Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-33273

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Claire Baker (on behalf of the SPCB) on 29 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether any MSP spouses who work for MSPs in an unpaid capacity and have a Parliament IT account would be required to complete General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) training.

Question reference: S6W-33274

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Claire Baker (on behalf of the SPCB) on 29 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether any MSP spouses who work for MSPs in an unpaid capacity and have a Parliament IT account would be bound by the Scottish Parliament’s acceptable use of IT policy.

The current Acceptable Use of IT Policy does not explicitly apply to Members and their staff, though all Parliament IT account holders are bound by the SPCB's Use of Resources Policy which states that resources, including IT resources, are provided to support parliamentary duties and must not be used to any significant extent for any other purposes. A revised Acceptable Use of IT policy which will apply to Members and their staff is currently being developed for approval by the SPCB.

Question reference: S6W-33533

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 29 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how patient outcomes in rural areas compare with those in urban areas for (a) heart disease, (b) cancer, (c) diabetes and (d) any other key health conditions.

The Scottish Cardiac Audit Programme publishes annual data on incidence, cardiac interventions and patient outcomes across Scotland. The most recent reports are available here; Scottish Cardiac Audit Programme report 2023/2024 - Scottish Cardiac Audit Programme (SCAP) - Publications - Public Health Scotland.

The Cancer Strategy for Scotland 2023-2033 and Cancer Action Plan for Scotland 2023 – 2026 have a focus on reducing inequities in access to cancer care and cancer outcomes.

The Scottish Government is looking to improve our understanding of outcomes of people with cancer living in rural and island communities. Examples include an independent evaluation of their experiences accessing cancer services, and a research programme on rural healthcare funded by the Chief Scientist Office.

The Scottish Diabetes Survey (SDS) collates data extracted from SCI-Diabetes database submitted by all 14 NHS boards and provides an annual summary of key issues and trends in diabetes care and treatment across Scotland. A link to the survey can be found at: Publications | diabetes in scotland.

Question reference: S6W-33480

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 29 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether additional funding has been allocated to NHS Grampian to address surgical cancellations caused by infrastructure or resource limitations.

The 2025-26 draft budget provides over £16.2 billion funding for NHS Boards, supporting services and including £1.34 billion funding for NHS Grampian - a real terms uplift.

In addition, increased capital investment of £139 million provides a 5% uplift to Boards’ core capital funding allocations as well as additional investment for priority maintenance and improvements across the NHS estate. To this end, we are working with all Boards, including NHS Grampian, to develop a whole-system NHS infrastructure plan which will support continued safe operation of existing facilities and inform longer-term investment priorities. The first part of this work – to assess immediate investment priorities across all Health Boards – is already well underway.

Question reference: S6W-33482

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 29 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has reviewed the supply chain for surgical screws, kits, and other equipment at NHS Grampian, and what actions have been taken to ensure more consistent availability.

Question reference: S6W-34082

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 January 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 25 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions the Acting Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy had with international energy firms in Berlin regarding investment opportunities in Scotland’s offshore wind, green hydrogen, and carbon capture sectors.

Question reference: S6W-34093

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 January 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 25 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what role the Acting Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy’s recent meetings with German energy firms will play in achieving Scotland’s Clean Power 2030 targets.

Question reference: S6W-34103

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 January 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 25 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what recent analysis it has carried out on how the use of pagers potentially impacts on NHS staff efficiency and response times in emergencies.

Question reference: S6W-34079

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 January 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 25 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to address the reported challenge, identified in the True North survey, of public scepticism over the effectiveness of the Clean Power 2030 target within the stated timeframe.

Question reference: S6W-34086

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 January 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 25 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what international partnerships the Acting Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy sought to establish or enhance during her recent trip to Berlin.

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