Parliamentary questions
Miles Briggs
4,209 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
24 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is aware of a reported shortage of school crossing patrol staff in Edinburgh; what discussions it has had with the City of Edinburgh Council about this, and what support it can provide to help the council address any shortage.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: Local authorities have a statutory duty to promote road safety and take steps to both reduce and prevent accidents and safeguard children on the way to school. We have grant funded Sustrans to run its Safer Routes To Schools programme which builds safer infra…
24 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many Hospedia contracts that had been agreed by each NHS board for the provision of bedside communication and entertainment for patients have been taken on directly by it since January 2020, and for what reasons, broken down by date, and what the average (a) length and (b) cost is of…
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Since January 2020, no NHS board has agreed a contract with Hospedia for the provision of bedside communication and entertainment for patients.
24 Nov 2020 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it plans to allocate to projects in Lothian that will help support people and jobs.
24 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-33160 by Ben Macpherson on 23 November 2020, how many (a) short- and (b) long-term car parking businesses in Edinburgh have received 100% rates relief.
Answer · Ben Macpherson: Retail, Hospitality, and Leisure Relief provides 100% relief for properties , used wholly or mainly for the qualifying purposes set out in Schedule 1 of the Non-Domestic Rates (Coronavirus Reliefs) (Scotland) Regulations 2020. It is for local authorities to d…
24 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-33159 by Ben Macpherson on 23 November 2020, what plans it has to extend 100% rates relief to (a) short- and (b) long-term stay airport car parking businesses not captured by the Non-Domestic Rates (Coronavirus Reliefs) (Scotland) Regulations 2020.
Answer · Ben Macpherson: Further to my answer to your question S5W-33159, on 23 November 2020, in designing the relief system we aimed to help as may business as possible. Like all governments we were constrained by affordability and consequently it was necessary for difficult decisi…
24 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-33160 by Ben Macpherson on 23 November 2020, how it defines “other aviation related industries” in terms of the 100% rates relief.
Answer · Ben Macpherson: Under Regulation 4 of The Non-Domestic Rates (Coronavirus Reliefs) (Scotland) Regulations 2020, 100% relief is available in 2020-21 for properties that are:used as an airport, prescribed in schedule 2 of the regulations (Aberdeen International, Barra, Benbecu…
23 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider funding the business degree programme at West Lothian College, in light of the support from Napier University being withdrawn.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) allocates funding announced in the SG Scottish Budget to each institution on an annual basis. With the exception of any controlled subjects, it is then the responsibility of each institution to determine how best to utilise …
23 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-32056 by Jeane Freeman on 25 September 2020, what discussions are taking place regarding free hospital parking after January 2021.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: In September 2020, the Scottish Government reached an agreement with the three PFI hospital car park providers to extend the free car parking arrangements until January 2021. This extension of free parking continues to support staff and remove the barriers to…
23 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is aware of any evidence or studies that indicate that the use of antipsychotic drugs in older people can suppress their immune system.
Answer · Clare Haughey: Clinical staff will always make individual clinical decisions and will assessments on prescribing antipsychotic medication based on patient risk factors, benefits and existing conditions. The Scottish Government’s Standards of Care for Dementia set out stand…
23 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it takes to ensure that antipsychotic drugs are not given to older people in care homes or hospitals as a chemical restraint.
Answer · Clare Haughey: The Scottish Government’s Standards of Care for Dementia set out standards for the prescribing, use and review of psychoactive medications across all care settings. Such medication should be prescribed following appropriate individual clinical assessment and …
20 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been hired or seconded to work with the Clinical Priorities Unit on policy on chronic pain and other related long-term conditions; which third sector organisations have been involved; what the cost of the (a) salaries and (b) other expenses have been, and who the tea…
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Clinical Priorities Unit currently has six people seconded at B2 and B3 salary bands to deliver policy on chronic pain and other long-term conditions. A number of the secondments are from third sector organisations: Action for ME, Versus Arthritis, Childr…
19 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the feasibility of outcome-based payment for cancer medicines.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Scottish Government officials are actively considering new opportunities in relation to innovative and flexible approaches to pricing, including exploring outcome based reimbursement and commercial payment agreements. This work will also consider some of the …
19 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on routine COVID-19 testing for NHS staff.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: As I outlined to Parliament on 25 th November, and in line with clinical and public health priorities identified through the review of our testing strategy, twice weekly testing will be offered to all patient-facing NHS staff in our hospitals, Scottish Ambula…
19 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the Scottish Medicines Consortium has been working with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry on introducing multi-indication pricing.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has had no discussions this year with NICE or the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) on multi-indication pricing. The SMC was required to temporarily suspend all meetings in March 2020, in the ear…
11 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to recruit retired (a) nurses, (b) doctors and (c) other NHS workers to help with the forthcoming COVID-19 vaccination delivery programme.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: We are actively identifying doctors, nurses, allied health professionals and support services staff, who had expressed their interest in returning to service via the NHS Scotland Accelerated Recruitment Portal, to assist with the forthcoming Covid-19 vaccinat…
10 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it is making available to long-stay airport car parking businesses that have been affected by the reported drop in airport passenger numbers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answer · Ben Macpherson: We recognise the scale of the global challenge affecting the aviation sector, including the wider supply chain who are also impacted by the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on route networks. We are therefore working with airports on route recovery, to help r…
10 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how much rates relief support has been provided to Edinburgh Airport Ltd during the COVID-19 pandemic, and whether this support has covered its short- and long-term car parking operations.
Answer · Ben Macpherson: A breakdown of the relief by Scottish airport is available at the following link: http://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202000039712/ . Under the Non-Domestic Rates (Coronavirus Reliefs) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 the relief is available to properties used…
10 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason long-stay car parking businesses servicing airports are excluded from receiving 100% rates relief for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses under the Non-Domestic Rates (Coronavirus Reliefs) (Scotland) Regulations 2020.
Answer · Ben Macpherson: The Scottish Government recognises that this is an extremely difficult time for businesses across Scotland. From the outset we have been explicit that we are utilising every penny of the UK Government’s business support consequential funding to support busine…
10 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether its National Cancer Treatment Response Group will provide an update on the estimated number of people affected by any backlog in cancer services.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The National Cancer Treatment Response Group was superseded by the National Cancer Recover Group (NCRG) on 04 June 2020 . https://news.gov.scot/news/prioritising-cancer-services The NCRG regularly reviews non validated and unpublished management informatio…
10 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it is assessing what impact service changes such as virtual GP consultations are having on cancer diagnoses.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The use of Near Me has grown rapidly since March, with over 18,000 consultations now taking place each week. This has grown from around 300 per week pre-covid. Near Me was a Programme for Government commitment and we want to continue to build on this success.…
10 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether fitness classes can be permitted under the COVID-19 restrictions, and what scientific evidence it has used to determine this.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Indoor fitness classes for over 18s are permitted if the area is in levels 0, 1 and 2 of our strategic framework. Outdoor exercise classes are permitted in levels 0, 1, 2,3 and 4 of the framework. You can find out more information on COVID protection level fo…
9 Nov 2020 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to undertake a feasibility study into reopening passenger services on Edinburgh's South Suburban rail line.
6 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of data from Japan and Sweden that reportedly suggests there is a link between vitamin D deficiency and higher mortality and respiratory infection rates in care homes.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-33087 on 25 November 2020. 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…
6 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with NHS boards regarding providing vitamin D supplements for all care home residents.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Decisions on whether to prescribe vitamin D for people in care homes are made on an individual basis taking account of residents’ needs and any contraindications with other medication that care home residents are taking . Where individuals are likely to benef…
6 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason (a) people shielding are and (b) care home residents are not being provided with free vitamin D supplements.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-32641 on 6 November 2020. 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/parliamentarybusines…
6 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the recent study in France that states that vitamin D supplementation can reduce mortality by 89% for care home residents with COVID-19.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-33087 on 25 November 2020. 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…
6 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the policy in New Zealand to provide vitamin D supplements for all care home residents, what assessment it has made of the impact of this practice on that country's rate of deaths in care homes due to COVID-19, and whether it plans to introduce the same policy in Scotland.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Decisions on whether to prescribe vitamin D for people in care homes will be made on an individual basis taking account of residents’ needs and any contraindications with other medication that care home residents are taking. Where individuals are likely to be…
5 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what criteria it has used to decide on the "hashtag" messages used for public health campaigns.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Creative testing for public health campaigns may involve directly testing proposed hashtags or assessing the response of the public to the key campaign messages and using this to identify an appropriate hashtag. Any hashtag will be assessed against the follo…
5 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions ministers have had regarding head (a) trauma and (b) injuries in sport.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Scotland can be proud of being the first nation to create and update our concussion guidance. Our medics and sporting bodies continue to work with sport scotland and the Scottish Government to ensure we have access to the most up to date global research. The…
5 Nov 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will undertake a feasibility study into the reopening of Edinburgh's South Suburban rail line for passenger services.