Parliamentary questions
Miles Briggs
4,209 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
8 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will update the Parliament on plans for a new-build Edinburgh Cancer Centre.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Further to the answer given in S5W-30775 on 30 July 2020, we can confirm that the Scottish Government Capital Investment Group has now received the initial agreement from Edinburgh Cancer Centre. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available o…
8 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what communications Ministers have received regarding the Spaces for People projects in Edinburgh and a reported lack of consultation with local residents and businesses.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Scottish Ministers have received 56 letters or emails concerning Spaces for People projects in Edinburgh which cover a range of issues.
8 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been prescribed on a methadone programme in each month since January 2019.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Public Health Observatory publish details on their website on prescribing for opioid dependency and on methadone patient estimates. This information can be found here - https://www.scotpho.org.uk/behaviour/drugs/data/treatment-for-drug-misuse/ …
8 Oct 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been able to access a rehab bed in each month between January and September 2020.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Drug & Alcohol Waiting Times data gathers information on the type of treatment provided. Table 1 provides monthly data on numbers receiving residential treatment. Latest available data is until June 2020. Table 1 Residential Rehabilitation treatments started…
30 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the development of Hillend junction following Transport Scotland's recent meeting with Midlothian Council.
Answer · Michael Matheson: We are continuing to engage with Midlothian Council on further analysis of options aimed at reducing conflict at the A702/A703/Old Pentland Road junction. These potentially involve prohibition of certain movements and / or traffic signalisation, and we are cu…
25 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address reported concerns that there is a lack of awareness of bladder cancer (a) among medical professionals, (b) in workplaces and (c) across the general public, which can lead to late or misdiagnosis and poorer outcomes, especially for women.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government Recognises the importance of cancer awareness - including that of bladder cancer - and have undertaken a number of actions to support this, including:A clinical review of the Scottish Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer, was compl…
25 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason bladder cancer was not focused on in its previous Detect Cancer Early Programme, and whether it will include this condition in any future initiatives.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Through the Scottish Government’s Detect Cancer Early (DCE) Programme a social marketing campaign – entitled Survivors - was launched in September 2018, to raise awareness of potential cancer symptoms, including those of bladder cancer. A roadshow also visite…
25 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the announcement that other NHS boards are to receive a similar service, when the anticipated thrombectomy service for Edinburgh and the east of Scotland will be (a) delivered to NHS Lothian and (b) functioning.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government is committed to introducing a thrombectomy service and recognises that thrombectomy procedures can significantly improve outcomes and quality of life for some people who have suffered an ischaemic stroke by avoiding or reducing the lev…
17 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-29736 by Clare Haughey on 18 June 2020, what the timeline is for the application process for the new Managed Clinical Network for National Child and Adolescent Learning Disability Services, and what progress has been made with the development of thi…
Answer · Clare Haughey: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-30228 on 22 July 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/parliamentarybusiness/…
16 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it will cost to implement the commitments set out in the Respiratory Care Action Plan for Scotland, and whether it will provide this funding.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that those living with respiratory conditions can access clinically appropriate, safe and effective person-centred healthcare treatment and support. On 20 December 2019, the Scottish Government published the d…
10 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-29619 by Jeane Freeman on 4 June 2020, whether it will provide an update on the discussions it is having to develop a long-term solution to providing free parking at NHS sites that have privately-owned car parks.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-32056 on 25 September 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/parliamentarybusin…
10 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it has provided to medical research projects in each year since 2007.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Details of the Scottish Budget have been made available online since 2004 and can be found on the Scottish Government website. The following address links to the most recent material: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Government/Finance/18127/Documents . Informati…
10 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many under-65s have received free personal care since the introduction of Frank's Law.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Reporting of data on the implementation of the extension of free personal care to under 65s has been temporarily postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the redirection of Scottish Government and Local Authority resources to the pandemic response. We will …
10 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many companies have been awarded R&D grants by Scottish Enterprise in each year since 2007.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Existing information held by Scottish Enterprise on R&D grants (including large R&D, SMART and small R&D awards) is provided in the following table: Number of offers 2019-20 162 2018-19 143 2017-18 147 2016-17 165 Please note that this inform…
10 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been awarded by Scottish Enterprise in business grants in each year since 2007.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The full breakdown by year since 2008-09 is as follows. Data prior to 2008 is not available as this was previously held by the network of local enterprise companies. Financial Year Total (£k) 2008-09 85,746 2009-10 104,610 2010-11 100,027 2011-12 …
10 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what resources are available to Scottish Enterprise to provide grants in 2020-21.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Scottish Enterprise receives an annual budget from the Scottish Government to support their work in helping deliver sustainable economic growth across Scotland. Scottish Enterprise also generates its own income through investments and property assets. Scotti…
10 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how much each local authority has spent on repairing pot holes in each year since 2007.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government does not hold information on local road maintenance expenditure. Maintenance of the local road network is the responsibility of local authorities. The vast majority of funding to local authorities from the Scottish Government is provi…
10 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many children have been refused support by Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in each year since 2007.
Answer · Clare Haughey: Data on the number of children who have been refused support by Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) is not held. However, Public Health Scotland collects data on ‘rejected referrals’ in CAMHS, which correspond to cases in which a referral …
10 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many children in each local authority area have been in education in each year since 2007.
Answer · John Swinney: This data can be found in Table 5.2 at the following link: https://www.gov.scot/publications/pupil-census-supplementary-statistics/ Note that data is only available for pupils attending publicly funded schools.
10 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many children in each local authority area have received swimming lessons in each year since 2007.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: This information is not held centrally.
10 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the cost has been of journeys using the ministerial car pool in each year since 2007.
Answer · Kate Forbes: The following table details the total cost of the Government Car Service since 2007. Year Total cost (1) 2007-08 £962,142 2008-09 £980,985 2009-10 £995,658 2010-11 £974,678 2011-12 £1,074,714 2012-13 £1,204,864 2013-14 £1,156,208 2014-15 …
10 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many journeys using the ministerial car pool there have been in each year since 2007, broken down by minister.
Answer · Kate Forbes: The following table details the total number of journeys conducted by the Government Car Service since 2007. Year Total journeys 2007-08 See note (1) 2008-09 9,417 2009-10 9,437 2010-11 8,159 2011-12 9,201 2012-13 10,389 2013-14 9,543 2014…
10 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many times ministers have requested that the parliamentary record be corrected in each year since 2007.
Answer · Graeme Dey: This information is not collated centrally.
10 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many grants have been provided by Scottish Enterprise to life-science companies in each year since 2007.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Existing information held by Scottish Enterprise grants to life sciences companies is provided in the following table: Number of offers 2018-19 177 2017-18 195 2016-17 273 2015-16 276 2014-15 284 Please note that this information shows the num…
10 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to address so-called Anglophobia, or anti-English abuse.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: This government takes any form of hate crime or prejudice, including anti-English abuse, very seriously. It has a hugely damaging effect on both victims and communities so it’s important that everybody plays their part to challenge it at all times. We publis…
10 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many companies are in the pipeline to receive support funding from Scottish Enterprise.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Scottish Enterprise’s ‘pipeline’ includes companies at all stages in the large grant application process prior to a company formally accepting an offer. This includes those who have made an initial enquiry, those with projects under appraisal and those consid…
10 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many cases of so-called Anglophobia, or anti-English abuse, have been reported to the police in each year since 2007.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government does not hold the information requested. Whist we have previously published figures on racist incidents or racially aggravated hate crime up to 2017-18, this does not include information on the social group the perpetrator was perceive…
8 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to concerns that its plans for chronic pain services announced in the 2020-21 Programme for Government, which refer to building “on the value of [the] self-management” of such conditions and reducing “long-term reliance on specialist services and treatments”, might l…
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Programme for Government 2020/21 commits to developing and improving the current Scottish Model for Chronic Pain, and to publish a new Framework for Chronic Pain Service Delivery in 2021. This will involve developing and agreeing pain management pathways…
2 Sep 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the publication of the minutes of the Scottish Screening Committee meeting in November 2019, whether it will provide further details of the action it will lead on for the development of a protocol for NHS boards wishing to undertake pilot programmes for lung cancer screening.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Work on development of a protocol for NHS boards who wish to undertake pilot programmes for lung cancer screening was planned following the Scottish Screening Committee meeting in November 2019. However, this was paused due to the focus on Covid-19 and the re…
28 Aug 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to concerns that some people are ignoring the mandatory requirement to wear a face covering in shops, and how it is monitoring and enforcing this requirement.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Wearing a face covering continues to be a legal requirement in certain environments open to members of the public. The enforcement of the Coronavirus Regulations is, of course, a matter for the Chief Constable and Police Scotland. Police Scotland have indicat…