed for renewable energy and grid upgrade projects.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government is aware of a number of reports that set out the potential opportunities for workers in the renewable energy and electricity grid sectors. For example Robert Gordon University research suggests that there could be between 7,000 and 33,…
25 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered developing an early alert system for GPs to improve the early diagnosis of cancer in children, adolescents and young adults under 25, and what its position is on this matter.
Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government recognises the importance of early diagnosis of cancer and would expect any child or young adult presenting with potential cancer symptoms to be assessed as quickly as possible.To support earlier diagnosis, a clinical refresh of the Sc…
25 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it can ensure that all young people with cancer across Scotland have access to specialist psychological support from the point of diagnosis to a minimum of two years post treatment.
Answer · Neil Gray: The duration of access to psychological support for children and young people with cancer is led by clinical need.In December 2022 Scottish Government committed to making recurring funding available to the existing specialist psychological support services fo…
25 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many college and university course places have been developed to date to help address any skills shortages in the renewables industry workforce.
Answer · Graeme Dey: Our education and skills system is already adapting in response to the transition to net zero with colleges and universities acting as key anchor points for research, innovation, and training.Due to the depth, breadth and variety of interrelated programmes of…
25 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the financial support that NHS boards provide to children and young people under 25 with cancer for their travel for treatment at specialist centres.
Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government provides the overall guidance to NHS Boards for patient travel expenses reimbursement. Health Boards are responsible for developing and applying their own policies, including reimbursement rates, ensuring patient care and safety. Healt…
25 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in situations where a child or young person under 25 with cancer must receive treatment outwith Scotland, whether it is the (a) referring principal treatment centre NHS board or (b) patient's home NHS board that funds the travel and access to this treatment.
Answer · Neil Gray: Guidance on establishing the responsible commissioner has been issued to NHS Boards to ensure services are always provided in the best interests of the patient (CEL 06 (2013)).As set out in this guidance and under article 2 of the Functions of Health Boards (…
25 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address the reportedly significant costs incurred by children and young people under 25 with cancer and their families due to travelling for treatment at specialist principal treatment centres, in light of reported concerns about the inadequacy of the NHS Healt…
Answer · Neil Gray: While the Scottish Government provides the overarching guidance/framework for patient travel expenses reimbursement, NHS Boards are responsible for developing local policy to best meet the needs to their populations, and for assessing eligibly for financial s…
25 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the adequacy of the NHS non-emergency patient transport service in meeting the specific clinical and logistical needs of young cancer patients under 25, in light of any need they may have to travel as a family unit, their immunocompromised status and the of…
Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government’s role is to set the strategic policy for the NHS in Scotland, NHS Boards are responsible for service delivery and treatment. As set out in our recently published Transport to Health Plan All Health Boards should consider patient…
22 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to expand the genomics workforce in Scotland.
Answer · Neil Gray: The expansion and retention of our specialist genomic workforce is an important part of the Scottish Government’s genomic medicine strategy and is critical to the delivery of both diagnosis and treatment across the NHS.The Scottish Strategic Network for…
22 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-30256 by Neil Gray on 8 October 2024, how many blood cancer clinical studies have been supported by the NHS Research Scotland (NRS) Cancer Network in each financial year since 2018-2019.
Answer · Neil Gray: Data provided by the NHS Research Scotland Cancer Research Network on the number of blood cancer clinical studies that have been supported by the Network in each financial year since 2018-19 are shown in the following table, noting that individual studies can…
22 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has held with the Scottish Strategic Network for Genomic Medicine about introducing Specialist Integrated Haematology Malignancies Diagnostic Services (SIHMDS), as defined in the NICE NG47 guidelines, to diagnose blood cancers in Scotland.
Answer · Neil Gray: Equitable and consistent access to appropriate and timely diagnostic services and expertise are core requirements within the NICE NG47 guidelines cited within the recent Blood Cancer UK Action Plan.We are aware of a gap analysis carried out by the Haematology…
11 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the total amount spent by the public sector has been on IT systems and consultancy services, specifically in the areas of procurement and finance, in each year since 2020, also broken down by public sector body, and how this expenditure compares with the availability of the centrall…
Answer · Ivan McKee: A report on public bodies data, including spend on different corporate functions in 2022-23, will be published on 15 November 2024 on the Scottish Government website, but this does not include the total amount spent by public bodies on IT systems and consulta…
11 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds regarding the number of public sector bodies that have chosen to use their own procurement and finance IT systems or consultancies instead of the centrally funded eCommerce shared service, and how much each body has spent annually since 2020 on these alternative…
Answer · Ivan McKee: A report on public bodies data, including spend on different corporate functions in 2022-23, will be published on 15 November 2024 on the Scottish Government website, but this does not include information on bodies that have chosen to use their own procuremen…
11 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason NHS Lothian has reportedly not implemented public health messaging on long COVID, in light of the reported need to raise awareness, reduce stigma, promote early diagnosis and connect individuals with available rehabilitation support, and what upcoming plans it has to addr…
Answer · Jenni Minto: This is a matter for NHS Lothian. The information requested is not held centrally.
11 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it notifies public sector bodies of the centrally funded eCommerce shared service for procurement and finance systems; what measures it has in place to encourage uptake, and what steps it will take to reduce the overlap in spending on external IT systems and consultancies when a cent…
Answer · Ivan McKee: The eCommerce Shared Service provides a joined up suite of procurement tools to drive excellence, consistency and best practice within public procurement. The tools include the Public Contracts Scotland advertising portal (PCS mandated for all public bodies i…
11 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many teachers have been impacted by backdated pay agreements in (a) the current pay year and (b) each of the last five pay years.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Teachers in Scotland are directly employed by local authorities, who will have their own local payroll arrangements; therefore provisions relating to the backdated payment of pay awards will differ between authorities. The Scottish Government does not hold da…
11 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent on government advisory groups in each year since 1999.
Answer · Shona Robison: The following public bodies are currently considered to be government advisory groups, in line with the National Public Bodies Directory:Boundaries ScotlandJudicial Appointments Board for ScotlandMobility and Access Committee for ScotlandNational Smart Ticket…
3 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it is having regarding introducing regulations similar to those set out by the UK Social Housing Regulation Act 2023 that require landlords to investigate and fix reported health hazards within specified timeframes (Awaab's law).
Answer · Paul McLennan: The Scottish Government is aware of the regulations set out in the UK Social Housing Regulation Act 2023 and the plans to introduce Awaab’s Law by setting out specified timeframes for addressing health hazards. This reflects similar rights already in pl…
1 Oct 2024 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions ministers have had with the City of Edinburgh Council regarding the proposed closure of Edinburgh's People's Story Museum.
1 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the City of Edinburgh Council regarding the proposed closure of the Edinburgh People's Story Museum.