Neil Findlay

20 Nov 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that seafarers on vessels contracted by Transport Scotland receive the (a) rate of pay, (b) pension rights and (c) terms and conditions of employment agreed through the ferry industry's collective bargaining process.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Scottish Government has public service contracts with operating companies to provide ferry services in the, Clyde, Hebrides and Northern Isles. The operating companies are responsible under the contracts for providing the vessel crew and for setting the r…

20 Oct 2014 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has suspended the use of transvaginal mesh implants.

13 Oct 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the salary has been of each (a) university and (b) college principal or chief executive officer in each of the last five years, and what the annual change in salary has been expressed as a percentage.

Answer · Michael Russell: The information requested is not held centrally.

7 Oct 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been referred to the Edinburgh transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) centre since October 2012; how many were approved to receive TAVI; how many reverted to conventional surgery, and how many reverted to no procedure and palliative care.

Answer · Alex Neil: The information requested is provided in the following table: Table 1: People referred to the national TAVI service since October 2012 Total referrals for consideration of TAVI 317 Those who need assessed 22 Those who need tests 26 Thos…

2 Oct 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish a register of interests for all members of the independent review group considering the safety of mesh devices.

Answer · Alex Neil: Yes, all declarations of interest(s) submitted by members will be circulated to the review group.

2 Oct 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the discussion of the matter at the meeting of the Working Group on Transvaginal Mesh Implants on 18 June 2013, whether discussions have taken place with NHS management regarding the potential financial resource implications in relation to the multi-disciplinary approach to …

Answer · Alex Neil: The Deputy Chief Medical Officer is currently developing a pathway for women experiencing complications and has met with a healthcare planner. Any resource implications will be considered as part of this process.

2 Oct 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what concerns it has regarding the potential financial implications of litigation in relation to defective mesh devices.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government has put patient safety first and taken action to investigate concerns regarding transvaginal mesh implants. It has not discussed the financial implications of litigation in respect of mesh implants with NHS boards.

2 Oct 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) the manufacturers of mesh devices and (b) NHS boards about the potential financial implications of litigation.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government has not discussed the potential financial implications with mesh manufactures or NHS boards.

2 Oct 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many pending litigations there are in Scotland in relation to defective mesh implants and against whom.

Answer · Alex Neil: As at 22 October 2014, the Scottish Government has been made aware of the following potential or pending litigations against NHSScotland. 314 claims and summonses, of which 139 summonses have been served and 12 of which have been lodged.

2 Oct 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government from what manufacturers NHS boards have purchased mesh devices and what information it has on whether any manufacturers found liable of providing defective devices in US courts have supplied mesh devices to NHS boards in Scotland.

Answer · Alex Neil: The information requested is not held centrally.

2 Oct 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency regarding the independent review of mesh products initiated by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing and the European Commission Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health …

Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government has not had specific discussions regarding the independent review with the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). I met with Sir Gordon Duff, Chairman of the MHRA, in June 2014 and following this meeting formally i…

2 Oct 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what representations it has received regarding any conflicts of interest in relation to the EC Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks working group on the safety of surgical meshes used in urogynecological surgery.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government received one representation regarding a conflict of interest. The European Commission has confirmed that all experts participating in the Scientific Risk Assessment Advisory Structure need to declare commitment, confidentiality, and i…

2 Oct 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has informed the European Commission (EC) of its advice to NHS boards regarding suspending the use of mesh devices pending the results of the independent review and whether it has contacted the EC Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks working group…

Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government wrote to the Chair of the European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks in May and June 2014 regarding the regulation of mesh implants. The correspondence outlined the concerns raised by wome…

2 Oct 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to form and resource a (a) self-help group and (b) helpline for victims of mesh devices.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Deputy Chief Medical Officer is exploring options that will offer additional support for women who are experiencing complications.

2 Oct 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is considering new coding procedures for the recording of mesh-related adverse incidents and, if so, what procedures.

Answer · Alex Neil: The independent review has invited a consultant in public health from NHS Information Services Division to support the group when considering coding of procedures. The UK working group, chaired by Professor Keith Willett, on surgery using vaginal mesh is con…

2 Oct 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the independent review into mesh devices will publish all minutes and notes of its activity.

Answer · Alex Neil: Yes, the Scottish Government intends to publish all minutes and relevant documents relating to the independent review, where appropriate. All documents, once published, can be viewed at the following web address from mid November 2014: http://www.scotland.g…

2 Oct 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the terms of reference are for the independent review of the safety of mesh devices; who the members or the review group are; what the criteria for membership are, and whether it considers that the composition of the group represents a fair range of views.

Answer · Alex Neil: The terms of reference and membership of the independent review group will be published on the ‘Independent Review of Transvaginal Mesh Implants’ website, which will be available from mid November 2014. The website address is as follows: http://www.scotland.…

2 Oct 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government where the centres of excellence for the removal of defective mesh products are in Scotland; how many doctors are trained and able to remove such products, and what type of procedure is most commonly used to do so.

Answer · Alex Neil: Pathway documents have been developed by the expert group and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer is now working with healthcare planners to implement the necessary changes to deliver this new service. Currently NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, NHS Ayrshire and A…

2 Oct 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what clinical trials and studies into synthetic mesh products are being conducted in Scotland; how many have taken place since 1998, and how much each (a) NHS board and (b) doctor was paid for participating.

Answer · Alex Neil: The information requested is not held centrally. The independent review of transvaginal mesh implants will appraise the current research evidence on synthetic mesh implants. The review will report early next year and will publish all clinical trials and studi…

2 Oct 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that the letter dated 16 July 2014 from the Deputy Chief Medical Officer to medical directors is consistent with the advice of the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing that NHS boards suspend the use of mesh devices pending the results of an independent review.

Answer · Alex Neil: The decision to request that boards consider suspending the routine use of synthetic mesh implants for these procedures does not prevent individual women and their clinicians agreeing on the need for a particular service – this is still available. The letter…

2 Oct 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the (a) Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing and (b) Chief Medical Officer approved the issuing of the letter by the Deputy Chief Medical Officer dated 16 July 2014 to all medical directors encouraging them to get women to sign up to a clinical trial investigating the best …

Answer · Alex Neil: The letter from the Deputy Chief Medical Officer to medical directors, dated 16 July 2014, reaffirms the guidance issued to medical directors by the Acting Chief Medical Officer on 20 June 2014, which stated: “If women are being considered for entry into cli…

1 Oct 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of each (a) fully and (b) partly publicly-funded project that has been procured by each hubCo region, also broken down by the (i) name of funder and (ii) amount of funding.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Information on the hub pipeline, which includes the relevant hubCo participant organisation (funder) and capital value for each project, is published by the Scottish Futures Trust and can be found on the following website: www.scottishfuturestrust.org.uk/pub…

1 Oct 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of each hubCo region's preferred contractors.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Information on each hubCo region’s supply chain is included in its respective website, links for which can be found at the following website: www.scottishfuturestrust.org.uk/our-work/sft-build/hub/hub-delivery/

1 Oct 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that its guidance on blacklisting in relation to public procurement contracts is adhered to.

Answer · John Swinney: The blacklisting guidance, published in November 2013, contains a commitment to meet with the Scottish Trades Union Congress and interested trade unions on a quarterly basis to review how the blacklisting guidance is being applied and to exchange information …

22 Sep 2014 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government when work on the new Dumfries hospital will commence.

17 Sep 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the 2014 and 2015 NHS Scotland staff surveys will not be carried out by the Information Services Division of NHS National Services Scotland.

Answer · Alex Neil: To ensure best value for money the Scottish Government took the decision to run an open and transparent competitive tendering procurement exercise for delivery of the NHSScotland staff survey for 2014 and 2015. In accordance with procurement guidelines the Sc…

17 Sep 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much the Information Services Division of NHS National Services Scotland was paid to carry out the NHS Scotland staff survey for 2013 and how much will be paid to Capita Resourcing Ltd (Surveys and Research) for the 2014 survey.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Information Services Division (ISD) of NHS National Services Scotland signed a service level agreement with the Scottish Government to deliver the 2013 NHSScotland staff survey at a cost of £278,417 (including VAT). Following completion of work, some savi…

17 Sep 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government (a) when and (b) by whom the decision was taken to appoint Capita Resourcing Ltd (Surveys and Research) to undertake the NHS Scotland staff surveys for 2014 and 2015.

Answer · Alex Neil: Following an open competitive procurement exercise and assessment of tenders by an evaluation panel, the contract for the NHSScotland staff survey was awarded to Capita Resourcing Ltd (Surveys and Research) on 25 June 2014 based upon receipt of the most techn…

21 Aug 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many NHS and other staff received the letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing entitled Public Sector Pensions after Independence; how it was distributed, and how much it cost to draw up, print and distribute.

Answer · Alex Neil: The letter clarifying pensions policy in the event of independence was drafted by the Scottish Public Pensions Agency, based on previously published information in Scotland’s Future and Pensions in an Independent Scotland. This took around an hour of an offic…

18 Aug 2014 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government's economic strategy will help achieve the aims of its Arbroath "declaration of opportunity".