Miles Briggs

9 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many memorandums of understanding have been agreed between hospices and NHS boards in each year since 1999.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. Following the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act 2014 (the Act), a Memorandum of Understanding was developed between Scotland’s Integration Joint Boards and Independent Hospices. In…

9 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what work it is undertaking to roll out the No-one Dies Alone initiative to train and support people to act as companions for people at the end of life.

Answer · Jenni Minto: No-one Dies Alone is one way to provide emotional support and companionship to people at the end of life, especially those who may be more isolated. The Scottish Government recognises the importance of this support and an overarching aim of the new Palliative…

8 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made in implementing its conclusions in Priority Area 7 of the Report of the City Centre Recovery Task Force 2021-22.

Answer · Neil Gray: The delivery of the actions in the Report of the City Centre Recovery Task Force 2021-22 is being carried out under the auspices of the Scottish Cities Alliance, in agreement with our local authority partners. As a member of the Alliance, the Scottish Governm…

31 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce waiting times for paediatric phlebotomy appointments in NHS Lothian, in light of some patients reportedly having to wait at least 13 weeks.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The health and welfare of children waiting for paediatric appointment remains a priority for the Scottish Government. The Scottish Government does not hold data on blood tests, nor paediatric phlebotomy appointments. This information will lie with NHS Lothia…

30 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the number of adults living with their parents, in each local authority area, because they cannot fund accommodation or afford a home of their own.

Answer · Paul McLennan: Local authorities have statutory responsibility for undertaking assessments of housing need and demand which form a shared evidence base for Local Housing Strategies and Local Development Plans. The Housing Need and Demand Assessment (HNDA) Tool contains Hou…

30 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many local resilience and emergency plans have been developed by local authorities in each of the last five years.

Answer · Angela Constance: This is a matter for Local Authorities. This information is not held centrally.  

30 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how much has been spent on maintenance of social housing in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Paul McLennan: The Scottish Government does not hold the information requested, this is because individual landlords are responsible for the maintenance costs of ensuring their tenant’s homes meet the Scottish Housing Quality Standard.

30 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made towards adopting the Daffodil Standards for delivering end of life care.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government recognises the important role of primary care teams in delivering care to patients living with advanced, serious illness or at the end of life, and their loved ones. The Daffodil Standards are one initiative to support general practic…

30 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review any of the statutory duties placed on local authorities by the Scottish Ministers.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Government is committed to working with COSLA to agree a New Deal with Local Government in Scotland that promotes sustainability, empowerment and provides greater fiscal flexibility over local funding with clear accountability for delivery of sha…

30 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any costs associated with local authorities reporting on statutory duties placed on them by the Scottish Ministers.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: In setting the total level of local government support, Scottish Ministers consider local authorities' on-going responsibilities and any new burdens or transfers of responsibility, including those imposed by Parliament through changes in statute. These issues…

30 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many damp surveys have been undertaken by local authorities in each year since 2019.

Answer · Paul McLennan: The Scottish Government does not hold the information requested. There are currently no requirements for Local Authorities to report to the Scottish Government on the number of damp surveys completed.

30 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many households with medical equipment have been identified as vulnerable to power outages in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government does not hold this information, however, it may be available from local Health Boards.    

30 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what record of medical equipment provided to households is kept by NHS boards, and what equipment has been provided in each year since 1999.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government does not hold this information, however, it may be available from local Health Boards.

30 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how much has been received in planning gain contributions by each local authority, in each year since 1999.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: This information is not held centrally. Research on the value, incidence and impact of developer contributions was published in 2021: https://www.gov.scot/publications/value-incidence-impact-developer-contributions-scotland/documents/

30 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to expand the Young Patients Family Fund to all children and young people with cancer and their families, including those (a) up to the age of 25, (b) receiving day or outpatient care and (c) receiving treatment outside of Scotland.

Answer · Jenni Minto: There are no plans to expand eligibility of The Young Patients Family Fund at this time. With respect to what further support is needed to support young cancer patients and their families, I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-11449 on ? 4 Novembe…

30 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to develop a palliative care strategy for prisoners requiring end of life care.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government’s Palliative and End of Life Care Strategy is being developed with an overarching aim that everyone in Scotland receives well-coordinated, timely and high-quality palliative care, care around death and bereavement support, based on the…

27 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government test.

23 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the letter from the Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport on 22 May 2023, whether it will provide an update on the status of the funding request from the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service for the replacement of the Office of the Public Guardian's current IT…

Answer · Angela Constance: As part of the 2023-24 budget we have provided SCTS with £4.7m in additional capital funding, on top of their £8m baseline capital allocation. The additional £4.7m was identified within the Justice portfolio budget to support a number of priority SCTS capital…

18 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that changes to short-term lets legislation is causing rising costs for accommodation in Edinburgh (a) in general and (b) during the Edinburgh festivals.

Answer · Christina McKelvie: Concerns regarding accommodation costs during the August Festivals pre-date short-term licensing mandatory standards, whereby the success of festivals and tourism within Scotland in recent years has seen increased visitors during peak holiday periods, which h…

16 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-17019 by Michael Matheson on 15 May 2023, whether it will delineate the morphine prescriptions by (a) inpatient use, (b) outpatient use, (c) GP-prescribed and (d) those prescribed by drug and alcohol recovery services.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government nor its partners hold information on morphine prescribing at this level of granularity and have no plans to do so.

15 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a progress update on the implementation of placental growth factor (PlGF) based tests for pre-eclampsia across the NHS in the next Women's Health Plan.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Women’s Health Plan: A plan for 2021 – 2024 aims to reduce health inequalities and improve health outcomes for women and girls. This iteration of the Plan focusses on a specific set of priorities where there is particular evidence of inequalities (heart…

15 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what follow-up engagement it has had with NHS Scotland and the Scottish Perinatal Network to ensure the implementation of placental growth factor (PlGF) based tests, further to its initial letter to NHS boards on 23 March 2023.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government expects all NHS Boards in Scotland to take note of the Scottish Health Technologies Group recommendations, published on 23 March 2023, and take steps to ensure that any woman who requires access to placental growth factor (PlGF) based …

11 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to establish a City Centre Recovery Task Force.

Answer · Neil Gray: The City Centre Recovery Taskforce was established in 2021 to identify actions to support city centre recovery from the effects of the COVID pandemic. It was wound up following publication of its report in March 2022 and the Scottish Government is now working…

11 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has established a Land Tax Working Group, and, if so, when the group will report.

Answer · Tom Arthur: The Scottish Government has not established a Land Tax Working Group and does not have plans to do so at present. The Medium Term Financial Strategy set out that the Deputy First Minister will establish and chair an external Tax Advisory Group this summer, bu…

11 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to introduce legislation to adopt Hugo’s Law to require drivers to stop and report an incident to the police, and seek help from a vet, if they hit a cat with their vehicle, similar to the requirements for incidents involving dogs, horses, sheep, pigs, cows and goats.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government currently has no plans to alter the Road Traffic Act 1988 to make it an offence not to stop and report an accident involving a cat. Under Section 170 of the Act, a driver is required to stop and report an accident involving specified …

11 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many reports of scammers (a) calling at people’s homes and (b) targeting people online Police Scotland has received in each year since 1999.

Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of reports received by Police Scotland of scammers calling at people’s homes or targeting people online. (a)Some information on door-to-door scammers is available from a 2018-19 study into polic…

11 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent reviews it has undertaken of data sharing across public services.

Answer · Tom Arthur: n line with the digital strategy for Scotland - A changing nation: how Scotland will thrive in a digital world , the Scottish Government is committed to the responsible use of data to transform the way that public authorities work together to reach some of th…

11 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many lone parents have been supported into employability schemes in each year since 1999.

Answer · Neil Gray: Information on the number of lone parents receiving Scottish Government funded employability support in each year since 1999 is not held centrally. Official statistics for Fair Start Scotland (launched April 2018), and experimental statistics for No One Left…

11 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to provide free travel for people on employability schemes.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government has no current plans to extend free travel to people on employability schemes. However, we recognise the important role that public transport plays in our lives. Accordingly, we are progressing the Fair Fares Review to ensure a sustai…

11 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many patients have been reimbursed by NHS Scotland for private surgery in other parts of UK in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government does not hold this information and it is not collected by Public Health Scotland.