Questions and answers

Question reference: S5W-23526

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 12 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-20424 by Joe Fitzpatrick on 18 December 2018, which NHS boards have a backlog for breast screening (a) examinations and (b) results, broken down by length of backlog, and whether it will provide a breakdown of the reasons given by each centre for the delays in breast screening results.

Information on delays within the Scottish Breast Screening Programme are recorded by six regional Breast Screening centres.

As of April 2019, the delays range from 9 weeks ahead of schedule to 16 weeks over. A full breakdown is tabled below. Tolerances of 3 months over or under the 3 year invitation cycle for breast screening are currently accepted, which allows for flexibility and changes in practice scheduling and invitees availability for appointments.

Centre	Static Centre Waiting Times	Mobile Waiting Times	Waiting Times from screening to routine results (Target=2 weeks)
East	4 weeks ahead of schedule	1 Unit is 3 weeks ahead of schedule. 1 Unit is 2 weeks behind schedule.	Out with target (6 weeks)
West	7 weeks ahead of schedule	4 Units are 4 weeks ahead of schedule. 1 Unit is 5 weeks ahead of schedule. 1 Unit is 6 weeks ahead of schedule. 1 Unit is 9 weeks ahead of schedule.	Out with target (3 weeks)
North East	3 weeks behind schedule	1 Unit is 2 weeks behind schedule. 1 Unit is 3 weeks behind schedule	Within target
South East	8 weeks behind schedule	1 Unit is 7 weeks behind schedule 1 Unit is 9 weeks behind schedule 1 Unit is 11 weeks behind schedule 1 Unit is 13 weeks behind schedule 1 Unit is 16 weeks behind schedule	Within target
South West	3 weeks behind schedule	1 Unit is 7 weeks behind schedule 1 Unit is 10 weeks behind schedule	Within target
North	4 weeks ahead of schedule	1 Unit is on schedule	Within target

Reasons for delays are multi-factorial and may include increases in the eligible population to be invited, changes at GP practice level, staffing or equipment issues and adverse weather events. However, there is no centrally held information on the breakdown of reasons given by each centre for delays.

Question reference: S5W-23528

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 11 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of 49% of people reportedly having poor mental health while dealing with cancer, how it plans to reduce this number.

Our vision for mental health is of a Scotland where people can get the right help at the right time, expect recovery and fully enjoy their rights, free from discrimination and stigma. This includes people who are experiencing physical health problems such as cancer and who may also experience poor mental health.

We recognise that timely access to psychological support is an important element of this. Our Mental Health Strategy is investing £150 million in services over five years, including £54 million to help NHS Boards improve their performance against waiting time standards for access to psychological therapies and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. This is being invested in workforce development, recruitment and retention, and service improvement support.

Our 2018-19 Programme for Government has mental health at its very heart. It contains a package of measures to support positive mental health and prevent ill health. These new actions build on the Mental Health Strategy and will be backed by a quarter of a billion pounds of additional investment.

At a local level, the Scottish Government expects NHS Boards to respond to the physical and mental health needs of their population. However, mental health is not simply a matter for the NHS – it is everyone’s business, and a cross-sectoral approach is the best way of improving general mental health and wellbeing, as well as of supporting those who need treatment or other help when experiencing mental health problems.

If anyone living in Scotland needs help for mental health issues – whatever the perceived cause - they should in the first instance consult their local GP. GPs are well place to diagnose and treat mental health problems. Out of hours, support can be obtained from NHS 24 on 111, and from Breathing Space on 0800 83 85 87.

Question reference: S5W-23529

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 6 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) longest and (b) average waiting time has been in each year since 2010 for a breast screening appointment, broken down by NHS board.

Question reference: S5W-23527

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 6 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-20424 by Joe Fitzpatrick on 18 December 2018, what action is being taken to reduce the backlog, and by what date it expects it to be dealt with.

Information on delays within the Scottish Breast Screening Programme are recorded by six regional Breast Screening centres. Tolerances of 3 months over or under the 3 year invitation cycle for breast screening are currently accepted, which allows for flexibility and changes in practice scheduling and invitees availability for appointments.

Delay is monitored locally and reported monthly to National Services Division who commission and manage the programme. Where delays are significant, screening centres are required to submit a robust action plan detailing the initiatives and timescales to reduce delays.

There is no centrally held information on the date each centre is expected to operate without delay.

Question reference: S5F-03388

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 03 June 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 June 2019

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S5O-03340

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 May 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the fishing industry regarding compensation arrangements in relation to impact of offshore wind farm developments.

Question reference: S5F-03367

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 May 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 May 2019

Question to be taken in chamber.

Question reference: S5W-22925

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 15 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reported previous underestimates, how it has adapted its modelling of the levels of anticipated rail passenger demand for new lines and stations, and whether this will be taken account of in the case of Levenmouth rail link.

The SRM12 is maintained and enhanced periodically in line with industry guidance, standards and best practice so that it remains fit for purpose in supporting robust modelling and appraisal of transport interventions across Scotland. As part of the Levenmouth Sustainable Transport Study, the SRM has been enhanced so that it appropriately reflects current conditions in and around the sphere of influence of the Levenmouth area, helping to produce realistic and plausible forecasts of travel demand by road and public transport. A number of sensitivity tests will be conducted to consider other ‘what if’ scenarios to determine the robustness of the appraisal impacts of the multi-modal transport options being considered, including a rail link to Leven.

Question reference: S5W-22923

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 14 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its assessment is of the maximum time that people will commute for (a) jobs and (b) education, and how this was accounted for in the scope of the Sestran Regional Model (SRM12).

Question reference: S5W-22921

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 14 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the Sestran Regional Model (SRM12) indicates that Fife housing and employment growth contributes to increased traffic into Edinburgh but the mitigation measures do not refer to any measures beyond the Edinburgh area, including the Levenmouth rail link.

The desirability to travel to Edinburgh from those residing in Fife, is a reflection of the number and type of employment, education and shopping opportunities offered by a city the size of Edinburgh. The SRM12 reflects this attractiveness when the calculating the number of trips being made between Fife and Edinburgh in its base and future forecast year models taking account of the cost, availability and mode of travel to make these trips.

The SRM12 includes a number of future “Do Minimum” forecasts years, for example 2017, 2022 and 2027, which include all known committed transport infrastructure projects and planned service updates across the modelled area. For the purpose of appraisal, a transport option or measure (new transport service or infrastructure project) will then be added to the model to form the “Do Something” situation. The resultant changes between the Do Minimum and Do Something are then compared to assess the impact of the transport option. An example of a committed scheme in the 2017 forecast year is the Queensferry Crossing and associated road network changes which was not open in 2012. The Levenmouth rail link is not a committed scheme or transport measure and is therefore not included in any Do Minimum scenario.

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