Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-33561

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 27 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it keeps emergency response times in rural areas comparable to emergency response times in urban areas.

It is the responsibility of the Scottish Ambulance Service to ensure that response times are as quick as possible, regardless of geography.

The Scottish Ambulance Service completed a full review of Demand and Capacity across Scotland at the end of 2019 which involved looking at demand data and resources to predict current and future demand and map out the levels of staff and vehicles required across different parts of Scotland. The outcome of the review saw an increase in resourcing and staffing in both urban and rural areas across Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-33784

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 27 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it has provided to (a) Police Scotland and (b) other agencies in each of the last five years to safeguard defence-related companies against any criminality arising from protests in relation to their operation.

It is for the Chief Constable, working with the working with the Scottish Police Authority, to determine how to allocate its budget to meet policing priorities including any safeguards any criminality arising from protests. In 2025-26, the Scottish Government will increase police funding to £1.62 billion to support police capacity and capability. This includes almost £57 million in additional resource funding – an increase of 4% compared to 2024-25 published budget.

Question reference: S6W-33781

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 27 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it provides to law enforcement agencies regarding arrests made in the vicinity of defence-related companies in relation to their operation.

Question reference: S6W-33782

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 27 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors and evaluates incidents near defence-related companies that result in arrests in relation to protests about their operation, and what measures are taken to address any identified security risks.

Question reference: S6W-33779

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 27 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many arrests in relation to protests about their operation in each of the last five years have been made in the vicinity of defence-related companies operating in Scotland, and how many subsequent (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions there were.

Question reference: S6W-33614

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 27 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to reduce waiting times for routine surgeries across NHS boards, and how average waiting times across all boards compare with waiting times in rural areas such as Aberdeenshire.

We have already invested £30 million to reduce waiting lists that built up throughout the pandemic. This funding is being targeted at a series of national and local plans to reduce backlogs by maximising the use of local and national resources across Scotland. As part of this, we have allocated additional funding to Gynaecology services which we expect to deliver around 3,500 new outpatient appointments.

The Budget we set out on 4 December 2024 will throw the weight of the government behind performance improvements with almost £200 million to reduce waiting lists and help support reduction of delayed discharge. By March 2026, we expect no one to be waiting longer than 12 months for a new outpatient, inpatient treatment or day case treatment.

With regards to the average wait times across all boards compared with waiting times in rural areas such as Aberdeenshire, this information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government the member may wish to contact NHS Grampian directly for information.

Question reference: S6W-33687

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 27 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what data it has on the outcomes of community optometry referrals in each NHS board in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S6W-33663

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 27 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to attract healthcare professionals to remote and rural areas, including Aberdeenshire.

The Scottish Government have a number of initiatives already in place to attract healthcare professionals to rural areas, including Aberdeenshire.

These include the Scottish Government funded “Golden Hello” scheme, administered by NHS Scotland Boards, which provides up to £10,000 to every GP taking up an eligible post in a rural area.

Furthermore, to support GPs to develop the skills required to work in rural areas, NHS Education for Scotland (NES) offers the Rural GP Fellowship. The fellowship provides qualified GPs with direct experience of working in rural and island areas across rural and island Health Boards, with the fellowship lasting a full year.

The Scottish Government funds ScotGEM, a unique four-year programme tailored to meet the current and future needs of NHS Scotland with a focus on rural medicine, healthcare improvement and developing interest in General Practice. ScotGEM students are eligible to apply for and receive a ‘Return of Service’ bursary of £4,000 per annum which commits them to working for NHS Scotland for the corresponding number of years following graduation. The Scottish Government also pays the tuition fees for eligible students, offering an attractive package for potential applicants.

To attract dentists to rural areas we have made available a range of grants and allowances including the recruitment and retention allowance, which allows new trainee dentists practicing in eligible areas, to qualify for a ‘Golden Hello’ payment of up to £37,500 in the first three years of practice.

In collaboration with NES’ Centre for Workforce Supply and National Centre for Remote and Rural Health and Care, we are developing a sustained model of direct support that will provide the long-term whole-system approach which is necessary to provide rural and island employers the help they need to recruit successfully. To improve attraction, this includes supporting employers to design roles that fit their organisations’ needs, ensure that job adverts speak to the right audience and helping employers in welcoming new recruits and providing effective pastoral support.

Question reference: S6W-33661

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 27 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of poor transport links on access to healthcare in rural areas, and what steps it is taking to address this.

The Scottish Government’s role is to set the strategic policy for the NHS in Scotland, NHS Boards are responsible for service delivery. All Health Boards should consider patient transport needs when they plan and deliver services.

On 30 October, the Scottish Government published the Transport to Health delivery plan which sets out commitments against transport and healthcare across the work of Health and Social Care and Transport Scotland. The plan was informed by the 2019 Transport to health and social care report prepared by the Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland (MACS) on behalf of Ministers.

As set out in the plan, we will continue to use the NHS annual delivery plans to re-emphasise the need for Health Boards to consider patient access as part of the care pathway and reflecting the opportunity that is emerging for reducing the number of patient journeys through alternative options.

Question reference: S6W-33662

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 27 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what innovations it is pursuing to improve patient transportation in remote areas, including any initiatives piloted in Aberdeenshire.

On 30 October, the Scottish Government published the Transport to Health delivery plan which sets out commitments against transport and healthcare across the work of Health and Social Care and Transport Scotland. The plan was informed by the 2019 Transport to health and social care report prepared by the Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland (MACS) on behalf of Ministers.

As set out in the plan, we will support Regional Transport Partnerships to develop their own plans around Transport to Health. An example of this will be continuing to support the work of the Health and Transport Action Plan led by NESTRANS and partners in Aberdeenshire.

Transport Scotland have included Transport to Health as one of seven thematic workstreams in their approach for delivery of the Accessible Travel Framework.

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