Parliamentary questions
Alex Cole-Hamilton
2,700 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
14 Nov 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to support growth in the Scottish healthcare and assistive technology sector.
Answer · Ivan McKee: The Scottish Government recognises the importance of the use of technology in healthcare environments to improve health outcomes and to create jobs. Support includes the funding of the Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre and the Medical Devices Manufactur…
14 Nov 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which stakeholders have identified rehabilitation leads within their organisations to lead on delivery of recommendations in the report, Rehabilitation and Recovery: A Once for Scotland Person-Centred Approach to Rehabilitation in a Post-COVID Era.
Answer · Maree Todd: Establishing a Rehabilitation Governance Board is one of the delivery outcomes of the Rehabilitation and Recovery: A Once for Scotland Person-Centred Approach to Rehabilitation in a Post-COVID Era. The approach paper states that we will “Develop clear reporti…
14 Nov 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to encourage innovation in the public sector procurement of medical devices.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government is committed to sourcing innovative solutions to address key challenges that face our NHS, that have been trialled and validated to work across the health ecosystem in Scotland. In order to encourage and contribute to the delivery of …
14 Nov 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to improve rehabilitation and recovery since the publication of the report, Rehabilitation and Recovery: A Once for Scotland Person-Centred Approach to Rehabilitation in a Post-COVID Era, in June 2022.
Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government has awarded funding of £444,000 in 2022-2023 to support the delivery of the Once for Scotland approach stated in the plan. We have awarded the Care Inspectorate £194,000 to enable them to build on the learning from the Care About Phys…
14 Nov 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its response to its consultation on community equipment and housing adaptations draft guidance.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: Following a consultation process, which ended in June 2022 officials have been working on analysis of responses, and redrafting the guidance. It is hoped that the guidance, and associated guides and toolkits will be published by the end of the year.
14 Nov 2022 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister when the Cabinet will next meet.
11 Nov 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-09382 by Humza Yousaf on 13 July 2022, whether it will provide an update on the latest figures for 2022.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Ambulance Service reports that in 2022, 46888 call-outs have alcohol mentioned as a possible factor by ambulance crews when completing an electronic patient record. The Scottish Ambulance Service does not specifically record alcohol-related incid…
11 Nov 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will correct and republish Scotland's National Strategy for Economic Transformation, originally published on 1 March 2022, which incorrectly states that Scotland has "a quarter of Europe’s wind potential".
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government has committed to undertake further work to quantify Scotland’s offshore wind potential. We will update Parliament once this work is concluded, and at that point also consider which legacy documents, including the National Strategy for …
11 Nov 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6T-00960 by Lorna Slater on 15 November 2022, how it will communicate to the Parliament what the correct figure is for Scotland's share of Europe's offshore wind potential, and how long it will take to publish the correct figure.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government has committed to undertake further work to quantify Scotland’s offshore wind potential. Once this work has concluded a letter will be sent to the Presiding Officer.
10 Nov 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether there are any barriers that may prevent those outwith the COVID-19 vaccine priority groups from receiving a booster dose this winter, should they wish to get one, or if the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommends they do so.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Decisions to prioritise one population group over another for vaccination are not taken lightly, nor are they straightforward. That is why our prioritisation decisions have been, and will continue to be, guided by the independent expert advice provided by the…
10 Nov 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether people outwith the COVID-19 vaccine priority groups will be able to access a booster dose at a cost this winter should they not be covered by Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommendations and guidance.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Decisions to prioritise one population group over another for vaccination are not taken lightly, nor are they straightforward. That is why our prioritisation decisions have been, and will continue to be, guided by the independent expert advice provided by the…
7 Nov 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to take action regarding the automatic response to people who refer safeguarding matters, in light of it reportedly being an automatic response from the General Teaching Council for Scotland to state the matter is "frivolous".
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) is the independent regulatory body for teachers and, as such, Scottish Ministers have no locus to intervene in their procedures. The GTCS fitness to teach policy sets out key principles and acts as a mechanism …
7 Nov 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to public petition PE1979 on establishing an independent inquiry and an independent national whistleblowing officer to investigate concerns about the alleged mishandling of child safeguarding enquiries by public bodies.
Answer · Clare Haughey: The Scottish Government will address the issues raised in petition PE1979 in its response to the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee. This response will be issued shortly.
4 Nov 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many facial recognition cameras are currently being used by Police Scotland.
Answer · Keith Brown: The decision to use any technology with facial recognition capability is an operational matter for Police Scotland, whilst having regard to the relevant laws. The Scottish Government understands from Police Scotland that they are not and have no plans to us…
4 Nov 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the timeline to remove unsafe cladding from buildings has changed, in light of the reported funding reduction as part of the recent government review.
Answer · Shona Robison: There has been no change to the programme timeline.
4 Nov 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how many cases of sepsis have been diagnosed in each year since 2017, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Information on cases of sepsis is only held centrally for people admitted to hospital. Public Health Scotland publish this information in their Annual Statistical Report on Acute Hospital Activity and NHS Beds Information . This includes data on hospital …
3 Nov 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that winter vaccination appointments are allocated to patients according to the centre's proximity to their home address.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: This year’s winter vaccination programme seeks to protect those at the highest risk of severe illness and hospitalisation from COVID-19 and flu, and reduce pressure on the NHS and social care services. Ensuring accessibility for the most vulnerable has, ther…
26 Oct 2022 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to address the discharge of sewage into rivers, lochs and waterways.
24 Oct 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether there are any plans for (a) ministers and (b) official delegations to visit Qatar during the 2022 World Cup.
Answer · Maree Todd: There are no plans to send Ministers or officials to Qatar during the 2022 World Cup.
24 Oct 2022 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister when the Cabinet will next meet.
18 Oct 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it expects the first meeting of its National Care Service Lived Experience Experts Panel to be held.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Lived Experience Experts Panel doesn’t reflect traditional policy panels, which meet together on a regular basis. It is most similar to the Experience Panel in place for Social Security. It functions as a pool of people with lived experience who can be ca…
18 Oct 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many applications (a) it has received and (b) have been successful to join its National Care Service Lived Experience Expert Panel.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: As of the 4 November 2022 the Scottish Government has received 382 applications to join its National Care Service Lived Experience Expert Panel, with 381 applicants being successful.
5 Oct 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-09151 by Kevin Stewart on 23 June 2022, and in light of the publication of the NHS Recovery Plan: Annual progress update, whether it is the case that it remains committed to meeting the standard that 90% of patients start treatment for CAMHS and Psy…
Answer · Kevin Stewart: Improving mental health is a priority for the Scottish Government and we remain committed to meet the standard that 90% of patients start treatment within 18 weeks of referral by March 2023. Public Health Scotland’s statistical release providing Child and Ad…
20 Sep 2022 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met Sanjeev Gupta.
16 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-10195 by Jenny Gilruth on 7 September 2022, whether it will publish copies of any notes or minutes from the meetings that took place on 20 April and 10 October 2017.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Minutes and notes of meetings are not routinely published and are available upon request from Transport Scotland.
16 Sep 2022 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister when the Scottish Government will announce the outcome of its review into the pausing of the Super Sponsor scheme for Ukrainian refugees coming to Scotland.
31 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what powers it has to ensure that owners of aggressive dogs maintain control of their pets in public places.
Answer · Ash Regan: The power to deal with the owners of aggressive dogs rests with local authorities and Police Scotland. The two main pieces of legislation in relation to dog control are the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 (“the 1991 Act”) and the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010 (…
18 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that infants can register with an NHS dentist.
Answer · Maree Todd: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-09235 on 18 July 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees…
16 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S6W-10087 and S6W-10089 by Maree Todd on 16 August 2022, whether it will provide the dates of when the meetings that discussed these issues took place.
Answer · Maree Todd: I have a weekly portfolio meeting, usually held on a Monday, with officials and clinical advisers, including the Chief Medical Officer, during which any updates regarding the monkeypox outbreak in Scotland have been, and will continue to be, discussed. As out…
16 Aug 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many beds it currently has procured for temporary accommodation for each mode of accommodation, including cruise ship and hotel.
Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government is working with Local Authorities, COSLA and the wider public sector to ensure that there is sufficient suitable accommodation for Ukrainian Displaced Persons. We intend to publish numbers on temporary accommodation in due course.