Monica Lennon

8 Sep 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recommendations made in the publication by Camurus, A primary care solution to Scotland’s drug deaths crisis.

Answer · Elena Whitham: The Scottish Government has noted with interest the recommendations made in the publication by Camurus - A primary care solution to Scotland’s drug deaths crisis and is working with local partners to address the challenges highlighted. We are working with lo…

8 Sep 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it would consider instructing Public Health Scotland to develop a direct plan of action to dismantle stigma surrounding drug treatment.

Answer · Elena Whitham: Scottish Government is committed to tackling the stigma around all aspects of problem substance use, including that associated with seeking support and treatment. We published our Stigma Action Plan on 12 January 2023 as part of the Cross government response …

8 Sep 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider requiring NHS boards to mandate a proportion of GP surgeries within their areas to offer enhanced services, including specifically drug treatment services, with any such surgeries being prioritised for additional funding.

Answer · Elena Whitham: The Scottish Government cannot mandate that a proportion of GP surgeries offer enhanced services: GP practices are contracted to provide essential services with any enhanced services provided over and above that carried out on an optional basis. Practices whi…

8 Sep 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its commitment to recruit 800 additional GPs by the end of 2027.

Answer · Michael Matheson: We are making good progress on this commitment and since 2017 headcount has increased by 291 with a record 5,209 GPs now working in Scotland. We have increased medical undergraduate intake by 448 places, and created an additional 135 GP training places sinc…

7 Sep 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the Scottish Pantry Network model, including its (a) role in tackling food insecurity and (b) contribution to Scotland's Good Food Nation policy.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Our recently published Cash-First Plan recognises the role of the community food sector, including pantries, in helping people to access cash and wider support in a crisis to reduce the need for emergency food parcels. That is why we are providing The Scotti…

6 Sep 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider conducting research into the effects of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and other potentially harmful chemicals in period products.

Answer · Jenni Minto: Chemicals regulation in the UK engages a complex mix of devolved and reserved competence. Scottish Government works with the Welsh and UK Governments (the “appropriate authorities”) under the UK Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemi…

6 Sep 2023 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress with its Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan, including in relation to its commitment to pilot universal free school meals in secondary schools.  

6 Sep 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when ministers last discussed the issue of COVID-19 hospitalisations with NHS (a) Lanarkshire and (b) Forth Valley.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Ministers and officials regularly meet with representatives of all NHS Boards, including NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Forth Valley, to discuss the performance and resilience of local services; including winter planning, which has been a priority since the end of l…

6 Sep 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has assessed any risk of a potential rise in COVID-19 hospitalisations over the winter period.

Answer · Michael Matheson: We continue to monitor the impact of COVID-19 and other seasonal illnesses within the population both in the community and in acute settings. This, along with other pressures, are part of our Winter Plan work which we are developing in partnership on with COS…

6 Sep 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been hospitalised with COVID-19 since January 2023.

Answer · Michael Matheson: PHS publishes information on COVID-19 hospitalisations on their interactive dashboard ( COVID-19 & Respiratory Surveillance (shinyapps.io) ) which is updated weekly on a Thursday at 9.30am. Data can be downloaded from here and filtered to the desired timefr…

6 Sep 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it has included COVID-19 in NHS winter preparedness plans.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government is committed to supporting the totality of the Health and Social Care system deal with emerging pressures including any rise in COVID-19. In partnership with COSLA, we are developing the Winter Plan for 2023/24, working collaboratively…

6 Sep 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide a breakdown of how it spent any Barnett consequential funding in the Scottish Budget 2023-24.

Answer · Tom Arthur: Barnett consequentials are not ring-fenced for a particular purpose or allocated on an individual basis, rather the totality of funds available to the Scottish Government are considered for allocation in the Scottish Budget and subsequent revisions. The 2023-…

5 Sep 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to increase the number of available early years and childcare places.

Answer · Natalie Don: Scotland’s flagship 1140 policy is the most generous childcare offer in the UK, delivering high quality early learning and childcare to thousands of families. There is nearly universal uptake for three and four year olds, and if families paid for this themse…

5 Sep 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when its dedicated Cabinet Sub-Committee for Keeping The Promise will meet, and who will attend.

Answer · Natalie Don: The membership of the Cabinet Sub-Committee for the Promise will be drawn from key members of the Cabinet with a portfolio interest relevant to the matters under consideration. The first meeting of the Sub-Committee will take place when the membership and rem…

1 Sep 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-20258 by Jenni Minto on 14 August 2023, what issues were discussed at its last meeting with the Society of Chief Officers of Environmental Health in Scotland.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government last met with representatives of the Society of Chief Officers of Environmental Health as part of the ETC (Environmental Health and Trading Standards Officers Group) on 25 August 2023. Officials from the Scottish Government provided an…

30 Aug 2023 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has allocated from its 2023-24 Budget to community justice services for the purpose of supporting women with a history of offending and substance abuse.

29 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when Anne's Law will be implemented.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government remains committed to delivering Anne’s Law within the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill (NCS) to further support the rights of people living in adult care homes to connect with their loved ones. At Stage 1 of the NCS Bill, evidenc…

23 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the Scottish swimming facilities project that is being supported by sportscotland.

21 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the network of menopause specialists and any progress that this group has made, including any minutes of previous meetings.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Menopause Specialist Network, chaired by Dr Heather Currie, has been meeting on a quarterly basis since 2021. A peer support group, the Network includes representatives from all the mainland Health Boards, providing consistent advice and peer support to h…

21 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many women have travelled (a) abroad and (b) to England for gynaecological procedures, due to NHS waiting times in Scotland, in each of the last five years.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The information requested is not held by Scottish Government. Public Health Scotland (PHS) have also informed SG that they do not hold the requested data. PHS have explained that they collect episodic data on both the waits that patients experience for treat…

21 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how often it has met the named women's health leads in each NHS board in the last 12 months, and how often it plans to meet them in the next 12 months.

Answer · Jenni Minto: A Women’s Health Leads Network, to which each health board lead is invited, is chaired by Professor Glasier. The network meets quarterly and further such meetings are scheduled into 2024.

21 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a list of the named women's health leads in every NHS board.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Government does not propose to publish the names of Women's Health Leads in each Health Board. These roles are not public appointments and the role will be an operational and / or clinical one, depending on local priorities and circumstances. Leads are of…

17 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider updating SIGN guidelines to include recognition of chronic urinary tract infections (UTIs), in light of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines now recognising this as a condition that impacts a significant number of people.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) is part of Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) who operate independently of the Scottish Government, Health Boards and Integration Authorities with responsibility for updating SIGN guidelines. Guideli…

17 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what training is currently being provided to GPs on the diagnosis and treatment of chronic urinary tract infections (UTIs).

Answer · Jenni Minto: NHS Education for Scotland (NES) are responsible for managing all training provided to doctors in Scotland. NES ensure that all doctors receive high quality training in line with curricula that is set by the relevant Medical Royal College so that they are abl…

17 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to update NHS Inform to include dedicated information on chronic urinary tract infections (UTIs), including information on diagnosis and treatments, in light of NHS England currently providing such information online.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government do not currently have plans to add a section on chronic UTIs to NHS inform at this time. The NHS 24 Clinical Change Governance Group (CCGG) routinely assess new and updated clinical guidelines to ensure the clinical content on NHS info…

17 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will support calls for Scotland to hold an annual national litter day on 16 August.

Answer · Lorna Slater: The Scottish Government recently published the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy which sets out our ambition to ensure individual, communities and organisations have greater awareness of the problems caused by litter, understand their responsibilities i…

16 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when its officials last discussed issues relating to governance of the Scottish Funding Council.

Answer · Graeme Dey: Scottish Government officials regularly discuss a range of matters related to the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), including SFC governance. SFC’s governance framework is set out by the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 2005 and the September 2022 …

16 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it (a) last met and (b) will next meet with the Scottish Funding Council to discuss governance.

Answer · Graeme Dey: The Scottish Government regularly meets with the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) to discuss a range of matters, including SFC governance. SFC’s governance framework is set out by the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 2005 and the September 2022 Fra…

14 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recommendations of the Scottish Wildlife Trust publication, Saving an icon: Final report from the Developing Community Action Phase of Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels, published in April 2023, and whether it will consider reconvening the Scottish Squirrel Grou…

Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government fully appreciates the work being undertaken and the progress made through the Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels project to protect and expand populations. It is particularly encouraging to see the partnership approach that has been under…

14 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been allocated to meet the aims of its Women’s Health Plan relating to improving menopause care.

Answer · Jenni Minto: Improving menopause care is one of the priorities of the Government’s Women’s Health Plan. There is now a specialist menopause service in every NHS Board, with a buddy system in place for the Island Boards. Women can access accurate and comprehensive informat…