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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-06163

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 January 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 31 January 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many ambulance journeys have been made in each year since 2010 where it has been known that the vehicle had not been inspected to ensure that it was (a) mechanically safe and (b) stocked with the full supply of paramedic drugs, material or equipment.

All ambulance vehicles undergo rigorous maintenance checks above the manufacturer's guidance. There are also standard operating procedures in place to ensure the required drugs, consumables and equipment is available for all ambulance staff. In addition, the Scottish Ambulance Service has a process in place in which all ambulance staff are expected to complete a Vehicle and Equipment Check sheet before the start of their shift. This would include ensuring their kit bag is fully equipped. The Service is currently running a pilot in Edinburgh whereby the first 15 minutes of each shift would be used to ensure the Vehicle and Equipment Check sheet is completed fully.

The information requested is not held centrally as this is an operational matter for the Scottish Ambulance Service.

Question reference: S5W-06161

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 January 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 31 January 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the 1,000 new paramedics posts that it announced in October 2015 have been filled.

Question reference: S5F-00844

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 30 January 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 February 2017

To ask the First Minister how many refugees the Scottish Government expects to welcome in 2017.

Question reference: S5W-06151

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 January 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 26 January 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what funding has been given to hospices for palliative care needs in each year since 2007, broken down by NHS board area.

This information is not centrally held.

It is the responsibility of Health and Social Care Partnerships to plan and deliver services for their area using the integrated budgets under their control. This includes hospice and palliative and end of life care services.

In 2015, the year before integration went live, the Scottish Government published statutory guidance on strategic commissioning setting out that each Partnership's strategic commissioning plan should be based upon a Strategic Needs Assessment of local people, including those with palliative and end of life care needs.

Question reference: S5W-06150

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 January 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 26 January 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its news release of 6 December 2016, NHS staffing at new record high, how many of the 11,500 additional staff are whole-time equivalent.

Whole Time Equivalent (WTE) information provides a better indicator of total labour input than a simple headcount. It is useful to support workforce planning and therefore continues to be in demand.

All staffing levels quoted in the Scottish Government press release of 6 December 2016, “NHS staffing at new record high” are expressed as WTE.

Under this Government, the WTE of staff working in NHSScotland has increased from 127,061.9 WTE to 138,651.2 WTE – a record high increase of 9.1 per cent, or 11,589.3 WTE.

The full press release is available at the following link:-

http://news.gov.scot/news/nhs-staffing-at-new-record-high

Question reference: S5O-00614

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 January 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 February 2017

To ask the Scottish Government when carer’s allowance will be increased for carers in Glasgow.

Question reference: S5W-06098

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 January 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 25 January 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the use of agency nurses by NHS boards.

The Scottish Government recognises that agency nurses can provide valuable assistance within an overall strategy of service provision, but expects Boards to minimise their use. The Scottish Government and NHS National Services Scotland have recently launched a nationally coordinated programme for all temporary staffing with a view to more effectively managing spend in this area. Agency nurses represent only a small proportion of the nursing provision in NHSScotland, amounting to 0.4% of total nursing and midwifery capacity in 2015-16. Nursing agency spend in 2015-16 was £23.5 million, which is lower than it was a decade ago in 2005-06 when £26.5 million was spent.

Question reference: S5W-06149

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 January 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 25 January 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many non-clinical whole-time equivalent staff have been employed by each NHS board in each year since 2007.

Question reference: S5W-05728

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 19 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 19 January 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many "did not attends" (DNAs) there have been from the Scottish Prison Service to NHS appointments in each year since May 2011, broken down by health board.

Question reference: S5W-05944

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 09 January 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 17 January 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many consultants each NHS board has employed on a 8:2 contract in each year since 2007.

As specified in the answer to Mr Sarwar’s previous question S5W-05332 on 22 December 2016, information relating to consultants’ specific job plan ratios is not held centrally. Specific local information may be available from NHSScotland Health boards.

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