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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: S6W-26421

Asked by: Sue Webber, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 16 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been allocated to drug (a) prevention, (b) treatment and (c) harm reduction initiatives for the financial year 2024-25, and what its position is on whether these resources will be adequate to tackle the reported 10% increase in suspected drug deaths in 2023.

Full budget allocations for 2024-25 are still to be confirmed.

It is not possible to disaggregate the full budget by these themes as Alcohol and Drug Partnerships receive around three quarters of the total drugs and alcohol budget to distribute at the local level. At a national level, many of the projects and organisations also support all three areas. The published draft budget for 2024-25 has maintained our budget for alcohol and drugs at the same level as 2023-24.

The National Mission funding has brought about major reform and improvement in services for people with drug and alcohol problems including:

Continuing to widen the access to life-saving Naloxone with an estimated 7 in 10 people at risk having a kit; Police Scotland completing roll out amongst frontline staff.
Continuing to drive implementation of the MAT Standards across the country. All delivery partners have returned implementation plans and report on progress on either a monthly or quarterly basis.
A whole systems approach to prevention.

Question reference: S6W-26419

Asked by: Sue Webber, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 16 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported 10% rise in Scotland’s suspected drug deaths in 2023, what additional measures it will take to improve access to treatment.

In response to the increasing risk profile of people using drugs in Scotland, the Scottish Government will continue to work to extend the coverage of MAT standards beyond just Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST) so that people and services can be clear on what is expected from services by way of any treatment pathway no matter what type of support service is required.

The Scottish Government is also working with Public Health Scotland and Healthcare Improvement Scotland on a suite of MAT guidance on the applicability of the standards to care, support and treatment for people impacted by alcohol and other non-opioid drugs; as well as continuing to work with the UK Government on developing new UK-wide clinical guidelines for Alcohol Treatment. This guidance will look to introduce new approaches to treatment and will apply to a broad range of settings including primary care, hospital and justice.

In addition, the Scottish Government has committed in response to the Drug Death Taskforce’s recommendations in the ‘Changing Lives’ Report and Cross Government Plan to develop a national specification and overarching guidance for the delivery of person-centred care and support for people impacted by alcohol and drugs, to help save and improve lives by providing clarity and focus. The proposed National Specification will set out the types of services that should be available all across Scotland as well as providing the impetus for adopting improved joint working between the public sector and third sector partners to improve outcomes for people who require support.

Question reference: S6W-26422

Asked by: Sue Webber, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 16 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the implementation of Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) standards, including whether it has any plans to extend the deadline for implementation.

The Scottish Government has a commitment to provide an update to Parliament on the implementation of the MAT Standards every six months.

I will update Parliament on progress in June and this will coincide with the publication of the 2023-2024 National Benchmarking Report, which will be published by Public Health Scotland.

The Scottish Government is committed to the timelines previously agreed by Scottish Ministers and Public Health Scotland and for full implementation of all ten MAT standards by April 2025.

Question reference: S6W-26423

Asked by: Sue Webber, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 16 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will outline what funding will be allocated to Alcohol and Drug Partnerships for the financial year 2024-25, including any changes to the funding from the previous financial year.

Question reference: S6O-03230

Asked by: Sue Webber, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that hundreds of sex offenders have been able to change their name in the past two years, what it can do to ensure the safety of the public, particularly in areas like EH14 and EH54, which reportedly have the joint highest number of sex offenders registered across Edinburgh and West Lothian.

Question reference: S6W-25009

Asked by: Sue Webber, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 8 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to his letter of 10 January 2024, when the Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants’ Rights will attend the multi-agency meeting with Transport Scotland, West Lothian Council, Winchburgh Developments Ltd and Network Rail to further discuss a proposal for a railway station in Winchburgh.

I am answering the question as this topic now falls into my Ministerial portfolio.

As the Member is aware, the Scottish Government’s understanding of the station proposal is that it is and has always been a developer led station, as outlined in Winchburgh Developments Ltd.’s original Masterplan.

My understanding is that West Lothian Council is responsible for the organisation and invitations for the multi-stakeholder meeting, as set out in the Council Motion from its meeting on 30 May 2023 and I will consider my attendance once I have had an opportunity to fully familiarise myself with the matter.

I can confirm, the Scottish Government welcomes the collaborative, multi-stakeholder approach and I and my officials in Transport Scotland will continue to support the process of exploring options for the delivery of a new station at Winchburgh.

Question reference: S6O-03209

Asked by: Sue Webber, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has for any major rail development projects beyond the end of 2024.

Question reference: S6O-03078

Asked by: Sue Webber, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 January 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the most recent Police Scotland Officer and Staff Numbers statistics showing the number of police officers in Police Scotland's Edinburgh division.

Question reference: S6W-24558

Asked by: Sue Webber, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 19 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 31 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what the outcomes have been of its £270,000 of funding for the provision of prehabilitation through the eight Maggie’s Centres across Scotland; how many patients have been supported with prehabilitation to date; whether it will provide a breakdown of the different types of cancers that the centres have dealt with, and, in the event that a patient cannot access a Maggie’s Centre, what provision is in place to ensure that there is equity of care across Scotland.

A report detailing the impact of the initial pilot by Maggie’s can be found here .

From November 2021 to December 2023, 2494 people affected by cancer have been supported via Maggie’s.

During the initial pilot phase, people with 34 different cancer types, including those with multiple cancers, attended the prehabilitation workshops. 59% of attendees were people affected by prostate and bowel cancers. The trend is similar in the period from April to December 2023, however those affected by breast and lung cancers make up a larger percentage of attendees than in the pilot phase.

77% of those providing feedback said the prehabilitation workshops delivered by Maggie’s had a positive impact on their health engagement. In addition, more than 90% said they felt better able to make positive changes to their physical activity, emotional well-being, and diet/nutrition.

The prehabilitation website referred to in response to question S6W-24556 on
‎ 25 January 2024 is available to those who prefer to source information online, and a Scottish Health Technology Assessment is in progress to help Scottish Government understand the potential for digital solutions to delivering prehabilitation. Finally, in collaboration with NHS Education Scotland, a training plan is in development that will support national scale up of the Maggie’s workshops via other willing providers.

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 .

Question reference: S6W-24559

Asked by: Sue Webber, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 25 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what is being done to improve access to prehabilitation for less survivable cancers, especially in areas of deprivation.

Cancer remains a national priority for the NHS and Scottish Government which is why we published a ten year strategy in June 2023, focused on improving cancer survival and providing equitable access to treatment. The strategy and plan take a comprehensive approach to improving patient pathways in cancer from prevention and diagnosis through to treatment and post-treatment care.

The evidence base for prehabilitation specifically for each of the less survivable cancers is currently limited. Work is underway to improve this, particularly with respect to upper gastrointestinal and lung cancers. Learnings from the prehabilitation currently being delivered under the Transforming Cancer Care Programme in association with our findings from the Single Point of Contact and Improving the Cancer Journey initiatives will provide opportunities to target areas of deprivation with early interventions. As such, efforts are being made to exploit these opportunities and progress screening, assessment and timely prehabilitation interventions across Scotland.