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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-13668

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 2 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the Baby Box scheme is mentioned in the Education and Skills section of its Draft Budget while the £8 million budget is shown in Level 4 of the Health and Sport budget.

Question reference: S5W-13669

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 2 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how much the Baby Box scheme will cost in 2018-19, in light of FOI response FOI/17/02557, which states it will cost £8.8 million, and its Draft Budget, which states the budget is £8 million.

Question reference: S5W-13550

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 December 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 1 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason ISD Scotland statistics published on 19 December 2017 suggest that there has been decline in A&E waiting time performance (a) in NHS Lothian and (b) at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, and what action it is taking to ensure that the waiting time target is met.

In the week ending 10 December 2017 NHS Lothian experienced a range of challenges that impacted on A&E performance across the Board, including the Royal Infirmary Edinburgh. For instance the level of attendances increased across the Board, in fact during the week ending 10 December the level of attendances were amongst the highest seen since weekly reporting began almost three years ago. In the week ending 17 December the board saw its highest level in any one week.

The Scottish Government is working closely with the local teams across NHS Lothian, including partnerships, to support improvements in relation to A&E waiting time performance and the reduction of delayed discharges. We are working with the hospital to enhance existing processes at the front door to support the timely flow of patients through the A&E department and additional capacity has been opened in community hospitals to support discharges. We will continue to work with the Board to support the required improvements.

Question reference: S5W-14098

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 1 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many parking spaces have been made available for medical professionals at each NHS hospital site in each year since 1999.

Question reference: S5W-14102

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 1 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many people outwith the target group have been treated for hepatitis C in each year for which information has been available.

In 2016-17, 42 % of people treated for hepatitis C (HCV) had no liver disease or mild liver disease and so were outwith the priority group of those with moderate to severe liver disease. For the first 6 months of 2017-18 the latest data indicates that 54% of people treated for hepatitis C had no liver disease or mild liver disease.

The principles developed by the HCV Treatment and Therapies Sub-Group of the National Sexual Health and Bloodborne Virus Advisory Committee state that patients should have an expectation that the likelihood of cure as a result of their initial treatment is at least 90% and this should be achieved with minimal possible side effects. All infected people are eligible for treatment regardless of disease progression, but the recommended treatment may vary dependent on HCV genotype and individual circumstances.

Question reference: S5W-14071

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 1 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what the national treatment target numbers are for hepatitis C for each of the next three years.

The new annual national targets for hepatitis C (HCV) treatment initiations are at least 2000 for 2018-19, 2500 for 2019-20, 3000 for 2020-21 and 3000 for each subsequent year. These are all minimum targets.

The Scottish Government is committed to the elimination of hepatitis C as a public health concern. The updated recommendations of the HCV Treatment and Therapies Sub-Group of the National Sexual Health and Bloodborne Virus Advisory Committee will form the basis of an elimination plan, which will be published later this year.

Question reference: S5W-13717

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 1 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-13253 by Shona Robison on 8 January 2017, what its position is on reported concerns that, by referring to St John's Hospital only and not other A&E departments in NHS Lothian, the news release of 17 November 2017, Waiting Times at NHS Lothian, lacked transparency by giving the impression that only issues at St John's Hospital were under review.

I will refer the member back to my response on 8 January. But for absolute clarity, I instructed NHS Lothian to carry out a full investigation across the three acute hospitals, despite the allegation being made against St Johns hospital. The news release, which I cleared, was in response to the news release issued on 17 November by NHS Lothian in relation to reporting practices surrounding waiting times targets at St Johns hospital.

Question reference: S5W-14082

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 1 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to increase testing for hepatitis C in (a) general practice and (b) A&E.

Question reference: S5W-14090

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 1 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out of NHS staff uniforms being cleaned by the NHS and not by staff at home.

In line with the NHSScotland National Uniform Policy hospital/facility laundries should be used to launder uniforms where they are available. Information is not held centrally in relation to the number of uniforms routinely laundered by staff at home.

Where hospital laundry facilities are not available, used uniforms should be laundered at home in accordance with the Home Laundering Guidelines, issued alongside the National Uniform Policy. There is no evidence to suggest that home laundering is a less effective method of laundering used uniform.

Question reference: S5O-01775

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 January 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government when the Edinburgh Tram Inquiry will publish its report.