Parliamentary questions

Monica Lennon

3,484 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

23 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-01444 by Mark McDonald on 5 August 2016, what action it has taken to establish more efficient and receptive support services regarding mental health services for bereaved children and young people, and how much of the additional £150 million investm…

Answer · Maureen Watt: Actions in the Mental Health Strategy 2017 – 2027 are aimed at ensuring that young people have good mental health and that agencies act early enough when issues such as grief and bereavement emerge and impact young lives. The £150m supports delivery of the ov…

23 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-01442 by Michael Matheson on 10 August 2016, what progress it has made reviewing and refreshing the Scottish Prison Service Violence Reduction Strategy and policy approaches; what areas for improvement were identified; what action is being taken to …

Answer · Michael Matheson: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: The reduction of violence within our prisons remains an ongoing priority for the Scottish Prison Service (SPS). However, the significant cha…

23 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-05421 by Mark McDonald on 15 December 2016, whether it will reconsider its decision not to include sanitary products in the baby box.

Answer · Mark McDonald: We are commissioning qualitative research in order to in allow us to gather parents’ initial views on the items and information included in the box. This initial research aims to inform policy decisions on which items to include in the Baby Box going forward.…

23 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it has agreed with APS (Scotland) Group Ltd regarding the circumstances in which the company is permitted to cease trying to deliver a baby box, and what further steps are then taken in relation to such cases.

Answer · Mark McDonald: Parents receive notification of the delivery date for their Box a week before delivery is due. If our delivery partners are unable to make delivery, a card will be left to give notice of the attempted delivery and give options to rearrange delivery. If no re…

23 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is gathering information on the (a) registration and (b) successful delivery of baby boxes to women who are entitled to income-related maternity grants.

Answer · Mark McDonald: Scotland’s Bay Box is a universal entitlement, and as such, no data on a mothers benefit entitlement will be collected.

23 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what additional measures it has put in place to support the receipt of baby boxes by women who are vulnerable or hard to reach, including Gypsy/Traveller women, women in temporary accommodation, women on remand or serving short sentences, women who are homeless, refugees or asylum seeker…

Answer · Mark McDonald: Scotland’s Baby Box is a universal provision, and as such all women who are under maternity care in Scotland are entitled to a Box. We recognise, however, some vulnerable or hard to reach groups require additional support to access ante-natal services. The Sc…

11 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how women and girls will access free sanitary products from the partner organisations involved in the six-month pilot scheme in Aberdeen for low-income families; how women and girls in need will be identified; whether they will be issued with identification or other paperwork in order to…

Answer · Angela Constance: Our pilot to provide free sanitary products to those from low income homes in Aberdeen offers an excellent opportunity to test which approaches are best able to reach those in greatest need in as dignified and sensitive a way as possible. To this end, Commun…

9 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to close the poverty-related attainment gap, in light of the results of the recent Educational Institute of Scotland survey of its members, which highlights rising levels of poverty and inequality in schools.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government has committed £750m during the course of this Parliament through the Attainment Scotland Fund to provide targeted support for children, schools and communities to close the poverty related attainment gap. In 2017-18, this includes £120…

9 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that, according to the results of the recent Educational Institute of Scotland survey of its members, over half of school teachers have spent their own money providing food for pupils living in poverty.

Answer · John Swinney: No child should be going hungry and tackling poverty and inequality is a key priority for this Government. The devastating impact of the UK Government's policy of continued austerity is clear to see and it is entirely unacceptable that, in one of the richest …

9 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recent survey of Educational Institute of Scotland members, which highlights that 77% of respondents noted increased signs of poverty-related mental ill health in school pupils, and what action it is taking on this issue.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government’s new 10-year Mental Health Strategy was published on 30 March, and sets out our vision to improve mental health in Scotland. A key section in the Strategy deals with prevention and early intervention. That section outlines our ambitio…

9 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-07248 by John Swinney on 2 March 2017, whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to consider the impact that homelessness has on children's educational attainment, in light of reports that the number of children without a permane…

Answer · John Swinney: As set out in S5W – 07528, there are a number of actions in place to support those children and young people affected by homelessness to ensure that they have access to educational and other services. Homeless households with children will be in temporary ac…

7 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that the same gestational limits for abortion apply in all NHS boards.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government is continuing to work with NHS Boards to look at how improvements can be made to abortion services in Scotland.

7 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it is giving to changes to the Abortion Act 1967 as it applies in Scotland, following the devolution of abortion services through the Scotland Act 2016.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government has no current plans to make changes to the 1967 abortion act.

7 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will set out a timetable for when the NHS in Scotland will provide free abortions for women from Northern Ireland.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The First Minister has already made clear that the Scottish Government would look into the provision of abortion in Scotland to women from Northern Ireland. The Scottish Government believes that a woman from Northern Ireland, in Scotland, should be able to ac…

7 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which NHS boards pay travel expenses in advance for women travelling to England to have an abortion.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: All boards have policies in place that enable them to pay travel expenses in advance, in some circumstances, for women travelling to England in order to access abortion services. The Scottish Government is committed to improving abortion services for women i…

7 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many women in Scotland had to travel to England for an abortion in each of the last five years.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Statistics relating to all abortions taking place in Scotland, and in regard to Scottish residents, are produced on an annual basis by Information Services Division (ISD). Information on the number of Scottish women travelling to England in order to access a…

7 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many abortions (a) between (i) 16 and 18 and (ii) 18 and 20 weeks and (b) after 20 weeks were provided in Scotland in each of the last five years.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Statistics relating to all abortions taking place in Scotland, and in regard to Scottish residents, are produced on an annual basis by Information Services Division (ISD). You can access the most recent report using the link below and information on the gest…

27 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which of the recommendations of the expert group, tasked by it to look at alcohol marketing, will be incorporated within the next phase of Scotland’s alcohol strategy.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: We are all too aware of the impact of alcohol advertising on young people and believe this could and should be reduced. The Scottish Government welcomes the report from the expert group on alcohol marketing. Its recommendations are wide-ranging and we will co…

19 Jun 2017 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister how the national roll-out of the baby box scheme will improve public health and reduce health inequalities.

7 Jun 2017 · SPCB Oral Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what assessment it has made of the danger of cyber-attacks on its IT systems.