- Asked by: Sue Webber, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 28 February 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what the current average length of time is between screening appointments for women aged between 50 and 70 eligible for the Breast Cancer Screening Programme, broken down by NHS board.
Answer
The data is not available in the format requested as the Scottish Breast Screening Programme (SBSP) is delivered from six screening centres, each covering a designated population. It should be noted that the data provided below is management information that has not been subject to the quality checks that are normally applied on a statistical publication.
For women aged 53-70 years who were screened between 1st April 2020 and 31st January 2021, the average interval between screening episodes was 41 months across Scotland. The average interval between screening episodes across each screening centre was as follows:
East – 46 months
North – 40 months
North East – 42 months
South East – 41 months
West – 38 months
South West – 39 months
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 28 February 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-02085 by Maree Todd on 23 August 2021, whether a date has been set for the resumption of over-70s breast cancer screening, and, if not, (a) for what reason and (b) whether it will commit to this service restarting in any form in 2022.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to resuming the pause to self-referrals for those aged 71 and over as soon as it is feasible. The Breast Screening Programme Board (BSPB) agreed that the option for women over 70 to self-refer into the breast screening programme should resume once all screening centres are able to offer those aged 53-70 their breast screening appointments within 39 months of their previous screening. However, in recognition of the anxiety the pause is causing, the screening programme is exploring whether there are other options that will accelerate the restart without unduly impacting appointment times for the eligible screening population. Any decision will be informed by clinical advice and the on-going pandemic.
In the meantime, the programme is working hard to increase capacity, including by deploying additional mobile units and offering appointments at evenings and weekends.
Regardless of their age, women should remain symptom aware and report any symptoms to their GP immediately for these to be investigated.
- Asked by: Sue Webber, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 28 February 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many breast cancer screening centres are currently meeting the target of offering all eligible women aged 50 to 70 their breast screening appointments within 39 months of their previous screening, broken down by NHS board.
Answer
The data is not available in the format requested as the Scottish Breast Screening Programme (SBSP) is delivered from six screening centres, each covering a designated population. The SBSP should offer an appointment to women within 36 months of their previous screening episode.
On average, the West and South West screening centres are offering women aged 53-70 a screening appointment within 39 months of their last screen.
The National Screening Oversight, Scottish Screening Committee and Breast Screening Programme Board (BSPB) continue to work with health boards to increase the number of available appointments, including through deploying additional mobile breast screening units and providing additional appointments during evenings and at weekends.
It should be noted that this data is unpublished management data that has not been subject to the standard quality checks that are applied to statistical publications.
- Asked by: Sue Webber, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 28 February 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of how many cases of breast cancer may not have been diagnosed as a result of women over 70 not being able to self-refer for routine breast cancer screening.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold data on the number of cases of breast cancer that may not have been diagnosed as a result of women over 70 not being able to self-refer for routine breast cancer screening. However, in the 3 year period 2016-17 to 2018-19, 32,492 women aged 71 years and over used the option to self-refer for breast screening and 1.43% of these screens detected cancer.
- Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 31 January 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 28 February 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-02968 by Graeme Dey on 28 September, when it anticipates it will publish provisional findings from the Ernst & Young review of the ferry network.
Answer
The final report by Ernst & Young has now been received and Transport Scotland and Ministers are currently taking time to consider the review findings. I have already committed to inform parliament on publication of the report and planned next steps and intend to do so in the coming weeks.
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Current Status:
Withdrawn
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 10 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Ash Regan on 25 February 2022
To ask the Scottish Government by what date it expects all of the provisions of the Defamation and Malicious Publication (Scotland) Act 2021 to be in force.
Answer
The Scottish Government sets out its expectation that commencement regulations will be laid in early May 2022 and come into force this summer.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 10 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 25 February 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what estimate has been made of the number of direct and indirect jobs that could be created in the West Scotland region if Ardeer becomes a location for nuclear energy production.
Answer
I note the UKAEA’s STEP competition is ongoing and no decision has been taken on a preferred site.
As we move forward, our draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan, to be published in 2022, will provide a road map for the future of Scotland’s energy system and amplify the voices of those most impacted. That is why we will co-design this Plan with workers, businesses and communities, offering the opportunity for those within or associated with the nuclear energy industry to contribute to this dialogue.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 25 February 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how it will ensure that local authorities are resourced and supported to tackle the climate emergency.
Answer
As set out in the answer to question S6W-05390 on 25 January 2022, the Scottish Government regularly engages with local authorities and the wider public sector, including through COSLA and the Sustainable Scotland Network (SSN), where current opportunities and challenges within local authority climate action are frequently discussed. Scottish Government officials also engage with the Improvement Service on the capacity needs of local authorities in delivering net zero.
For further detail on local authorities and the climate emergency, I refer the member to the answers to questions: S6W-05387 on 11 January 2022; S6W-05388, S6W-05389 and S6W-05390 on 25 January 2022; S6W-05391 on 11 January 2022; S6W-05627 on 21 January 2022; S6W-05753 on 3 February 2022; and S6W-05754 and S6W-05755 on 7 February 2022.
All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: Written questions and answers | Scottish Parliament Website
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 25 February 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, when assessing ScotWind applications, what account was taken of the locations of potential carbon storage sites in any future carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) programme.
Answer
This is a matter for Crown Estate Scotland (CES) as the assessment and evaluation of the ScotWind applications was undertaken by CES. Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage activity was considered as part of the Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy's Sustainability Appraisal, particularly the Social and Economic Impact Assessment and in the Regional Locational Guidance. Those documents can be found at the links below.
Social and Economic Impact Assessment: https://www.gov.scot/publications/draft-sectoral-marine-plan-social-econimic-impact-assessment/documents/
Regional Locational Guidance: https://www.gov.scot/publications/sectoral-marine-plan-regional-locational-guidance/documents/
