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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-21847

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that NHS boards can review the migraine needs of their populations and assess whether existing services meet those needs, including workforce planning.

We have worked to develop and implement a quality assurance programme for the General Standards for Neurological Care and Support. A Self-evaluation tool was published by Healthcare Improvement Scotland in April 2023, to help enable services to measure their own implementation of the standards.

Undertaking this work will identify areas of good practice and improvement across NHS Scotland and help to drive forward better standards of care for people with neurological conditions, including migraine.

Our National Workforce Strategy for Health and Social Care supports the remobilisation and recovery of health and social care services and sets out priorities for recruitment, training and retention.

Through our National Advisory Committee for Neurological Conditions, we are identifying priorities to strengthen the neurological workforce alongside the National Workforce Strategy, Remobilisation Plans and Rehabilitation Framework. We have scoped neurological workforce priorities and work has commenced to address these with a focus on nursing, allied health professionals (AHPs), neuropsychology and neurophysiology.

Question reference: S6W-21416

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 29 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide a timeline for when a decision on phase 3 of the Learning Estate Investment Programme funding will be made.

I understand that local authorities are keen to get clarity on Phase 3 of the Learning Estate Investment Programme.

We previously wrote to local authorities to explain that consideration of potential Phase 3 projects was still ongoing. It is important to recognise that we are trying to make these important investment decisions against a backdrop of market volatility on current projects, the need to keep Scottish finances on a sustainable trajectory and most recently, RAAC prevalence in school buildings.

These are big decisions, and it is important we get them right. I hope to announce successful projects as soon as possible.

Question reference: S6W-21312

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 28 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide an update on the discussions between Transport Scotland and the developer regarding the Ferrymuir Gait access issue.

Question reference: S6O-02583

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 28 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors waiting times for medical procedures that require anaesthetic, and which may be required to allow people to return to work.

Waiting times for medical procedures that require anaesthetic are monitored by new outpatient national standards and the Treatment Time Guarantee for inpatient and day-case.

Over 2.8 million inpatients and day cases have benefited from the 12-weeks treatment target since it was introduced – with 81.7% of these being seen within 12 weeks. Further information about waiting times can be found on the PHS website.

Every person recovers differently and how quickly someone can return to work depends on a number of things, including the type of surgery and the type of work they do. The surgeon will advise how long it's likely to take to recover.

Question reference: S6O-02612

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 September 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to implement the Anti-Racist Curriculum Principles, which were published in June.

Question reference: S6W-21273

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 26 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what more it will do to prevent older people from being evicted by private care providers, in light of reports of pensioners facing eviction due to a lack of family funds and refusal by care homes to accept council funding.

In the current system care home providers should clearly set out their terms and conditions to residents and their families in the contractual arrangements; these are covered by consumer protection laws.

The Scottish Government acknowledges, however, that the social care sector requires reform. We remain committed to delivering a National Care Service to improve quality, fairness and consistency of provision that meets individuals’ needs. The design and delivery of the National Care Service will have human rights embedded throughout.

Question reference: S6W-20920

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 01 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 26 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider simplifying the referral process for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to ensure that children can swiftly receive the help that they need.

We are working to improve neurodevelopmental support for children and young people, including children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to ensure that children and young people can receive the support they need quickly. Our National Neurodevelopmental Specification for Children and Young People aims to ensure that children and families receive the support that meets their needs at the earliest opportunity, based on the Getting It Right For Every Child (GIRFEC) approach.

In terms of the referral process, a diagnosis is not required for children and young people to receive support. The Neurodevelopmental Specification makes clear that support should be in place to meet the child or young person’s requirements when they need it, rather than being dependent on a formal diagnosis. For many children and young people, such support is likely to be community based, and should be quickly and easily accessible. In Lothian for example, Edinburgh’s Citywide Neurodevelopmental Diversity Support is a partnership between Barnardo’s, Tailor Ed Foundation and Autism Initiatives aimed at children and young people who have neurodevelopmental diversity. This service provides one-to-one support for children and young people, and also offers support to parents and siblings.

To support national implementation of the Specification, we have funded five Tests of Change to implement various aspects of the specification. These are taking place in Grampian, East Lothian, Highland, Fife and Forth Valley. We are working to collate and share learnings from these Tests of Change to inform next steps around implementation of the ND specification and support wider roll out across other areas in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-20982

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 19 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken to improve myeloma cancer diagnoses, and what is being done to increase public awareness of this type of cancer, in light of reports that myeloma patients face some of the longest times to diagnosis of any cancer.

Scotland’s first Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Services (RCDSs) – established within existing NHS infrastructure – are operational in NHS Ayrshire and Arran, NHS Dumfries and Galloway, NHS Fife, NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Borders. The Services provide primary care with access to a new referral pathway for patients with non-specific symptoms suspicious of cancer, which is often the case for myeloma cancer presentations.

A new Detect Cancer Earlier campaign – Be The Early Bird - launched on 06 March 2023 and ran for four weeks, aiming to reduce fear of cancer and empower those with possible symptoms to act early. The campaign was developed with primary and secondary care clinical input. Following independent evaluation, the campaign will re-run in September 2023 to continue to raise awareness of the benefits of seeking help early.

Question reference: S6W-19959

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 28 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 19 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered establishing a centralised database to co-ordinate screening and clinical care for people affected by Lynch syndrome, in light of such a database currently being piloted in England.

The Scottish Government has no plans to establish a database with regards to the monitoring of individuals with Lynch Syndrome.

We are currently in discussion with clinicians including members of the Scottish Strategic Network for Genomic Medicine and the Clinical Genetics Forum to bring together all stakeholder specialities to advise on testing, screening and management for individuals at increased risk of cancer.

Question reference: S6W-20983

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 14 September 2023