Neil Findlay

28 Oct 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to improve social care for vulnerable and older people.

Answer · Michael Matheson: We are doing many things to improve social care to ensure vulnerable and older people are treated with respect and dignity: the integration of health and care to ensure seamless service provision for all adults; our Reshaping Care for Older People programm…

22 Oct 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that people are made aware of the services provided at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children (Yorkhill) for weaning children off tube feeding and, if necessary, to ensure that they are referred there for treatment.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Specialist Feeding Clinic at Yorkhill Hospital is provided for children living in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde or other children under the care of tertiary consultants at Yorkhill Hospital. There is no formal arrangement to accept referrals (of children …

22 Oct 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what treatments to wean children off tube feeding are provided by the Royal Hospital for Sick Children (Yorkhill) and whether these treatments differ from those provided by NHS boards.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Yorkhill Specialist Multi-Disciplinary Feeding team consists of a paediatric dietician, clinical psychologist and consultant paediatrician, supported by a specialist paediatric registrar, assistant psychologist and an administrator, with speech and langua…

22 Oct 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what alternative treatments are used in Scotland to wean children off tube feeding when standard treatments are ineffective.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Children will be referred to the appropriate children’s hospital.

22 Oct 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how effective it considers current treatments used in Scotland are in weaning children off tube feeding.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The multi-disciplinary approach, using the core skills and expertise of paediatric dieticians and speech and language therapists, and with a network of support from the children’s hospitals for more complex cases, is considered, effective, safe and person-cen…

22 Oct 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many children have required treatment to wean them off tube feeding in each of the last five years.

Answer · Michael Matheson: This information is not held centrally.

22 Oct 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what specialist services are used to wean children off tube feeding.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The paediatric dietician links with the lead consultant, general practitioner and speech and language therapist before initiating weaning, and, as appropriate, with an occupational therapist, psychologist, clinical nurse specialist and health visitor. A multi…

22 Oct 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what treatments are in place to wean children off tube feeding.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Treatments are person-centred according to the individual needs of the child. Each child is placed in the care of a dietician and is regularly reviewed in terms of dietary needs. Regular individual assessments take place and tube feeding will be reduced or e…

22 Oct 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the value of the fees reclaimed from non-salaried dentists working in the NHS has been in each of the last four financial years.

Answer · Alex Neil: The value of the fees reclaimed from non-salaried dentists working in the NHS within the four year period covering (2009-10 to 2012-13) is provided in the following table. Year Actual Fee Recovery* £. 2009-10 196,334 2010-11 643,276 2011-12 83,601 2…

21 Oct 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether blacklisting is an abuse of a person's rights.

Answer · John Swinney: Any practice which seeks to suppress or censor the legitimate expression of opinion, or prevents individuals from exercising rights to freedom of association or privacy is unacceptable in a modern democratic society. The Scottish Government condemns any form …

21 Oct 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-14621 by John Swinney on 1 May 2013, and in light of further evidence of blacklisting in the construction industry, whether it will establish an independent inquiry into blacklisting.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government is pleased to see that the Scottish Affairs Committee is continuing its rigorous investigation into this issue. It remains appropriate for the Committee to carry out these investigations and to publish their final recommendations, whic…

21 Oct 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether there are any implications arising for the awarding of public sector contracts in Scotland from the reported blacklists run by Pfizers, Royal Opera House and Jubilee Line.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: We note that evidence of blacklisting is being considered as part of the Scottish Affairs Committee’s inquiry into blacklisting in employment and we will respond to their final report in due course. Scottish Government, in close liaison with the Trade Unions,…

21 Oct 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how common blacklisting is in the construction industry in Scotland and whether it considers that it is endemic.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Affairs Committee’s Interim Report published in April this year, concluded that the service offered by the Consulting Association was a blacklisting one which affected a great number of people. However, one of the issues they are continuing to in…

21 Oct 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Information Commissioner’s Office in England regarding the outcome of its investigation into the blacklisting of construction workers and whether this has any implications for the awarding of public sector contracts in Scotland.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Affairs Committee’s inquiry into blacklisting in employment is considering evidence from the Information Commissioner’s Office investigation. We are following the progress of the Committee’s inquiry with interest and we will respond to their fina…

21 Oct 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its responsibilities for awarding public sector contracts, what discussions it has had with the UK Government in relation to the practice of blacklisting workers in the construction industry.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Scottish Government officials have regular discussions with their UK Government counterparts regarding procurement matters including blacklisting.

30 Sep 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government on what grounds individual patient treatment requests can be refused and whether it will provide a breakdown of how often each of these reasons has been used.

Answer · Alex Neil: The individual patient treatment request (IPTR) process allows a clinician to submit a clinical case to their NHS board on behalf of an individual patient where they believe that the patient would benefit from a medicine which the Scottish Medicines Consortiu…

30 Sep 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many individual patient treatment requests have been (a) approved and (b) refused in each year since 2010.

Answer · Alex Neil: This information is not held centrally. Individual patient treatment requests (IPTRs) were introduced on 1 April 2011. NHS board data provided to the Scottish Government indicates that in 2011-12 there were 291 IPTRs applications in NHSScotland, of which 194…

30 Sep 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which of the drugs made available by NHS England's Cancer Drugs Fund are only accessible in Scotland through individual patient treatment requests.

Answer · Alex Neil: This information is not held centrally. The Individual Patient Treatment Request (IPTR) process allows a clinician to submit a clinical case to their NHS Board on behalf of an individual patient where they believe that the patient would benefit from a medicin…

25 Sep 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many Care Inspectorate inspections were carried out from 1 October 2012 to 31 March 2013 and how many there have been since 1 April 2013.

Answer · Alex Neil: The following table shows the numbers of inspections completed by the Care Inspectorate in 2011-12, 2012-13 and between 1 April 2013 and 31 August 2013. 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 (provisional) Period in which inspection was completed number % number %…

25 Sep 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many staff have been employed by the Care Inspectorate in each of the last three years

Answer · Alex Neil: The Care Inspectorate was established on 1 April 2011. 571 staff were employed in 2011-12. 631 staff were employed in 2012-13.

25 Sep 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what training is provided to Care Inspectorate staff.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Care Inspectorate invests heavily in developing its workforce. Staff have a wide range of professional backgrounds, including trained social workers, nursing and care staff, medical staff, teachers, and those with a criminal justice and police background.…

25 Sep 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the bodies that merged to establish the Care Inspectorate did so successfully and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Care Inspectorate, as an executive non-departmental public body, operate within an agreed accountability and governance framework. This includes preparation of a corporate plan which is aligned with the Scottish Government’s National Performance Framework…

25 Sep 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many Care Inspectorate staff have been absent due to sickness in each of the last three years, broken down by (i) length of absence and (ii) sickness.

Answer · Alex Neil: The following tables provide information on sickness absence of Care Inspectorate staff since the organisation was established on 1st April 2011. The sickness absence rate in 2011-12 was 4.2%. The sickness absence rate in 2012-13 was 4.7%. Care Inspectora…

25 Sep 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the findings of the recent survey by trade unions representing Care Inspectorate staff.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government welcomes the constructive discussions taking place between the Care Inspectorate and trade unions to support staff during a period of organisational change and address concerns highlighted in the recent staff survey.

23 Sep 2013 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve the quality of careers guidance provision in schools.

21 Sep 2013 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to improve the quality of residential care for older people.

20 Sep 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to the supplementary to question S4F-01561 by Alex Salmond on 19 September 2013 (Official Report, c. 22684), what legal advice it has sought on the practicalities and legality of renationalising the Royal Mail in an independent Scotland.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government does not disclose the nature of any legal advice which it has received.

20 Sep 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to the supplementary to question S4F-01561 by Alex Salmond on 19 September 2013 (Official Report, c. 22684), what discussions it has had with the Royal Mail regarding renationalisation of the service in an independent Scotland.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-17346 on 10 October 2013. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s web site, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamenta…

20 Sep 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to the supplementary to question S4F-01561 by Alex Salmond on 19 September 2013 (Official Report, c. 22684), what the cost of renationalisation of the Royal Mail would be in an independent Scotland.

Answer · John Swinney: The privatisation of the Royal Mail was opposed by the majority of Scottish MPs and is opposed by the majority of people in Scotland alongside the National Federation of SubPostmasters and the Communication Workers Union. The First Minister wrote to the Prime…

20 Sep 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to the supplementary to question S4F-01561 by Alex Salmond on 19 September 2013 (Official Report, c. 22684), what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the renationalisation of the Royal Mail in an independent Scotland.

Answer · John Swinney: The privatisation of the Royal Mail was opposed by the majority of Scottish MPs in a vote in the House of Commons. On 15 September 2013 the First Minister called on the UK Government to put in place a moratorium on the privatisation of the Royal Mail. The Fir…