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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-15675

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 March 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 17 April 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have used the Glasgow underground in each year since 2012.

The Glasgow Subway is the responsibility of Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT). Subway patronage figures are reported to SPT's Operations Committee and are available at: http://www.spt.co.uk/corporate/about/minutes-agendas/operations-committee/ .

SPT have provided the following patronage figures for years since 2011-12 (rounded to one decimal place):

Year	Patronage
2011-12	12.9 million
2012-13	12.6 million
2013-14	12.8 million
2014-15	13.0 million
2015-16	12.7 million
2016-17	10.6 million

The lower figure for 2016-17 was affected by the temporary closure of the Subway for approximately eight weeks in summer 2016 for modernisation works.

Question reference: S5W-15721

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 April 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 17 April 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it has put in place to help local authorities that face potential reductions to housing support funding.

Housing support services are commissioned by Health and Social Care Partnerships as they are best placed to determine local needs and priorities and make best use of resources.

We are supporting Integration Authorities to improve outcomes across health and social care. In particular we are providing support for the effective commissioning of new and better models of care.

In 2018-19 an additional £66 million is included in the Local Government settlement allocations to support additional spending by local government on social care.

In recent years the delivery of housing support services have been undergoing changes to the traditional models. For example the increased use of technology enabled care. However, although the service models may change, the level of support should not be diminished.

Question reference: S5W-15505

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 March 2018
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 12 April 2018

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the number of special constables has reportedly decreased over the last five years.

Question reference: S5W-15437

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 March 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 10 April 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has undertaken regarding (a) the costs and (b) any social benefits of medical facilities partnering with ride-sharing companies to provide transportation to and from appointments.

The Scottish Government does not facilitate non emergency transport to healthcare facilities. This is a matter for individual frontline NHS Boards, in conjunction with the Scottish Ambulance Service and local authorities.

There are also a number of community based initiatives to provide hospital transport to patients throughout Scotland and it is a matter for individual operators to decide what types of services they offer.

Question reference: S5W-15445

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 March 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 10 April 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has conducted a cost-benefit analysis of any expenditure on providing non-emergency medical transportation and, if so, what the results were.

Question reference: S5W-15456

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 March 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 10 April 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how much it estimates it will spend in each of the next five years on non-emergency medical travel.

Question reference: S5W-15439

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 March 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 10 April 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it provides for non-emergency medical transportation for people who require it.

Individual NHS Boards are responsible for paying for or reimbursing the cost of patient travel, in accordance with their own patients’ travelling expenses scheme policies and within their overall baseline budgets which are increasing by 3.7% in 2018-19 for frontline Boards. In addition, in 2018-19, a new Neonatal Expenses Fund of £1.5 million will include support for travel and subsistence costs for families whose babies are born prematurely and require long term admission to a neonatal unit.

Question reference: S5W-15455

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 March 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 10 April 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on hospital transportation, excluding ambulances, in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board area.

Question reference: S5W-15436

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 March 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 10 April 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to facilitate non-medical emergency transportation for people who require it.

As part of its core funding from the Scottish Government, the Scottish Ambulance Service delivers the Patient Transport Service for patients who have a need for assistance from skilled clinical staff during transport to healthcare appointments.

If the Scottish Ambulance Service feel that a patient does not have a clinical need for patient transport, they will be signposted to information regarding alternative transport providers, where applicable.

There are a number of community based initiatives to provide transport to patients and some Health and Social Care Partnerships will link with voluntary organisations or community groups who provide transport via volunteer drivers. Information on accessing these Services is often available to patients at their local GP practice.

Also, under the National Health Service (Travel Expenses and Remission of Charges) Regulations 2003, travel expenses incurred by patients to attend hospital appointments can be reimbursed for individuals who are on certain types of benefits or a low income. This is based on an assessment of each claimant's ability to pay in light of their financial circumstances at the time a claim is made or a charge was paid.

All of these services and systems are in place to support patients throughout Scotland in travelling to and from healthcare appointments.

Question reference: S5W-15448

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 March 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 10 April 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many people made claims for refunds of transportation costs to hospitals through the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme in 2017, and what the total value was of these claims.