Parliamentary questions
Neil Findlay
2,296 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
16 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many patients have been treated at the new Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh since it was handed over to NHS Lothian.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: There has been no patients treated at the New Royal Hospital for Children and Young People since it was handed to NHS Lothian and the move to the new site was halted. I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-24397 on 18 July 2019. All answers to writt…
16 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been paid in charges to Integrated Health Solutions Lothian since the new Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh was handed over to NHS Lothian.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Payments of around £1.4m have been paid every month since handover of the facility to NHS Lothian in February 2019, as required by the contract.
16 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent on staff salaries at the new Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh since it was handed over to NHS Lothian.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The RHCYP was handed over to NHS Lothian in February 2019 and the Board has provided figures for staff costs for the six months from March to August 2019, totalling £833k.Domestics - £298kCatering - £114kLogistics - £421k NHS Lothian have confirmed while the…
16 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people are employed by NHS Lothian at the new Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Numbers are not available exclusively for the new facility. It is important to note that the staff for the RHCYP & DCN building are planned as part of the NHS workforce including the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. While the new building remains closed many of …
11 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on crisis provision at the Edinburgh Crisis Centre.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government recognises the good work of the Edinburgh Crisis Centre. Nigel Henderson, Chief Executive of Penumbra is a member of the National Suicide Prevention Leadership Group and sponsors Action 5 of the Suicide Prevention Action Plan: The NSPL…
11 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what emergency, short-term non-hospital mental health crisis accommodation is available in Scotland.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Scottish Government does not collect information on all the provision described. These projects are mainly provided by third sector organisations. We are aware of useful work of projects like Chris’s House, and of their collaborative work with other agencies …
11 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on it funding the roll out of crisis provision, such as that provided at the Edinburgh Crisis Centre, across Scotland.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Action 5 of the Suicide Prevention Action Plan (Every Life Matters) refers - “the NSPLG will use evidence on the effectiveness of different models of crisis support to make recommendations to service providers and share best practice.” The July minutes of the…
5 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the Scottish Prison Service is changing the way that it records incidents involving new psychoactive substances to those involving "unknown" substances.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows: SPS is not changing the way it records incidents involving psychoactive substances. Incidents can only be attributed to a particular …
5 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what additional funding has been given to Glasgow Alcohol and Drugs Partnership and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to address the latest HIV outbreak in the city.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-25169 on 18 September 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/parliamentarybusin…
5 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been affected by the latest HIV outbreak in Glasgow.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Between 2015 and June 2019, 148 new cases of HIV in people who inject drugs in Glasgow have been identified. Further data, including a breakdown over time is available on the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde website: https://www.nhsggc.org.uk/your-health/public…
5 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it considers the cause is of the latest HIV outbreak in Glasgow; when the outbreak was identified, and what action it has taken to address this.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-25169 on 18 September 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/parliamentarybusin…
4 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what studies have been carried out by SEPA into the impact of prescription and illegal drugs being washed into rivers and water courses, and its impact on fish stocks and other wildlife.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: SEPA has carried out, or is currently undertaking, the following studies into the impact of pharmaceuticals on the water environment:Water Framework Directive (WFD) Watchlist Monitoring – SEPA is monitoring for a number of pharmaceuticals in the water environ…
4 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-03467 by Roseanna Cunningham on 4 September 2019 (Official Report, c. 3), what incentives it will provide for the purchase of electronic bikes.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government has committed £1.11 million in 2019-20 to the E-bike Loan Fund for the provision of interest-free loans to help individuals and businesses purchase e-bikes and e-cargo bikes. This is an increase on the £900,000 of funding awarded in 20…
4 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has provided to drug and alcohol partnerships in each of the last 10 years.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-24338 on 1 August 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/parliamentarybusines…
4 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the closure of the Caledonian rail works in Glasgow.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Following the closure of the works in July 2019 by Gemini Rail Services Ltd, Scottish Enterprise is continuing to work with the landlord on identifying and attracting new investment in to the site from the rail and broader engineering sectors.
4 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh is a design, build, finance and maintain deal that is funded by private finance.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The project procured by NHS Lothian was to design, build, finance and maintain a new facility to re-provide services from the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People (RHCYP) and the Department of Clinical Neurosciences (DCN) in a single building adjoinin…
2 Sep 2019 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made with the mesh surgeon, Dr Veronikis, in obtaining registration with the GMC, and by what date he will come to Scotland.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: As the member knows from previous discussions, before Dr Veronikis can work with clinicians and patients in Scotland he needs registration with the GMC which also requires him as a visiting clinician, to have a contract with an NHS Board. Dr Veronikis has ma…
28 Aug 2019 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address climate change.
26 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many deaths there were in 2018 in which benzodiazepines contributed to, or were implicated in, the cause of death.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Benzodiazepines (both prescribable and street variants) were implicated in, or potentially contributed to, 792 drug-related deaths in 2018 (67%). Of these 792 deaths 675 involved ‘street’ benzodiazepines and 238 involved prescribable benzodiazepines. Source:…
26 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) benzodiazepines and (b) SSRI antidepressants were prescribed in 2018.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: a) In the financial year 2018-2019 1,269,233 items classed as benzodiazepines were dispensed in Scotland. Drugs classified as benzodiazepines included: loprazolam, lormetazepam, nitrazepam, temazepam, diazepam, chlordiazepoxide, lorazepam, oxazepam, clobazam,…
20 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what criteria it uses to decide whether a business should be brought under public ownership.
Answer · Derek Mackay: Decisions concerning the public ownership of existing or prospective nationalised industries are taken on a case by case basis with reference to guidance such as the Scottish Public Finance Manual.
13 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many calls to Police Scotland in each of the last five years have concerned an issue related to mental ill health.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: This information is not held by the Scottish Government. However, it is widely recognised that Police Scotland plays a significant role in assisting and safeguarding individuals who present to services in emotional or mental health distress. The Health and Ju…
13 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many times in the last two years police cover in West Lothian has been below the planned staffing rota level.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The operational deployment of Police Officers is a matter for the Chief Constable of Police Scotland. Information on the rota levels of officers and staff in Police Divisions is not held centrally.
12 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-24139 by Jeane Freeman on 9 August 2019, when it expects the first Scottish mesh survivors to be treated by Dr Veronikis; for what reason it did not provide this information in its answer, and what progress it has made on this issue since the minist…
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The member is referred to the answer given to S5W-24624 on? 20 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/parliamentarybusin…
8 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle workplace bullying in publicly-funded industries and services.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Government is clear that bullying and harassment of any worker, under any circumstance, is unacceptable. Under the Equality Act (2010), all publicly funded organisations are obliged to comply with the Public Sector Equality Duty and must work to …
6 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has not provided an answer to question S5W-24139, which was due on 31 July 2019, and whether it will provide an update on any progress that has been made in bringing the United States-based mesh surgeon, Dr Veronikis, to Scotland.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government provided an answer to S5W-24139 prior to the due date of 31 July. However, due to a technical fault within Parliament - of which the Scottish Government was not aware - this was not subsequently issued to the member. As indicated in a…
2 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how the young people and families who use the NASplus autism service in West Lothian will be supported after the service closes.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-24601 on 28 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…
2 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out of the impact of the withdrawal of funding for the NASplus autism service in West Lothian.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-24601 on 28 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…
2 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many young people and families have received support each year from the NASplus autism service in West Lothian.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-24601 on 28 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…
2 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has withdrawn funding from the NASplus autism service in West Lothian.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The National Autistic Society (NAS) Scotland were awarded £224k over three years from Scotland's ALLIANCE Self Management fund for the NASplus service, this ended in ended in March 2019. The Scottish Government then provided NAS with bridge funding to allow N…