Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-25898

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 8 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it is assisting local authorities to establish investment savings bonds, as has reportedly been done elsewhere in the UK, including by Southwark Council.

Scottish Government are not aware of any local authority that is considering establishing such bonds.

A local authority's capital financing and investment arrangements are a matter for the authority. Whilst we would expect councils to engage appropriate specialist expertise to assist them with their capital financing and investment plans, the Scottish Government would be happy to support any council considering innovative capital financing and investment propositions for the good of their local communities.

Question reference: S6W-25750

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 23 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 7 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to mark International Fibromyalgia Day 2024.

International Fibromyalgia Day on 12 May 2024 is an important opportunity to raise awareness of this distressing and debilitating condition. We want to ensure that all people living with fibromyalgia in Scotland are able to access the best possible care and support. To mark its importance, on the 12 May 2024 the Scottish Government’s main building, St Andrew’s House, will be lit up in purple.

We are working hard to deliver the actions in our Pain management service delivery framework: implementation plan update to ensure everyone living with chronic pain, including fibromyalgia, can access the care and support they need to live well, on their own terms.

Question reference: S6W-25749

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 23 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 7 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action the Chronic Pain Task Force (a) has taken to date and (b) plans to take in the future regarding services for people affected by fibromyalgia, and whether the Task Force has any professional members with particular expertise in treating or aiding fibromyalgia patients.

(a) The Pain management - service delivery framework: implementation plan sets out the actions we will take to reduce the impact of chronic pain on quality of life and wellbeing and improve information, care and services for people in Scotland, which includes people living with chronic pain as a result of fibromyalgia. A report on the progress on the 18 initial actions was published on the 15 November 2023 Pain management service delivery implementation plan: progress report .

Additionally in November 2024, we published an updated Implementation Plan with updated actions following a period of stakeholder engagement. Progress on actions is discussed bi-monthly at the Pain Management Task Force , the minutes of which are available on the Scottish Government website.

We will continue to consult with people with lived experience of chronic pain, including those with fibromyalgia, throughout the development and delivery of actions outlined in the plan.

(b)The Short Life Working Groups (SLWGs) and Pain Management Networks established to support implementation of the Framework continue to evolve and develop the current actions. All the professional network leads (allied health professionals, pain psychologists, medics, pharmacist and nurses) are specialist pain management clinicians who have expert skills in supporting people with fibromyalgia.

Details on the role and membership of the Pain Management Task Force can be found at Pain Management Task Force .

Question reference: S6W-25752

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 23 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 7 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether health professionals are offered training and educational resources in relation to chronic conditions, such as fibromyalgia.

Current guidelines for healthcare professionals regarding fibromyalgia are available from authoritative professional sources such as the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) - https://www.sign.ac.uk/our-guidelines/management-of-chronic-pain/ and the Royal College of Physicians https://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/guidelines-policy/diagnosis-fibromyalgia-syndrome

The National Pain Education Group is developing a Chronic Pain Toolkit for all health and social care staff across Scotland - it will be Scotland's first national chronic pain training resource. It will be hosted on TURAS on a dedicated page called The Chronic Pain Knowledge Hub. This has been developed with lived experience input and NHS Education for Scotland colleagues.

Question reference: S6W-25850

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 7 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact in Scotland of the findings of the Competition and Markets Authority's investigation into some of the UK's biggest housebuilders, including whether they have been sharing information that could influence house prices.

Scottish Ministers welcome the publication of the Competition and Markets Authority's completed investigation into the housing market, in particular those findings relating to Scotland and the published Scotland summary. We are considering their findings carefully and will respond formally in due course.

We also note the intention to investigate further issues relating to potential market information sharing and other matters. It is right that this is considered carefully and Ministers will consider this in turn when the Authority have completed their work on this issue.

Question reference: S6O-03196

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on NHS Lanarkshire's recovery plans.

Question reference: S6W-25497

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the reported use of mobile apps in schools to monitor children's behaviour and movements.

Local authorities take their own decisions about which digital tools, services and apps to deploy in their schools to support delivery of education. We expect that any digital service would be implemented in recognition of statutory duties arising from GDPR and Data Protection Act. As Data Controllers in their own right, it is for local authorities to ensure all digital services in schools comply with the relevant legislation.

Question reference: S6W-25535

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 5 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it will prioritise woodland grant funding in the future, in light of the reported 41% cut to the woodland grants budget administered by Scottish Forestry.

The Scottish Government supports a range of activities through the Forestry Grant Scheme and is seeking to maximise delivery of woodland creation whilst maintaining support for management of existing woodland. Scottish Forestry publishes regular Briefing Notes to inform customers of the funding available and how the funding is split across the range of grant budget categories and priority activities supported through the Forestry Grant Scheme. These Briefing Notes can be viewed at: Scottish Forestry - Forestry Grant Scheme .

Question reference: S6W-25616

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 5 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what specific measures are being taken to address any high levels of pneumonia (mycoplasma pneumoniae) infections recorded in recent Public Health Scotland data.

Since November 2021, sentinel surveillance data have been available for mycoplasma pneumoniae in Scotland through the CARI sentinel surveillance programme. In this programme, sentinel GP practices across Scotland recruit and swab patients with symptoms of acute respiratory infection. These samples are all tested for ten respiratory pathogens, including mycoplasma pneumoniae. Enhanced surveillance data, primarily relating to symptoms, are collected by an online questionnaire from patients tested in the programme. Analyses from these data suggest that most infections display as a mild respiratory illness. To date, there have been no deaths in 1280 CARI patients positive for mycoplasma pneumoniae (up to week 7) within 28 days of their test. With the information from CARI, GP providers have been advised that they should consider mycoplasma pneumoniae as part of the differential diagnosis for community-acquired pneumonia cases.

PHS separately analyses data on all microbiology laboratory specimen results across Scotland to identify positive mycoplasma pneumoniae test in hospitals or care homes, or as requested in the community (by GPs). These data are reviewed by PHS and NHS Health Boards to identify any clusters or trends resulting in severe disease that warrant further intervention. To date, no unusual outbreaks or evidence of increased severity of disease has been noted and public health guidance on management of cases/clinical treatment remains unchanged.

Question reference: S6W-25614

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 5 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what plans are in place to strengthen surveillance and monitoring systems for pneumonia (mycoplasma pneumoniae) infections, in order to promptly identify any emerging trends or clusters and take proactive measures to prevent further spread.

The Scottish Government recognises that surveillance is a critical part of our approach to monitoring and managing the spread and prevalence of mycoplasma pneumoniae, Covid-19 and other respiratory infections. Public Health Scotland (PHS) are responsible for delivering Scotland’s National Respiratory Surveillance Plan with the support of the Scottish Government.

As part of PHS’s work, respiratory infection levels, including those of mycoplasma pneumoniae, and their impact are closely monitored throughout the year using various sources of data, including microbiological sampling and laboratory test results from community and hospital settings, NHS 24 calls, primary care consultations, hospital admissions, and mortality by cause. Intelligence generated from the different Scottish surveillance systems, including for mycoplasma pneumoniae, are used to inform proactive measures to prevent spread and ensure timely clinical response.

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