Jeremy Balfour

9 Dec 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason participants in the Fair Start Scotland programme have to work 16 hours or more for at least 13 consecutive weeks to be considered as having achieved a successful short-job outcome, and what research was conducted to conclude that a 16 hours per week minimum was fair to d…

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Fair Start Scotland’s key priority is to ensure participants receive a quality service in their journey to finding and sustaining employment, through tailored support that meets their needs and takes into account their personal circumstances. Eligibility for…

8 Dec 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether people employed in the funeral sector who are required to enter domestic properties, care homes and other environments that might see them exposed to the COVID-19 virus should be prioritised for access to vaccinations, and by what date it expects all such …

Answer · Jeane Freeman: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-34610 on 25 February 2021. 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…

7 Dec 2020 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister how many staff are employed to answer calls to book COVID-19 tests in Scotland.

3 Dec 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to ensure that face-to-face appointments with clinicians are restarted as a priority for people with complex needs, many of whom have issues with communication, which means that they are unable to access help by telephone or online, and who may also not have had …

Answer · Jeane Freeman: General practice has continued to provide services to patients throughout the pandemic, albeit with unavoidable restrictions to accommodate necessary infection prevention and control. Patients with complex needs continue to receive the support of GP practic…

3 Dec 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether disabled people of all ages who need allied health professional services will see enhanced investment in those services to ensure that they can access both urgent care or catch up on missed routine and planned services as a result of COVID-19.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government recognises the importance of a consistent approach being taken forward in the community to support people with the management of their condition across Scotland, which includes accessing the right support and services. Throughout our r…

2 Dec 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on whether it has met its climate change targets that were set during session 3 of the Parliament.

1 Dec 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of women’s experiences of disposal of pregnancy remains following a termination at home, particularly in cases of higher gestations.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: NHS Boards have not indicated to the Scottish Government that women have raised any concerns about this. NHS Boards can provide women with advice on options for sensitive disposal of fetal remains if requested.

1 Dec 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is ensuring that the voices of women who may have experienced coercion either to continue or to terminate a pregnancy are being represented in its current consultation, Early medical abortion at home.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Government is consulting on the future arrangements for early medical abortion at home to allow abortion providers and other health professionals, the general public and in particular women who have experience of abortion services the opportunity…

1 Dec 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is monitoring the prevalence of coercion to (a) continue and (b) terminate a pregnancy among women presenting at abortion services.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: NHS staff always ensure they speak to a patient on their own, at least for part of the appointment, and this still applies in the case of appointments by telephone or video call. This aims to make sure every patient has the space to raise any concerns freely …

1 Dec 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the introduction of the telemedicine abortion service has had on costs of abortion provision.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: This information would be held by NHS Boards. However, the Scottish Government understands that there has been no significant impact on the costs of running abortion services as a result of the changes.

1 Dec 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) meetings, virtual or otherwise, and (b) other electronic communications it has had with the British Pregnancy Advisory Service regarding abortion services in each of the last five years.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Government met the British Pregnancy Advisory Service once in 2016 and once in 2019, but is not aware of other scheduled meetings between the Scottish Government and BPAS over the past five years. Officials occasionally correspond by telephone or…

1 Dec 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many women have accessed abortion services provided by (a) the NHS and (b) independent providers since the changes to procedures on 31 March 2020.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Data on this can be found on the Public Health Scotland website at https://scotland.shinyapps.io/phs-covid-wider-impact/ .

1 Dec 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many women have received a "Pills by Post" abortion kit from British Pregnancy Advisory Service providers since the changes to abortion procedures on 31 March 2020.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Government is aware that a small number of abortions in Scotland have been carried out using a “Pills by Post” abortion kit from British Pregnancy Advisory Service providers. However the great majority of abortions in Scotland are provided by NHS…

1 Dec 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the introduction of the telemedicine abortion service has had on the volume of calls to helplines from women undergoing an early medical abortion compared with the period immediately prior to its introduction.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: NHS Boards offer counselling services for women both pre- and post-abortion. Preliminary data from NHS Lothian indicates no change in calls to their dedicated abortion service helpline.”

1 Dec 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what measures are in place to ensure that women terminating a pregnancy at home in rural locations can access timely care in the event that they haemorrhage.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: NHS Boards consider a woman’s access to emergency care in the event that they require hospital treatment if they live in a remote rural area. They will take account of a woman’s location in weighing up the benefits of treatment at home against treatment in a …

1 Dec 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) call-outs by emergency services and (b) emergency presentations and/or admissions to emergency departments, hospitals, obstetrics/gynaecology units, paediatric units and early pregnancy awareness units in relation to legal abortions there have been since the changes to abort…

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: This information would be held by NHS Boards.

1 Dec 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many instances of complications or mental health concerns following an abortion were reported in 2019 where a woman took (a) only the second pill at home and (b) both pills at a clinic or hospital.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: This information would be held by NHS Boards.

1 Dec 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many instances of complications or mental health concerns following an abortion have been reported since the changes to procedures on 31 March 2020 where a woman (a) had an abortion via a fully remote service, (b) took only the second pill at home and (c) took both pills at a clinic …

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Fewer than ten significant complications or mental health concerns, which would or might have been avoided if the woman had had an in person appointment, have been reported where women had no in person appointment. Similarly, fewer than ten complications have…

1 Dec 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what advice it has given to (a) procurator fiscals, (b) GPs, (c) local authority burial or cremation departments and (d) registrars on extending their opening hours and availability over the Christmas and New Year period to ensure that funeral directors can continue to arrange and conduc…

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Government continues to work closely with all sectors involved in care and management of the deceased to identify potential problems and to minimise disruption and delays which could affect the ongoing provision of funeral services over the Chris…

30 Nov 2020 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government plans to mitigate the impact of any reduction in services due to the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives and mental wellbeing of disabled people.

19 Nov 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government by what date (a) Pension Age Disability and (b) Winter Heating Assistance payments will begin.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: As set out in my statement to Parliament of 17 November 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a major impact on the Scottish Government’s delivery partners, including the Department for Work and Pensions, whose support we need to transfer the relevant…

5 Nov 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will continue to fund Scotland’s participation in the National Neonatal Audit Programme from March 2021, in light of its impact on the outcomes for babies requiring neonatal care and its alignment with the aims of its Best Start programme.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Scotland will continue to participate in the National Neonatal Audit Programme until the end of this current contract, which is 31 March 2021. The Scottish Government on behalf of NHS Scotland and other stakeholders have been working to try and identify a mut…

29 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact that reduced charitable funding due to COVID-19 for medical research in Scotland will have on the health of people in Scotland.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: From data provided by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), the Scottish Government has established that charities invested around £101 million into medical and health research at Scottish universities in 2018-19. We also know, from information prov…

27 Oct 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the First Minister first became aware of hospital patients who had tested positive for COVID-19 being discharged to care homes.

6 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the work of its Rehabilitation Framework and the role this has had in responding to the COVID-19, what plans it has to expand and develop the allied health professional workforce, and what funding it will allocate to (a) local authorities, (b) NHS boards and (c) third sector…

Answer · Jeane Freeman: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-31349 on 1 September 2020. 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…

31 Aug 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage domestic tourism.

26 Aug 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when clear Type IIR masks will be available for use in health and social care settings.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Currently there are no commercially available transparent masks that are approved for use in medical settings in Scotland. The Scottish Government recognise the potential role of transparent masks in clinical settings and has been working to explore options f…

18 Aug 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the required social distancing measures in schools.

5 Aug 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its creation of a nitrogen balance sheet.

29 Jul 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance analysis of the advocacy scheme for disabled people accessing social security.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: I received a letter from Bob Doris, Convener of the Social Security Commission, on 14 August informing me that the Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance (SIAA) had provided the Committee with an analysis of the interim advocacy service. I will issue a full …