Emma Harper

17 Jun 2021 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the NHS will continue on the emergency footing that the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport previously extended to 30 June 2021.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: I want to thank our health and care staff for their magnificent work to date. The last few months have been enormously challenging, with the expansion of our vaccination programme and the on-going demands of continuing to provide vital services to those requi…

9 Jun 2021 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the NHS Board Performance Escalation Framework and the NHS boards that are currently escalated.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Prior to the start of the Covid-19 Pandemic, there were six Health Boards in Scotland who had been escalated to Stage 3 or above within the NHS Boards Performance Escalation Framework. This is the stage at which Boards are considered to require a higher level…

26 May 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the timescale is to implement the Scottish National Party election commitment to establish a national institute for remote and rural medicine.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government is committed to implementing a new centre of excellence for rural and remote medicine and social care, and will work with a wide range of stakeholders to develop more detailed plans for this centre and associated timescales for deliver…

17 Mar 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the short review into cancer pathway arrangements and reimbursement of travel expenses for patients in Dumfries and Galloway, which it committed to carrying out on 24 November 2020.

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what percentage of (i) households and (ii) business premises have had access to superfast broadband in each year since 2014, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Scottish Government, alongside our partners in the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband (DSSB) programme, has played a key role in extending the reach of fibre broadband across Scotland. Independent broadband analysis site, thinkbroadband (the same site t…

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how much has been spent on average per person on environmental protection in Scotland since 2016-17, and what information it has on how this compares with (a) England and (b) Wales.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government publishes data on spending for environmental protection in the annual Government Expenditure and Revenue in Scotland (GERS) report. Average annual spend for the last four years on Environmental Protection was £1,258 million per year, w…

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage share of new woodland planted in the UK since 2016-17 has been in planted in Scotland, and what information it has on how this compares with new woodland planted in (a) England and (b) Wales.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Scotland has accounted for about 80% of woodland planting in the UK in recent years. Forest Research publishes National Statistics on the area of new woodland creation, which can be found on its website: Forestry Statistics and Forestry Facts & Figures - For…

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how much has been spent on average (a) per year and (b) per person, in each year since 2016-17 on (i) agriculture, (ii) fisheries and (iii) forestry in Scotland, and what information it has on how this compares with (A) England and (B) Wales.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government publishes data on spending for agriculture, fisheries and forestry in the annual Government Expenditure and Revenue in Scotland (GERS) report. Average annual spend for the last four years in agriculture, fisheries and forestry was £908…

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding the value of salmon exports since 2016, broken down by (i) region and (ii) country.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Please find information in the following tables. Table 1. UK Exports of Atlantic Salmon between 2016-2020, by Region (Ranked by 2019 Value)  Value (£000’s) 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020* Atlantic Salmon (1) 450,480 608,630 509,517 627,968 453,999  1 …

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding the value of whisky exports since 2016, broken down by (i) region and (ii) country.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Please find information in the following tables. Table 1. UK Exports of Scotch Whisky between 2016-2020, by Region (Ranked by 2019 Value)  Value (£000’s) 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020* Scotch whisky (1) 4,008,996 4,367,424 4,712,119 4,924,614 3,813,02…

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding the value of food and drink exports since 2016, broken down by (i) region and (ii) country. 

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Please find information in the following tables. Table 1. Scottish Exports of Food and Drink between 2016-2020, by Region (Ranked by 2019 Value) Region Value (£000’s) 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020* Food (1) 1,424,802 1,641,589 1,602,219 1,778,883 1,6…

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the progress being made on the research, development and roll-out of the cervical cancer HPV screening home test, as part of the cancer screening programme.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: A number of research projects are currently underway across the UK, which will provide valuable data and evidence to inform the development of a national approach to integrating self sampling safely and reliably into the cervical screening programme. Scotlan…

11 Mar 2021 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the NHS will continue on the emergency footing that the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport announced on 10 September 2020.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: I want to thank our health and care system for their magnificent work over this winter. It has been an enormously challenging period where they have had to manage a resurgence in cases, the emergence of new variants and the on-going demands of providing vital…

26 Feb 2021 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will outline the approach that it will take to the roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccine once the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation groups 1 to 9 have been completed.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: We will continue the vaccination programme in line with the independent expert scientific and clinical advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisation (JCVI). We are making excellent progress through the first JCVI priority cohorts. Once we h…

24 Feb 2021 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the refreshed Diabetes Improvement Plan.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: We published the refresh of the Diabetes Improvement Plan today. The Plan is available on the Scottish Government website and can be found at: https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781800046788

19 Feb 2021 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to continue to add new conditions to the shielding list as new evidence arises.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: At the outset of the pandemic, the four Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) published a list of six groups where people would be considered to be at the highest clinical risk from COVID-19. The initial approach was based on best evidence at the time. We are commit…

9 Feb 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the funding progress and priorities for the Borderlands Growth Deal.

4 Feb 2021 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the increased transmissibility of the emerging COVID-19 variant and the need to progress the vaccination programme, and to protect the most vulnerable people, how it will prioritise the continued delivery of the seasonal flu vaccination programme,

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The seasonal flu vaccination programme has been more important than ever this year, in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. That is why we expanded the programme to protect the most vulnerable and alleviate pressure on the NHS. We extended eligibility this season …

2 Feb 2021 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the announcement of a 7.5% uplift for free personal and nursing care allowances for people in care homes this year, whether it will provide an update on when and how these payments will be formally reviewed.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: This year we have been able to increase the allowances paid to those who are self-funders in residential care. Usually, these payment rates increase in line with inflation. However, emerging evidence shows that the cost of providing personal and nursing care…

20 Jan 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the increased restrictions on business due to COVID-19, what direction and guidance it offers to local authorities regarding using discretionary business support funding.

19 Jan 2021 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support urgent elective care, in light of the rise in COVID-19 admissions to hospital.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Whilst the need to protect non COVID-19 healthcare activity remains paramount, it will inevitably be affected by the degree to which we can suppress the virus. Consequently, given the differing levels of virus prevalence we are seeing across the country, we n…

13 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the children of workers in the agricultural and dairy sector should be allowed to access the services that are available to the children of key workers under the current COVID-19 restrictions.

Answer · Christina McKelvie: In order to achieve our primary objective of reducing interactions and helping to drive down community transmission of Covid-19, the number of key worker children presenting to schools during the current strict lockdown must be kept to an absolute minimum. Th…

11 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported increasing numbers of COVID-19 positive cases in Stranraer and Wigtownshire, whether it will establish a walk-through COVID-19 testing centre in Stranraer, similar to those in Galashiels, Wick and Oban, which have similar population sizes to Stranraer, in order …

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government has established walk-through local test sites to support universities with students’ return in August and September, increase urban testing access, and fill drive-through provision gaps to provide equal access to testing across Scotlan…

9 Dec 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent engagement it has had with Dumfries and Galloway Council regarding progressing the Waterfront, East Pier and Town Centre redevelopments in Stranraer.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Engagement is regular and ongoing between Scottish Government and Dumfries & Galloway Council officials regarding the regeneration of Stranraer town centre and the plans for the waterfront. The discussions have covered the progress of projects being supporte…

8 Dec 2020 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to prioritise the recovery of cancer services that have been impacted by COVID-19.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: While cancer services have remained a priority throughout the pandemic, we recognise there continues to be an impact on cancer services due to the necessary reduction in some areas of clinically determined non-urgent care. Today, we have published and launche…

7 Dec 2020 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what support is being offered to food and drink businesses in Scotland to prepare for Brexit.

25 Nov 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting community organisations across Dumfries and Galloway to help the most vulnerable people during the COVID-19 pandemic.

17 Nov 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will introduce in NHS Dumfries and Galloway an equivalent of the Highlands and Islands travel scheme, which allows patients to receive full, non-means tested reimbursement for travel for medical appointments over 30 miles.

13 Nov 2020 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to NHS boards across Scotland to prioritise patients waiting for elective care.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Whilst we are working to maintain as much non COVID-19 healthcare activity as we safely can, that will inevitably be affected by the degree to which the virus is suppressed. Consequently, given our Strategic Framework approach and the differing levels of viru…

5 Nov 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last reviewed the role of clinical nurse specialists; what its findings were, and what future reviews it plans.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The role of the clinical nurse specialist was last reviewed in 2019-early 2020 under the Chief Nursing Officer Programme for Transforming Nursing roles, however this work was paused to allow us to focus on our response to the Covid 19 pandemic. We have recent…