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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: S5W-17607

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 July 2018
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 30 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is illegal for a company bidding for a public contract to misrepresent its status and structure by falsely claiming to be a subsidiary of a major overseas corporation.

Under procurement legislation, companies that have been found to have misrepresented information as part of a procurement exercise can be excluded from further procurement exercises in circumstances which are specified in the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015.

Whether there are other legal consequences or implications regarding a bidding process would depend on the specific contract and the facts and circumstances applicable to that case.

Question reference: S5W-17573

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 July 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 20 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many people in the NHS Ayrshire and Arran board area were attended to at accident and emergency departments and how many of those waited less than four 4 hours from arrival to admission, discharge or transfer for accident and emergency treatment in each year since 2006-07.

The following table shows the number of attendances at Accident and Emergency (A&E) departments in NHS Ayrshire and Arran and of those, how many spent four hours or less in the department from time of arrival to admission, discharge or transfer since July 2007. This information is published by ISD and can be found here , however for ease of reference the data have been extracted below.

Financial Year Ending	Number Of Attendances	Number in A&E 4 hours or less
31-03-2008*	81,226	79,420
31-03-2009	110,836	108,657
31-03-2010	113,133	111,032
31-03-2011	116,088	112,615
31-03-2012	119,537	114,645
31-03-2013	120,953	110,899
31-03-2014	120,621	111,738
31-03-2015	123,030	112,653
31-03-2016	123,389	113,486
31-03-2017	118,995	110,726
31-03-2018	113,839	106,684
* Data from July 2007.

Question reference: S5W-17476

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 19 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) adults and (b) children have had a free eye examination in each year since 2006-07, broken down by NHS board.

The total number of free NHS funded eye examinations for children and adults carried out in Scotland in each financial year from 2006-07 is outlined in the following tables.

	Number of free eye examinations in each financial year since 2006/07 for children
NHS BOARD	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013/4	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18	TOTAL
AYRSHIRE & ARRAN	11,755	12,905	14,077	14,690	14,416	14,769	14,763	15,514	15,477	16,011	17,102	18,783	180,262
BORDERS	2,408	2,800	3,064	3,008	3,082	3,331	3,225	3,324	3,387	3,474	3,772	3,824	38,699
DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY	4,987	5,094	5,542	5,808	5,793	6,083	5,951	6,145	5,985	5,779	6,666	6,788	70,621
FIFE	14,079	15,115	15,950	16,786	17,092	17,761	17,366	18,195	18,417	18,050	19,393	19,590	207,794
FORTH VALLEY	9,111	10,287	11,519	11,973	11,473	13,105	13,063	13,437	13,286	13,692	14,397	14,458	149,801
GRAMPIAN	22,655	24,231	25,709	26,391	25,995	27,554	26,907	29,184	29,895	31,249	33,240	33,266	336,276
GREATER GLASGOW & CLYDE	48,037	51,078	52,727	53,073	52,639	56,098	57,084	60,623	57,553	60,109	65,803	67,893	682,717
HIGHLAND	9,938	10,610	11,025	11,267	11,668	12,045	11,936	12,091	11,832	12,570	13,231	13,363	141,576
LANARKSHIRE	25,268	27,883	29,312	30,342	30,171	31,684	32,744	34,032	37,326	38,218	40,518	40,815	398,313
LOTHIAN	29,232	30,696	33,754	35,713	36,330	39,889	40,557	42,072	41,382	41,557	45,855	46,598	463,635
ORKNEY	429	532	590	528	575	567	600	597	608	735	725	677	7,163
SHETLAND	1,519	1,611	1,670	1,504	1,577	1,796	1,451	1,923	1,712	1,862	1,830	1,949	20,404
TAYSIDE	13,973	15,429	15,630	15,825	15,481	16,055	16,049	16,927	17,291	18,027	18,987	19,240	198,914
WESTERN ISLES	596	724	887	923	896	825	718	743	752	863	966	1,010	9,903
UNKNOWN*	4	10	85	22	0	14	98	124	1	0	0	2	360
TOTAL	193,991	209,005	221,541	227,853	227,188	241,576	242,512	254,931	254,904	262,196	282,485	288,256	2,906,438

Source: NHS National Services Scotland.

	Number of free eye examinations in each financial year since 2006-07 for adults
NHS BOARD	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18	TOTAL
AYRSHIRE & ARRAN	98,470	106,096	113,142	117,574	121,533	126,666	126,802	131,989	132,898	137,316	142,520	149,000	1,504,006
BORDERS	23,001	25,323	26,672	26,904	27,504	28,830	28,812	30,428	30,824	31,433	32,750	32,814	345,295
DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY	38,087	38,971	42,773	46,941	47,447	48,941	49,883	52,609	49,679	48,360	51,110	52,647	567,448
FIFE	87,832	92,324	97,877	103,626	107,534	114,835	114,448	121,141	120,035	123,232	127,825	125,951	1,336,660
FORTH VALLEY	70,761	76,173	79,749	82,043	80,967	86,665	85,979	89,643	90,028	95,130	96,736	97,054	1,030,928
NHS GRAMPIAN	143,538	150,393	162,353	167,117	169,278	181,971	183,073	196,031	201,201	205,616	208,487	206,774	2,175,832
GREATER GLASGOW & CLYDE	336,121	349,050	366,129	367,685	373,210	394,643	404,169	422,978	404,112	423,671	441,758	447,154	4,730,680
HIGHLAND	74,663	78,780	83,333	85,804	89,916	94,647	95,253	99,228	98,611	102,246	106,271	107,038	1,115,790
LANARKSHIRE	136,898	143,883	154,843	156,739	163,876	174,316	177,304	186,678	210,376	217,128	225,352	224,602	2,171,995
LOTHIAN	216,751	217,504	227,579	237,114	240,005	257,062	258,442	274,287	279,981	289,628	305,545	304,809	3,108,707
ORKNEY	3,128	3,646	4,226	3,948	4,037	4,279	4,863	4,985	4,777	5,574	5,850	5,334	54,647
SHETLAND	4,303	5,429	5,977	5,753	6,102	7,070	7,436	8,824	8,228	8,505	8,487	8,652	84,766
TAYSIDE	112,014	118,848	125,951	129,396	132,085	138,562	139,679	146,542	145,153	149,960	153,256	153,611	1,645,057
WESTERN ISLES	4,390	5,592	6,286	6,647	6,563	7,157	6,426	7,549	7,802	8,583	8,247	8,474	83,716
UNKNOWN*	23	42	297	261	22	74	1,531	2,006	3	6	7	14	4,286
TOTAL	1,349,980	1,412,054	1,497,187	1,537,552	1,570,079	1,665,718	1,684,100	1,774,918	1,783,708	1,846,388	1,914,201	1,923,928	19,959,813

Source: NHS National Services Scotland.

*Postcodes which could not be identified or matched to an NHS Board are shown as unknown.

Question reference: S5W-17477

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 19 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has cost each NHS board to proved free eye examinations in each year since 2006-07.

The total cost of providing free NHS funded eye examinations carried out in Scotland in each financial year since 2006-07 for each NHS Board is outlined in the following table.

	Cost of free eye examinations in each year since 200607 by Health Board (£000)
Financial ‎ Year	Ayrshire & ‎ Arran	Borders	Dumfries & ‎ Galloway	Fife	Forth Valley	Glasgow	Grampian	Highland	Lanarkshire	Lothian	Orkney	Shetland	Tayside	Western Isles	Total
2006-07	2,799	640	1,098	2,570	2,023	9,772	4,215	2,139	4,084	6,266	89	151	3,188	121	39,155
2007-08	4,145	961	1,554	3,738	3,004	13,850	6,095	3,077	6,001	8,646	146	232	4,658	215	56,322
2008-09	4,594	1,081	1,738	4,062	3,265	15,049	6,690	3,374	6,575	9,347	173	266	5,075	250	61,537
2009-10	4,993	1,130	2,010	4,524	3,511	15,712	7,223	3,650	6,957	10,198	165	280	5,526	267	66,147
2010-11	5,056	1,142	2,013	4,602	3,440	15,729	7,137	3,788	7,041	10,246	181	267	5,516	270	66,427
2011-12	5,320	1,226	2,106	4,952	3,708	16,665	7,657	4,000	7,552	11,078	184	304	5,854	289	70,894
2012-13	5,311	1,215	2,125	4,884	3,715	16,925	7,732	3,986	7,650	11,050	206	315	5,806	269	71,191
2013-14	5,435	1,262	2,186	5,114	3,796	17,425	8,040	4,129	7,836	11,522	208	373	6,085	299	73,712
2014-15	5,441	1,274	2,117	5,132	3,851	16,624	8,302	4,109	8,723	11,644	204	353	6,028	306	74,106
2015-16	5,638	1,318	2,037	5,241	3,980	17,341	8,502	4,217	9,074	12,084	231	369	6,256	333	76,620
2016-17	5,795	1,365	2,156	5,356	4,092	17,897	8,626	4,387	9,366	12,647	241	367	6,320	329	78,946
2017-18	6,202	1,405	2,316	5,471	4,162	18,697	8,744	4,527	9,617	12,999	249	380	6,536	355	81,660
Total	60,728	14,019	23,457	55,645	42,547	191,686	88,964	45,383	90,477	127,726	2,278	3,656	66,847	3,302	816,717

Source: NHS National Services Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-17574

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 July 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 12 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to introduce civil partnerships for heterosexual couples and, if so, when.

The Scottish Government consulted in 2015 on civil partnership. Details of that consultation are at http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Justice/law/17867/cpreview There has now been a UK Supreme Court judgment on civil partnership, following a judicial review in England and Wales: https://www.supremecourt.uk/cases/uksc-2017-0060.html The Scottish Government is considering the implications of that judgment for Scotland.

Question reference: S5O-02288

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 27 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what the impact of universal credit has been in North Ayrshire.

Universal Credit Full Service was introduced in North Ayrshire in November 2017. Since then North Ayrshire Council has reported that they have seen rent arrears increase by 19.5%.

There has also been an increase in people applying as homeless and in use of food banks, both of which the council attribute to benefit reductions and delays.

We continue to hear evidence of the damaging impacts of Universal Credit and wrote again last week to the UK Government urging them to pause the roll out until the problems with Universal Credit are fixed. This call continues to go unanswered.

Question reference: S5W-16973

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 31 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 12 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have consulted a GP or practice-employed nurse regarding a sleep disorder in each of the last three years, broken down by NHS board area.

Question reference: S5W-16972

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 31 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 12 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many prescriptions for sleeping pills have been dispensed in each of the last three years, broken down by (a) drug type and (b) NHS board.

Question reference: S5W-16971

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 31 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 12 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what the cost of prescriptions for sleeping pills has been in each of the last three years, broken down by (a) drug type and (b) NHS board.

The Dispenser Payments and Prescription Cost Analysis report provides, on an annual basis, information on the volume and cost of drugs prescribed in the community, including hypnotics for the treatment of sleeping disorders.

The report is published on the National Services Scotland Information Services Division website:-

www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Prescribing-and-Medicines/Community-Dispensing/Dispenser-Remuneration/

The information requested in part (b) of the question is not available in a format which can be aggregated by substance or therapeutic group.

Question reference: S5W-16974

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 31 May 2018
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 12 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many people who have been diagnosed with a sleep disorder have been referred for (a) cognitive behavioural therapy or (b) other non-drug based interventions disorders in each of the last three years, broken down by NHS board.