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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.

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Question reference: S6T-00296

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 22 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many schools are currently shut due to staff shortages resulting from COVID-19 cases.

Question reference: S6W-03703

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 20 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to (a) attract more and (b) retain (i) neurology specialists and (ii) MS nurses.

In December 2019 we published a Neurological Care and Support – a National Framework for Action . Over five years we will invest £4.5 million to implement the Framework’s commitments, including the development of sustainable workforce models.

The Scottish Shape of Training Transition Group makes recommendations to Ministers annually on training numbers across all medical specialties. The group undertakes an annual assessment of the medical trainee establishment and the factors influencing recruitment fill rates. This process aligns with medical workforce modelling and is intended to achieve a planned and sustainable medical workforce. In each year since 2016,100% of advertised Neurology posts have been filled, indicating that new trainee doctors already consider a career in neurology to be an attractive one.

Work is being taken forward on education and training opportunities for Clinical Nurse Specialists in Neurology (and MS specifically) by a group including Scottish Government, NHS Education Scotland, MS Clinical Nurse Specialists representatives and the NHS Centre for Sustainability Delivery. It will support Health Boards in recruiting and succession planning regarding these roles. The Scottish Government provides £2.4 million to enhance clinical nurse specialist provision and care.

Question reference: S6O-00423

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of the closure of Edington Cottage Hospital.

Question reference: S6O-00391

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what actions are being taken to ensure that the agriculture sector plays a leading role in delivering a net zero Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-04040

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 10 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it has given to local authorities regarding parent-teacher consultations, and whether any such guidance specifies (a) whether they should be virtual or in-person meetings, (b) the time of day that meetings should take place and (c) any position on the importance of meeting any requirements for engagement between parents and teachers.

Specific guidance on Reporting to Parents and Involving / Engaging Parent Councils during COVID–19 was published in November 2020. It states that “alternative methods and approaches to reporting will need to be used” in the current circumstances. Digital and online approaches are suggested as alternatives to in person meetings, and schools will be seeking to ensure engagement takes place such that all parents and carers can participate.

There is no specific guidance on meeting timings. Guidance emphasises that strong communications and collaboration between home and school remain key to ensure parents and carers can support their children and young people. Headteachers and managers will be working to ensure their setting or school continues to involve and engage parents and families .

Guidance states parents or carers may accompany children onto school premises where this is agreed and is considered necessary to support children and young people, including in relation to wellbeing, progress and behaviour.

Question reference: S6W-03701

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve access to new medicines for people living with progressive forms of MS.

In December 2019 we published "Neurological Care and Support - a National Framework for Action". Over 5 years we will invest £4.5 million to implement the Framework’s 17 commitments.

Some of these commitments aim to improve access to new medicines for people living with progressive forms of MS, such as our commitment to support the neurological research agenda by promoting the work of the Chief Scientist Office, third sector organisations’ research and Scottish neurological research networks; and encouraging opportunities for people with neurological conditions to become involved in research trials.

In September 2020, the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) accepted siponimod (Mayzent®) for routine use in NHS Scotland. Mayzent® is the first oral Disease Modifying Therapy (DMT) for active secondary progressive MS. The SMC Horizon Scanning Team have also identified several DMT’s in development for the treatment of progressive forms of MS which are predicted to enter the UK market within the next 5 years.

Question reference: S6O-00349

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle the employment gap for disabled people, in light of the reported findings from the Annual Population Survey 2020-21 that the employment rate for disabled people was 47.4%, which was lower than that for non-disabled people.

Question reference: S6W-03704

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 29 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support people who have (a) MS and (b) other neurological conditions with managing their condition while they are waiting for treatment.

Question reference: S6W-03702

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 29 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address the reported backlog with the provision of (a) MS and (b) other neurology services.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all people living in Scotland with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) are able to access the best possible care and support, and benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and person-centred.

The NHS Recovery Plan, launched in August, sets out the Scottish Governments key headline ambitions and actions to be developed and delivered now and over the next 5 years, backed by more than £1 billion of investment. Scottish Health Boards are in the process of implementing their remobilisation plans for 2021-22, with an initial additional £80 million dedicated to supporting waiting times already provided this year.

We will publish a National Workforce Strategy by the end of the year, to further support the remobilisation and recovery of health and social care services and set out priorities for recruitment, training and retention. We anticipate that the Strategy will be used by workforce, service and financial planners from across Health and Social Care at all levels.

We are aware that the pandemic has impacted on waiting lists for neurology clinics and are currently implementing programmes to mitigate this situation. The Centre for Sustainable Delivery (CfSD) is working closely with Neurology services to support the adoption of Active Clinical Referral Triage (ACRT) and Discharge Patient Initiated Review (PIR) approaches within Neurology. Both ACRT and Discharge PIR support better access for patients based on clinical need and can be applied in various neurological conditions, including MS.

The recent Scottish MS Register report noted that despite the challenges presented by COVID-19 during 2020-21, 87% of newly diagnosed people received contact with an MS specialist nurse within 10 working days of diagnosis and over 99% of people were contacted within 10 working days of an MS nurse receiving the referral.

We have invested £1.4m over the past year, through our Neurological Care and Support Framework, into innovative projects which improve the care and support of people with neurological conditions. This includes over £300,000 on projects which improve the health and wellbeing of people with MS in Scotland, including better integrated care and supported self-management.

Question reference: S6W-03138

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 20 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government which of its departments was responsible for the decision for non-symptomatic school pupils to be offered COVID-19 lateral flow tests, as opposed to PCR tests; who made the decision, and when.

The decision to recommend the use of LFD tests for children, young people and staff in the event of having been identified as a low-risk contact was based upon expert public health advice and through engagement with the Covid-19 Education Recovery Group (CERG) and other partners. The decision was confirmed by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills on the 14 th September, following previous advice from Advisory Subgroup on Education and Children’s Issues (‘the subgroup’). The minutes of all the subgroup’s meetings are routinely published here .

The updated letter templates to inform staff, parents and pupils of whether they or their child have been identified as a low-risk contact were shared with local authority colleagues on 15 September, although it was made clear that they should be discussed with local health colleagues in each area, and amended where appropriate, prior to issuing to schools.

We know that PCR and LFD testing options play different roles in supporting us to control the virus:

Lateral flow is useful for finding out if a person is infectious now, and able to transmit the virus to others. The level of sensitivity is high enough to detect the vast majority of these cases. Lateral flow testing is less likely to return a positive result outside the infectious window. Results from LFD testing are also available more quickly than PCR tests, which require to be sent to a laboratory. Therefore LFD testing is viewed to be more convenient for regular testing, and provides less disruption to peoples’ lifestyles.
PCR is useful for confirming a suspected case of COVID-19, where the person is already self-isolating and is showing symptoms. Higher sensitivity of PCR means it can identify genetic material from COVID-19 even after the active infection has passed.