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-07771

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 16 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many cancer clinical nurse specialists there are in each NHS board, also broken down by how many specialise in urological cancers.

Information on the number of specialist nurses who are responsible for the delivery of cancer care and urology oncology is published by ISD Scotland and is available at the following link:-

The Scottish Government has committed to invest an extra £2.5 million of recurring funding in specialist nursing and care from 2015-16 onwards.

NHSScotland Boards are expected to ensure that patients with specialist conditions have appropriate access to a range of professionals, including specialist nurses, to ensure optimum management of their condition.

Question reference: S5W-07773

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 16 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many urological cancer clinical nurse specialists will be needed in each of the next four years to meet the aim in its strategy, Beating Cancer: Ambition and Action, that “by 2021 people with cancer who need it [will] have access to a specialist nurse during and after their treatment and care”.

It is the responsibility of NHS to plan and provide services to meet the needs of their resident populations, in line with relevant national strategies/frameworks, within their annual funding allocations. To assist health Boards in making these decisions, plans are in place to introduce a national and regional workforce planning system across the NHS in Scotland to help deliver the vision set out in the Health and Social Care Delivery Plan, the National Clinical Strategy and the Cancer Strategy.

Question reference: S5W-07774

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 16 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how its strategy, Beating Cancer: Ambition and Action, will ensure that men who have had prostate cancer treatment will have equity of access to (a) erectile dysfunction clinics, (b) the medication, tadalafil (Cialis), (c) vacuum pumps and (d) psychosexual services/sex therapy.

We expect that anyone who living with or after cancer has access to the services appropriate to their clinical needs. The Scottish Government’s cancer strategy ‘Beating Cancer: Ambition and Action’ and the accompanying £100 million investment over the coming years serve as a blueprint for the future of cancer services in Scotland, improving the prevention, detection, diagnosis, treatment and aftercare for people who may be suspected to have, or who have a confirmed diagnosis of cancer of any type.

Question reference: S5W-07769

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 16 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how much it is investing in the strategy, Beating Cancer: Ambition and Action, in 2016-17, and how much it will allocate in each of the next four years, also broken down by the amount set aside for (a) recruiting and (b) retraining cancer clinical nurse specialists.

Question reference: S5W-07770

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 March 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 16 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many specialist nurses will be needed in each of the next four years to meet the aim in its strategy, Beating Cancer: Ambition and Action, that “by 2021 people with cancer who need it [will] have access to a specialist nurse during and after their treatment and care”.

Question reference: S5W-07467

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 2 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to introduce the road equivalent tariff for the Northern Isles.

The Scottish Government’s Ferries Plan 2013-2022, published in December 2012, was clear that introducing Road Equivalent Tariff (RET) at that time or in the next few years would mean an increase on a range of available fares. Therefore the Ferries Plan stated that the intention was to phase in RET to the Northern Isles over a much longer time-frame, beyond the term of the 2011-2016 Parliament.

This Government was elected in 2016 with a clear manifesto commitment to take action to reduce ferry fares to the Northern Isles.

Shortly after taking up post I visited Orkney and Shetland and met with elected members, local authorities and other stakeholders to hear their views. I also commissioned a public consultation which took place at the end of 2016.

Consideration is currently being given to the views expressed as part of that consultation. Decisions on future fare levels will be taken in due course.

In the meantime ferry fares to the Northern Isles were frozen for 2017, the second consecutive year that prices have been kept on hold.

Question reference: S5W-07461

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 2 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its ongoing review of the tendering process for ferry routes, what it means by the term, "in house operator".

Question reference: S5W-07465

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 2 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether the data collected by the review into ferry tendering announced by the Minister for Transport and the Islands on 2 February 2017 will be put into the public domain after the conclusion of the review.

Question reference: S5W-07463

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 2 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government which individuals are undertaking the review into ferry tendering as announced by the Minister for Transport and the Islands on 2 February 2017, and what experience they have in (a) the ferry industry and (b) competitive tendering processes.

I will oversee the review which will be conducted by officials with the relevant expertise from across Transport Scotland and Scottish Government. In my statement to Parliament I made clear that I am fully committed to keeping everyone informed about the purpose and progress of the review, including ferry users, local authorities, local communities, ferry operators, trade unions and members of Parliament.

Question reference: S5W-07466

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 2 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government when its freight fares review for the Northern Isles will be completed.

Following a commitment made in the Ferries Plan 2013-2022, Transport Scotland, under guidance of a working group of key stakeholders, is currently conducting a comprehensive review of ferry freight fares. The aim of the review is to develop an overarching policy for freight fares across Scotland’s entire ferry network, including the Northern Isles Ferry Services.

A substantial amount of work has taken place and a potential preferred option for setting freight fares has now been identified. I have asked Transport Scotland officials to undertake further detailed analysis in order to fully understand the impact of implementing this option.

We have always been clear that the exact timing of the introduction of a new freight fares structure will be decided only after careful consideration of all relevant factors. It is important that this work is done properly and thoroughly. I hope to be in a position to provide more information on timing following the conclusion of the detailed analysis of the preferred option.