Questions and answers

Question reference: S5W-11059

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 21 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the commitment by the Minister for Public Health and Sport on 28 February 2017 (Official Report, c. 80), that, subject to the business case being approved in April, implementation of the accredited endometriosis unit in the west of Scotland would follow "without further delay", whether it will provide an update on the progress that has been made.

I met with representatives from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to discuss progress and next steps. The board have confirmed that they will recruit initially a locum obstetrics & gynaecology consultant with a special interest in advanced laparoscopic surgery and endometriosis treatment prior to the appointment of a substantive post as an important first step in the process for developing pathways for the endometriosis specialist service.

Question reference: S5W-11038

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 01 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 19 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on people being given homeopathic treatments who may suffer harm by not being given non-homeopathic medicine that has a proven efficacy.

The prescribing of any medicines/treatments, including Complementary and Alternative Medicines (CAM) such as homeopathy, is a clinical decision taken in consultation with patients based on clinicians’ competencies and awareness of the medicines/treatments concerned. This includes evidence based advice and guidance.

The Scottish Government expects any treatment to be appropriate, person-centred, safe and effective and that clinical and care professionals review the effectiveness of any treatment with their patients.

Question reference: S5W-11037

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 01 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 19 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-10593 by Shona Robison on 29 August 2017, what assessment it has made of the effectiveness and suitability of homeopathic treatments.

The Scottish Government holds no record of having funded any research into the efficacy of homeopathic treatments and has never received any applications for any funding on the subject.

It is for individual NHS Boards to decide which complementary and alternative medicines or therapies they make available based on national and local priorities and the needs of their resident populations, in line with national guidance:

Question reference: S5W-11036

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 01 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 19 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how (a) much has been spent on and (b) many people have been treated with homeopathic treatments by each NHS board in each of the last three years.

Question reference: S5W-10593

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 August 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 29 August 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on clinical evidence for the efficacy of homeopathic treatments compared to a placebo.

This information is not held by the Scottish Government.

The prescribing of any medicines/treatments, including Complementary and Alternative Medicines (CAM) such as homeopathy, is a clinical decision taken in consultation with patients based on clinicians’ competencies and awareness of the medicines/treatments concerned. This includes evidence based advice and guidance. The Scottish Government expects any treatment to be appropriate, person-centred, safe and effective and that clinical and care professionals review the effectiveness of any treatment with their patients.

It is for individual NHS Boards to decide which CAM therapies they make available based on national and local priorities and the needs of their resident populations, in line with national guidance:

Question reference: S5W-09740

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 June 2017
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 27 June 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address the impact of alcohol use.

The Scottish Government’s alcohol strategy, Changing Scotland's Relationship with Alcohol: A Framework for Action, is well regarded internationally and contains over 40 measures to tackle alcohol misuse. The Framework has been shown to have a positive impact including 2.6 per cent reduction in consumption due to the multi-buy discount ban; increased delivery of Alcohol Brief Interventions; legislation to ban irresponsible promotions and the introduction of a lower drink drive limit. Given the link between affordability and harm, we remain committed to minimum unit pricing which is the most effective pricing measure to tackle the high strength, low cost alcohol that causes so much damage to our communities. We are in the process of refreshing our Framework and will consider what further action to take to reduce alcohol-related harm.

Question reference: S5O-01127

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 June 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 15 June 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what improvements have been made to the rail infrastructure in, and rail services to, North Ayrshire since 2007.

North Ayrshire has benefited from significant Scottish Government investment which has delivered new and additional train services, new rolling stock and investment in its stations. These include, amongst other things:

A 50% increase in services which provided increased journey opportunities and greater connectivity for the towns of North Ayrshire

New Class 380 Rolling stock which provided improved levels of passenger comfort with spacious seating, wide aisles, air conditioning, power sockets for laptops, luggage provision, space for cycles and wheelchairs, plus CCTV.

New car parking opportunities including a new car park at Platform 1 in Irvine and station improvements including better waiting facilities, additional and upgrades to CCTV, new customer information screens, new ticket vending machines, platform validators for SMART cards and cycle parking, all of which will improve the overall passenger experience

Question reference: S5O-01061

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 May 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 June 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on how the coalitions that have been recently formed across local authorities will impact on the provision of local services.

Question reference: S5O-00986

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 May 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 May 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the impact of its welfare reforms on communities in North Ayrshire.

Question reference: S5F-01244

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 May 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 May 2017

To ask the First Minister, in light of the local government elections, whether the Scottish Government will act to randomise the ordering of candidates by surname on ballot papers at future elections.

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Chamber and committees