Monica Lennon

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its position regarding funding for Autism Network Scotland.

Answer · Clare Haughey: The update on the funding for Autism Network Scotland is that I met with Richard Ibbotson on 18 March 2021, to set out the reasons for the withdrawal of funding and to allow him an opportunity to convey his views directly to me. I explained the decision and t…

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been allocated to the Glasgow endometriosis centre since 2019.

Answer · Clare Haughey: The Scottish Government does not hold this information. The three specialist centres, including Glasgow, are the responsibility of local NHS Boards and are funded through their existing NHS budgets.  

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been supported through the National Transition Training Fund.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The National Transition Training Fund was introduced to address and mitigate the impacts of Covid-19 on the labour market, with projections that around 115,000 people in Scotland could be at risk of long term unemployment as a result of the pandemic. The ext…

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of problem gambling during the COVID-19 pandemic and what measures it has taken to prevent and reduce harm.

Answer · Clare Haughey: The monitoring of the impact of gambling across the UK during the pandemic, is carried out by the Gambling Commission, which published and updated the following report . The Commission also alerts stakeholders to other academic assessments carried out acros…

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will fast track second vaccine doses for people with cancer, following research by King's College London and the Francis Crick Institute suggesting that people with solid-cancers, and particularly people with blood cancer, have antibodies significantly lower than non-cancer pa…

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government follows the advice of the Joint committee for Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) as they continue to monitor all aspects of data and evidence of vaccine effect in different groups, and have considered this data in people with cancer. …

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last discussed drug-related (a) deaths and (b) harms with the UK Government and what issues were discussed.

Answer · Angela Constance: I met with the UK Government’s Minister for Crime Reduction and Policing on 11 February 2021, and the Minister for Prevention, Public Health and Primary Care on 24 February 2021. During the meetings I highlighted the specific challenges we face in tackling …

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment has been carried out of the number of (a) confirmed and (b) suspected drug-related deaths in 2020 and what the reason was for an increase in such deaths in December 2020.

Answer · Angela Constance: Public Health Scotland provide regular reports which include suspected drug-related deaths, to help maintain and improve the quality of care and support available to people who use drugs. That data is closely examined by Public Health Scotland and key partner…

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the future provision of forensic toxicology services and on what date the University of Glasgow will cease its contractual arrangement with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

Answer · James Wolffe QC: Forensic toxicology services are currently provided by the University of Glasgow under a contract with COPFS. COPFS has agreed a contract extension with the University of Glasgow to 31 March 2022 to facilitate transfer of service provision to another provider…

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-29916 by Alison Di Rollo on 8 July 2020, whether it will provide an update on the number of deaths that have been referred to the Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit in each month since May 2020, also broken down by what information it has regard…

Answer · James Wolffe QC: The following table sets out the numbers of sudden, unexpected and unexplained deaths reported per month to the Procurator Fiscal from 01 June 2020 to 28 February 2021. Included within this table at Column (ii) is the number of deaths where the Procurator Fis…

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the IT equipment available to teachers to support remote and blended learning.

Answer · John Swinney: Local authorities are responsible for ensuring that their staff have access to appropriate equipment in order to carry out their work. The Scottish Government has focused on supporting digital inclusion amongst learners and to date, over 67,000 devices and al…

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when driving (a) lessons and (b) tests for (i) key workers and (ii) students on key worker placements will be able to resume under its revised COVID-19 Strategic Framework.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The First Minister announced on 16 March that Stay at Home regulations will be lifted on 2 April and replaced with guidance to Stay Local, with more services able to open from 5 April. The First Minister also announced further expected easing’s from 26 April …

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with animal welfare groups to discuss the impact of the new firework regulations.

Answer · Ash Denham: The Scottish Government has engaged with animal welfare groups as new firework regulations have been progressed through secondary legislation. A meeting took place on 17 December 2020 with the Scottish SPCA to discuss the measures that were being introduced. …

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of animal welfare concerns, whether further action is planned to restrict the use and sale of fireworks.

Answer · Ash Denham: Further positive change will be progressed through in how fireworks are sold and used in Scotland, subject to the outcome of the upcoming Scottish Parliament elections. This will contribute towards a fundamental shift in the relationship that Scotland has wit…

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, with regard to the use and sale of fireworks, what consideration it has given to (a) introducing mandatory conditions of purchase, (b) introducing a licensing system including measures which restrict usage to licensed events only and (c) establishing "no fireworks zones." 

Answer · Ash Denham: The Scottish Government welcomed the recommendations of the Fireworks Review Group and in February 2021 laid regulations in the Scottish Parliament amending the times of day and volume of fireworks that can be sold to the general public, and the times of day …

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government further to the answer to question S5W-18158 by Christina McKelvie on 7 September 2018, whether it will provide an update on waiting times for rape survivors at each rape crisis centre in each of the last two years.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: According to Rape Crisis Scotland, as of October 2019 and October 2020 waiting list times for each centre were as follows: Centre Waiting list 2019 Waiting list 2020 Argyll and Bute 4-6 weeks 10-12 weeks Grampian 6 months 3-5 months South West (Du…

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will give complainers of sexual offences the right to anonymity.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: In sexual offence cases, there can be a legal right of anonymity for sexual offence complainers, but this requires a decision by a court to be made to protect a person's identity in a given case. Separate from this, there is a long-standing non-statutory prot…

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to ensure that there is sustainable funding in place for specialist services provided by (a) Rape Crisis Scotland and (b) Women's Aid Scotland centres.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: We recognise the crucial role both Rape Crisis Scotland and Women’s Aid Scotland centres play in providing specialist support for women and children at risk of gender-based violence. At present, over £12 million this year is being invested into frontline ser…

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-10965 by Shona Robison on 14 September 2017, whether it will provide an update regarding the number of operations for the treatment of lipoedema that have been carried out each year, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Our previous reply highlighted this information is not held centrally, as there is no Classification of Surgical Operations and Procedures (4th revision) code suitable to identify operations for the treatment of lipoedema in the data supplied by NHS Boards. …

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its assessment is of how the enforcement of adherence to fair work practices can be guaranteed in relation to green ports. 

Answer · Ivan McKee: The Scottish Government will require green port operators and businesses directly benefitting from new tax incentives to adopt the Scottish Government’s Fair Work First approach, as a condition of their designation or eligibility respectively. We expect to s…

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, with regard to green ports, what consideration it has given to fair work other than the payment of the living wage, such as access to unions, union recognition and the payment of union rates.

Answer · Ivan McKee: Green port operators and businesses directly benefitting from new tax incentives will be required to adopt Fair Work First. In doing so, they will be encouraged to use the Scottish Government’s Fair Work First guidance to inform their approach and to advance …

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to updating its Business Pledge commitments on green ports to discourage the growth of (a) zero-hour contracts, (b) get-out clauses and (c) other similar practices.

Answer · Ivan McKee: Under Scotland’s green port model, green port operators and eligible businesses operating within a green port area will be required to adopt the full Fair Work First criteria and commit to becoming a Scottish Business Pledge signatory. The Scottish Business P…

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its assessment is of the expected effectiveness of fair work practices in green ports, given the number of employers who have signed the Business Pledge.

Answer · Ivan McKee: The Scottish Government requires that green port operators and businesses directly benefitting from any new tax incentives will adopt the Scottish Government’s Fair Work First approach. We intend this as a condition of being permitted operator status, or bein…

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the financial guarantee to companies within the GFG Group was referred to the EU for approval on state aid grounds, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The guarantee is compliant with EU state aid rules and did not require EU approval.

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the holding answer to question S5W-34217 by Jeane Freeman on 20 January 2021, how many doses of COVID-19 vaccine, broken down by type, have been allocated to each NHS board for each month from December 2020 to May 2021.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Data on vaccine allocation is published weekly at a national level. As of Monday 26 April: Total number of doses allocated: 4,718,140 Total number of doses delivered: 4,216,470 Total number of doses allocated refers to the number of doses that have been m…

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-34979 by Jeane Freeman on 22 February 2021, when the Junior Doctors 48-hour Expert Working Group report will be published.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The ongoing response to the Covid-19 pandemic has been and continues to be the focus of our activity. We have agreed with BMA Scotland that the report and its important recommendations will be released when it has been fully considered.

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-34268 by Jeane Freeman on 20 January 2021, whether any new variants of COVID-19 have been identified in nosocomial infections in Scotland.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: I shall reply to the member as soon as possible.  

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how its commitments on achieving women’s labour market equality will be integrated with the development of the Centre for Workplace Transformation.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Centre for Workplace Transformation is being developed in a way that is wholly consistent with the Scottish Government’s National Performance Framework and commitments to inclusive growth and fair work. Embedding equality – including gender equality – wil…

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support NHS boards have been given to promote training and awareness of migraines among primary care professionals.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: We expect Health Boards to ensure their staff are appropriately trained and developed for their roles, as per the Staff Governance Standard. The standard complements the training expectations set out in individual professional and regulatory requirements. In…

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been prescribed (a) Erenumab and (b) Fremanezumab for migraine treatment since Scottish Medicine Consortium approval was granted.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Thank you for your Parliamentary Question asking how many people have been prescribed (a) Erenumab and (b) Fremanezumab for migraine treatment since Scottish Medicine Consortium approval was granted. The Scottish Medicine Consortium granted approval for Ere…

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding the number of working days lost each year because of migraines, and what it is doing to raise awareness of the support that employers can give to staff living with the condition.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: We do not hold the requested information centrally. The health and wellbeing of individuals, communities and the economy are amongst our top priorities. Employers should follow Scottish guidance and have policies and practices in place that promote good heal…