Questions and answers

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 ��˿�� 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

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S5W-25083

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 31 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government on what dates in the last year the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport or her officials have met representatives from Integrated Health Solutions Lothian regarding the opening of the new Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh; what minutes or records of these meetings exist, and whether it will provide copies of these documents.

Neither myself nor my officials have met representatives from Integrated Health Solutions Lothian regarding the opening of the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People as the contractual agreement is between IHSL and NHS Lothian.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-24250 on 20 August 2019 which is available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at

Question reference: S5W-25086

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 31 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government on what dates in the last year the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport has met with her officials regarding the opening of the new Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh; what minutes or records of these meetings exist, and whether it will provide copies of these documents.

Question reference: S5O-03679

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 October 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many times masonry falls from housing have been reported in the last year.

Question reference: S5W-25541

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 27 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 10 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its student maintenance proposals are for people studying part-time.

Following a recommendation made by the Independent Review of Student Support, the Scottish Government committed to undertaking a review of non-core and discretionary support, including support for part-time students. The Scottish Government has been engaging extensively with stakeholders to inform work on this highly complex area with a view to supporting future policy considerations. However, due to the current requirements to focus resource on critical student support issues related to Brexit, we are unable to confirm when further considerations on these issues will take place.

Currently, students undertaking Higher Education (HE) part-time study are eligible for support towards the cost of tuition. The Part-Time Fee Grant (PTFG) offers support for eligible students whose individual annual income is £25,000 or less, by providing a non-repayable grant.

Other forms of financial support available to part-time students in HE include:

Loan Parents’ Grant

Adult Dependant’s Grant

Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA)

Further information on these grants is available on the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) website - .

Question reference: S5W-25378

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 30 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on establishing a national framework for thrombectomy.

Over the past 10 years, the number of people in Scotland dying from stroke has decreased by 42%. This is significant progress but we want to strive for even better outcomes, which is why the Programme for Government 2019-20 sets out ambitious aims to improve outcomes for patients. In the coming year, we will develop a programme to improve stroke pathways and services, including prevention, treatment and care. Commitment to stroke also includes:

Appoint a Chief Medical Officer speciality advisor for stroke care;
Review and improve the current stroke care bundle to improve outcomes for patients;
Collaborate across government on stroke prevention and raising awareness of the signs of stroke;
Begin work to scope out and define what a progressive stroke unit looks like

In relation to thrombectomy, the Scottish Government is committed to introducing a thrombectomy service and recognises that thrombectomy procedures can significantly improve outcomes and quality of life for some people who have suffered an ischaemic stroke by avoiding or reducing the level of disability.

That is why the Programme for Government 2019/20 also commits to ensuring that a national planning framework is in place for a high quality and clinically safe thrombectomy service.

Directors of Planning are currently developing a national framework for thrombectomy through their Thrombectomy Advisory Group, which the Scottish Government supports.

Question reference: S5W-25250

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 19 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what funding model it will use to deliver its Learning Estates Strategy Investment Programme.

The funding approach for the new Learning Estate Investment Programme has been developed with local authorities, and agreed with COSLA, to deliver the best possible long term value.

It uses Council’s existing capital resources or borrowing through the Public Works Loans Board which is cheaper than private finance.

It will also see the Scottish Government funding ongoing maintenance to ensure that the learning estate is properly maintained to serve learners and the community over the long term.

Question reference: S5W-25085

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 September 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 12 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many appointments, operations or procedures have been carried out at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in each month in 2018 and 2019.

The total number of new and return consultant-led Outpatient appointments at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children (Edinburgh) in each month between January 2018 and March 2019

Month	New Outpatient Appointments	Return Outpatient Appointments	Total Outpatient Appointments
Jan-18	985	1,901	2,886
Feb-18	998	1,694	2,692
Mar-18	977	1,994	2,971
Apr-18	956	1,854	2,810
May-18	1,113	2,227	3,340
Jun-18	1,061	2,182	3,243
Jul-18	897	1,748	2,645
Aug-18	849	1,869	2,718
Sep-18	939	1,916	2,855
Oct-18	1,099	2,218	3,317
Nov-18	998	2,135	3,133
Dec-18	840	1,624	2,464
Jan-19	840	1,992	2,832
Feb-19	795	1,853	2,648
Mar-19	1,074	2,106	3,180
Source: ISD Scotland (SMR00)

The total number of Inpatient and Outpatient procedures

carried out at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children (Edinburgh) in each month between January 2018 and March 2019

Month	Total Procedures
Jan-18	1,406
Feb-18	1,168
Mar-18	1,336
Apr-18	1,233
May-18	1,413
Jun-18	1,401
Jul-18	1,312
Aug-18	1,286
Sep-18	1,234
Oct-18	1,512
Nov-18	1,444
Dec-18	1,201
Jan-19	1,481
Feb-19	1,123
Mar-19	1,114
Source: ISD Scotland (SMR00 and SMR01)

Question reference: S5O-03530

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 September 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to regulate the use of private residential property for short-term lets.

Question reference: S5W-25084

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 September 2019
Current Status: Answer expected on 18 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many cancelled appointments, operations or procedures there have been at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in each month in 2018 and 2019.

Question reference: S5O-03481

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 August 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its progress implementing the Cycling Action Plan for Scotland.