Parliamentary questions

Annie Wells

659 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

3 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its assessment is of the reported difference between NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde's average spend of £76 on hospital food per patient per week and NHS Lothian’s average spend of £102.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government has led the rest of the UK by setting a minimum standard of hospital food, and we expect our NHS boards to meet those standards. We are committed to spending the right amount on meals for NHS patients, and any fluctuations in the cost …

21 Dec 2017 · Written Question

Answer · Michael Matheson: The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. In December 2017, Healthcare Improvement Scotland, commissioned by the Scottish Government, published the first Healthcare and Forensic Medical Services Standards for people who hav…

21 Dec 2017 · Written Question

Answer · Michael Matheson: The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. In December 2017 Healthcare Improvement Scotland, commissioned by the Scottish Government, published the first Healthcare and Forensic Medical Services Standards for people who have…

19 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-12825 by Maureen Watt on 30 November 2017, what plans it has to carry out research on the mental health of all looked-after children and young adults.

Answer · Maureen Watt: I refer the member to the answer to S5W-12825 on 30 November 2017. 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/28877.a…

14 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take in response to the Scape Group report that Glasgow City Council will require 57 additional secondary school classrooms by 2020.

Answer · John Swinney: We work very closely with education authorities in the future planning and improvement of Scotland’s school estate – and over the past seven years we has seen 449 schools built or substantially refurbished. This work is underpinned by our £1.8 billion Scotlan…

12 Dec 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the EU Commissioner for Agriculture’s comments regarding the implementation of Areas of Natural Constraints payments being postponed until 2019.

12 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to improve teacher recruitment and retention in Glasgow, in light of reports that the children in one class at Thornwood Primary School have had 20 different teachers since starting school.

Answer · John Swinney: I am aware of the situation at Thornwood Primary school and the Director of Education has plans in place to address this, to ensure continuity of children's learning is maintained. I know that recruitment of teachers is currently a challenge for some local a…

7 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recommendation by HM Inspectorate of Prisons in its recent report on HMP Shotts, when the Scottish Prison Service will launch a national policy to deal with bullying and intimidation among prisoners.

Answer · Michael Matheson: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows: SPS has worked in partnership with Respectme, Scotland’s anti-bullying service, to update the organisation’s approach to bullying in prisons…

23 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-12688 by Maureen Watt on 22 November 2017, how many CAMHS patients with eating disorders have been referred to the independent sector in each year since 2007.

Answer · Maureen Watt: Data is not centrally available. The data held in the ISD CAMHs database is aggregated data and is not split by type of diagnosis. It is therefore not possible to provide a specific response regarding waiting time for children and young people with an eating…

23 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-12688 by Maureen Watt on 22 November 2017, what average percentage of CAMHS inpatient beds has been used for children and young people with eating disorders in each year since 2007.

Answer · Maureen Watt: This data is not centrally held by ISD.

22 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recent Care Inspectorate report, which suggested that three-in-four local authorities have reported instances where the number of children requiring a foster care placement was greater than the placements available.

Answer · Maree Todd: We welcomed this report from the Care Inspectorate, which builds on our existing evidence base and highlights a number of positive findings in relation to fostering in Scotland. For example, the report states that the number of fostering households in Scotlan…

16 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to carry out new research on the mental health of looked after children and young adults.

Answer · Maureen Watt: We are developing a ten year Child and Adolescent Health and Wellbeing Action Plan which aims to take a cross-policy, rights based approach to improving the physical, mental and emotional health and wellbeing of children and young people within Scotland. The …

15 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take in light of a survey reportedly showing that 44 shops closed in Glasgow in the first six months of 2017.

Answer · Keith Brown: We are aware of the PWC research compiled by the Local Data Company and whilst we are concerned at the reported number of shop closures in Glasgow we welcome the news that retail closures are slowing down in Scotland, and that Paisley, Dundee and Falkirk have…

15 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the findings in the NSPCC Scotland report, Right to Recover, which suggests that half of the local authorities in the most heavily-populated areas have no specialist service for young children who are the victims of sexual abuse, and that the support that is provi…

Answer · Maureen Watt: The Scottish Government has several strands of work underway to support children and young people who have experienced sexual abuse. The Chief Medical Officer chairs the Taskforce for improving services for adults and children who have experienced rape and se…

14 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to a recent Diabetes UK study suggesting that almost two-thirds of people with diabetes experience emotional or mental health problems as a result of their condition.

Answer · Maureen Watt: We recognise the challenges faced by people living with all forms of diabetes. Through our Mental Health Strategy, which sets out our ambition for the next 10 years, we seek to improve access to psychological therapies and to prevent and treat mental health p…

10 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many specialist (a) adult and (b) child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) eating disorder inpatient beds there are.

Answer · Maureen Watt: The number of specialist eating disorder beds for adults is shown in the following table: Service No of beds Area served St John’s Hospital, Livingston 12 South East of Scotland Borders, Lothian, Fife, Forth Valley Stobhill Hospital, Glasgow 4 …

11 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take in response to new figures published by the Mental Welfare Commission, which show that compulsory mental health treatment is at a 15-year high, with a 8.2% increase in 2016-17 compared with the previous year.

Answer · Maureen Watt: Mental health is an absolute priority for this government and we have already increased mental health spending by 40% between 2006-07 and 2015-16. Our mental health law is based on rights and principles and offers protection for patients where compulsory tr…

4 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of frontline NHS staff has undertaken at least one course specifically on suicide prevention.

Answer · Maureen Watt: Suicide prevention training is provided by NHS Health Scotland which is fully funded by the Scottish Government. Data on suicide prevention training of NHS staff is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

26 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to comments by HIV Scotland that there are inconsistencies across local authorities regarding how HIV and sexual health is taught in schools.

Answer · John Swinney: Curriculum for Excellence is the national approach to learning and teaching for young people aged 3 to 18 in Scotland. It provides significant flexibility, within broad national guidelines, for teachers to develop lessons which best meet the needs of individu…

21 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the findings of its review of whether the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 is fulfilling the needs of people with a learning disability and autism.

Answer · Maureen Watt: This Government has committed to and is undertaking a review to consider whether the provisions of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 fulfil the needs of people with Learning Disability and Autism. The work to lay the foundations of t…

21 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the findings of the audit of child and adolescent mental health services rejected referrals.

Answer · Maureen Watt: Scottish Government intends to publish the findings of the audit of child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) rejected referrals within 12 months. Preliminary work has now taken place and the audit will commence shortly. This will consist of two par…

21 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) under-16- and (b) 16- to 18-year-olds diagnosed with a (i) mental and (ii) physical health condition have been admitted to (A) an adult and (B) a non-adult inpatient ward in each year since 2007-08.

Answer · Maureen Watt: Information on how many under 16 and 16 to 18 year-olds diagnosed with a mental and physical health condition admitted to an adult/non-adult inpatient ward is not held centrally. It is not possible to distinguish between an adult and a non-adult inpatient war…

20 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce accident and emergency waiting times at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government is working closely with the local team at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) to support improvements. While performance at the QEUH over the summer months (June and July) improved to over 90%, performance against the four …

20 Sep 2017 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve mental health care provision for children and young adults with learning disabilities and autism.

18 Sep 2017 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to reports that the electrification of the Glasgow-Edinburgh via Falkirk rail service is subject to further delay.

14 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take in response to recent data from the National Records of Scotland, which reportedly shows that the number of dementia-related deaths has risen by 17% in the last year.

Answer · Maureen Watt: In Scotland the number of people with a diagnosis of dementia and the number of people dying of dementia has risen as our population ages, and the rates of diagnosis have improved, partly due to our former national diagnosis target and a greater awareness of …

11 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to statistics by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, which suggest that the number of consultant psychiatrists in Scotland has risen by less than 1% since 2012, compared with a 20% increase in the number of consultants who treat physical illness.

Answer · Shona Robison: Mental Health is a priority for this Government. In 2017-18, for the first time, NHS investment in mental health will exceed £1 billion, and we are working with Boards to deliver sustained improvements. Under this Government, the number of psychiatric specia…

8 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To also ask the Scottish Government what spending outlines it gave to local authorities when awarding them £35,000 to compile autism action plans and strategies, and what analysis it has carried out of the effectiveness of how each council used this.

Answer · Shona Robison: The majority of the funding which the Scottish Government provides to local government is by the means of a block grant. It is the responsibility of individual local authority to allocate the total financial resources available to it on the basis of local nee…

8 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of how the £13.4 million for the Scottish Strategy for Autism has been allocated.

Answer · Shona Robison: When the Scottish Strategy for Autism was published in November 2011, the then Minister for Public Health backed a programme of activity with £13.4 million. This has broadly been committed to a Development Fund which has made between £1m to £1.5m available pe…

5 Sep 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it gives to initiatives that aim to make Glasgow more environmentally-friendly.