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Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S6W-15601

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 03 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 17 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how the £20 million it committed to investing in the Detect Cancer Early programme has been used.

Programme for Government 2021/22 committed an additional £20 million investment, over the life of this Parliament, for the Detect Cancer Earlier (DCE) Programme to improve early detection rates. So far investment has been made into the development of a new behaviour change campaign to reduce fear of cancer, launched 6 March 2023.

Through the Programme, there’s a firm focus on lung cancer which remains a national priority. This funding has included supporting implementation of Scotland’s optimal lung cancer diagnostic pathway (published December 2022); exploring the role of artificial intelligence in expediting those identified as higher risk; continuation of the University of Edinburgh’s LUNGSCOT study; and establishing a National Bronchoscopy & EBUS Training Programme for NHS Scotland.

A new earlier diagnosis vision is expected to launch in Spring 2023, as part of Scotland’s new cancer strategy – this will be supported by a 3 year action plan, the delivery of which will be supported by this Detect Cancer Earlier (DCE) Programme investment.

Question reference: S6W-15603

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 03 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 17 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much money has been allocated for the redesign of urgent care throughout the current parliamentary session.

Details of funding for the Redesign of Urgent Care is provided in the following table.

During 2022-23 we invested £50 million in the Urgent and Unscheduled Care Collaborative Programme which aims to support NHS Boards to improve hospital processes and enhance out-of-hospital care. This approach gives Health Boards the flexibility to focus on their key priorities with Redesign of Urgent Care one of the fixed anchor points Boards need to sustain.

Breakdown of funding awarded for RUC since 2020-21:

Financial Year	Programme	Funding Awarded
2020-21	Redesign of Urgent Care	£12,912,000
2021-22	Redesign of Urgent Care	£35,219,000
2022-23	Redesign of Urgent Care (as part of the Urgent and Unscheduled Care Collaborative Programme)	£50,855,000
TOTAL		£98,986,000

Question reference: S6O-02014

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 March 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle any economic inequalities faced by unpaid carers.

Question reference: S6W-15604

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 03 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 8 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when it will fulfil its commitment to abolish non-residential social care charges.

Question reference: S6O-01988

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 March 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its target to recruit 800 additional GPs by the end of 2027.

Question reference: S6W-14228

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 23 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 7 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to extend the Network Support Grant scheme for the bus network beyond March 2023 in (a) general and (b) order to ensure there is sufficient support for the number 52 bus route in Barrhead.

There are currently no plans for the Network Support Grant to end in March 2023. The Network Support Grant replaced both BSOG and emergency COVID support grants from 1 April 2022.

The Network Support Grant Plus was always a temporary fund, designed to further support operators as we emerged from the pandemic, due to the pressure still experienced, and to aid recovery. The Network Support Grant Plus was extended in both July and October, coming to an end in March brings us into line with the end of the funding in England and Wales.

It is important that the support we give transport operators continues to evolve to make sure it remains fit for purpose and is sustainable long term. Support is also provided to bus operators through our concessionary travel schemes which allows free bus travel to all children and young people under 22 as well as disabled people and everyone over 60. We also provide support to operators to decarbonise their bus fleet, assisting them with the purchase of zero emission buses and charging infrastructure through our Scottish Ultra-Low Emission Bus Scheme and the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund.

The intent of the Network Support Grant is to support the bus network and it is up to operators to use their own commercial judgement and decide which individual routes they run in the open de-regulated market, as established by the Transport Act 1985. Scottish Ministers have no powers to intervene.

Question reference: S6W-14229

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 23 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of its analysis of the impact of the Network Support Grant scheme on the bus network across Scotland.

The purpose of the Network Support Grant is to help to keep both commercial and subsidised services more extensive and fares more affordable than they would otherwise have been. The Network Support Grant continues to provide the same support that the Bus Service Operator Grant (BSOG) provided for many years. As such, it is difficult to separate the impact of the Network Support Grant from the Bus Service Operator Grant on the bus network.

Question reference: S6W-14227

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 23 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what recent communication it has had with McGill's Buses regarding the number 52 bus route in Barrhead.

Question reference: S6W-14226

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 23 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) regarding the proposal to withdraw the Network Support Grant scheme at the end of March 2023.

There are currently no plans to withdraw the Network Support Grant scheme and as such, no discussions on this topic have been held with SPT.

The Network Support Grant Plus scheme is a temporary scheme which is coming to an end on 31 March 2023. The Scottish Government, bus operators, local authorities and regional transport partnerships including SPT are continuing to collaborate through the Bus Taskforce to explore how to address the challenges of rising costs and driver shortages currently facing the bus industry.

Question reference: S6T-01149

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 30 January 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 31 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the reported announcement that Unite the Union has withdrawn from the co-design process of the National Care Service.