- Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 15 December 2014
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Current Status:
Answered by Maureen Watt on 6 January 2015
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis of pre-exposure prophylaxis will be carried out prior to its refresh of the Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework.
Answer
Development of the refreshed Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework is currently in its early stages and we are consulting with a variety of stakeholders. The refreshed framework will be published in summer 2015 but no decisions on any specific recommendations have yet been made.
Any decisions specifically relating to pre-exposure prophylaxis will be based on recommendations from the British HIV Association, British Association for Sexual Health and HIV and the UK Expert Advisory Group on AIDS.
- Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 15 December 2014
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Current Status:
Answered by Maureen Watt on 6 January 2015
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the interim results of the PROUD Study's report on pre-exposure prophylaxis.
Answer
Whilst the interim results of the PROUD study of pre-exposure prophylaxis are encouraging, we should await the full results before taking any decisions. Once the full results are available we will work with the NHS and other interested stakeholders to consider our approach to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) as part of a package of HIV prevention interventions. Any decisions on PrEP will be informed by recommendations from the British HIV Association, British Association for Sexual Health and HIV and the UK Expert Advisory Group on AIDS.
Our current policy on PrEP reflects the joint position statement, issued by British HIV Association/British Association for Sexual Health and HIV on pre-exposure prophylaxis in the UK in 2012 which states that “ad hoc prescribing is avoided, and that PrEP is only prescribed in the context of a clinical research study in the UK”.
- Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 15 December 2014
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Current Status:
Answered by Maureen Watt on 6 January 2015
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on pre-exposure prophylaxis being used as a method of HIV prevention.
Answer
Scottish Government policy reflects the joint position statement, issued by British HIV Association/British Association for Sexual Health and HIV, on pre-exposure prophylaxis in the UK. This statement recommends that ‘ad hoc prescribing is avoided, and that pre-exposure prophylaxis is only prescribed in the context of a clinical research study in the UK’.
- Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 15 December 2014
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Current Status:
Answered by Maureen Watt on 6 January 2015
To ask the Scottish Government how much of its international development budget is spent on HIV treatment and education programmes.
Answer
The Scottish Government's international development budget does not provide funding for any projects whose sole function is to deliver HIV education/awareness raising. The budget does fund projects which contain an element of HIV education/awareness raising as part of their overall remit.
An example is the Karonga Girls and Boys Empowerment Project in Malawi, to which the Scottish Government is contributing nearly £400,000. The project addresses issues that can have a wide range of negative impacts, including exacerbation of problems related to HIV and AIDS. These include: harmful cultural practices; low household income; and increased exposure to HIV.
Funding for this and other projects is provided for the projects in their entirety and specific amounts are not allocated to the HIV education/awareness raising aspects. It is therefore not possible to calculate the spend on this element of each project.
- Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 December 2014
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 6 January 2015
To ask the Scottish Government what the cost to NHS Grampian has been of delayed discharges in the Aberdeen City Council area in each of the last three years.
Answer
We have estimated the full cost of delayed discharges to the NHS at £150 million. We have asked NHS Information Services Division (ISD) to do a more detailed piece of work.
ISD is now working with NHS boards to develop a costing methodology to apply to this activity and we expect that this will be completed, and publicly available from April 2015.
- Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 December 2014
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 6 January 2015
To ask the Scottish Government what the current cost to NHS Grampian is of delayed discharges in the Aberdeen City Council area.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-23601 on 6 January 2015. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.
- Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 08 December 2014
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 11 December 2014
To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government will respond to the findings of the all-party UK parliamentary inquiry into hunger in the UK.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 11 December 2014
- Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 10 November 2014
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 26 November 2014
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many people in Scotland do not receive the full state pension and the reasons for this.
Answer
Office for National Statistics data suggest that, in September 2012 at UK level, 80% of men and 46% of women of pensionable age were in receipt of the full basic state pension. Scotland level data is not available. Women receive lower state pension payments than men in part because those with caring responsibilities were disadvantaged by the system pre-2002. There have been improvements since then, and the new single-tier pension is expected to improve state pension provision further for new female pensioners from 2016.
(Source: Office for National Statistics, Pension Trends Chapter 5: State Pensions, 2013.)
(Source: Scottish Government, Pensions in an Independent Scotland, 2013)
- Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 10 November 2014
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 26 November 2014
To ask the Scottish Government, if the appropriate powers were devolved, whether it would change the rules regarding the relationship between eligibility for the state pension and spouse or partner contributions.
Answer
The Scottish Government has submitted its proposals for further devolution to The Smith Commission, which are available at:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2014/10/2806/0
As this sets out, we believe that decisions on welfare, including pensions, are best made by the Scottish Parliament, in line with the needs of Scottish pensioners. If powers over the state pension are devolved, future Scottish governments will have the ability to look at how the system is designed, including eligibility rules, and the role of spouse or partner contributions.
- Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 10 November 2014
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 26 November 2014
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding how spouse or partner contributions can impact on eligibility for the state pension and the impact that this might have for people in Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Government has not had any discussions with the UK Government on this matter.