Alex Cole-Hamilton

16 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it issues guidance to non-departmental public bodies requesting that they record staff absences that are due to mental ill health and, if not, whether it will do so.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Scottish Government does not issue guidance to non-departmental bodies requesting that they record staff absences that are due to mental ill health. Non Departmental Public Bodies have responsibility for the recruitment, retention and motivation of its st…

16 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support or advice it has provided to private businesses setting up employee assistance programmes to support the mental health of their employees.

Answer · Maureen Watt: The Scottish Government funds NHS Health Scotland to provide a range of programmes to improve mental health in the workplace, including Scottish Mental Health First Aid (SMHFA) training. We are committed to continuing support for this work, and in our engagem…

15 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it is giving to changes to the Abortion Act 1967 as it applies in Scotland, in light of the devolution of abortion services in the Scotland Act 2016, and what discussions ministers have had with organisations regarding this issue since the commencement of the new power…

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government confirmed in its Programme for Government for 2016-2017 that it had no current plans to change the law on abortion. The Scottish Government’s priority in this area is to focus on improving abortion services for women. For example, this…

15 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists' statement that “abortion services should be regulated; however, abortion - for women, doctors and other healthcare professionals - should be treated as a medical, rather than a criminal issue.”

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government believes all women should have access to abortion services as part of routine care, and available free from stigma. I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-16699 on 31 May 2018. All answers to written parliamentary questions …

15 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on regulating abortion in the same way as other healthcare procedures and removing any aspect of its practice from criminal law.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government believes all women should have access to abortion services as part of routine care, and available free from stigma. I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-16699 on 31 May 2018. All answers to written parliamentary questions …

15 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to introducing safe zones around abortion service providers to enable those visiting to do so free of harassment or pressure regarding their decision.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government recognises that protests can often be distressing for women attending hospital and we are continuing to monitor any reports about anti-abortion protests and to consider whether there is further action that should be taken as a result.

15 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to making intimidation or harassment of abortion service users outside clinics or on common transport routes to these services illegal.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-16703 on 31 May 2018. 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/28…

15 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to providing funding to enable abortion clinics to provide their services free of charge to anyone regardless of their country of nationality or residency.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: There are specific provisions, via amendments to the Functions of Health Boards (Scotland) Order 1991, which came into force in November 2017, that require NHS Boards in Scotland to provide access to abortion treatment free of charge for women resident in Nor…

15 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-00753 by Michael Matheson on 9 March 2017 (Official Report, c. 3), whether prisoners who wish to progress to either open prison or home detention curfew must state on their application if they have a live appeal in process and, if so, for what reaso…

Answer · Michael Matheson: I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows: Where any person in our care is identified as eligible to apply for release on Home Detention Curfew (HDC), and wishes to be considere…

15 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on lowering to 16 the minimum age for candidates in (a) Scottish Parliament and (b) local authority elections, and whether it plans to introduce legislation on this before the end of the Parliamentary session.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Any proposal to get more young people engaged and involved in the democratic process is worthy of close consideration. The Scottish Government believes that 16 and 17 year olds should have the right to vote in all elections. We’ve led the way in Scotland, pu…

10 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that hospices aim to match its plan to increase NHS pay, what discussions it has had with the hospice sector regarding what financial support it can offer so that hospices do not have to rely on asking for additional public donations or have to reduce services; wheth…

Answer · Shona Robison: Under the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act 2014, it is the responsibility of Integration Authorities to plan and deliver services for their area using the integrated budgets under their control. This includes hospice and palliative and end of life…

9 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether any NHS boards are seeking to buy back land on which hospital car parks are located to allow free parking to be introduced and, if so, which (a) NHS boards and (b) hospitals.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government introduced free car parking on all NHS owned car parks in December 2008. For the three PFI hospital car parks, the Scottish Government will continue to actively manage and review all historic PFI contracts effected before this Governm…

9 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on people attending hospital appointments being required to pay for hospital parking.

Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-16571 on ?5 June 2018. 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/2…

8 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to review the centralisation of the Scottish Driving Assessment Service to a single site in Edinburgh.

Answer · Shona Robison: The decision to concentrate the Scottish Driving Assessment Service (SDAS) into a single national centre in Edinburgh was made by NHS Scotland Boards’ Directors of Planning in 2013 and endorsed by Board Chief Executives. Planning and delivery of the SDAS is …

8 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many times in the last year the 18-week target for assessment at the Scottish Driving Assessment Service has not been met.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Driving Assessment Service (SDAS), located at the Astley Ainslie Hospital, Edinburgh, undertakes driving assessments for those who have been affected by a stroke or any other condition which results in them having to be assessed as fit for drivin…

8 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support or assistance it provides to people travelling to the Scottish Driving Assessment Service for a motability assessment.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Driving Assessment Service (SDAS), located at the Astley Ainslie Hospital, Edinburgh, undertakes assessments for those who have been affected by a stroke or any other condition which results in them having to be reassessed as fit for driving. Ap…

8 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the centralisation of the Scottish Driving Assessment Service to a single site in Edinburgh has had on the number of motability assessments.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Driving Assessment Service (SDAS), undertakes assessments for those who have been affected by a stroke or any other condition which results in them having to be reassessed as fit for driving. The decision to concentrate the SDAS into a single na…

8 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it offers to taxi (a) drivers and (b) firms to upgrade their vehicles to meet higher environmental standards.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government provides interest-free loans through the Energy Saving Trust for taxi drivers and firms to replace older hackney cabs with new, efficient Euro 6 diesel or electric models to reduce harmful emissions.

23 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on introducing a mobile-friendly version of the Scotland’s Mental Health First Aid website.

Answer · Maureen Watt: The Scottish Government funds NHS Health Scotland to provide a range of programmes to improve mental health, including Scottish Mental Health First Aid (SMHFA) training. We are committed to continuing support for this work, and in our engagement paper on suic…

23 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the delivery of Scotland’s Mental Health First Aid course for trainers, including whether funding for the course is guaranteed until 2021.

Answer · Maureen Watt: One of the ambitions in our Mental Health Strategy (2017-27) is that training in first aid approaches for mental health should become as common as physical first aid. The Scottish Government funds NHS Health Scotland to provide a range of programmes to improv…

3 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-15087 by Shona Robison on 21 March 2018, whether it will provide the information that was requested regarding what assessment it has made of how many GPs will retire in each of the next 10 years.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government recently announced a commitment to increasing the number of GPs by at least 800 over ten years to ensure a sustainable service that meets the increasing demand on our services. Our strategy to recruit and retain our existing GPs will b…

3 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-15090 by Shona Robison on 21 March 2018, whether, in the course of the Primary Care Workforce Survey Scotland 2017, it was provided with the information that was requested regarding what the longest period is that a current GP post has been vacant f…

Answer · Shona Robison: The options available to practices responding to the Primary Care Workforce Survey to record the length the time that posts were vacant for were; Less than 3 months; 3 to 6 months; Over 6 months. The survey did not collect further detail on the length of time…

3 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-15089 by Shona Robison on 21 March 2018, whether it will provide the information that was requested regarding how many posts in each NHS board were vacant for (a) between (i) six and 12, (ii) 12 and 18, (iii) 18 and 24, (iv) 24 and 30 and (v) 30 and…

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government does not hold the information requested. The options available to practices responding to the Primary Care Workforce Survey to record the length the time that posts were vacant for were; Less than 3 months; 3 to 6 months; Over 6 months…

3 Apr 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will provide a substantive answer to question S5W-14907, which received a holding response on 13 March 2018.

Answer · Shona Robison: Question S5W-14907 was answered on 16 April 2018.

21 Mar 2018 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the prescription of cannabis-derived therapies on the NHS.

12 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) support and (b) resources it provides to the parents or carers of children receiving mental health treatment on the child's discharge from hospital, and whether it plans to extend this.

Answer · Maureen Watt: Health Boards and integration authorities are responsible for health provision for inpatients and those in the community. It is the responsibility of each local authority to meet social care needs. This includes support provided to the parents or carers of ch…

7 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the effectiveness of the legislation that deals with stalking offences, and whether it plans to review this. 

Answer · Michael Matheson: The introduction of a specific criminal offence of stalking in December 2010 has improved the responsiveness of the criminal justice system to this form of crime. The Scottish Government monitors the effectiveness of legislation on an on-going basis in conju…

7 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the legislation that deals with stalking offences sets a threshold for the number of unsolicited texts that can be sent before it can be considered that an offence might have occurred and, if so, (a) what this is and (b) whether it plans to review this.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The offence of stalking at section 39 of the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 provides that a person (A) stalks another person (B) where A engages in a course of conduct (involving conduct on at least two separate occasions) which causes B t…

7 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many cases under the legislation that deals with stalking offences have been (a) reported to and (b) and investigated by the police each year, also broken down by how many people were consequently (i) arrested, (ii) charged, (iii) prosecuted and (iv) convicted.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The number of crimes of stalking at section 39 of the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 recorded and cleared up by the police in each year since the offence came into force in December 2010 is set out in the following table: Year 2010-11 2…

6 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the withdrawal of NHS Botox treatment for migraines, including for severe cases, when no alternative treatment has been offered. 

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Decisions on the application of a particular course of treatment are a matter for the responsible clinician, in conversation and agreement with the patient. Regarding the use of Botox to treat migraines, this would be undertaken following a clinical assessme…