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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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S5W-29991

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 June 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 29 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has decided not to proceed with recruitment for a third cohort of the shortened midwifery programme.

The shortened midwifery programme was a pilot designed to meet short term workforce shortage in the North of Scotland. This is only one of the education programmes which supplies newly qualified midwives to the North of Scotland. Our latest workforce projections suggest that it is unnecessary to commission a third cohort at this stage and we will continue to monitor the progress of the current two cohorts on the pilot programme. This will be kept under review as we work in partnership with our health and care services and universities to assess midwifery workforce requirements and pre-registration education provision across Scotland in the coming months.

Midwifery is a controlled subject and in December 2019 we announced an increase to student intake of 5% in 20-21 bringing the commissioned number for 20-21 to 270. This is over 65% greater than the commissioned number in 2014, and almost 50% more than in 2016, the year in which students who most recently entered the workforce commenced their studies.

Question reference: S5W-30417

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 28 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the comment by Jeane Freeman on 20 May 2020 that the Barnett consequentials it has received from “the additional resource that the UK Government has committed to care home work…will go to care home work in Scotland” (Official Report, c. 31), whether it will confirm how much has been received; how much it has allocated to the Lothian parliamentary region, and how this will be distributed in that area.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-29601 on 23 June 2020, this sets out the current position. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

Detail of funding for the Lothian parliamentary region is set out in the following table.

Health & Social Care Partnership	Share of funding (£m)
East Lothian HSCP	0.9
Edinburgh HSCP	4.1
Midlothian HSCP	0.8
West Lothian HSCP	1.6
Total	7.5

Question reference: S5W-30403

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 28 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on introducing a bursary for paramedic students similar to the £5,000 for students in England that the UK Government announced in January 2020.

Question reference: S5W-30586

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 28 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made in the development of incineration facilities to deal with clinical waste disposal.

Question reference: S5W-30223

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 June 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 27 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to concerns that some people are ignoring the mandatory requirement to wear a face covering on public transport, and how it is monitoring and enforcing this requirement

Since 22 June 2020, compliance of wearing face coverings by passengers on public transport in Scotland has been high. Transport Scotland officials continue to work closely with operators across all travel modes to monitor and encourage appropriate passenger behaviours and compliance.

The powers are in place, through the legislation, for fixed penalty notices to be issued, if required, to enforce compliance.

Question reference: S5W-30411

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 27 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what action it plans to take to assist patients who have become opioid dependent following the prescription of opioids for pain relief.

The Scottish Government has convened a Short Life Working Group (SLWG) to look at Prescription Medicine Dependence and Withdrawal. This SLWG is considering the findings of the Public Health England Prescribed Medicines Review in a Scottish context. We expect to report on the SLWG findings in the autumn and the recommendations will centred around the actions required to assists patients who are prescribed drugs known to have dependence effects, including opioid pain medication. Scottish Government is in the process of reviewing its “Quality Prescribing for Chronic Pain – A Guide for Improvement” – this stresses the need to proactively review patients who have been prescribed opioids.

Question reference: S5W-30406

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 27 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it issued any new guidance on the prescribing of opioids for pain relief during the COVID-19 pandemic, and what discussions it had with (a) doctors' representatives and (b) other health organisations regarding this.

The Scottish Government has not issued any new guidance on the prescribing of opioids for pain relief during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Scottish Government’s “Quality Prescribing for Chronic Pain – A Guide for Improvement” covers the period 2018 – 2021 and Scottish Government is in the process of drafting an update, a process which includes discussion with and input from doctors’ representatives, patients and other health organisations.

Question reference: S5W-30388

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 27 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many dental practices remain closed to NHS patients due to the cost of reopening and insufficient financial support.

Management information collected by the Chief Dental Officer indicates that as of 12 July 2020, 929 practices, from a total of 1024, had reopened. The majority of remaining practices have a confirmed date for reopening and practices are required to certify to their NHS Board that they are fully compliant with current guidance, which is delivered by NES through the ‘practice recovery toolkit’, before reopening. No NHS Board has informed SG that financial concerns are the reason for not having reopened.

The financial support measures are in place to ensure the health and safety of all patients and staff attending dental practices as they reopen remains the primary consideration and in taking a phased approach the government is seeking to balance the overall risk of infection with the needs of patients to be seen by dentists and ensure dental practices are funded appropriately throughout.

Question reference: S5W-30405

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 27 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many prescriptions for opioids have been issued in each week since 1 April 2019.

Question reference: S5W-30385

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 27 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether the 2020-21 budget for the Public Dental Service will at least match the 2019-20 budget, in light of the role that it has played in treating urgent cases during the COVID-19 pandemic.