Seòmar agus comataidhean

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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Criathragan Hide all filters

Displaying 258 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6W-19368

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Elena Whitham on 10 July 2023

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the research study, being carried out for Public Health Scotland by Figure 8 Consultancy, Glyndwr University and King's College London, into the demand for residential rehabilitation amongst those who use drugs in Scotland, does not also include in its scope those who are alcohol dependent, in light of it being "part of a wider national programme aiming to improve drug and alcohol support, involving a range of organisations, people with lived and living experience, and their family members/carers."

Public Health Scotland have been commissioned to conduct a monitoring and evaluation programme for residential rehabilitation policy, as a part of the wider National Mission evaluation, on behalf of the Scottish Government. We recognise that residential rehabilitation provides support to people with drug and alcohol problems, and as part of this evaluation programme, Public Health Scotland will ensure that people with lived experience of both drug and alcohol use are consulted.

As part of the evaluation, Public Health Scotland have begun research into the demand for residential rehabilitation for people who use drugs, carried out by Figure 9 consultancy. In this research study, individuals will be asked whether they experience problems with alcohol, alongside their drug use. Therefore, whilst the focus of the research is on drug use, alcohol is not completely out with the scope of the study. The wider portfolio of support available to individuals is different for individuals who use drugs and those who do not. This difference in the support offer is why this research study is taking a targeted approach, focusing on individuals who use drugs, and the support available specifically to them.

Question reference: S6W-18897

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 28 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been allocated to the Digital Prescribing and Dispensing Pathways programme to date.

Question reference: S6F-02283

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 26 June 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 June 2023

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-18890

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Elena Whitham on 26 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the £800,000 media campaign spend on the use of naloxone between 2021 and 2022, whether it will provide a breakdown of how much funding has been allocated to (a) social media, (b) bus stops, (c) billboards, (d) print media and (e) radio.

Question reference: S6W-18969

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Elena Whitham on 22 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of some areas of Community Health Index (CHI) capture reportedly remaining below the agree threshold of reliability for individual-level analysis, for what reason the Scottish Public Health Observatory continues to publish estimated figures for people prescribed opioid substitute therapy.

Estimates of the number of people prescribed opioid substitution therapy (OST) in Scotland are published on the Scottish Public Health Observatory website as, in spite of some data quality issues, Public Health Scotland (PHS) deem there to be a public interest in reporting this information. These statistics are published in a way that accurately describes the limitations of these data. Further, these estimates have been subject to external validation which indicates that their accuracy is good and has improved over time.

ISD (now Public Health Scotland) first published estimates of the number of people prescribed methadone for opioid dependence in 2015. The narrative accompanying these statistics states that, in spite of Community Health Index (CHI) capture being below the agreed threshold of reliability for individual-level analysis, these statistics are published due to ongoing public interest. As drug-related deaths have become an issue of growing concern, it is felt that this public interest argument continues to provide a strong reason for publication of statistics relating to prescribing for opioid dependence.

The way in which these statistics are published accurately reports the data quality issues that may affect their reliability. These statistics are published as ‘Management Information’ and the accompanying narrative describes the data quality issues and other appropriate caveats. The estimates are appropriately described as a ‘minimum number’ of people prescribed OST medications. Also, patient age and sex analysis that would typically be included for medications where CHI capture was above the agreed threshold of reliability for individual-level analysis, are not included.

Although the percentage of CHI numbers that were successfully captured from community prescriptions for OST medications in Scotland remains below the agreed threshold of reliability for individual-level analysis, there has been a substantial improvement in the quality of the underlying data over time. For the OST estimates, the CHI capture percentage increased from 64% in 2011-12 to 81% in 2021-22. As the information on ScotPHO in relation to prescribing for opioid dependence has developed, PHS have taken steps to understand how CHI capture affects the reliability of these estimates. Prior to releasing the first annual estimate of numbers of people on OST in March 2022, PHS held discussions about estimation methodologies with NHS Board prescribing leads and worked with them to agree a suitable way forward.

An analysis (also published on ScotPHO ) comparing estimates of the numbers of people on OST generated from NHS Board systems with the estimates produced by PHS shows that there was less than 1% difference between the 2020-21 total derived from local systems (29,588) and the PHS estimate (29,416). PHS continues to work with NHS Boards to improve the reliability of data on OST and any associated analyses.

Question reference: S6W-18903

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Elena Whitham on 22 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) the evaluation process is and (b) tools are used to assess the efficacy of the Scottish Drug Deaths Task Force, which is a centrally funded organisation.

Question reference: S6W-18894

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Elena Whitham on 22 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been allocated to the Scottish Drug Deaths Task Force in each year since 2019.

Question reference: S6W-18904

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Elena Whitham on 22 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether the £800,000, which was allocated for media campaigns in 2021 and 2022 on the use of naloxone, has been fully spent.

Question reference: S6W-18902

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Elena Whitham on 22 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) the evaluation process is and (b) tools are used to assess the value for money of funding allocated to the Scottish Drug Deaths Task Force, which is a centrally funded organisation.

The majority of funding allocated to the Drug Deaths Taskforce was dispersed via Alcohol and Drug Partnerships (ADPs) and The Corra Foundation. The Taskforce also funded the Digital Inclusion Project.

Alcohol and Drug Partnerships received additional funding in 2020-2021 and
‎ 2021-2022 from the Drug Deaths Taskforce.In order to receive funding ADPs were required to submit a proposal, clearly setting out how they would use this funding to address gaps in delivering the Taskforce’s six evidence-based strategies to help reduce drug-related deaths. Funding allocated to Alcohol and Drug Partnerships is subject to Scottish Government’s robust grant management process, outlined in the Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM). The SPFM provides guidance on the proper handling and reporting of public funds.

Through The Corra Foundation, a Research Programme Fund and an Innovation Fund was developed by the Drug Deaths Taskforce. The Corra Foundation facilitated review panels with members from a wide range of backgrounds, including those with lived experience, to review and consider applications made to both the Research Programme Fund and the Innovation Fund. The funds were created to contribute to the evidence base to inform future actions.

Monitoring of the projects was managed by The Corra Foundation. Monitoring and evaluation were a critical element in obtaining funding. When funding was awarded, each grantee signed grant offer paperwork which contained several conditions. These included conditions around payment and reporting. The content of the grant offer letters (including the conditions) were agreed with Scottish Government for each round and new conditions added as required. Additionally, a thematic evaluation was funded by the Taskforce through the Corra Foundation.

The independent Drug Deaths Taskforce concluded in July 2022 after publishing its final report, Changing Lives . The Scottish Government then responded to the recommendations and actions put forward by the Taskforce within the Drug Deaths Taskforce response: cross government approach .

Question reference: S6W-18901

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Elena Whitham on 21 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) the evaluation process is and (b) tools are used to assess the efficacy of funding allocated to the Scottish Drugs Forum, which is a centrally funded organisation.

All grant funding allocated from the drugs policy division is subject to Scottish Government’s robust grant management process, outlined in the Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM).The Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM) provides guidance on the proper handling and reporting of public funds.

The SPFM also provides guidance on appraisal and evaluation techniques and procedures. The Green Book, Appraisal and Evaluation in Central Government ? published by HM Treasury provides more detailed guidance on the principles, techniques and procedures applicable in relation to appraisal and evaluation.

The objectives, milestones and outcomes - aligned to the National Mission Outcomes Framework - are clearly set out in the grant agreement between Scottish Government and the grant recipient. To ensure grant funding meets the agreed outcomes and provides value for money, grant evaluations are undertaken at regular intervals, and again once the project has ended to evidence whether the grant has been a success.