Parliamentary questions
Miles Briggs
4,209 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
1 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to encourage natural prescribing.
1 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much each integration joint board has allocated to (a) alcohol and drug partnerships and (b) other services in each year since 1999.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-24338 on 1 August 2019, from Monica Lennon (Central Scotland) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Government what the total spend on alcohol and drug partnerships by integration authorities was in 2018-19. …
1 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action is being taken to intercept drugs being distributed through the postal service.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Police Scotland is a key partner on the Serious Organised Crime Taskforce and works with a wide range of partners, including the Royal Mail, to disrupt the distribution of drugs through all routes, including the postal service.
1 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been referred by each NHS board for an endoscopy in the independent sector in each year since 1999.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: This information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. The member may wish to consider contacting individual health boards to obtain this information.
1 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review breast screening for people aged over 80.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: At the moment, there are no plans to extend the age range of women invited to take part in the Breast Screening Programme in Scotland. The Scottish Government is advised on all aspects of screening by the UK National Screening Committee (UKNSC), an independen…
1 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what auditing is in place for the £859 million Waiting Times Improvement Plan.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government and NHS Health Boards are monitoring progress regularly on how funding to improve waiting times is being spent. We expect Health Boards to take action to ensure that the funding is delivering the improvements expected. An oversight bo…
1 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to encourage electronic prescribing.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Electronic Transfer of Prescriptions (ETP) has been in operation in Scottish GP practices, community pharmacies and NHS Practitioner Services Division (PSD) since 2008, and is now used as standard in all family GP practices. ETP enables the electronic gen…
1 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the average waiting time for an endoscopy has been in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: ISD publish waiting times for endoscopies as part of the Diagnostics Waiting Times publication. The data published gives the number of people who are still waiting at the end of each month, and does not provide the completed waiting times for this test. Perfo…
1 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been diagnosed with ADHD in each year since 1999.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: This data is not held centrally.
1 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support is being provided to help identify and support school pupils with ADHD.
Answer · John Swinney: We want all children and young people, including those with ADHD, to receive the support needed to reach their full learning potential. Education authorities and other agencies have duties under the Education (Additional Support for Learning) Act 2004 (as am…
1 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to provide computer game addiction services.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: There are no current plans to set up specific gaming addiction services in Scotland. Anyone who believes that gaming is affecting their health or that of a loved one should consult their GP in the first instance. Out of hours, health advice and support can be…
1 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the estimate by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine that 200 more hospital beds are required in Scotland.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: We note the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) have used a bed occupancy of 85% to estimate that NHS Scotland needs an additional 200 beds. For context, that is 1.5% of NHS Scotland’s acute bed base; RCEM also estimate that in England an additional 5,…
1 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment has been made of social care capacity in each local authority area.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Integration Authorities carry out an assessment of needs for supports and services – including adult social care support – as part of their strategic planning process. Authorities were required to have a plan in place for the delegation of functions to them a…
1 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on ministerial photographers in each year since 2007.
Answer · Derek Mackay: Due to the scope and timeframe of the question, the information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost as this data is not available from a single source.
1 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to develop a strategy for the early identification of and support for people with ADHD.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government currently has no plans to develop a standalone strategy for the early identification of and support for people with ADHD. However, we recognise the importance of timely diagnosis and treatment of ADHD, and we are committed to improving…
1 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many journeys have been made by ministerial car in each year since 1999, and at what cost.
Answer · Derek Mackay: The following table details the total number of jobs completed and yearly cost of the Government Car Service since 1999. Year Total number of journeys Total cost See note below(1) 99-00 See note below(3) £388,607 See note below (2) 00-01 See note belo…
1 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the average waiting time has been to access residential drug rehabilitation services in each year since 1999, broken down by alcohol and drug partnership.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-21594 on 6 March 2019. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website; the search facility for which can be found at: https://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness…
24 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many dedicated palliative care inpatient beds there have been in each of the last five years, broken down by acute hospital.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The average available staffed beds for the palliative medicine specialty reported for acute NHS hospitals during the period 2013-14 – 2017-18 is presented in the following table. Table: Average available staffed beds for palliative medicine, Scotland, 2013/1…
24 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) palliative care consultant, (b) clinical nurse specialist and (c) palliative care speciality doctor sessions there have been in each hospital in each of the last five years.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: This information is not centrally held in the manner requested. However, information on the number of staff employed by NHSScotland working in palliative care broken down by NHS Board is available and is published by NHS Information Services Division (ISD) o…
24 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what palliative care support teams are available in each hospital in Scotland to support healthcare professionals in hospital units and other settings not specialised in palliative care.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: I refer the member to the answer given to question S5W-24468 on 30 August 2019. 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/parliamentarybu…
24 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what out-of-hours provisions are available in each hospital in Scotland to acute inpatients with palliative and end of life care needs.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government remains committed to ensuring that everyone who needs palliative and end of life care, can access it. Since 2016, it has been the responsibility of Integration Authorities to commission and plan palliative and end of life care service…
24 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what formal acute-based palliative and end of life care education is provided in Scotland.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: All newly qualified doctors follow the foundation curriculum for their first two years in postgraduate training, which is approved by the General Medical Council (GMC). This requires them to have a clear understanding of how to provide good palliative care. T…
24 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many palliative and end of life care training sessions have been held for hospital-based staff in each hospital in each of the last five years.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: This information is not centrally held. The Scottish Government recognises the need to ensure that health professionals have the knowledge, skills and confidence to provide high quality palliative and end of life care, relevant to their role. In our Strateg…
23 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-24104 by Richard Lochhead on 18 July 2019, how many of the 80 additional counsellors have so far been recruited.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: In the forthcoming academic year (2019-20) we will be investing, through the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) so that colleges and universities can start to recruit and make arrangements for enhanced counsellor provision across Scotland. This is the first year …
16 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of some new chronic pain patients waiting over 40 weeks for their first appointment, what its position is on whether allocating £372,810 for chronic pain services from the £101.6 million of Waiting Times Initiative funding since 2017 has been adequate.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-24383 on 14 August 2019. 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 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-23952 by Jeane Freeman on 15 July 2019, for what reason the Access Support Team agreed that the second phase funding of the Waiting Times Initiative would not "be aligned to the recommendations which emerged from the Scottish Access Collaborative" a…
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Waiting Times Improvement Plan clearly sets out a range of actions, both short term and longer term in order to deliver improvements this year as well as sustainable solutions for the future. It is the role of the Scottish Government to provide policies,…
16 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government who the Access Support Team consulted before agreeing that NHS boards should decide on Waiting Times Initiative second round funding, without recommendations and involvement from the Scottish Access Collaborative.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-24383 on 14 August 2019. 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 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-23952 by Jeane Freeman on 15 July 2019, whether any (a) patient and (b) third sector representatives (i) were previously and (ii) are currently directly appointed to the Access Support Team for chronic pain.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-24382 on 14 August 2019. 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 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether there are minutes of meetings of the Access Support Team that supports the Scottish Access Collaborative in relation to any conditions, and whether it will provide the minutes of meetings since 2015.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Access Collaborative was launched in October 2017 therefore there are no minutes going back to 2015. Both the Scottish Access Collaborative and Access Support Team sit within the same Directorate within Scottish Government which consists of perf…
12 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Planning (Scotland) Bill legislating to merge Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) into the National Planning Framework 4, when the next SPP review will commence, and what the timescale will be for consultation, consideration and implementation.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: Revised national planning policies will be incorporated into National Planning Framework (NPF) 4 and be reviewed as an integral part of the NPF preparation process. We are committed to doing this in an open and collaborative way and will be providing more inf…