Parliamentary questions
Alex Cole-Hamilton
2,700 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
25 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-24217 by Kevin Stewart on 15 July 2019, whether it will provide a breakdown of the number of social rent homes that have (a) been completed and (b) started construction by local authority area.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: Our published annual Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) Outturn Reports include tables showing a breakdown of approvals, site starts and completions by local authority area. Please see links to the Outturn Reports for 2016-17 and 2017-18. Tables 4 and…
23 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government who will be on its working group to consider further raising the age of criminal responsibility, and on what date the group will first meet.
Answer · Maree Todd: An Advisory Group will be established to consider the implementation of the Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Act 2019 and potential future ages of criminal responsibility, and invitations have been issued. The Group will meet for the first time on 26…
22 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of the impact of social prescribing that focuses on sport and physical activity and its link to technology.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The use of social prescribing is an emerging practice to complement healthcare provision, so that people can make informed choices about their care in line with their preferences. The Scottish Government supports all efforts to support and encourage people t…
22 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of the role that emerging technologies can play in helping people live independently for longer.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government recognise the benefit of evidence based implementation of technology. For example, in the latest social care statistics published, 132,000 people are already using telecare to manage their health and wellbeing and this continues to gro…
21 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government further to the answer to question S5W-23871 by Kevin Stewart on 15 July 2019, what immediate action it is taking in response to reports that at least one young person each week goes straight from a care home to homelessness.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: Whilst the most recent statistics published in June show a very small reduction in the number of young people leaving care straight into homelessness, there has been a 70% reduction over the last 10 years. However, we are very clear that no one leaving care …
19 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the average waiting time is for a hysterectomy operation, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Information for Hysterectomy operations is not held centrally. This is because information is collected at specialty level not procedure level.
17 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what questions are being asked in the (a) Scottish Health Survey and (b) Health and Wellbeing Census.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: a) The Scottish Health Survey (SHeS) was established in 1995 and repeated in 1998 and 2003. It has been carried out annually since 2008. There are two versions of the survey each year, version A and version B. Version A accounts for around 2/3 rd of the samp…
17 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it defines the terms "adverse childhood experience-aware" and "trauma-informed", and whether it considers that these can be used on an interchangeable basis.
Answer · John Swinney: Language is important to people affected by trauma and to those who provide services. The Scottish Government does not routinely use the language "adverse childhood experience-aware". Rather, the terms Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), childhood adversity…
16 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recent study undertaken by the University of Surrey on the link between the cold virus and a reduction in cancer cells in patients with bladder cancer, whether it has plans to introduce a clinical trial in Scotland.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Within the Scottish Government, the Chief Scientist Office (CSO) is responsible for health and social care research. Researchers can apply to the Chief Scientist Office directly for funding. The CSO's Translational Clinical Studies Committee and the Health I…
16 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to counter anti-vaccination claims and material; whether it has discussed this issue with the UK Government and, if so, what the outcome was.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Health Scotland has responsibility for producing public facing vaccination communications and are part of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) global Vaccine Safety Network. The Scottish national immunisation website is WHO accredited with expert reviewed co…
16 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to improve access related to the timing and availability of vaccination appointments.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: As part of the work to modernise Primary Care, GPs will move away from delivering some routine services, including vaccinations, to focus on complex care, undifferentiated presentation and local clinical leadership. The change in focus of the GP provides the …
16 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to reverse the reported fall in the number of children in Scotland being vaccinated.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Childhood immunisation rates across Scotland remain very high. Apart from rotavirus vaccine, over 95% of children had received each routine immunisation by the time they were 12 months of age. This reflects both the hard work and commitment of our colleagues…
16 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the World Health Organization defining vaccine-hesitancy as one of the 10 biggest threats to global public health.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: We recognise the impact vaccine hesitancy can have on global health and therefore the importance of ensuring every effort is made to promote and encourage uptake of vaccinations. Vaccine uptake rates in Scotland remain high, however, we are not complacent abo…
16 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many of the 25 drug users with HIV in Glasgow identified in 2018 have received support and treatment.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: We understand from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde that there were 18 new diagnoses in the 2018 calendar year in people who inject drugs in Glasgow. Of those, two have moved to other health boards. All of the 16 still resident in Glasgow have started HIV treatm…
16 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with academics at Glasgow Caledonian University following its research indicating a 10-fold increase in HIV infection among drug users in Glasgow.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: I note that the research referred to examined the causes of the outbreak of HIV amongst people who inject drugs in Glasgow, which was identified in 2015. It was the product of collaboration between Glasgow Caledonian University, Health Protection Scotland, an…
16 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many needles were distributed to drug users in Glasgow in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17, (c) 2017-18 and (d) 2018-19.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The number of needles distributed to drugs users in Glasgow in; (a) 2015-16 can be found at https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Drugs-and-Alcohol-Misuse/Publications/2017-06-13/2017-06-13-IEP-Report.pdf ; (b) 2016-17 can be found at https://www.isdsco…
16 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reported concerns, whether any NHS boards have waiting lists for access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: NHS Lothian and NHS Highland have reported that they currently have waiting lists for access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).
16 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to tackle the reported 10-fold increase in HIV infection among drug users in Glasgow.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde is leading the response to the HIV outbreak amongst people who inject drugs in Glasgow. This is an important issue; I take a keen interest in the response to this outbreak and note that a great deal of work is going into supporti…
16 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recent Scottish Stroke Care Audit report, which suggested that thrombolysis door to needle times have stalled.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: We know that quick and decisive treatment is necessary when patients present with stroke symptoms and that’s why 60% of patients requiring thrombolysis were treated with one hour of arrival at hospital which is a similar rate as seen in the rest of the UK. W…
16 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it measures the quality of stroke rehabilitation services offered by each NHS board, and what action it is taking to ensure that there is consistency in the level of service provided.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Our Stroke Improvement Plan (2014) sets out a comprehensive programme for further reducing the number of deaths from stroke and improving stroke treatment and care across the whole patient pathway including rehabilitation. The Scottish Stroke Care Audit (SSC…
11 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve early diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Our Respiratory Care Action Plan for Scotland is under development with work being taken forward with a wide range of stakeholders across the respiratory community and third sector. The Plan will set out the main priorities to support NHS Boards in the preve…
11 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans to introduce quality standards for caring for people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Healthcare Improvement Scotland has responsibility for developing quality standards. In the development of our Respiratory Care Action Plan all aspects of respiratory care are being considered including discussing quality standards for respiratory conditions…
11 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made with the commitment in its Programme for Government to “develop services for community mental wellbeing for 5-24 year olds and their parents to provide direct and immediate access to counselling sessions, self-care advice, family support, peer-to-peer support an…
Answer · Clare Haughey: The Children & Young People’s Mental Health Taskforce was charged with taking forward the 2018/19 Programme for Government (PfG) commitment of developing services to aid community mental wellbeing. Following the resignation of the Chair in May 2019 due to il…
11 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which third sector organisations that have been involved in the process of developing community mental wellbeing services for 5- to 24-year-olds.
Answer · Clare Haughey: The Children & Young People’s Mental Health Taskforce, originally charged with taking forward the 2018/19 Programme for Government (PfG) commitment of developing services to aid community mental wellbeing, counted representatives from the third sector amongst…
11 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £250 million allocated to mental health in its Programme for Government has been invested in community mental wellbeing services for 5- to 24-year-olds.
Answer · Clare Haughey: The Programme for Government sets out the actions the Scottish Government will take in the forthcoming year. In the case of the commitments announced by the 2018-19 Programme for Government, these will begin implementation from the 2019/20 financial year onwa…
11 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on adopting integrated care systems across the NHS.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government are supportive of integrated care systems across health and social care. That is why work is currently underway through the NES Digital Service (NDS) to develop a National Digital Platform to support the secure and effective flow of p…
11 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it encourages the NHS to increase the use of technology in care systems to improve services, and what resources and funding it provides.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Scotland's Digital Health and Care Strategy recognises the benefits that technology can have in supporting the NHS to improve services.The Scottish Government invests around £89m each year to implement a range of improvements including; provision of national …
11 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on introducing an integrated cancer care system across hospitals, similar to that used by the Republic of Ireland.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: I refer the Member to the answer to question S5W-24309 on 30 July 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/parliamentarybusiness/…
9 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has plans to consider establishing treatment and guidance for psychopathy in adults.
Answer · Clare Haughey: Psychopathy is antisocial personality disorder. The Scottish Government has no plans at present to produce guidance on this. NICE clinical guideline [CG77] on “Antisocial personality disorder: prevention and management” was published in January 2009, and upda…
9 Jul 2019 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to its news release of 9 July 2019, Barriers to employment in early learning and childcare: EQIA, how many of the 11,000 additional workers required for the sector have so far been recruited through the workforce expansion project.
Answer · Maree Todd: As set out in the latest Delivery Progress report published by the Improvement Service, 2,173 of the 9,251 full time equivalent additional Local Authority staff had been recruited by 30 April 2019. The report is available at http://www.improvementservice.org…