Brian Whittle

5 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the volume of traffic to and from the port, what its position is on dualling the A77 between Cairnryan and Ayr.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government will shortly take forward the “Programme for Government” commitment to commence work for the second Strategic Transport Projects Review in the Dumfries and Galloway area. This will include looking at access to the ports at Cairnryan an…

29 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the use of technology to make an appointment with a GP; how it promotes this; what guidance it provides on its use, and how much it has spent on providing this since 2007.

Answer · Shona Robison: The eHealth Strategy 2014-2017 published by the Scottish Government in March 2014 commits to encouraging all GP practices in Scotland to offer repeat prescribing and appointment booking as online services, with a view to at least 90% of practices offering thi…

29 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to ensure that patients can secure an appointment with their GP within a suitable time.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government are committed to investing an extra £250 million to support general practice per year by 2021, as part of a pledge to increase overall annual funding for primary care by £500 million by 2021. To help the pressures that are placed upon…

29 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the average waiting time is for patients to secure an appointment with a GP in Scotland, also broken down by NHS board area.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government does not hold this information for independently contracted practices. It does expect patients to be offered an appointment with a member of GP practice staff within two days; the latest figures (Health & Care Experience Survey 2015-16…

29 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it considers a suitable time for a patient to wait for an appointment with their GP.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government knows how important it is that patients have prompt access to services when needed and has put in place a national standard of 48 hour access, or advance booking, to an appropriate member of the GP practice team during core hours. That…

21 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-09545 by Derek Mackay on 13 June 2017, for what reason this information is not held centrally.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Scottish Government holds partial information on IT spend. Procurement information on total IT spend and spend with suppliers which have a Scottish post code is shown in the following table. Financial Year Total IT Spend Total IT Spend (Companies with…

21 Jun 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to help promote women to more senior positions in the public and private sector.

15 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent on ICT projects by (a) it and (b) each of its agencies in each year since 2007, also broken down by what percentage of this was with Scotland-based companies.

15 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills on 15 June 2017 (Official Report, c. 46), who will appoint the members of regional collaboratives; how much the members will be paid, and from what areas of expertise they will be appointed.

Answer · John Swinney: As set out in the June 2017 Scottish Government publication Education Governance: Next Steps, the Scottish Government will work with partners to ensure that new Regional Improvement Collaboratives are appropriate for local circumstances. This will include wor…

14 Jun 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that the highest quality food is served in hospitals.

13 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government who has responsibility for ensuring that NHS boards that are subject to Health Improvement Scotland reviews implement the recommendations; how it measures the effectiveness of the implementation, and what action it can take if a board does not comply.

Answer · Shona Robison: NHS Boards have a duty to ensure they deliver high quality safe, effective and person centred care and therefore it is their responsibility to act on and implement the recommendations and requirements from a Healthcare Improvement Scotland inspection or revie…

31 May 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the details are of its food procurement policy for the central Excel contract, and what steps it takes to ensure that produce is imported from countries that have legislation governing food production similar to that in Scotland.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 (the Act) requires public sector procurement to take account of economic, social and environmental considerations. The Act also requires that public bodies include, in published procurement strategies, statements on …

31 May 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the parameters are of its investigation into the nutritional value of school meals, and when the results will be published.

Answer · John Swinney: All food and drink provided in schools must meet the strict nutritional standards set out in 'The Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2008'. Since our internationally-admired school meal regulations were introduced in…

31 May 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on IT projects in each year since 2007, broken down by the percentage of spend that went to Scottish companies.

Answer · Derek Mackay: This information is not held centrally.

30 May 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much tax revenue it expects will be generated by the large business rates supplement in 2017-18, and how many commercial premises will be affected in the (a) East Ayrshire, (b) South Ayrshire and (c) South Lanarkshire local authority area.

Answer · Derek Mackay: It is estimated that the 2017-18 non-domestic rates income in respect of the large business supplement and the associated number of premises are, respectively by local authority area, £1.1 million and 277 premises for East Ayrshire, £1.8 million and 386 premi…

30 May 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the timescale is for the Healthcare Improvement Scotland review of neonatal services at Crosshouse Hospital, and by what date the report will be (a) completed and (b) published.

Answer · Shona Robison: The initial timescale for Healthcare Improvement Scotland’s (HIS) independent review of Ayrshire Maternity Unit at University Hospital Crosshouse was from December 2016 until late Spring 2017 and the terms of reference of the review can be found at: http://ww…

17 May 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when businesses will be able to access the Scottish Growth Scheme that it announced in September 2016.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: We expect to announce the first tranche of investment under the Scottish Growth Scheme in early summer and businesses will be able to access the Scheme at that point.

12 May 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of women attending an antenatal appointment in each of the last three years who had a recorded smoking status were smokers.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: For pregnant women in Scotland, smoking status is only routinely recorded at their antenatal booking appointment. Of women delivering in an NHS Scotland hospital who had smoking status recorded at their antenatal booking appointment, the percentage recorded a…

12 May 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of women attending an antenatal appointment in each of the last three years who had a recorded BMI were obese.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: For pregnant women in Scotland, BMI is only routinely recorded at their antenatal booking appointment. Of women delivering in an NHS Scotland hospital who had BMI recorded at this appointment, the percentage found to be obese in each of the last three years w…

26 Apr 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to ensure that all pupils can participate in extra-curricular activities irrespective of background or personal circumstances.

21 Apr 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the timescale is for making all outstanding payments to farmers; what action it is taking to address the reported concerns in the sector regarding problems in IT functionality impacting on the processing of these, and how it will ensure that a robust system will be put in place for …

Answer · Fergus Ewing: I shall reply to the member as soon as possible.

19 Apr 2017 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it will provide to the proposed Ayrshire growth deal.

28 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether its review of school food nutrition will examine how much food is locally-sourced and other ways of reducing the carbon footprint of transporting the produce.

Answer · John Swinney: The current school food regulations contain a set of nutrient standards designed to ensure that a school lunch provides a third of a pupils daily recommended nutrient intake and a set of food and drink standards which apply to all other parts of the day (brea…

22 Mar 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the latest Fraser of Allander Economic Commentary, which warns that indicators of Scottish consumer confidence are more negative than for the UK as whole.

14 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-04419 by Shona Robison on 15 November 2016, what progress it has made setting up a feasibility study into extending free personal and nursing care to people under the age of 65 with a diagnosis of dementia (Frank's Law), and what the reasons are for…

Answer · Shona Robison: The feasibility study, which is being conducted by Scottish Government officials, working with analysts and economists to produce a reliable estimate of the costs involved in extending free personal care to all adults, is underway and will be completed in sum…

8 Mar 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to ensure that physical activity and sport are available to all, irrespective of background or personal circumstance.

27 Feb 2017 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to reports that sports funding is set for a 20% reduction over the next three years, which has been described by sportscotland as "heartbreaking".

14 Feb 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure the safe restoration of opencast coal mine sites in East Ayrshire and the south of Scotland.

9 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to ensure that specialist healthcare advice is available for people with Huntington's disease in (a) Moray, (b) the Scottish Borders, (c) Dumfries and Galloway and (d) other areas of Scotland where it considers there is a lack of this advice.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: NHS Boards are responsible for planning and delivering healthcare services, including specialist services, to meet the assessed needs of their resident populations, taking into account strategic frameworks and guidance, within the allocations provided. Addit…

8 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what provision there is in the attainment fund for outdoor learning, particularly for schools in inner city areas, in light of reports that school trips to National Parks and outdoor areas are becoming less frequent and increasingly only accessible by children from a middle-class backgro…

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government wants to see all children and young people have positive outdoor learning experiences in a variety of settings. A number of schools and local authorities are already using Attainment Scotland Funding for outdoor learning to help close…