Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-31506

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 5 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to implement the recommendations of the Independent Review of Audiology Services.

Question reference: S6W-31505

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 3 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will implement a primary care community audiology service during the current parliamentary session.

The Scottish Government remains committed to its vision for an integrated and community-based hearing service in Scotland. However, in considering the future direction for the audiology sector, it is right that we move forward in step with the work of the Independent Review of audiology and this – together with the wider financial and strategic context in which we are currently operating – has necessitated the re-phasing of our commitment on community hearing. We are continuing to fund “RNID Near You”, a third sector after-care scheme offered to hearing aid users and delivered in partnership with the NHS within five Scottish health board areas.

Question reference: S6F-03603

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 December 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 December 2024

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's position is regarding any potential risk to the environment of excessive removal of peat during excavation projects.

Question reference: S6W-31198

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 21 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will ensure that any upcoming inspections of maternity services account for any local discrepancies between safe staffing requirements under the common staffing methodology and current staffing levels, so that the quality of care can be evaluated in this context.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS)’s Healthcare Staffing Programme monitors NHS Boards’ compliance with the Common Staffing Method. The HIS Healthcare Staffing Operational Framework sets out HIS’s methodology for monitoring compliance. The HIS Healthcare Staffing Programme forms part of the HIS Safe Delivery of Care (SDoC) inspections, both in terms of pre-inspection activity and as part of the onsite inspection team. The SDoC inspection methodology is used for the current acute hospital inspection programme and will therefore also be applied to the maternity inspection programme when it commences from January 2025.

Question reference: S6W-31202

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 19 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what specific actions it will take in the event that any gaps are identified between safe staffing requirements and actual staffing levels across NHS boards.

The Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019: Overview - Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019: overview - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) commenced on April 2024, the Act places duties on Health Boards to ensure that at all times suitably qualified and competent individuals are working in such numbers as are appropriate for the health, wellbeing and safety of patients, the provision of high-quality care and the wellbeing of staff.

Under the Act, there is a Duty on Health Boards to submit a report on how they complied with their legislative requirements. Following this, Scottish Ministers must publish these reports alongside setting out how they have taken into account and plan to take into account, in their policies for the staffing of health service, the information included in the combined report. The first Health Board Annual Reports are due 30 April 2025.

Question reference: S6W-31201

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 19 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether there is evidence that vacancies advertised in maternity services align with the workforce plans of NHS boards for midwifery.

Whilst the Scottish Government sets the strategic policy direction for the NHS in Scotland, operational matters including staffing requirements are in the first instance the responsibility of the relevant NHS board. Recruitment is a matter for health boards who will take into account turnover, retention, absence rates and budgets when making recruitment decisions. This can mean that vacancies fluctuate across boards and by specialism. It is for health boards to ensure safe and effective staffing levels, and recruit to these to provide services.

Question reference: S6W-31203

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 19 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether the number of vacancies for midwives in Scotland meets the (a) needs of maternity services and (b) workforce plans of NHS boards, and what the evidence base is for its calculations, in light of reports that many recent midwifery graduates, educated in line with Scottish Government commissioning numbers, are seeking employment outside of Scotland.

Whilst the Scottish Government sets the strategic policy direction for the NHS in Scotland, operational matters including staffing requirements are in the first instance the responsibility of the relevant NHS board. Recruitment is a matter for health boards who will take into account turnover, retention, absence rates and budgets when making recruitment decisions. This can mean that vacancies fluctuate across boards and by specialism. It is for health boards to ensure safe and effective staffing levels, and recruit to these to provide services.

Question reference: S6W-30601

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 7 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the implementation of the recommendations of the Independent Review of the Skills Delivery Landscape.

Post-School Education and Skills Reform is a 10-year transformation programme developed in light of James Withers’ Independent Review of the Skills Delivery Landscape, and which will help us to achieve the ambitions set out in the Post-school education, research and skills - purpose and principles - gov.scot (www.gov.scot),

This is one of the first and one of the largest programmes of public service reform to get underway, with five main strands of work currently progressing at different stages of development and preparation towards implementation.

For instance, we are taking forward legislation to deliver simplification of the funding body landscape as part of the 2024-25 legislative programme and have also commenced work on skills planning across government and with key partners.

Change of this magnitude requires careful collaboration with a wide range of delivery partners and will not happen overnight.

At my latest appearance at the Education, Children and Young People Committee on 4 September 2024 I reiterated my commitment to continue to update that Committee on progress with post-school reform at the appropriate times. Our programme to reform post-school education and skills is progressing well, and I expect to be providing a further update early in 2025.

Question reference: S6W-30680

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 October 2024
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 31 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide (a) a breakdown of the cost to partners to kennel XL Bully dogs and (b) the total cost to the public to kennel XL Bully dogs since the ban was announced in January 2024.

The information requested is not held by the Scottish Government. These are operational matters for Police Scotland and local authorities.

The Scottish Government has ongoing dialogue with a range of partners regarding implementation of the new safeguards on XL Bully dogs.

My officials are continuing to engage with Police Scotland, local authorities, Scottish SPCA and other key dog welfare stakeholders about the impact of enforcing and implementation of the new safeguards, including ongoing consideration of kennelling provision and demand.

Question reference: S6O-03892

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 October 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what steps it is taking to eliminate long waits in A&E departments across Scotland.

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