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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-23074

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 15 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what research it plans to undertake into the reasons for the rise in the number of autistic people.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving the lives of autistic people, their families and carers through the Scottish Strategy for Autism .

There are no current plans to undertake further research into the number of autistic people in Scotland. The Micro segmentation Project published in March 2018 has established a robust national Scottish autism prevalence rate of 1.035%. More information can be found at: http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2018/03/3640 .

The Scottish Government have recommended that this prevalence figure should be used as the most accurate prevalence estimate available. The report provides accurate data for the number of autistic individuals, together with numbers with and without an intellectual disability, in every age range for the whole of Scotland and for every Council or Health Board area.

Question reference: S5W-23076

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 15 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether there is a link between excessive sugar consumption and the increase in the number of autistic people.

Question reference: S5W-22661

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 April 2019
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 14 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it awards to the Primary Biliary Cholangitis Foundation.

Question reference: S5W-23075

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 14 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what research it (a) has conducted and (b) plans to conduct into excessive sugar consumption and its suppression of the enzyme, glutamine synthetase.

The Scottish Government funds research through the Chief Scientist's office.

Researchers can apply to the Chief Scientist Office for funding. The CSO's Translational Clinical Studies Committee and the Health Improvement, Protection and Services Research Committees each meet twice per year to consider funding applications. Details of the application process are published on the CSO website. http://www.cso.scot.nhs.uk/funding-2/

Applications looking at excessive sugar consumption and its suppression of the enzyme, glutamine synthetase may be submitted to the CSO funding committees. In common with all other applications, these would go through the CSO's standard independent peer review process.

Question reference: S5W-22629

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 April 2019
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 14 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government which NHS boards commission a multidisciplinary tier (a) 3 and (b) 4 weight management service.

The Scottish Government does not hold information about which NHS Boards commission tier 3 and 4 weight management services. It is for NHS Boards to determine what services are required to meet local needs and whether these should be commissioned or delivered directly.

NHS Boards report annually on child and adult weight management services, including tier 3 but there is no requirement to state whether services are commissioned or delivered directly. In terms of tier 4, ISD collects data on the number of bariatric surgeries undertaken annually by NHS Board.

In order to improve quality and equity of access across Scotland, NHS Health Scotland will soon publish minimum standards for child and adult weight management services. Best practice guidance for Tier 4 bariatric provision is already in place.

Question reference: S5W-22662

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 April 2019
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 14 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how it supports people with primary biliary cholangitis.

The Scottish Government expects NHS Boards to provide high quality, person-centred care for all people, including those with suspected, or confirmed diagnosis of Primary Biliary Cholangitis.

Scotland has an implementation plan for rare diseases, published 2014, which includes 51 commitments. A progress report, published 2018, sets out progress towards meeting these commitments http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2018/02/8601 .

Question reference: S5W-22980

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 14 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many affordable homes were built in 2018-19, broken down by local authority.

The following table shows the number of affordable homes delivered in 2018-19 between 1 April 2018 and 31 December 2018. Figures for the final quarter, 1 January 2019 to 31 March 2019, will be published in June 2019 and may differ slightly from the figures previously published by the Scottish Government More Homes Division for a number of reasons, including: differences in data extraction dates and changes made to the historical data after the original publication.

All published quarterly figures for 2018-19 can be found at the following link: https://www2.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Housing-Regeneration

Please note that as well as new build homes, the Affordable Housing Supply Programme includes rehabilitation projects, off the shelf purchases and homes for low-cost home ownership from existing housing stock:

Council	New Build	Off the Shelf	Rehabilitation	TOTAL
Aberdeenshire	138	85	0	223
Angus	57	15	0	72
Argyll & Bute	62	3	0	65
City of Aberdeen	232	205	0	437
Clackmannanshire	31	6	0	37
Dumfries & Galloway	59	28	0	87
Dundee	99	38	0	137
East Ayrshire	46	1	0	47
East Dunbartonshire	8	2	0	10
East Lothian	63	87	0	150
East Renfrewshire	8	2	0	10
Edinburgh	453	137	0	590
Falkirk	30	51	0	81
Fife	167	104	0	271
Glasgow	389	86	41	516
Highland	418	152	4	574
Inverclyde	41	4	0	45
Midlothian	83	80	0	163
Moray	32	12	0	44
North Ayrshire	180	12	0	192
North Lanarkshire	193	39	0	232
Orkney Islands	28	2	0	30
Perth & Kinross	102	216	0	318
Renfrewshire	127	17	0	144
Scottish Borders	126	48	0	174
Shetland	16	0	0	16
South Ayrshire	0	0	0	0
South Lanarkshire	98	20	10	128
Stirling	47	13	0	60
West Dunbartonshire	84	12	0	96
West Lothian	336	230	0	566
Western Isles	4	1	3	8
TOTAL	3,757	1,708	58	5,523

Question reference: S5F-03331

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 May 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 May 2019

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the Scottish Heart Failure Nurse Forum's warning of a “potential crisis in care delivery".

Question reference: S5W-22908

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 April 2019
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 8 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to consider the applicability of recommendations from the review of England's cancer screening programmes to help improve similar services in Scotland.

The review of England’s cancer screening was commissioned by NHS England and is expected to culminate in recommendations about future commissioning and delivery of cancer screening programmes in England. The independent review is being conducted by Professor Sir Mike Richards and is expected to report in Summer 2019. The Scottish Government has not had any direct involvement in the review of England's cancer screening.

The Scottish Government is advised on all aspects of screening by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) and the Scottish Screening Committee. Both Committees will consider any recommendations which come from the review, and advise Scottish Government on any implications for cancer screening services in Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-22909

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 April 2019
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 8 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what involvement it has had in the review of England's cancer screening programme and how it will use opportunities to learn lessons from its recommendations.