Parliamentary questions
Monica Lennon
3,484 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
13 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans are in place to reinstate social care packages that have been withdrawn as a result of COVID-19.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Throughout this difficult time, it is critical that social care support is maintained to ensure the safety, dignity and human rights of people who already receive that support and along with their carers. I have already stated in the Scottish Parliament that…
13 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have had their personal care withdrawn during the COVID-19 outbreak, broken down by either local authority or integration joint board.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Scottish Government do not hold this information, which is kept at a local level. However, we have been clear that it is critical that social care support is maintained throughout this difficult period to ensure the safety, dignity and human rights of people …
13 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many unpaid carers are living in the same household as an individual in receipt of a shielding letter in relation to COVID-19.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Government does not hold this information.
13 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how unpaid carers can access personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: From Monday 27 April, the local personal protective equipment (PPE) Hubs for the registered social care sector started to receive enhanced supplies and support so that they can expand their supplies to unpaid carers and others. The Scottish Government has pu…
13 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether sudden, unexpected and unexplained deaths are still being reported to the Scottish Fatalities Investigations Unit during the COVID-19 outbreak, and what its response is to reports of a significant number of unexplained deaths being recorded during the outbreak.
Answer · James Wolffe QC: As Lord Advocate, I remain constitutionally responsible for the investigation of sudden, unexpected and unexplained deaths in Scotland throughout the current COVID-19 Pandemic. With one adjustment, the requirement to report sudden, unexpected and unexplained …
12 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish data held by the Care Inspectorate on the number of (a) suspected cases of and (b) confirmed or presumed deaths due to COVID-19 in care homes.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The daily and cumulative number of suspected COVID-19 cases in adult care homes is published on the Scottish Government website: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-daily-data-for-scotland/ . The following information is also available:N…
12 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many care home residents were tested for COVID-19 during the delay phase, and how many tested positive.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Public Health Scotland provides the Scottish Government with numbers of residents and staff tested in care homes, but it is not possible to disaggregate this further to provide a breakdown of the numbers of care home residents who were tested for COVID-19 dur…
12 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many cabinet secretaries and ministers have been tested for COVID-19, and whether any have tested positive.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The requested information is not collected or held by the Scottish Government.
9 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the planned frequency of COVID-19 testing is for (a) staff working and (b) young people residing in secure care centres.
Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government does not directly provide COVID-19 testing for these cohorts of people. This is a matter for each Secure Service (4 of which are independent and 1 local authority-run) and the relevant local Health and Social Care Partnership.
9 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) staff working and (b) young people residing in secure care centres have been tested for COVID-19.
Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government does not gather data on how many staff and how many young people in secure care have been tested for COVID-19. Scottish Government officials are in daily contact with secure homes and host a weekly tele conference with all 5 secure ca…
9 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of COVID-19 outbreak on the (a) treatment of and (b) waiting times for chronic pain patients, and what action it is taken to ensure that delays are minimised.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Government has spoken with Health Boards to understand the impact of COVID-19 and how people can access care and support for chronic pain. Like most NHS services, specialist pain clinics have been postponed where the multi-disciplinary specialist…
8 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many contact tracers there were in each NHS board at the point of transition from the containment to the delay phase for COVID-19, and how many there are currently.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Public Health Scotland (PHS), working with NHS Boards, are leading activity to put in place a contact tracing system that will rapidly enhance existing capacity, and evolve into a sustainable service that can be in place for as long as is required. The priori…
6 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the letter from the Minister for Mental Health to the Health and Sport Committee on 2 April 2020, how many of the new mental health assessment centres that are to be established in response to the COVID-19 outbreak are being set up by each NHS board; when these will become op…
Answer · Clare Haughey: We have engaged with mental health leads at each of the NHS Boards and they have provided the following information. There are twelve new mental health assessment centres, which have been established in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. All centres but two b…
31 Mar 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what specific funding is provided to family members, including parents or adult child carers, of people who have been infected with hepatitis C and/or HIV via infected blood or blood products.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Infected Blood Support Scheme makes payments to individuals infected with HIV and/or Hepatitis C by infected NHS blood or blood products. The Scheme also makes payments to beneficiaries' spouses, civil partners, long-term cohabitees, or dependent…
31 Mar 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what funding is made available to each NHS board to support people who have been infected with hepatitis C and/or HIV via infected blood or blood products and to fund specialist care support for those requiring ongoing care.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Hepatitis c and HIV treatment is delivered by territorial NHS Boards in Scotland, using funding from the core grant they each receive from the Scottish Government. This treatment provided by NHS Boards includes providing specialist care for patients infected …
29 Mar 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in situations where a person's death is recorded as COVID-19-related on their death certificate, whether (a) members of the same household and (b) other close contacts are offered testing if they are (i) symptomatic and (ii) not symptomatic.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The current tests in use in Scotland are effective at identifying people who have COVID-19 infection when they are symptomatic. However, the current tests cannot reliably detect infection prior to the onset of symptoms, and cannot confirm whether a person has…
29 Mar 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether funeral directors have been issued with (a) appropriate personal protective equipment and (b) sector-specific COVID-19 guidance on infection control.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-28124 on 20 April 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/…
29 Mar 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people are currently permitted to attend funerals and burial services, and what COVID-19 (a) guidance and (b) personal protective equipment has been given to (i) grave diggers and (ii) other local authority staff working in this sector.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Government recognises how important it is that people are able to grieve the passing of a loved one. However, in order to protect the most vulnerable in society we need to respect social distancing. Under the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Res…
24 Mar 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what procedures or guidance it is putting in place to allow abortion healthcare to be accessed via telemedicine during the COVID-19 crisis.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-28062 on 31 March 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/…
24 Mar 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to enabling nurses and midwives to sign-off abortion procedures during the COVID-19 crisis.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-28062 on 31 March 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/…
24 Mar 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it is giving to allowing one doctor, nurse or midwife to certify abortion procedures directly during the COVID-19 crisis.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-28062 on 31 March 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/…
24 Mar 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is putting in place to ensure that all women can access abortion services during the COVID-19 crisis.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Government has issued an approval to enable women having an early medical abortion to take both abortion pills at home. The intention is that this approval will remain in place during the Covid-19 outbreak. This will ensure patients can have thei…
24 Mar 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the administration of both abortion pills at home during the COVID-19 crisis.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-28062 on 31 March 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/…
23 Mar 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to bring forward any of the measures on pulmonary rehabilitation set out in the Respiratory Care Action Plan to build in extra resilience for people living with lung conditions following the peak of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: We published the draft Respiratory Care Action Plan for Scotland for consultation on 20 December 2020. The consultation was due to run until 3 April 2020, however, due to the on-going situation with COVID-19 we have extended the consultation to 3 July 2020. …
23 Mar 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that people can access pulmonary rehabilitation classes safely during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Government is aware that this is a worrying time for people but, it is absolutely vital that people stay at home during this time in order to protect those most at risk and the NHS. The Scottish Government is proactively providing guidance to gr…
23 Mar 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on introducing a digital solution to help ensure that people can access pulmonary rehabilitation classes during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: As set out in my response to S5W-28055 on 7 April 2020, an app MY COPD already exists which patients can access. The third sector provide a crucial role in supporting people with long-term respiratory conditions and the guidance sets out where people can acce…
23 Mar 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the COVID-19 outbreak, what its position is on the proposed closure of NHS laundry services.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: There will be no changes to NHS laundry services until we have addressed the current Covid-19 situation.
19 Mar 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with the STUC regarding the potential impact of COVID-19 on the workforce, including those who will require sick leave.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: I met with STUC on 11th, 18th and 24th March to consider how we can support workers and encourage fair work practices in response to COVID-19. We share the concerns of the STUC that the most economically vulnerable in our society must be protected through thi…
18 Mar 2020 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is taking in response to COVID-19.
Answer · James Wolffe QC: As head of the systems for the prosecution of crime and investigation of deaths in Scotland, I have set clear priorities, along with the Chief Constable for the Police Service of Scotland, for the investigation and prosecution of crime as measures to tackle t…
13 Mar 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to raise awareness of the symptoms of (a) ovarian cancer and (b) other conditions specific to women, and what funding is in place to support this.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Through the £42 million Detect Cancer Early programme, the Scottish Government aims to increase the proportion of cancers that are detected at the earliest stages and includes increasing awareness of the symptoms of ovarian Cancer. Our social marketing strat…