Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

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Question reference: S5W-11567

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 24 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on making continuous glucose monitoring sensors available under prescription to (a) children and (b) adults with type 1 diabetes.

Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) is currently available from NHS Scotland as one of the treatment options in the management of glycaemic control for people living with type 1 diabetes.

To increase the provision of CGM for all age groups and insulin pump therapy for adults, the Scottish Government is investing £10m over the term of this Parliament.

We have worked closely with the Scottish Diabetes Group (SDG) on the development of a national approach that ensures appropriate CGM services are established in NHS Boards across Scotland.

£2m of this additional funding was invested during this financial year (2017-18). NHS Boards received their respective funding in June 2017 through the established allocations process.

The allocation of funding has taken into account a number of factors including the number of individuals with type 1 diabetes in each NHS Board area, equity of access and current levels of provision of adult insulin pumps and CGMs.

Question reference: S5O-01333

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 4 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to raise spending on general practice to 11% of the NHS budget.

By the end of this Parliament, the Scottish Government will increase spending on primary care to 11% of the frontline NHS budget. This is an increase of £500 million and will support the development of a multi-disciplinary approach, with increased staffing as well as investment in GP services and health centres.

In March this year I announced that funding in direct support of general practice will increase by £250 million by the end of this Parliament as part of the wider commitment to increase primary care funding by £500 million. This will help to transform the way services are delivered in the community, and is an approach that was agreed with the British Medical Association.

In this financial year, over £71 million is being invested in general practice to improve recruitment and retention, reduce workload, develop new ways of delivering services and cover pay and expenses.

Question reference: S5W-11358

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 18 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 3 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what consultation it has had with South Scotland MSPs regarding proposals to establish a South of Scotland Enterprise Agency.

Phase 2 of the Enterprise and Skills Review confirmed that we would establish a new public body to support the South of Scotland. Programme for Government published on 5 September confirmed that legislation establishing the body will be introduced into Parliament in 2018. Throughout Phase 2 we consulted widely with MSPs on matters related to the Review, I look forward to continuing to do so as the legislative process progresses.

Question reference: S5W-11359

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 18 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 3 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what consultation it has had with South Scotland MSPs regarding proposals to establish a South of Scotland Economic Partnership.

On 13 September, I confirmed that we would establish an interim South of Scotland Economic Partnership by the end of the year so that the area benefits from a new approach. We are working with stakeholders, including Dumfries and Galloway Council and Scottish Borders Council, to develop the detail of the arrangements. Throughout Phase 2 of the Enterprise and Skills Review we consulted widely with MSPs on matters related to the Review and will continue to do so.

Question reference: S5W-11362

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 18 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 29 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government who will appoint the chairperson of the South of Scotland Economic Partnership and when the appointment will be made.

Question reference: S5W-11360

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 18 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 29 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) membership and (b) budget will be of the proposed South of Scotland Economic Partnership.

On 13 September, I confirmed that the interim South of Scotland Economic Partnership will bring together organisations to support economic growth in the South of Scotland and will involve public and private partners to ensure that the area sees benefits as soon as is possible. I look forward to confirming the full membership shortly.

Consideration of the funding requirements to support the interim partnership is being undertaken alongside all the other budget requirements across the Scottish Government as part of the Draft Budget process. We will ensure that investment and budgets to support economic growth in the south of Scotland are strongly aligned to deliver maximum impact.

Question reference: S5W-11270

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 26 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to raise greater awareness of less-survivable cancers.

Our cancer strategy, ‘Beating Cancer: Ambition and Action’, launched in March 2016 with £100 million of investment, serves as a blueprint for the future of cancer services in Scotland, aiming to improve the prevention, detection, diagnosis, treatment, aftercare and ultimately survival, for all people diagnosed with cancer.

We also support the national Quality Performance Indicator programme which aims to drive improvement in the outcomes and survival rates for people with cancer, including those noted by the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce.

In 2014 to help support earlier referral or investigation of patients who may be showing a suspicion of cancer, Healthcare Improvement Scotland updated and published revised Scottish Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer, which cover a wide range of tumour types. These guidelines should help in the identification of people most likely to have cancer and require specialist assessment. The updated version of the guidelines is available at the following Link: http://www.healthcareimprovementscotland.org/our_work/cancer_care_improvement/programme_resources/scottish_referral_guidelines.aspx

Question reference: S5O-01295

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 September 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to provide additional funding for the Schools for the Future programme to allow phase 2 of the Dumfries Learning Town Project to go ahead.

Question reference: S5T-00669

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 18 September 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to concerns raised by Age Scotland that the country faces a crisis in the care sector, with some service users being left without food, water and essential medicines.

Question reference: S5W-10659

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 11 August 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 4 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-10420 by Keith Brown on 9 August 2017, who will appoint the interim chair of the agency; whether this appointment will be made before stage one of the legislative process has been completed; what the criteria will be for appointments to the board, and how many members the board will have.

As I said in my answer to S5W-10420, it is intended that the South of Scotland Enterprise Agency will be an executive Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB) with a statutory board. Appointments will therefore be made via a process regulated by the Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland and supported by the Scottish Government’s Public Appointments Team. Whilst appointments cannot be made until legislation has passed stage one of its parliamentary process, our aim is to have a Chair in place before the Agency comes into effect. The process to appoint board members to the new public body will follow the code of practice set out by the Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland. The criteria for appointing board members will be determined by the selection panel and agreed with Ministers prior to the appointments being publicised. The primary legislation which is required to create a public body will set out a minimum and maximum number of board members required. The selection panel and Ministers will then agree how many board members should be appointed during the first appointment round.

In advance, we want to ensure that the South of Scotland benefits from a new approach and are working with stakeholders and the Implementation Board, established to drive forward early elements of the review, to develop the interim arrangements which we intend to put in place later this year.

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