Parliamentary questions

Tom Mason

273 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

5 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason NHS Grampian receives lower funding per head than other NHS boards as a result of the Mental Health & Learning Difficulties aspect of the Morbidity and Life Circumstances (MLC) Index, in light of it ranking among the worst performing for mental health and psychological th…

Answer · Shona Robison: Latest published data for the territorial Health Boards show average waiting times for psychological therapies of 14 weeks or less, which is within the 18 week target. Within NHS Grampian the average wait is 13 weeks. However, we remain determined that we wil…

5 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the NRAC formula’s weighting of non-population factors when allocating funding has contributed to the poor performance in referral to treatment times in NHS Grampian in the quarter ending September 2017.

Answer · Shona Robison: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

5 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on figures stating that nearly 6% of psychological therapy patients seen by doctors had to wait between eight months and a year to be treated after referral in NHS Grampian in the quarter ending September 2017.

Answer · Maureen Watt: Latest published figures for psychological therapies waiting times across Scotland indicate that the average waiting time was 7 weeks compared with 13 weeks in NHS Grampian. While the average wait in NHS Grampian is higher than the national average this is st…

5 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce waiting times for mental health and psychological therapy patients in NHS Grampian, in light of these being some of the longest in the country.

Answer · Maureen Watt: The Scottish Government has invested significantly to develop the mental health services and increase staffing numbers in post. We have announced an additional £150 million for mental health services over next five years to help to bring down waiting times an…

5 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason 61.5% of psychological therapy patients seen by doctors were treated within 18 weeks of referral in NHS Grampian in the quarter ending September 2017.

Answer · Maureen Watt: The psychological therapies waiting times standard was introduced in 2014 as an improvement target and we have seen significant progress since then with much more robust and transparent data. The continued and substantial increase in demand for services clear…

5 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the NRAC formula’s weighting of non-population factors when allocating funding has contributed to the fall in the workforce of NHS Grampian in the last year.

Answer · Shona Robison: Staffing levels within NHS Grampian have increased by 7.1% under this Government, rising from 11,203.3 WTE in September 2006 to 11,994.6 WTE in September 2017. While there has been a slight decrease in the NHS Grampian workforce, down 0.4%, in the last year, …

5 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address the 11.1% WTE fall in the dental workforce in NHS Grampian in the last year.

Answer · Shona Robison: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

5 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the dental workforce in NHS Grampian has fallen by 11.1% WTE in the last year.

Answer · Shona Robison: The 11.1% decrease refers to the dental workforce category known as Hospital and Community Health Services Dentistry, part of which includes hospital dentists. The decrease in NHS Education for Scotland hospital dentists was largely due to a local data cleans…

5 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address the fall in workforce numbers in NHS Grampian over the last year.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government supports NHS Health Boards in their efforts to ensure that they have the right staff in place to meet the healthcare needs of the local population. Staffing levels within NHS Grampian have increased by 7.1 % under this Government, ri…

5 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether an alternative to the NRAC formula, which currently reduces NHS Grampian’s funding due to factors such as the board’s mortality rate of under 75s, would reduce the number of planned operations that are cancelled as a result of non-clinical and capacity rea…

Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-13231 on 9 January 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/parliamentarybusines…

5 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the NRAC formula’s weighting of non-population factors when allocating funding has contributed to the high proportion of planned operations that were cancelled in NHS Grampian for non-clinical and capacity reasons.

Answer · Shona Robison: The NRAC formula reflects the most objective measure of funding equity we have developed. The formula is kept under continuous review by experts to ensure it remains a robust and equitable method of allocating health service funding. Decisions to cancel a pat…

5 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that planned operations in NHS Grampian that were cancelled for non-clinical and capacity reasons do not remain at a rate higher than the Scottish average, as they have been since August 2017.

Answer · Shona Robison: Decisions to cancel a patient's operation is never taken lightly. All Boards including Grampian work hard to keep cancellations to a minimum. We continue to monitor the progress NHS Grampian are making to deliver improvements.

5 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the NRAC formula is working, in light of NHS Grampian’s poor performance in meeting key healthcare delivery targets.

5 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether using the NRAC formula’s definition of deprivation is negatively affecting NHS Grampian’s performance.

Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-13229 on 9 January 2017. 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/…

5 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on NHS Grampian being almost 25% below the 90% standard for patients receiving treatment within 18 weeks of referral in the quarter ending 30 September 2017.

Answer · Shona Robison: I recognise some patients are experiencing long waits, that is why I have made £50 million available to NHSScotland - with up to £4.9 million being made available to NHS Grampian. This additional funding should improve waiting time performance between now and…

5 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason NHS Grampian’s rate of delayed discharge bed days as a proportion of all occupied bed days is higher than the Scottish average.

Answer · Shona Robison: The delayed discharge bed days as a proportion of all occupied bed days, as published in the annual report (link) shows NHS Grampian (10%) as slightly above the Scottish average (8.2%). However, the health board has made good progress reducing delays across t…

5 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce the rate of delayed discharge bed days per 1,000 of population aged 75+ in Aberdeen City, in light of reports that it is 37% higher than the Scottish average.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government continues to support all partnerships across Scotland reduce the level of delayed discharges. Aberdeen City has been making steady progress reducing the number of delays over the last two years. Since the first annual delayed discharge…

5 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what factors are considered in the calculation of the NRAC formula’s Morbidity and Life Circumstances (MLC) Index in relation to (a) Care of the Elderly and (b) Mental Health & Learning Difficulties.

Answer · Shona Robison: Extensive statistical testing for the NRAC formula determined that the impact of Morbidity and Life Circumstances on the need for health services, under these two care programmes, was best captured using the following indicators of need: (a) Care of the Elde…

28 Nov 2017 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce the number of children living in material deprivation.

9 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that NHS Grampian does not receive lower funding per head than other territorial NHS boards.

Answer · Shona Robison: Population level is only one of a range of factors taken into account when calculating NRAC shares, which are used to inform allocations to NHS Boards. Other factors include, for example, relative deprivation. NHS Grampian has received an additional £16.2 mi…

9 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on using mortality rates of people under the age of 75 as a benchmark for deprivation when calculating funding per head in (a) NHS Grampian and (b) other territorial NHS boards.

Answer · Shona Robison: There are a number of variables employed in the NRAC formula as indicators of need. The All-cause Standardised Mortality Ratio (SMR) for ages 0-74 is one of the indicators of need used in four of the six care programmes separately distinguished by the formula…

9 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve NHS Grampian's record in meeting the eight key performance targets.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government is working closely with the colleagues in NHS Grampian to support improvements around key performance targets. The four hour A&E target is met on a regular basis with performance around, at or above 95%. In fact, performance for the …

9 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government to what extent it considers the results of the NHS Scotland Resource Allocation Committee formula when deciding annual NHS board funding.

Answer · Shona Robison: NRAC target funding shares are used to inform funding allocations to NHS Boards. In 2017-18 NHS Territorial Boards have received additional funding of £50 million specifically to accelerate NRAC parity. This funding takes all Boards within 1% of NRAC parity.

9 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde's funding per head reportedly increased by twice as much as NHS Grampian's from 2015-16 to 2016-17.

Answer · Shona Robison: In 2016-17 NHS Grampian’s resource budget increased by 6.6% and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s resource budget increased by 5.2%. The funding uplift for NHS Grampian included an additional £15 million to accelerate NRAC parity. Population level is only one…

9 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that the business rates relief system is free of loopholes that prevent businesses that are reliant on relief from receiving it.

Answer · Derek Mackay: Scottish Government and Councils promote relief entitlement to businesses in a variety of means including via their websites, by providing via trade bodies and by direct stakeholder engagement. In addition, I have recently confirmed that I will write to prope…

26 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to increase nursing recruitment from within Scotland.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government is taking forward a number of actions to support nursing recruitment and retention within Health Boards across Scotland. There are now over 3,000 more whole-time equivalent nursing and midwifery staff working in our NHS, as compared wi…

26 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that officials from NHS Grampian are to travel to Australia to recruit nurses.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government supports NHS Health Boards in their efforts to ensure that they have the right staff in place to meet the healthcare needs of the local population. This includes searching globally, where appropriate, to recruit at all levels. We’ve …

13 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of people convicted of assault with the use of a knife received a custodial sentence of up to 12 months in each of the last three years.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The information is provided in the following table. People receiving a custodial sentence of up to 12 for common assault where a knife modifier is recorded, 2013-14 to 2015-16 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 Common assault 17 people 5.3% of all people convi…

12 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what strategy it has in place to deal with knife crime, and what the impact on this would be of extending the presumption against criminal sentences of up to 12 months.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Scotland's approach to tackling knife crime is based on a twin approach of education and diversion activity and robust enforcement measures. Along with the Scottish Government's on-going investment in the 'No Knives Better Lives' campaign, the Scottish Govern…

11 Sep 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of its plan to phase out new petrol and diesel cars by 2032 on the oil and gas industry, particularly in north east Scotland.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Programme for Government sets a bold new ambition on ultra-low emission vehicles, including electric vehicles, with a target to phase out the need for petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2032. The oil and gas sector in Scotland is a global industry export…