Parliamentary questions
Alex Cole-Hamilton
2,700 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
27 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that 23% of people with epilepsy do not take the medication prescribed to them, what it is doing to ensure that people take the medication that they need, and whether it has considered a public awareness campaign regarding the risks associated with not taking such me…
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Government advocates the use of the Scottish Therapeutics Utility to assist clinicians with identification of possibly non-adherent patients in order to prioritise them for a medication review. At review, clinicians are strongly advised to discus…
27 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether its work developing its draft Falls and Fractures Strategy was done in tandem with its National Transport Strategy in order to ensure a joined-up approach.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Falls and Fractures Strategy has been developed with a range of stakeholders, including Transport Scotland. The consultation on the draft strategy closed on 30 September 2019 and officials are currently considering the comments received, including how and…
27 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-19904 by Joe FitzPatrick on 22 November 2018, what progress it has made on implementing a national identification system to access defibrillators through the British Heart Foundation National Defibrillator Network project.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Scotland’s Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA) Strategy recognises the importance of Public Access Defibrillator’s (PADs) and aims to have effective arrangements in place to ensure they are mapped, maintained and accessible to the public. The British Heart…
26 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the introduction of large print ballot papers, and whether it will take action to ensure that all polling places will offer these.
Answer · Michael Russell: The Scottish Government is committed to supporting ideas that may reduce barriers to voting. Following the Electoral Reform public consultation, which took place in 2018, workshops with people with sight loss have taken place to explore how accessibility to e…
18 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what survey it has carried out of its staff regarding mental health in the workplace and the availability of mental health support.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government conducts an annual People Survey to obtain views from staff on the experience of working in the Scottish Government. It contains questions about wellbeing and mental health, and questions that align to the Health and Safety Executive's…
18 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it offers to professional bodies seeking to carry out sector-wide staff surveys regarding mental health.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government does not provide support to professional bodies seeking to carry out sector-wide staff surveys regarding mental health. However, we welcome the conducting of such surveys and note their conclusions in developing our own policy and acti…
12 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to develop a national database that identifies support for people who have been affected by suicide.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: There are no plans to develop a national database that identifies support for people who have been affected by suicide. However, Action 4 of the Suicide Prevention Action Plan, every life matters refers. This states: with the National Suicide Prevention Leade…
11 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reasons the Career Development Loan ended.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Professional and Career Development Loan (PCDL) Scheme was managed and operated by the UK Government in partnership with the Co-Operative Bank. The decision not to re-procure for new PCDL contracts was a decision solely for the UK Government. The Scottis…
11 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the LLB (accelerated) qualification is not considered a postgraduate degree when it requires the holding of an undergraduate degree.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The LLB is an undergraduate degree that sits at either Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) Level 9 for an Ordinary degree, or SCQF Level 10 for an Honours degree. When postgraduate programmes are developed they are required to meet the level d…
11 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what response it has received from the Home Office regarding Scotland being a location for implementing alternatives to detention (ATDs), and what steps it is taking in light of this response.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-25265 on 24 September 2019. 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/parliamentarybusine…
11 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the (a) Home Office and (b) new immigration ministerial team with responsibility for detention, and what the outcome was of these discussions.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: I wrote to the former Minister of State for Immigration about immigration detention issues, including the need for a time limit and community-based alternatives, on 1 April 2019. Following changes in Ministerial responsibilities, it is not yet clear who leads…
11 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether Scotland would be a good location for one of the pilot alternatives to detention (ATDs) announced by the former Home Secretary, and whether it has discussed with the Home Office the potential for it to work with the UK Government on ATDs.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: Our policy is that the current immigration detention system is inhumane and needs to be overhauled. Scottish Government Ministers have offered to explore the feasibility of undertaking a pilot on alternatives to immigration detention in Scotland on a number …
5 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what practical support is available for breastfeeding mothers.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Since 2018, more than £2 million has been provided to NHS Boards and third sector partners for breastfeeding support in order to improve the quality of breastfeeding support and the breastfeeding experiences of mothers. This includes training for peer support…
5 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that NHS Lothian has reduced its number of lactation specialists.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Whilst it is the role of the Scottish Government to provide the policies, frameworks and resources for high quality healthcare in Scotland, it is for each NHS Board to plan services to meet the needs of its population. This includes how best to utilise fundin…
5 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the legal protections regarding breastfeeding are in place for first 24 months of a child's life only, and what its position is on extending or abolishing this time limit.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Breastfeeding etc. (Scotland) Act 2005 makes it illegal to stop a mother feeding her child, under the age of 2 years, either by breastfeeding or bottle feeding, in premises where the public has general access (including licensed premises if the child is l…
5 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recommendation by NICE regarding the use of the therapy, Luxturna, to treat inherited retinal dystrophies, following a funding agreement between NHS England and Novartis, whether NHS Scotland has engaged in similar discussions to allow the Scottish Medicines Consortium t…
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government welcomes the recent submission by Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK to the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) for Voretigene Neparvovec (Luxturna ® ), for the treatment of adult and paediatric patients with vision loss due to RPE65-mediated…
5 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how its proposed new body to oversee NHS infrastructure developments will be formed, and whether its reports will be made publicly available.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government will work closely with NHS National Services Scotland to establish an internationally recognised Centre of Excellence for reducing risks in the healthcare built environment. The detailed workings of this new body, announced on 3rd Sept…
5 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 and its impact on small businesses.
Answer · Derek Mackay: We are monitoring the implementation of this legislation and while the legislation was passed in 2014 most of its provisions did not come into effect until 2016. This was to align implementation of the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 with the last chan…
4 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to legislate for compulsory sale orders and, if so, when.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: Given the pressure for space in the legislative programme, and the potential implications of Brexit on parliamentary time, we do not expect to be in a position to legislate for compulsory sales orders (CSO) in this parliamentary session. Nevertheless we remai…
4 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to extend the Empty Homes Partnership programme.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: In response to Alison Johnstone MSP’s previous question (S5O-03432 on 26 June 2019), I announced my intention to carry out an internal review of our empty home policy to ensure we maximise the numbers brought back into use. We consider the work of the Partner…
4 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what alternatives to compulsory sale orders it has considered to ensure that local authorities have the power to purchase vacant properties.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: Local authorities already possess Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) powers and a number of authorities have utilised these in recent years to take possession of empty and derelict residential properties in order to bring them back into use or to replace them wi…
3 Sep 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has plans to extend the Stay in Scotland campaign to people from Turkey, already living in Scotland, under the terms of the Ankara Agreement.
Answer · Ben Macpherson: The Scottish Government welcomes non-UK citizens from all over the world, not only for their contribution to our economy and society, but for the diversity they bring to our communities. Scotland is stronger for our multi-culturalism and non-UK citizens are a…
2 Sep 2019 · Topical Question
To ask the Scottish Government by what date the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh will open.
29 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that the actions of local authorities are compliant with legislation on homelessness.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: Scotland already has some of the strongest rights in the world for people experiencing homelessness with everybody found to be homeless legally entitled to housing. It is the role of the Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR) to monitor, assess, report on the perf…
29 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that local authorities are able to provide accommodation to people in their area who are assessed as being homeless.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: We want everyone to have a safe, warm place to live and we are committed to ending homelessness in Scotland. The joint Scottish Government and COSLA Ending Homelessness Together Action Plan, published in November 2018, sets out the steps we are taking to mak…
26 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to reform how complaints about police officers are dealt with.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Independent Review of Complaints Handling, Investigations and Misconduct Issues in Relation to Policing, commissioned by the Lord Advocate and previous Cabinet Secretary, and led by Dame Elish Angiolini, is ongoing. Dame Elish published a detailed prelim…
26 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what guidelines there are for police officers taking statements, and what rights a person has to amend their statement.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: When taking statements, officers follow the guidelines set out within Police Scotland’s Case Reporting Standard Operating Procedure and their Reports and Statement Writing Guide. Police Scotland have advised that these documents are publicly available on thei…
20 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to review regulations relating to the marketing of vaping products in supermarkets and other retail outlets.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Government is committed to consult and legislate on restricting the advertising and promotion of e-cigarettes. This will make Scotland the first country in Europe to do so. The proposed restrictions will not apply to any public health campaigns o…
20 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is aware of any cases where a self-funding care home resident entitled to free personal care has lost out on their attendance allowance because the free personal care element is paid directly to the care home instead of the resident, and whether it has any plans to reform the …
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Attendance Allowance for self-funders in care homes in Scotland was withdrawn by UK Government when Scotland introduced free personal care in 2002. This is because UK Government determined that personal care payments to those residing in care homes were a con…
19 Aug 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it received a 2018-23 noise action plan from Edinburgh Airport and when it expects to ratify this for publication.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government received the 2018-23 noise action plan from Edinburgh Airport on 18 th December 2018. This was formally adopted by Scottish Ministers on 17 January 2019 and then published on the European Commission’s website, where all of the noise ac…