Parliamentary questions
Rachael Hamilton
1,432 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
15 Jun 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to implement a waiting time guarantee and target for endometriosis diagnosis and treatment.
Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government aims to reduce the diagnosis time for endometriosis. The Scottish Government’s soon to be published Women’s Health Plan (WHP) includes a number of actions to improve access to appropriate support, speedy diagnosis and best treatment fo…
15 Jun 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken in the last six months to reduce endometriosis waiting times, and what the current waiting times are in each NHS board.
Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government’s Women’s Health Plan (WHP) will be published shortly and includes a number of actions to improve access to appropriate support, speedy diagnosis and best treatment for endometriosis. Work is already underway by the Modernising Patien…
15 Jun 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of Endometriosis in the UK: time for change, APPG on Endometriosis Inquiry Report 2020, and what plans it has to implement its recommendations.
Answer · Maree Todd: The recommendations of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Endometriosis fall into 4 main categories; a commitment to drive down diagnosis times, to ensure access to appropriate care, awareness and investment in research. The Scottish Government’s soon to b…
15 Jun 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the (a) number and (b) percentage of eligible children who have received their HPV vaccination in the last year, and how many received their second dose within the 18-month target, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government and Public Health Scotland (PHS) continue to work with health boards to support their planning and the safe delivery of immunisation services during the pandemic. In Scotland, there is no 18 month target for second dose as the JCVI re…
15 Jun 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-31987 by Joe Fitzpatrick on 1 October 2020, whether it will provide an update on the progress of plans to ensure that any missed HPV vaccinations are rescheduled.
Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government and Public Health Scotland (PHS) continue to work with health boards to support their planning and the safe delivery of immunisation services during the pandemic. The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that pupils who were n…
15 Jun 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has provided for endometriosis (a) research, (b) treatment and (c) care in each of the last 14 years, and how much it will allocate to these services in each of the next five years.
Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government does not hold information on how much funding has been provided for endometriosis (b) treatment and (c) care in the last 14 years and how much will be allocated in each of the next five years. This is the responsibility of local NHS bo…
10 Jun 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to roll-out the app trialled by the University of Glasgow for people living with long COVID to record their symptoms.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: A web-based app has been developed as a means to collect data from those who agree to participate in the COVID in Scotland Study to understand the long-term health of people who have had COVID-19. This research study, led by the University of Glasgow in colla…
10 Jun 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the COVID-19 vaccination rate for (a) first and (b) second doses has been each week in the Scottish Borders.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The number of first and second doses administered per week to people living in the Scottish Borders has been sourced from Public Health Scotland. These data are from week ending 3 January to 20 June 2021. Location Week ending New dose 1 New dose 2 Scotti…
7 Jun 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will extend the window for 18- to 29-year-olds to register for a COVID-19 vaccination appointment.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Self-registration for 18–29 year olds closed on 11 June 2021. The online portal was part of the Scottish Government’s measures to widen the accessibility of vaccine appointments, and was extended for another week, on top of the original three week window. 40%…
7 Jun 2021 · Topical Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recent report by the Scottish Children and Young People’s Commissioner, which suggests that some at-risk children might have been detained unlawfully in secure accommodation.
4 Jun 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that COVID-19 vaccination information about people is transferred quickly and accurately from the vaccination centre to NHS Inform.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government utilises a vaccination management tool at the point of vaccination, the data forms used have built in validation to ensure the data entered are accurate. A new vaccination record is transferred to the National Clinical Data Store (NCDS…
27 May 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it plans to improve the booking system for COVID-19 vaccinations, and how it is addressing any reported issues or concerns that have arisen since the current system was implemented.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government aim is that is that the public should be able to access COVID- 19 vaccinations they require, at the time and in the format that they need it in. We are actively investigating more interactive appointing systems, while recognising that …
11 Mar 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will prioritise the COVID-19 vaccination of mountain rescue workers.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: We are adhering to the priority list devised by the Joint Committee of Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) who have advised an age-based programme will capture those with clinical risk factors as the risk of death is very strongly linked with age, more so tha…
2 Mar 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress the Invasive Non-native Species Action Group has made regarding (a) rhododendron ponticum and (b) other species, and how many times it met in 2020.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Non Native Species Action Group met once in 2020. The group’s main purpose is to prioritise and coordinate action on invasive non-native species (INNS) in Scotland. NatureScot and other public bodies take an operational lead on providing advice to land m…
2 Mar 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on whether it plans to introduce so-called vaccination passports in Scotland.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: It is too soon to introduce any form of certification. We need to know more about the efficacy of the vaccines, their impact on transmission and the length of immunity before it would be safe to introduce a vaccine certificate. We continue to engage in natio…
25 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has with (a) SEPA and (b) local authorities regarding major flood defences.
Answer · Ben Macpherson: The Scottish Government engages regularly with both SEPA and local authorities on a wide range of issues, including flood defences, to ensure that Scotland is resilient to the challenges of flooding and other climate pressures. As required by the process set…
25 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the pages on the SEPA website regarding river levels will be fully instated, following the recent cyber attack.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Rainfall and river levels data are available to SEPA internally in support of their flood forecasting service but at the moment cannot be exported automatically to the web pages to share with the public as a result of the cyber-attack. SEPA recognises the imp…
24 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will allow garden centres to reopen, as part of the route map out of lockdown.
Answer · Ben Macpherson: Garden centres can open in any area designated at protection level 3 or below and are presently open on some Scottish islands, including Shetland and Orkney. For all areas in protection level 4, garden centres are closed but are able to operate a permitted co…
22 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to decarbonise the Borders Railway.
Answer · Michael Matheson: In July 2020, we published the Rail Services Decarbonisation Plan, an action plan to decarbonise Scotland’s railways by 2035. The Plan focusses on decarbonising transport through the achievement of modal shift for both passengers and for freight. In addition…
22 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which devolved benefits continue to be delivered by the DWP.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government will launch Child Disability Payment this year, the first of the major devolved disability benefits, ahead of launching Adult Disability Payment with a pilot in Spring 2022. For the remaining devolved benefits, COVID-19 has had a major…
22 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its position regarding the introduction of a universal basic income.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government welcomed the publication of the Citizens Basic Income (CBI) steering group’s report into the feasibility of CBI pilots in Scotland in June last year. We agreed with the report’s conclusions that, while a CBI (sometimes known as a Univ…
22 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how many applications have been made for the Self-Isolation Support Grant, broken down by how many have (a) been approved, (b) been rejected and (c) yet to be processed; how much has been paid in total to date, and what the average award has been.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Management Information on the number of applications, awards and expenditure on Self-Isolation Support Grants are available at: Scottish Welfare Fund, Self-Isolation Support Grant and Discretionary Housing Payments: monthly data - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . …
22 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the cost of the agency agreements between the Scottish and UK governments for the continued delivery of devolved benefits by the Department for Work and Pensions.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Agency agreements are necessary to ensure a safe and secure transition while Social Security Scotland is still building capacity; these costs reflect the Department for Work and Pensions’ costs of delivery and are not directly controllable by Social Security …
22 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what the figure is for the one-off investment required to create Social Security Scotland.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Programme Business Case which was published in February 2020 describes implementation costs of £651 million, to 2025-26. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has meant that we have had to re-plan our delivery schedule and while we would anticipate the phas…
18 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when key agricultural workers will receive their COVID-19 vaccination and, in light of the approach of the lambing and calving seasons, whether it will consider bringing the date forward.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government follows the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) Guidance in the planning of vaccine delivery. This evidence based guidance advises that the single greatest risk of mortality from COVID-19 is increasing age, and that …
17 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many applications for the Scottish Child Payment have (a) been approved, (b) been rejected and (c) yet to be processed.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: As of 14 February 2021, Social Security Scotland had received 85,000 applications for Scottish Child Payment. Management information on the number of applications approved and denied will be published on the Social Security Scotland website on 3 March to pr…
16 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-31987 by Joe Fitzpatrick on 1 October 2020, whether it will provide an update on the progress of plans to ensure that any missed HPV vaccinations are rescheduled.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some teenage immunisations offered during academic year 2019/20 were delayed. However, maintaining the best possible uptake of the HPV vaccine is a priority for NHS Scotland. The Scottish Government and Public Health Scotland con…
16 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support is available to disabled people, particularly those who are unable to leave their home, and who want to attend a cervical cancer screening appointment.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: In the event that someone is unable to leave their home for a cervical screening appointment, their NHS Board can use a multidisciplinary team to take the necessary steps to allow someone to have their sample taken. This will be done on a case by case basis d…
16 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many of the 68 actions outlined in the Recovery and redesign: cancer services - action plan announced on 9 December 2020 to "both redesign cancer services to benefit patients, and increase our services’ overall resilience to future rises in COVID-19 prevalence" have been progressed.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: We are progressing all 68 actions included in our action plan, and are reporting on the actions on a quarterly basis. As of the end of December 2020, 5 of the actions are complete. We will continue to build on these 5 actions and progress the remaining action…
16 Feb 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of eligible children received their HPV vaccination in the last year, and how many received their second dose within the 18-month target.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some teenage immunisations offered during academic year 2019/20 were delayed. However, maintaining the best possible uptake of the HPV vaccine is a priority for NHS Scotland. The Scottish Government and Public Health Scotland con…