Parliamentary questions

Monica Lennon

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

6 Jul 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of the rising cost of living on unpaid carers.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: In May 2022 the Scottish Government established a short-life working group to provide analytical expertise and insight into the impacts of the cost of living crisis. Part of the purpose of the group is to assess the impact on priority groups in particular, in…

6 Jul 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has made a recent assessment of the mental health needs of women living with autism.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government is committed to improving the mental health of women and girls with autism and to this end we work with and support autism charities, including the Autistic Persons Organisation Scottish Women’s Autism Network (SWAN). Our Toward Transf…

5 Jul 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the ASH Scotland report, Closing the Inequality Gap: Smoking and Mental Health, what its position is on whether there is a link between smoking and mental ill health, and what action it is taking to address this possible link.

Answer · Maree Todd: We welcome the report by ASH Scotland on smoking and mental health and aim to discuss with them details of their report findings. Smoking prevalence among those experiencing mental ill-health is higher than the national average. Finding solutions to this is a…

5 Jul 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to smoking cessation services.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government has provided £9,144,964 to Health Boards for the provision of smoking cessation services. This funding is calculated on the basis of smoking rates and deprivation and is used to provide the free Quit Your Way service. This service inc…

5 Jul 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to help people and families who are struggling to access affordable fruit and vegetables.

Answer · Maree Todd: We know that inflation is having the biggest impact on those with the lowest incomes. We are doing what we can within our devolved powers and this year we have allocated almost £3 billion to support people who are struggling. Our Best Start Foods provides pr…

5 Jul 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce sexual violence against women and girls on trains and at railway stations, in light of reports that British Transport Police data shows that 46 sexual assaults were reported by women on Scotland’s railways in 2021, which is reportedly the highest number…

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: British Transport Police (BTP) is a reserved matter and as such the Scottish Government has no locus in their operations. I have recently had meetings with BTPs Chief Constable and the Chief Superintendent of D Division (Scotland) and discussed this very matt…

5 Jul 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the reported backlog of 42,000 criminal cases to be heard at Scottish courts relate to sexual offences; what action is being taken to speed up access to justice in relation to any such sexual offence cases, and how much additional funding is being made available to support vi…

Answer · Keith Brown: The latest Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service monthly statistics, published on 19 July, show that there were 37,174 scheduled trials at the end of June. It is not possible to state how many of these trials relate to sexual offence cases, due to the data be…

5 Jul 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is considering introducing the routine testing for group B streptococcus in pregnant women, in light of reports that such testing takes place in other developed countries including the United States, Canada, Germany, France and Spain.

Answer · Maree Todd: Any decision on whether or not to introduce a new national screening programme in Scotland is guided by the recommendations of the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), an independent expert advisory group which advises all four nations of the United King…

5 Jul 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken to raise awareness of group B streptococcus in pregnant women.

Answer · Maree Todd: We expect NHS Boards to follow the most up-to-date, evidence-based guidance in the diagnosis, management and treatment of Group B Streptococcus infection in pregnant women and their babies. NICE guideline NG195, Neonatal infection: antibiotics for prevention…

5 Jul 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action is being taken to reduce the (a) rate and (b) number of group B streptococcus-related deaths in newborns.

1 Jul 2022 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what work has been carried out to assess the use of single-use plastics within the Scottish Parliament.

Answer · Claire Baker (on behalf of the SPCB): In line with our sustainability strategy, we have been compliant with the requirements of the Scottish Single Use Plastics ban for a number of years already. All of our disposable cutlery, hot food and soup containers, salad boxes, coffee cups and lids are ma…

1 Jul 2022 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what consideration has been given to removing plastic bottles from sale in the Scottish Parliament canteen, and switching to more sustainable packaging choices for soft drinks.

Answer · Claire Baker (on behalf of the SPCB): Although single use plastic bottles are not part of the recent Single Use Plastics Ban in Scotland, we are actively exploring with our supplier (Sodexo) on how to remove or reduce plastic bottles from sale within the canteen and other catering outlets at Holy…

1 Jul 2022 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what work it is undertaking to improve access within the Scottish Parliament to reusable period products and encourage people to make the switch from single-use period products.

Answer · Claire Baker (on behalf of the SPCB): The SPCB first agreed to the provision of free period products at the Holyrood building at their meeting on 3 May 2018. The SPCB is committed to providing an inclusive working environment for all staff throughout all stages of their working lives. This in…

30 Jun 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has been made of the barriers which currently exist for eligible people to access the cervical screening programme.

Answer · Maree Todd: Work to understand and tackle barriers to cervical screening is on-going. Public Health Scotland (PHS) has published Cervical Screening Toolkit (healthscotland.scot) , which aims to address falling attendance rates and increase understanding of cervical can…

30 Jun 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with employers in the (a) public sector, (b) private sector, (c) third/ charity sector regarding policies and support for people who are eligible to attend cervical screening appointments to do so.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government expects all employers to take a fair and flexible approach that supports workers to attend all necessary medical appointments. For this reason, we do not engage with employers specifically around policies relating to cervical screening…

30 Jun 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage women under the age of 40 to attend their cervical screening appointments.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government encourages all eligible individuals between the ages of 25 and 64 to take up their cervical screening invitations. A key priority for the Scottish Government is to reduce inequalities in access to and uptake of screening programmes, t…

28 Jun 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Thistle Seafoods, the new owners of the former Dawnfresh site in Uddingston, regarding (a) its commitment to Fair Work and (b) ensuring the continuation of trade union recognition for the staff and site.

Answer · Ivan McKee: The Scottish Government welcomes the announcement that the former Dawnfresh site in Uddingston will continue to operate under new owners, Thistle Seafoods, and understands that the sale included the transfer of 40 employees. We strongly encourage the company …

27 Jun 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether (a) clinical psychologists and (b) social workers are included as a core component of specialist multidisciplinary teams and required to be available at a patient's annual review in (i) paediatric and (ii) adult cystic fibrosis services.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: I refer the member to questions S6W-08085 and S6W-08129 answered on 18 May 2022 and 3 May 2022, respectively. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.…

27 Jun 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to ease the current workload of epilepsy specialist nurses.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-09419 on 13 July 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees…

27 Jun 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many epilepsy specialist nurses are currently working in Scotland, and how many patients are currently assigned an epilepsy specialist nurse.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Information on the number of epilepsy clinical specialist nurses currently employed by NHS Scotland is not centrally held. Information on the how many patients are currently assigned an epilepsy specialist nurse is not centrally held.

27 Jun 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to recruit and train more epilepsy specialist nurses.

24 Jun 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much its marketing budget for any planned campaigns for buses and coaches is in 2022-23.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: There is no budget allocated as part of the Scottish Government marketing budget for 2022-2023 for campaigns on buses and coaches.

24 Jun 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much its marketing budget for ScotRail and any planned campaigns for trains is in 2022-23.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-09472 on 27 July 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees…

24 Jun 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on marketing for any campaigns involving buses and coaches (a) in 2021-22, not including any campaigns for the Young Persons’ (Under 22s) Free Bus Travel scheme, and (b) since April 2022.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government spent a total of £507,452.36 in 2021-22. This spend relates to a public information for the Travel Demand Management campaign, which ran during October-November 2021 to encourage people who would previously have driven into Glasgow cit…

24 Jun 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on marketing, including any contributions to ScotRail-led campaigns, for any campaign involving trains (a) in 2021-22 and (b) since it took over the rail franchise in April 2022.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government has not spent any money directly on marketing of trains in 2021-22 or since the 1 April 2022, and has no specific budget for this purpose because this is a matter for ScotRail as the relevant train operating company.

23 Jun 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many women have been diagnosed with takotsubo cardiomyopathy in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: This is a matter for Public Health Scotland. The information requested is not held centrally.

23 Jun 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to increase the number of women working in (a) cardiology roles and (b) medicine.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The increasing options for flexible working available through less than full-time training (LTFT), has had a positive impact on the demographics of the medical profession. Women’s participation in medicine is currently at a good level. There are proportionat…

23 Jun 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action is being taken to improve (a) diagnostic services, (b) treatment guidelines, (c) access to MRI imaging and (d) clinical trials for takotsubo cardiomyopathy.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Heart Disease Action Plan (2021), sets out a strategic vision to ensure that everyone with suspected heart disease in Scotland has equitable access to timely and evidence-based diagnosis, treatment and care. Priority 2 in the plan contains a focus on impr…

22 Jun 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Neurological Alliance of Scotland report, Together for the One in Six, and what plans it has beyond 2025 to improve care and support for adults and children with a neurological condition.

Answer · Maree Todd: We welcome the Together for the One in Six report produced by the Neurological Alliance of Scotland (NAoS). We are determined to improve the provision of neurological care which is why we funded the NAoS to help facilitate this survey in Scotland. It is vita…

22 Jun 2022 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether its COVID-19 recovery planning will include measures to improve access to interpreters and translators for people using public services.