- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 9 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it can confirm how many sewage discharge points there are along the River (a) Don and (b) Dee; when these monitors were last monitored, and what assessment was made of them.
Answer
As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water I have asked them to respond. Their answer is:
The number of sewage discharge points for each river, including its tributaries, is:
- River Don - 42 Wastewater Treatment Works and 99 discharge points
- River Dee - 26 Wastewater Treatment Works and 69 discharge points
SEPA's licencing conditions do not currently require Scottish Water to report discharge data at these locations.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) publishes river water quality data on their website at: www.sepa.org.uk/data-visualisation/water-classification-hub. SEPA currently classifies waterbodies in the River Dee catchment as 92% at good or better water quality and the River Don catchment as 84% at good or better water quality.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 8 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the current availability of hormone replacement therapy (HRT), in light of reports of supply issues.
Answer
There are over 70 HRT products available in the UK and supply issues are affecting only a small number of them.
The Scottish Government are aware that there have been continuing shortages across the UK due to a number of factors. The supply of medicines, including HRT products and the associated legislation, is a reserved matter for the UK Government. We continue to engage with the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) to seek a lasting solution.
A series of UK-wide Serious Shortage Protocols (SSPs) have been issued by DHSC, after consultation with the Scottish Government and other UK administrations, allowing community pharmacists to supply specific alternatives without needing to seek agreement from the prescribing doctor. An SSP is an additional tool to manage and mitigate medication shortages. This gives individuals the option to receive substitute products in a safe and effective way to ensure medication continues to be available to all.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 June 2023
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 15 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on any increase in water quality testing that is proposed for rivers in the north east.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 15 June 2023
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 6 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what remit the Women's Health Champion has, and how the public can engage with her.
Answer
The remit of the Women’s Health Champion , Professor Anna Glasier, is to drive change and share best practice and innovation in the improvement of health services and health outcomes for women.
Professor Glasier is working with partners in the NHS and across the public and third sectors to drive forward the ambitions, aims and actions in the Women’s Health Plan .
Professor Glasier’s particular priorities were set out in the recently published report on progress and include specialist menopause services, menstrual health with a focus on endometriosis and polycystic ovarian syndrome, and heart health.
Professor Glasier recently published her first quarterly blog , highlighting her initial work and priorities for the months ahead.
Any requests should be directed to womenshealthchampion@gov.scot .
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 6 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether there are any requirements for CCTV in psychiatric hospitals to include sound.
Answer
There are no current or planned future requirements for CCTV in psychiatric hospitals in Scotland to include sound.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 6 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how often the Scottish Government-led Lyme Disease Awareness Raising Group meets; when the last meeting was held, and what minutes are available from any such meetings.
Answer
The Scottish Government-led Lyme Disease Awareness Raising Group has met regularly since being set up following a Ministerial round table event held in June 2021.
The meetings are informal and provide members with the opportunity to share information and to collaborate on ideas of how best to raise awareness of Lyme disease. The Group have met 4 times, most recently on 16 March 2023.
The group co-designed the Scottish Government led Lyme Disease awareness raising campaign which ran in July 2022, and were most recently involved in the 2023 campaign which has seen posters and information cards in all community pharmacies across Scotland throughout May. The group were also involved in the proposal to run a follow up campaign, which will see posters in GP practices, libraries and leisure centres in the summer.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 6 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many of the proposed 1,000 new sewage monitors will be installed along the (a) River Dee, (b) River Don and (c) north east of Scotland in total.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to S6W-15158 on 13 March 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 6 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what reviews have been undertaken of its menopause policy.
Answer
Menopause care and support is a top priority in our Women’s Health Plan, which was published on 20 August 2021, and runs until 2024. There are no plans to review the Women’s Health Plan or the menopause ambitions within it before this time.
The 10 menopause actions set out in the Plan aim to ensure that women have timely access to menopause support and services; healthcare professionals are aware of the impact of medical or surgical treatments to induce menopause and all women have access to a healthcare professional with an interest in menopause through primary care.
An update on the progress made since the publication of Plan on the menopause actions is outlined in the Women’s Health Plan: A Report on Progress , published on 26 January 2023.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 6 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what the current waiting time is for routine assessments for menopause in each NHS board.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold this data.
It is important that women are provided with consistent information and care when they seek help with menopause symptoms, be it through primary or specialist care.
Through the delivery of the Women’s Health Plan , we want to ensure that all women have timely access to menopause support and services when required, and more information about the progress we have made on delivering this action can be found in our Women’s Health Plan: A Report on Progress .
Through the Women’s Health Plan we are working to improve collection and use of data, including qualitative evidence of women’s lived experiences to inform service design and improve healthcare services and women’s care and experiences.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 18 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 31 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding will be provided to the public audit of fracture liaison services in Scotland, and when it will be reported on.
Answer
The Scottish Government recognises the importance of the Fracture Liaison Service audit and, following the completion of a scoping exercise currently being undertaken by Public Health Scotland, will provide funding. The Scottish Government has advised the Royal Osteoporosis Society that the funding we are able to offer may be up to £150,000 for the first year, but the exact level of funding and the timescale of reporting are expected to be finalised soon.
