- Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 6 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on establishing a Mental Health and Capacity Reform Programme.
Answer
Over the summer we have started work to design the Mental Health and Capacity Reform Programme. We intend to publish an initial implementation plan in early 2024. This will include information about the activities that will be taken forward during the first 18 months (from October 2023 - April 2025) to help to achieve the programme aims.
By summer 2024 we will have developed our programme ‘blueprint’ and ‘route-map’ to reform. This will set out in more detail how we will deliver the programme, as well as how we will monitor progress over the longer term.
- Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 6 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether the report from NHS National Services Scotland on the options appraisal process on mother and baby unit provision in Scotland is still anticipated to be delivered in October 2023, and when the findings will be made publicly available.
Answer
The Scottish Government has received the report from NHS National Services Scotland on the options appraisal process on Mother and Baby Unit provision in Scotland. It is intended to publish the report once those options have been fully considered and next steps determined.
- Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 30 October 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many drones have been detected at HMP & YPI Grampian in each of the last three years, and what measures the Scottish Prison Service is taking to prevent drones from being used to smuggle drugs and weapons onto the prison estate.
Answer
I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:
There have been no drones detected at HMP & YOI Grampian in each of the last three years.
The Scottish Prison Service recognises the negative impact of drones being used to introduce illicit items (including drugs and weapons) into the prison estate and are currently considering a technological solution to support the identification of drones within SPS airspace.
- Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 13 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 30 October 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking with NHS boards to support remote and rural populations who have to travel long distances to receive vaccinations, as part of the winter vaccination programme.
Answer
We seek to ensure that people can access vaccination appointments as close to home as possible. Health Boards continue to recognise and support the needs of rural communities in planning and delivering the winter vaccination programme.
Health Boards continue to use outreach options to provide vaccination in rural areas. This winter, community pharmacies, ‘pop-up’ clinics and support from Scottish Ambulance Service mobile unit teams have been used to improve access and reduce travel distances.
Most Health Boards aim for a maximum travel distance of 10 miles or a travel time of 15-30 minutes and always consider public transport routes when choosing vaccination venues.
Community support and local transport solutions are utilised where possible in order to support those with additional barriers. Boards are also able to utilise local intelligence and provide flexible options including some weekend and evening appointments.
When booking their vaccination, I would encourage people to continue to check the online portal or call the national vaccination helpline as new appointments do become available regularly.
- Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 12 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 30 October 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that dementia is the leading cause of death among women in Scotland, what work the Women's Health Champion is doing to address the (a) cause, (b) diagnosis and (c) treatment of the illness in women, and whether further iterations of the Women's Health Plan will include dementia going forward.
Answer
Professor Anna Glasier is Scotland’s independent Women’s Health Champion, and her remit encompasses all of the aims of the Women’s Health Plan.
There are many other issues and conditions that are important to women and their health, and there is a range of work under way to help women affected by dementia.
This includes the Scottish Government’s New Dementia Strategy, published in May 2023. The Scottish Government is also working together with COSLA and a lived experience panel, which includes women with a diagnosis of dementia, to agree priorities for the first delivery plan for the strategy, which will be published in January 2024.
The priorities for any future Women’s Health Plan are not yet determined. Consideration for future areas of focus and priorities will be informed by evidence and developed in collaboration with women and girls, a women’s health lived experience group, clinical experts and relevant stakeholders.
- Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 12 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 30 October 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of a reported increase in retail crime, what support it is providing to the retail sector as it deals with this, and whether any data will be made available on convictions under the Protection of Workers (Retail and Age-restricted Goods and Services) (Scotland) Act 2021.
Answer
The Scottish Government recognises the disruption and harm that retail crime does to both businesses and the individuals who work there. We support the work of our Justice partners to tackle this, including through the innovative Scottish Partnership Against Acquisitive Crime strategy. This strategy is led by Police Scotland, together with other organisations, including retailers, and outlines a partnership approach to the prevention, deterrence and enforcement of a range of crimes including shoplifting.
The Criminal Proceedings National Statistics for 2021-22 were published on the 24th October 2023. These include the first partial year of activity for the earliest opening period under the Act (from August 2021 to March 2022). Due to this, some caution should be exercised in interpreting the figures. Over August 2021 to March 2022, 26 individuals were convicted in court where the main charge was a crime or offence under the Retail Workers Act. The type of sentences received included custodial (13 individuals), community-based (9), a financial penalty (3) or another sentence type (1).
The Criminal Proceedings National Statistics for 2022-23, which will represent the first full reporting year of activity under the Act (from 1st April 2022 to 31st March 2023) will be published in 2024. Separate to this, data about the number of charges (not people) resulting in a conviction has been extracted from the management information used to publish the Scottish Government Justice Analytical Services Criminal Disposals Dashboard (Source: Scottish Government Justice Analytical Services Criminal Disposals Dashboard ). This shows there were 543 charges under the Retail Workers Act that received a criminal conviction in court from August 2021 up to March 2023.
- Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 30 October 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many recorded incidents of prisoners at HMP & YOI Grampian taking synthetic drugs and new psychoactive substances, including the reported "street" benzodiazepines, there have been in each of the last three years.
Answer
I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:
This information is not currently held by SPS. This type of information can only be obtained through analysis and testing via a laboratory setting.
- Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 17 October 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the work that it is undertaking to develop a single shared electronic patient health and social care record.
Answer
The Scottish Government continues to work to co-design a nationally-consistent, integrated social care and health record, with the public and our partners, including COSLA and the NHS. Work is underway to determine the scope, investment required and subsequent delivery times of the record.
- Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 September 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 4 October 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the national survey programme of the NHS estate to identify the use of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete in NHS buildings, including the number of buildings at risk and their location.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-19366 on 21 July 2023 in relation to the desktop review and a full list of the 254 properties identified as having two or more characteristics consistent with the presence of RAAC was placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. Number 64387). NHS Scotland Assure also published the information on their website on 15 September.
An update on progress with the national survey programme, including the list of NHS buildings where RAAC is identified, will also be published by NHS Scotland Assure.
All NHS Boards have a dedicated RAAC webpage noting their current position with RAAC in their Estate.
As of 2 October, 114 NHS properties had been physically surveyed as part of the national programme.
All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
- Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 September 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 2 October 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported concerns that misinformation on social media about hormonal contraception is encouraging women to move away from using traditional contraceptives.
Answer
The Scottish Government is aware of concerns raised by clinicians about the impact of social media on women’s contraceptive choices, and we are grateful to them for raising awareness of this important issue. We would always encourage women to seek advice from NHS professionals on their contraception options and the benefits and risks, rather than social media.
We are committed to ensuring that all women can access accurate information regarding contraception and are able to access services in a timely and convenient manner. This is something we continue to work towards improving through the Women’s Health Plan and the forthcoming Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Action Plan 2023-26
To support this aim, the Scottish Government has funded a project to develop a new sexual and reproductive health website on the NHS Inform platform, featuring a range of interactive, quality assured sexual health and contraception information.
