Parliamentary questions
Alex Cole-Hamilton
2,700 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
5 Jan 2025 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister when the Cabinet will next meet.
11 Dec 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether students under the age of 22 from outside of Scotland who are studying at Scottish universities and colleges qualify for the discretionary free bus travel card, and, if so, what the annual cost of this is to the Scottish Government.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: Anyone, including students from outside of Scotland, that is a resident of Scotland for the majority of the year and aged 5 to 21 is eligible for the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme.The Scottish Government do not calculate or hold information on t…
6 Dec 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that financial claims submitted to it by people who have been impacted by the building of the Queensferry Crossing are addressed.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: All valid claims under Part 1 of The Land Compensation (Scotland) Act 1973 submitted to Transport Scotland in respect of the Queensferry Crossing have been passed to the Valuation Office Agency to negotiate the level of compensation due with the claimants&rsq…
3 Dec 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support is available for those in rural areas, who would like to access telehealth appointments but lack the digital skills to do so.
Answer · Neil Gray: In addition to the answer provided to question S6W-31954 on 17 December 2024, Near Me video consulting access has been expanded into local community hubs and libraries, providing additional accessibility and support from staff for people who wish to access se…
3 Dec 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many telehealth appointments have been conducted in each of the last four years.
Answer · Neil Gray: Telehealth as a term can represent a range of digital and remote access to services across healthcare. As such, there are multiple telehealth services on offer at a national and local level across Scotland and therefore it is not possible to provide a complet…
3 Dec 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has published a remote and rural workforce recruitment strategy for the NHS, in light of its commitment to do so by the end of 2024.
Answer · Neil Gray: I refer the member to the Committee debate of 12 December 2024 where I set out that to help employers address all potential barriers to recruitment in rural and island areas, a whole system approach was required.I announced that in partnership with NHS Educat…
3 Dec 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to develop training programmes to support digital literacy and telehealth usage.
Answer · Neil Gray: Digital inclusion, of which literacy is one component, is being prioritised as part of the national Digital Health and Care Strategy and associated delivery plan. In March 2023, the Scottish Government launched the £2m Digital Inclusion Programme. Deliv…
2 Dec 2024 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister when the Cabinet will next meet.
26 Nov 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what financial support is being provided for buildings with known cladding issues.
Answer · Paul McLennan: The Scottish Government is providing financial support for buildings with known cladding issues through the Cladding Remediation Programme.The Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Act 2024 addresses the risks posed by unsafe cladding on residential build…
26 Nov 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans are being drafted or implemented in relation to (a) mental health support and (b) pay awards for Police Scotland.
Answer · Angela Constance: The mental health support for police officers and police staff is a matter for the Chief Constable.In line with Police Scotland’s ‘People Strategy 2024–27’, a ‘Health and Wellbeing Action Plan’ was developed by Police Scotl…
26 Nov 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the reason is for the reported drop-off in the number of extensive clinical dental examinations under the new pay arrangements between the quarters ending 30 June and 30 September 2024.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The number of treatments (including enhanced examinations) is compiled on the basis of claims made to Practitioner Services for payment within agreed working schedules and monthly activity is therefore not always presented on a directly comparable basis. For …
22 Nov 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it did not include psychological therapies in its Programme for Government 2024-25 commitment to clear the backlog and meet the standard nationally for child and adolescent mental health services by December 2025.
Answer · Maree Todd: I am as committed as ever to meeting the waiting times standard for psychological therapies and to clearing waiting list backlogs as confirmed in our Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy.We continue to publicly report and monitor performance closely and provi…
22 Nov 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether, by clearing the child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) backlog by December 2025, as set out in its Programme for Government 2024-25, it expects that no child or young person will wait longer than 18 weeks to start treatment.
Answer · Maree Todd: I remain clear that long waits are unacceptable and that is why in the Programme for Government we reaffirmed our commitment to meet the CAMHS standard and clear backlogs by December 2025.While we will work to ensure no child will wait to start treatment long…
18 Nov 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what (a) care pathways and (b) treatments exist for patients with extreme and life-threatening allergies.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government expects NHS Health Boards to manage those in need of adult allergy services according to local needs and deliver these services to provide high quality care that is safe, effective, and person-centred.Children and Young People in Scotl…
18 Nov 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to introduce Kitt Medical packs into state schools to treat extreme anaphylaxis in children with life-threatening allergies.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Human Medicines (Amendment) Regulations 2017 allows schools across the United Kingdom, including independent schools, to buy and hold spare adrenaline auto-injector (AAI) devices without the need for a prescription to treat anaphylaxis in schools in emerg…
18 Nov 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to bring forward a national allergy strategy.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government are not seeking to increase the number of plans for individual health conditions and are therefore not developing a national allergy strategy. Rather, we are focussed on how we can best support Health Boards to deliver high quality, va…
18 Nov 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to reduce waiting times for allergy diagnosis and treatment.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all people living in Scotland with an allergy, are able to access the best possible care and support, and benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put people at the centre of their car…
18 Nov 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with NHS Scotland regarding the inclusion of allergy awareness in all medical training and professional development.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government is working closely with NHS Education Scotland (NES), who are responsible for managing all training provided to doctors in Scotland.Allergy awareness is an integral part of all medical curricula, particularly in recognising and managin…
11 Nov 2024 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister when the Cabinet will next meet.
30 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when its (a) ministers and (b) civil servants last met with representatives of each of the 131 public bodies.
Answer · Ivan McKee: Given the wide range of bodies that make up the public bodies landscape in Scotland, and that not all public bodies share the same relationship with Government, there are no set rules as to the frequency ministers and officials should meet with them. Minister…
24 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what funding it has provided in each of the last five years for research projects aimed at developing a more reliable prostate cancer screening test.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government’s Chief Scientist Office supports open competitive grant and fellowship schemes for applied health research in Scotland across a wide remit that is inclusive of consideration of applications for research relating to prostate canc…
24 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to introducing routine prostate cancer screening for men in their 40s.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government, along with the other UK nations, relies on advice about screening programmes from the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), an independent expert advisory group.Population screening for prostate cancer was last reviewed by the UK …
17 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether reform to the NHS dental payment system in 2023 has meant it is not possible to compile data in a way that allows for examination of longer term trends.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The data available through NHS dental payment reform reflects the revision to fee codes that was delivered in November 2023. Activity and treatment trends are available in the Public Health Scotland statistics that have been published post reform.
17 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to measure long-term trends in NHS dental activity and assess if activity has improved year on year, given there has been reform in the system
Answer · Jenni Minto: Public Health Scotland have produced regular Official Statistics post introduction of NHS dental payment reform. The most recent version was published on 27 August 2024 and provides the activity levels for all treatment items, each month since introduction. S…
15 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made towards completing the partial electrification of the Fife Circle, in light of its final completion being due by December 2025.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: As reported in the Infrastructure Investment Plan 2021-22 to 2025-26, Major capital projects progress update (December 2023), I can advise that a refresh of the Rail Services Decarbonisation Action Plan is underway. Timescales for this project will be updated…
15 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many live homeless applications there were in each local authority area on Christmas Day 2023, and how many (a) adults and (b) children these related to.
Answer · Paul McLennan: The following table gives the number of live homeless applications at December 25th 2023 for each local authority, along with the number of adults and children these applications refer to. Live cases at 25 December 2023Number of adultsNumber of childrenA…
10 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of it being approved in principle 12 years ago, for what reason there is reportedly still no completed design specification, business plan or agreed promoter to progress the Winchburgh railway station project.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: The station proposal is a developer led proposal with planning permission in principle granted by the Planning Authority, in this case West Lothian Council. It is for Winchburgh Developments Limited to progress the above items.Transport Scotland, utilising it…
10 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its reasoning was for investing £116 million in the Levenmouth Rail Link while not investing in Winchburgh railway station.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: The two schemes are not related.The decision by the then Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity to progress the Levenmouth Rail Link was based on the findings of the Levenmouth Sustainable Transport Study.The study was undertaken in …
10 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the reasoning was for Transport Scotland's reported decision not to allow West Lothian Council to apply section 75 funding obligations in relation to a new railway station for Winchburgh in 2012.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: West Lothian Council (WLC) is the Planning Authority, who granted the planning permission in principle for the Winchburgh development in April 2012.As a statutory consultee, Transport Scotland, acting on behalf of Scottish Ministers, provided a response prior…
10 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it can guarantee that no funds will be diverted from other transport projects in order to pay for Winchburgh railway station.
Answer · Jim Fairlie: Transport Scotland has fully allocated its budget to rail projects which are currently the Scottish Government’s priorities.These projects have been subject to review under our Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG).