Parliamentary questions
Brian Whittle
810 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
2 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-38600 by Jenni Minto on 19 June 2025, what assessment it has made of any potential risk to patients from independent prescriber pharmacists not having read/write access to patient records in 2026.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government remains committed to collaborate with key partners across the NHS in Scotland to ensure that relevant information, with the appropriate safeguards in place, is available to all healthcare professionals, including community pharmacists,…
2 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement and collaboration it has had with the social work sector in the development of the MyCare.scot app.
Answer · Neil Gray: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-40976 on 14 October 2025. NHS Education Scotland (NES) who have been commissioned by Scottish Government as a lead partner for MyCare.scot, are engaging with a range of stakeholders. I can confirm this also inc…
2 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how the roll-out of the MyCare.scot app aligns with its ambition to establish a single shared electronic patent record, and when that technology will be available in Scotland.
Answer · Neil Gray: The introduction of the MyCare.scotapp marks a significant milestone in the long-standing ambition of the Scottish Government to introduce a digital health and care record.The initial launch of the app in December 2025 will enable individuals in Lanarkshire t…
2 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what functionality and specific services the MyCare.scot app will have and provide in April 2026.
Answer · Neil Gray: Nationally, MyCare.scot will enable users to: login securely using a unique digital identity; access demographic, medication and allergy information; and use the national service finder to identify local health and care support from April 2026.Further functio…
2 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a list of the functions that the MyCare.scot app will perform compared with a list of those of the NHS app used in England.
Answer · Neil Gray: The initial launch of MyCare.scot in Lanarkshire will allow people to securely access and manage some hospital appointments online, receive communications, find local services and update personal information.Information on which functionalities will be availa…
2 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the publication of the document, Our Health and Social Care App: MyCare.scot: National Rollout High-Level Summary, on 26 September 2025, whether it will provide any possible alternative tracks that the public roll-out could take, as referenced under the “timeline at a g…
Answer · Neil Gray: While the timeline sets out an overview of our intentions for the progress on MyCare.scot, this may be subject to change based on a range of factors. This includes pilot outcomes, local readiness, technical performance, and user feedback. After the initial la…
1 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is regarding whether all NHS workers working on night shift should be entitled to at least one hot meal per shift.
Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government recognises that access to a hot meal during shifts plays an important role in supporting the health and wellbeing of NHS staff.The provision of healthy food or out-of-hours catering for NHS staff working night shifts is currently manag…
25 Sep 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on which commitments made in the Oral Health Improvement Plan (a) have been delivered to date and (b) remain outstanding.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Oral Health Improvement Plan (OHIP) remains a relevant and important cornerstone of NHS dental services policy in Scotland. Significant progress has been made on the commitments from the OHIP since its publication, including through the introduction of pa…
25 Sep 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it collects data on which dental practices currently provide preventative treatment for children, and, if so, whether all dental practices currently offer such treatment.
Answer · Jenni Minto: NHS dental preventive care delivery is recorded at population level. Public Health Scotland stats for the quarter to June 2025 NHS dental data monitoring report - Quarter ending June 2025 - NHS dental data monitoring report - Publications - Public Health Scot…
25 Sep 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many children under the age of 16 have been admitted to an NHS hospital for a tooth extraction as a result of tooth decay in each of the past five years, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. The member may wish to contact NHS Boards directly for this information.
25 Sep 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many accredited general dental practitioners have provided routine preventative care in care homes in each of the past five years, and how many unique patients have received such care in each year.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government does not hold a central list of accredited general dental practitioners providing preventive advice in care homes. All such advice is included within the overall Public Health statistics, as noted in S6W-40828 on 7 October 2025. The in…
22 Sep 2025 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to reports that proposed changes to the counting method for NHS waiting lists will result in numbers falling despite no more patients being seen.
8 Sep 2025 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister what urgent steps the Scottish Government is taking in response to reports that nursing and midwifery vacancies have risen by 60% in six months.
29 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the announcement that the chickenpox vaccine will be offered on the NHS in the UK from January 2026, what consideration it has given to adding the chickenpox vaccine to its standard childhood vaccination programme.
Answer · Jenni Minto: Following a recommendation from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, the chickenpox (varicella) vaccine will be introduced into Scotland’s routine childhood immunisation programme from January 2026.Introduction of this vaccine offer in S…
5 Aug 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much (a) it and (b) Public Health Scotland (i) budgeted for and (ii) spent in each of the last three years running (A) mass and (B) social media campaigns to raise smokers’ awareness of the (1) Quit Your Way cessation services delivered by NHS boards and (2) health benefits and…
Answer · Jenni Minto: We do not set an annual budget for marketing campaigns for smoking cessation and this would form part of the overall budget for tobacco and smoking, which since 2023-24 has been £2.93 million. The Scottish Government ran Community Pharmacy poster campai…
4 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-38812 by Jenni Minto on 26 June 2025, what prior engagement it had with the clinical community to inform the development of the long-term conditions framework consultation, and what feedback it received from any such engagement.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government has undertaken a range of stakeholder engagement prior to the development of a long term conditions framework consultation, including meeting with fifteen clinicians representing seven policy areas (stroke, respiratory, cardiology, chr…
4 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment has been undertaken to understand the potential impact of increasing eligibility criteria to access local social care services on people living with dementia.
Answer · Tom Arthur: The Scottish Government and CoSLA are working in partnership to deliver on the Joint Statement of Intent and Next Steps for Adult Social Care 2022-23 commitment to overhaul the current mechanism of eligibility criteria to ensure an approach to social care sup…
4 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how the planned long-term conditions framework will be (a) prioritised and (b) resourced to address the (i) current and (ii) future projected burden of disease for such conditions.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government published its Health and Social Care Service Renewal Framework (SRF) on 17 June 2025. This Framework provides a high-level guide for change, to ensure the sustainability, efficiency, quality, and accessibility of health and social care…
4 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on developing a clear, consistent set of national standards and care pathway guarantees that set out the level and standard of care that everyone with a diagnosis of dementia should expect throughout each stage of their condition.
Answer · Tom Arthur: A national local delivery plan (LDP) standard was introduced to agree priorities between Scottish Government and NHS boards for the provision of care and support. The LDP standard states all people newly diagnosed with dementia should receive a minimum of one…
4 Jul 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address the reported variability of access across Scotland to the 12-month minimum guaranteed post-diagnostic support for people living with dementia.
Answer · Tom Arthur: The New Dementia Strategy for Scotland emphasises the importance of ensuring that people are supported to receive a timely diagnosis, delivered in a person-centred manner, and high quality Post-Diagnostic Support is received for a minimum of 12 months, irresp…
27 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential of embedding specialist support practitioners, such as specialist nurses, dieticians, and psychologists, within local settings, in order to (a) improve (i) access to holistic care and (ii) the management of long-term conditions, such as Crohn&…
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that people living with long term conditions like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, can access high-quality, person-centred care.We have provided addition…
27 Jun 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, as part of the initiative to provide more specialist clinical care in the community, as detailed in the Health and Social Care Renewal Framework, whether increased specialist support in local settings will be available for people with inflammatory bowel disease in order to allow those w…
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government has overall responsibility for health and social care policy in Scotland; however, the statutory responsibility for delivering or commissioning services at a local level lies with local authorities, NHS Boards and integrated health and…
4 Jun 2025 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any economic implications of the Scottish Fiscal Commission’s latest forecasts and the potential impact of rising public health costs on businesses across Scotland.
27 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what patient-facing features will be available to people piloting the national Digital Front Door app within NHS Lanarkshire later in 2025.
Answer · Neil Gray: The initial users in NHS Lanarkshire will be patients accessing dermatology outpatient services. They will have the following features:Secure login using a unique ID through Scot Account.Receive digital letters from the dermatology teamView dermatology appoin…
20 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether legislation will be required to deliver an integrated social care and health record, as referenced in its Care in the Digital Age: Delivery Plan 2024-25.
Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government are committed to delivering a digital health and care record and can confirm that legislation is not required to create such a record. However, Part 2 of the Care Reform (Scotland) Bill, if passed, will create the enabling conditions f…
12 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether investment for Crohn’s disease and colitis is included as a "similar condition" in the £4.5 million of funding announced in the Programme for Government 2025-26 for new specialist support for long COVID, myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), chronic fatigue and other s…
Answer · Jenni Minto: Long COVID and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME)/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) are examples of post-acute infection syndromes. Work is ongoing to determine how the additional £4.5 million announced in the 2025-26 budget to deliver new specialist support w…
12 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the announcement within the Programme for Government 2025-26 of £4.5 million for new specialist support for long COVID, myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), chronic fatigue and other similar conditions, what it identifies as "similar conditions".
Answer · Jenni Minto: Long COVID and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME)/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) are examples of post-acute infection syndromes. Work is ongoing to determine how the additional £4.5 million announced in the 2025-26 budget to deliver new specialist support w…
7 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to the second supplementary to question S6O-04619 by Neil Gray on 7 May 2025, whether it will provide an update on the delivery of an electronic, single shared patient record system.
Answer · Neil Gray: The provision of patient record systems remains the operational responsibility of Health Boards, but at a national level I can confirm it is our intention to launch the first version of a personalised digital health and social care service from December 2025.…
7 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve data collection and reporting on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training in schools, in collaboration with local authorities.
Answer · Jenni Minto: There is no mechanism that exists currently for the Scottish Government to collect data centrally on the provision of CPR training in schools.As a key partner in the Save a Life for Scotland partnership, we continue to work closely with local authorities and …
7 May 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it offers to local authorities and schools to help ensure that all pupils receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training during their time in education.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government is a key partner in the Save a Life for Scotland Partnership, which is working to ensure that all school aged children in Scotland will be given the opportunity to be equipped with CPR skills.This has included delivery of Restart a Hea…