- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 19 November 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 28 November 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what role adaptations to make homes accessible for tenants with an assessed need rather than re-housing them will play in the Housing Beyond 2021 consultation.
Answer
The Scottish Government recognises the importance of housing being adaptable in order to meet people’s needs over time. Housing Beyond 2021 will be a vision for how our homes and communities should look and feel in 2040 and the options and choices to get there, as set out in our Programme for Government. The flexibility and adaptability of the housing stock will be considered as part of this work.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 19 November 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 28 November 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact on NHS waiting times for occupational therapy when a housing association adapts a home to make it accessible for a tenant with an assessed need, rather than them being admitted to acute care.
Answer
The Scottish Government has not made an assessment of the impact of housing association adaptations on NHS waiting times for occupational therapy.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 19 November 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 28 November 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what actions it has taken to encourage housing associations to undertake adaptations to make homes accessible for tenants with an assessed need.
Answer
Since the integration of health and social care, Integration Joint Boards (IJBs) are now responsible for the planning and delivery of adaptations using budgets created by delegation and for reviewing and developing services to improve outcomes for people who require adaptations.
We have also provided £10 million directly to Registered Social Landlords this year, to assist them in providing adaptations for their tenants.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 19 November 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 28 November 2018
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the financial savings that are achieved when a housing association adapts a home to make it accessible for a tenant with an assessed need, rather than them being admitted to acute care.
Answer
The Scottish Government has not made an assessment of savings achieved by housing association adaptations. However we are aware of research undertaken by others both in Scotland and elsewhere in the UK that considers the evidence for potential savings to health budgets from adaptations being made to the homes older or disabled people who need them.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 November 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Jeane Freeman on 28 November 2018
To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £3.5 million that it allocated in 2015 to support its strategic framework for action on palliative and end of life care has been spent, and how much it will allocate to support the framework in (a) 2019-20 and (b) 2020-21.
Answer
In December 2015, the Scottish Government committed to allocating £3.5m over four years to support the implementation of the Strategic Framework for Action on Palliative and End of Life Care (SFA). This funding is to support improvements in palliative and end of life care, and is in addition to expenditure by Integration Authorities on these services, which is described in their strategic commissioning plans and financial reports. It is expected that the £3.5m for implementing the SFA will be fully spent by the end of this financial year.
The Scottish Government is working closely with a wide range of stakeholders to explore options for further improving palliative and end of life care services.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 November 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Ben Macpherson on 28 November 2018
To ask the Scottish Government how it promotes cultural ties with the rest of the UK.
Answer
Our National Performing Companies and National Collections often enter into collaborations with key partners across the UK and further afield. Creative Scotland too have developed strong links with partners across the UK.
Scotland House London delivers an ambitious and exciting programme to engage local audiences with Scotland's culture, with a wide-ranging programme of events.
Both the Scottish and UK Governments were key partners in the 2018 Edinburgh International Culture Summit which welcomed visitors from across the globe.
We also work closely with the British Council, to promote and support Scottish creative talent at home and abroad.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 22 October 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 23 November 2018
To ask the Scottish Government which neonatal units and paediatric units offer respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccination to at-risk babies, in line with Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation guidance.
Answer
Each NHS board has access to a passive immunisation medical product (Palivizumab) that can reduce the worst complications of RSV in those young children at the greatest risk of complications of RSV once they have become infected with this virus. All eligible children will be under the care of hospital based paediatricians, and therefore the use of palivizumab is determined by them on a clinical basis, in the RSV season.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 09 November 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Jeane Freeman on 22 November 2018
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-19271 by Jeane Freeman on 8 November 2018, whether it will provide the information that was requested regarding the number of new GPs recruited through the GP Recruitment and Retention Fund, also broken down by NHS board, and for what reason it did not provide this information in its answer.
Answer
The GP Recruitment and Retention fund has resulted in 57 GPs being recruited across Scotland. The funding offered by the Scottish Government enabled projects to be developed and funding to be mainstreamed.
NHS Ayrshire and Arran, Tayside and the Deep End Pioneer Scheme are all in the process of recruiting new GPs onto their fellowships programmes which proved to be highly successful under the GP Recruitment and Retention fund that health boards are now supporting them. We continue to fund the development of the Scottish Rural Medicine Collaborative that has brought together 10 Health Boards across rural Scotland and are investing a further £7.5 million this year to recruit and retain GPs.
Listed below are the numbers of GPs broken down by board that officials have been sourcing as data was not held centrally.
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde | 13 |
NHS Ayrshire and Arran | 12 |
NHS Borders | 2 |
NHS Lothian | 9 |
NHS Tayside | 16 |
NHS Highland | 3 |
NHS Lanarkshire | 2 |
Total | 57 |
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 12 November 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 21 November 2018
To ask the Scottish Government when it will launch the consultation on restricting the promotion of e-cigarettes, which was announced in its Tobacco Control Action Plan, and what the timetable will be.
Answer
The Scottish Government will launch a consultation on restricting domestic advertising and promotion of e-cigarettes in early 2019. This timetable will allow for the Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 to come into force. These Regulations which are currently being considered in the UK Parliament cover electronic cigarette advertising and are likely to come into force in early 2019. If the UK and the EU reach a withdrawal agreement which means these EU Exit Regulations are no longer required then our consultation may begin sooner.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 October 2018
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Current Status:
Answered by Jeane Freeman on 20 November 2018
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5F-00793 by Nicola Sturgeon on 26 January 2017 (Official Report, c. 21), whether it will provide an update on how it is addressing Bliss Scotland's concerns regarding neonatal units not having enough nurses.
Answer
Health Boards must ensure that their neonatal units are appropriately and safely staffed. All NHS boards with a neonatal unit have run the neonatal nursing workload tool in 2016 and 2017, with the exception of NHS Highland. Scottish Government officials have contacted the Executive Nurse Director of NHS Highland about their use of the neonatal workforce planning tool. We will work with NHS Highland to ensure they run the neonatal workforce planning tool and provide whatever support they require.
NHS boards run the workload tool twice daily and the output provides valuable information not only for planning staffing numbers, but to identify staffing requirements on a daily basis which takes account of the dynamic nature of services. We have committed to enshrine safe staffing in law, placing the existing nursing and midwifery workload and workforce planning tools on a statutory footing.
Bliss played a vital part in our national maternity and neonatal review, 'The Best Start: A Five Year Forward Plan for Maternity and Neonatal Care in Scotland'. Bliss are represented on the ‘Best Start’ Implementation Programme Board. The Programme Board is examining neonatal workforce and education as part of their programme of work to take forward the package of recommendations. Work is well underway to implement the recommendations contained within The Best Start review.
A full written update on progress will be available at the end of the year and will be placed in SPICe.