Anas Sarwar

2 May 2017 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on what the top rate of income tax should be.

19 Apr 2017 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is assisting local authorities to provide welfare support advice.

18 Apr 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the incidence of hepatitis C among people who inject drugs has been in each of the last eight years.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The estimated HCV incidence per 100 per year among people who inject drugs in Scotland over the last eight years was as follows: 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 13.3 9.9 6.1 6.1 10.0 10.0 11.4 11.4 Source: Health Protection Scotland

12 Apr 2017 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its assessment is of NHS workforce morale.

3 Apr 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government further to the answer to question S5W-08238 by Aileen Campbell on 29 March 2017, whether it has undertaken any modelling to assess how many people will need to be treated for hepatitis C between 2020 and 2030.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government remains committed to the elimination of hepatitis C as a serious public health concern in Scotland. Whilst there has not been modelling undertaken to assess the number of people who will need to be held further between 2020-2030, Curre…

3 Apr 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government further to the answer to question S5W-08242 by Aileen Campbell on 29 March 2017, what its position is on the development of a hepatitis C elimination strategy.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government has recognised that there needs to be a staged approach to the elimination of hepatitis C. Following advice from the Hepatitis C Treatment and Therapies Group, the Scottish Government Group has set a target to reduce hepatitis C relate…

31 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it can provide to encourage the use of the Oasys computer program to help measure work-related asthma, and whether the NHS offers guidance to ensure that robust systems are in place to protect employees from such conditions.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Occupational health and safety legislation is reserved to the UK Government and regulation is the responsibility of the Health and Safety Executive. Employers have a statutory duty of care to their employees to carry out occupational risk assessments and put…

31 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on establishing a network of (a) specialists and (b) centres of excellence to deal with (i) fungal lung conditions and (ii) occupational lung diseases.

Answer · Shona Robison: Our Health and Social Care Delivery Plan published in December 2016 sets out our aim for Scotland to provide high quality services with a focus on prevention, early intervention and supported self-management. The plan sits alongside our National Clinical Stra…

31 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to raise awareness of occupational respiratory disease among (a) employers, (b) employees and (c) clinicians in primary care.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Regulation of occupational health and safety is an issue reserved to the UK Government. The Health and Safety Executive provides an extensive range of advice to employers on the risks of respiratory and other occupational diseases.  The Scottish Government f…

31 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what air quality monitoring takes place in schools, and whether it will consider placing air quality monitors in all schools.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-04906 on 30 November 2016. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877…

31 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve the testing of damp homes that are occupied by at-risk families.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: There is a statutory minimum tolerable standard for all housing (including those occupied by at-risk families ) which includes that homes must be substantially free from rising damp or penetrating damp. Owners and tenants can seek advice from their local auth…

31 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle the issue of damp homes in the (a) private and (b) owner-occupied sector.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: Under the statutory minimum tolerable standard for all housing including private lets and owner-occupied housing, homes must be substantially free from rising damp or penetrating damp. Local authorities have a statutory duty to address any housing which fall…

31 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to protect children from poor air quality, including diesel fumes.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-08571 on 18 April 2017. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.as…

31 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it protects children from poor (a) indoor and (b) outdoor air quality.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Cleaner Air for Scotland - The Road to a Healthier Future, published in November 2015, sets out a comprehensive series of actions which are intended to deliver further air quality improvements and protect the health of all citizens of Scotland. Under the Env…

31 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it (a) facilitates and (b) supports clinical expertise and services in treating fungal lung disease.

Answer · Shona Robison: While policies, frameworks and resources are provided by the Scottish Government, individual NHS Boards are responsible for planning and funding services in their area and for recruiting the staff to deliver them. It is for NHS Boards to determine their workf…

31 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it protects (a) children and (b) adults from lung conditions related to (i) mould, (ii) damp and (iii) fungus.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: NHS Health Protection advice is that vulnerable people, such as the very young and old and those with respiratory or immune conditions should stay away from mould and damp. If they feel they are unavoidably exposed to mould and damp and their symptoms persist…

31 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action the NHS takes to ensure that occupational lung-health guidance is up-to-date.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government has interpreted this question to relate only to occupational lung health guidance specific to NHS Scotland and not wider guidelines that fall to agencies such as the Health & Safety Executive (HSE). In diagnosing people with occupatio…

31 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it raises awareness among (a) schools, (b) parents and (c) children of the dangers of poor air quality.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Air Quality in Scotland website www.scottishairquality.co.uk contains a wide range of information on air quality for all members of the general public. Specific educational resources on the website are Air Pollution Detectives, aimed at 8-11 year olds and…

29 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the reasons for non-disclosure of ethnicity for staff of public bodies, and what action it has taken to address this in advance of the April 2017 public sector equality duty publication round.

Answer · Angela Constance: Compliance with the public sector equality duty is a matter for individual public bodies. The Scottish specific duties set by Scottish Ministers set a framework which helps public bodies to comply with the duty. This includes a requirement to set equality out…

27 Mar 2017 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what progress the Scottish Government has made on its commitment to reduce the number of working hours for junior doctors.

21 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-00690 by Angela Constance on 23 February 2017 (Official Report, c. 2), in light of the barriers arising from Islamophobia and gender stereotyping, what steps is it taking to enable young Muslim women to participate in politics and society.

Answer · Angela Constance: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-08278 on 13 April 2017 which addresses this question in part and is available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.a…

21 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-00690 by Angela Constance on 23 February 2017 (Official Report, c. 2), what steps it is taking to ensure that Islamophobia is not a barrier to young Muslims participating in politics and society.

Answer · Angela Constance: We are committed to tackling Islamophobia in all its forms, and we recognise the importance of ensuring that young Muslims are able to participate fully in society at all levels. We will continue to tackle hate crime, encourage people to report it, and challe…

17 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the suitability of the support provided for people living with arthritis.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government provides policies, frameworks and resources to NHS Boards to allow them to deliver services that meet the needs of their local populations. Within this context, the actual assessment of healthcare services provided for people living w…

17 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to (a) increase the number of consultant rheumatologists and (b) improve the availability of early arthritis clinics.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government remains fully committed to a sustainable NHS and its workforce, which continues to deliver a consistently high quality healthcare service to the people of Scotland. That is why we have seen staffing levels in our NHS increase by over 1…

17 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) action it is taking and (b) funding has been allocated to identify people who have hepatitis C but who have not been diagnosed or who are unaware of their infection.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government sponsors work, being undertaken by Glasgow Caledonian University and HPS, to assess the cost effectiveness of general population screening for hepatitis C. The results of this assessment will be available by mid-2017. Further, Health P…

17 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions NHS National Procurement has had with (a) NHS boards and (b) the Hepatitis C Treatment and Therapies Group regarding elimination of the infection.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: National Procurement leads on the procurement of medicines on behalf of NHS Scotland. Ensuring best value in medicine treatment costs will support NHS Scotland in eliminating hepatitis C as a public health concern by 2030. National Procurement have on-going e…

17 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review the six-monthly procurement process for hepatitis C treatments and the impact that this has on NHS services' delivery of longer-term plans for the elimination of hepatitis C as a public health concern by 2030.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: National Procurement leads on the procurement of medicines on behalf of NHS Scotland. The procurement approach is being kept under active review to ensure that it continues to deliver best value as NHS Scotland works towards eliminating hepatitis C as a publi…

17 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on introducing longer-term funding models for NHS boards to provide more certainty for longer-term plans to identify, diagnose and treat hepatitis C in order to meet its commitment to eliminate the infection as a public health concern by 2030.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: NHS Boards fund the treatment of hepatitis C from their overall baseline funding as provided by the Scottish Government. This funding is confirmed following the approval of the Scottish Government’s annual Budget Bill with spending plans outlined each year in…

17 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people in Scotland will need to be treated each year to meets its aim to eliminate hepatitis C as a public health concern by 2030.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government has a strategic target of reducing hepatitis C related liver failure (i.e. life threatening disease associated with hepatitis C) by 75% between 2015 and 2020. Modelling work undertaken by Health Protection Scotland and Glasgow Caledoni…

15 Mar 2017 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to reopen the Yorkhill minor injuries unit and, if so, on what date it will do so.