Parliamentary questions
Neil Findlay
2,296 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
8 Jun 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has asked the UK Government or Sir Christopher Pitchford how many undercover officers were working for the Special Demonstration Squad and National Public Order Intelligence Unit, given that Police Scotland officers and secondees may have been employed and, if so, whether it w…
Answer · Michael Matheson: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-00336 on 21 June 2016. 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…
8 Jun 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has asked the UK Government or Sir Christopher Pitchford to provide the list of over 100 Police officers who are alleged to have worked for the Special Demonstration Squad, given that Police Scotland officers and secondees may have been employed and, if so, whether it will pub…
Answer · Michael Matheson: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-00336 on 21 June 2016. 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…
3 Jun 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it takes to ensure that the rights and views of the child at child contact centres are listened to prior to them seeing their parents.
Answer · Mark McDonald: Many of those who use contact centres will have been referred there by the courts. 78% of all referrals to Relationships Scotland’s child contact centres come from the Scottish courts or solicitors. The relevant legislation when a court is considering a conta…
3 Jun 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what risk assessments are carried out at child contact centres prior to children seeing their parents.
Answer · Mark McDonald: In all Relationships Scotland contact centres full risk assessments are carried out in all cases prior to any contact taking place, and continual monitoring of risk is carried out at all times in each case. This is in line with Relationships Scotland’s nation…
3 Jun 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what minimum training is expected for people who work in child contact centres.
Answer · Mark McDonald: Relationships Scotland provides training for managers and organisers; volunteer support workers; and supervisors (for supervised contacts). In addition, Relationships Scotland’s child contact centre staff and volunteers are, where appropriate, subject to Prot…
3 Jun 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what regulatory controls there are there for child contact centres.
Answer · Mark McDonald: Child contact centres are not a regulated service. However, all of Relationships Scotland’s child contact centres operate within agreed national standards and are subject to quality assurance inspections. The Relationships Scotland Child Contact Centre Com…
3 Jun 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the last time a cabinet secretary or minister visited a child contact centre.
Answer · Mark McDonald: Aileen Campbell MSP, in her capacity as Minister for Children and Young People, visited a Relationships Scotland child contact centre in Dumfries on 3 March 2016.
3 Jun 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment or reviews of the running of child contact centres it has (a) carried out and (b) plans.
Answer · Mark McDonald: The then Scottish Executive published three research publications focused on child contact centres on 24 March 2004. The publications were: Scottish Child Contact Centres: Characteristics of Centre Users and Centre Staff. This report described the character…
3 Jun 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether any companies that have competed for public contracts since the procurement rule SPPN 4/2013, Exclusion from public contracts of companies which engage in blacklisting, came into force have acknowledged an involved with blacklisting.
Answer · Derek Mackay: Contract award notices are published on public contracts Scotland and contain information on companies which were successfully awarded public contracts. Information on all the companies which have competed for public contracts is not held centrally by the Sco…
3 Jun 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many times it has met the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency since October 2015.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government is in contact with the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency on a regular basis to discuss a range of issues.
3 Jun 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many times the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency has issued a medical device alert to healthcare professionals regarding polypropylene mesh devices.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has confirmed that it has not issued a medical device alert regarding polypropylene mesh implants. MHRA has stated that it continues to monitor and evaluate the safety and performance of these dev…
3 Jun 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many women who have been fitted with a polypropylene mesh device have required corrective surgery to either partially or fully remove it, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Shona Robison: The following table shows the number of women undergoing partial or total removal of mesh previously inserted for stress urinary incontinence (SUI) in Scotland by health board of treatment for financial years 2006-07 to 2015-16. Information regarding the rem…
3 Jun 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many women have been fitted with a polypropylene mesh device, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Shona Robison: The following table shows the number of women undergoing transvaginal mesh surgery for stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and pelvic organ prolapse (POP) in Scotland by health board of treatment for financial years 2006-07 to 2015-16. Health Board of treatmen…
3 Jun 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made in implementing all of the recommendations in The Scottish Independent Review of the Use, Safety and Efficacy of Transvaginal Mesh Implants in the Treatment of Stress Urinary Incontinence and Pelvic Organ Prolapse in Women: Interim Report.
Answer · Shona Robison: All recommendations contained in the independent review's interim report have been considered, with focus on the following actions: A revised patient information and consent leaflet for stress urinary incontinence. A governance framework for multi-discipl…
3 Jun 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much surplus to requirement obturator mesh devices has cost the NHS.
Answer · Shona Robison: This is a matter for NHS boards. The information requested is not held centrally.
3 Jun 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action NHS boards have taken previously to deal with surplus to requirement obturator mesh devices, and whether there are plans for the current surplus devices to be (a) destroyed or (b) sent (i) to hospitals in the rest of the UK and (i) overseas, broken down by country.
Answer · Shona Robison: This is a matter for NHS boards. The information requested is not held centrally.
3 Jun 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-22692 by Alex Neil on 29 October 2014, whether it will provide an update on how many pending litigations there are in Scotland in relation to defective mesh implants and against whom.
Answer · Shona Robison: As at 6 June 2016, the Scottish Government has been made aware that there are 403 intimated claims of which 346 are court actions with summonses having been served. The cases are all directed against both the health boards and the manufacturer.
31 May 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has asked the Home Secretary (a) how many and (b) which Scottish social justice and environmental campaigns were targeted by the Special Demonstration Squad and the National Public Order Intelligence Unit.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The focus of the Scottish Government’s engagement with the home office has been on extending the scope of the Pitchford inquiry to Scotland rather than on operational matters. Our proposals would allow it to consider the extent of such activities in Scotland.…
17 May 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that NHS Lothian does not end waiting times guarantees.
Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-00110 on 26 May 2016. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusi…
17 May 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with NHS Lothian regarding the end of waiting times guarantees.
Answer · Shona Robison: Scottish Government officials have regular meetings with NHS Lothian and it has been made clear to the board that they must get the right staffing and structures in place to ensure that patients are seen and treated within the waiting time targets and guarant…
17 May 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the report in the Edinburgh Evening News on 16 May 2016 that NHS Lothian is to end its commitment to meeting treatment times guarantees.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government has made clear to all NHS boards, including Lothian that we expect them to deliver waiting time standards and the legal treatment time guarantee for the people of Scotland. All boards have consistently had above inflation increases in …
16 May 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a list of those companies that had to apologise to the blacklisted workers following the recent High Court case that have been awarded public sector contracts in Scotland in the last eight years.
Answer · Derek Mackay: Information on public contracts from August 2008 is already in the public domain and can be found on Public Contracts Scotland (PCS) and can be accessed at: http://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/Default.aspx. Information on public sector contracts prior t…
16 May 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what lessons it has learned from the blacklisting case at the High Court.
Answer · Derek Mackay: The Scottish Government regards the practice of blacklisting in any form as unacceptable, particularly given the serious impact it can have on the lives of those affected. Despite employment law being a reserved matter, the Scottish Government has gone furth…
16 May 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many local authority jobs have been lost over the last 10 years, not including NHS staff transferred to joint boards.
Answer · Keith Brown: Information on local government job losses is not held centrally. Information on local government employment over the last 10 years is published in tables as part of the National Statistics Publication Public Sector Employment in Scotland. The most recent …
16 May 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is of public bodies and agencies not minuting meetings because on political sensitivities.
Answer · Keith Brown: On board guidance for members of public bodies highlights the importance of public access to information, however arrangements for the minuting of meetings are a matter for individual public bodies and agencies.
16 May 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many GP surgeries are holding telephone consultations as a result of a shortage of GPs.
Answer · Shona Robison: Access to GP services is an important issue for the Scottish Government and I’m aware that many of general practices have, for many years, adjusted appointment arrangements in order to try to prioritise urgency, and support quality and continuity of patien…
16 May 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many GP surgeries have a shortage of GPs.
Answer · Shona Robison: Numbers of vacancies for GP posts are not held centrally as this is a matter for individual independent GP contractors as employers. However, as part of the move towards better quality more regular and more consistent information, a workforce survey has been …
16 May 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether, in light of the outcome of the Hillsborough inquests, it will reconsider the call for a review of the policing and convictions of miners arrested in Scotland during the 1984-85 miners' strike.
Answer · Michael Matheson: I refer the member to my answer to the question S4O-04044 on 25 February 2015. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parlia…
16 May 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what lessons it has learned from the outcome of the Hillsborough inquests.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Scotland already has strong measures in place to ensure effective accountability of policing under the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012. The Scottish Government is also working closely with the Football Safety Officers Association for Scotland on th…
16 May 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has made an assessment of how many Scottish citizens were monitored by the (a) Special Demonstrations Squad and (b) National Public Order Intelligence Unit.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government does not hold this information.