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-32886

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 11 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in response to reports that rheumatology services are operating at between 30 to 50% of capacity; how it is (a) remobilising these services and (b) working to reduce (i) waiting times and (ii) any backlog in appointments, and what action it is taking to improve access to these services nationally.

We appreciate how difficult it has been for people who have had procedures or treatments postponed due to the pandemic. Putting the NHS on an emergency footing has meant the focus has initially been on urgent and essential care.

Health Boards are continuing to remobilise services in line with the ‘Remobilise, Recover and Re-design Framework’ which we published on 31 May. We remain committed to ensuring that the full range of services will be available as quickly as it safe to do so.

On 29 September the Scottish Government confirmed additional funding of £1.1 billion across NHS Boards and Social Care Partnerships to help them meet COVID-19 related costs and remobilisation of services.

Question reference: S5W-32885

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 11 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure that everyone has equitable access to health care, no matter where they live.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that everyone has the right to safe and effective healthcare and treatment that is provided at the right time, in the right place, by the most appropriate person.

COVID-19 has highlighted and exacerbated inequalities that exist within our country. Earlier this year we published Re-mobilise, Recover, Re-design: The Framework for NHS Scotland. This sets out how health boards will safely and incrementally prioritise the resumption of paused services. As we renew, we are committed to ensuring the health and social care support system is focussed on reducing health inequalities, producing models of care that are based on what matter most to the people of Scotland.

This commitment is also reflected in our Programme for Government which restates our renewed focus on tackling health inequalities and improving quality of life to promote lifelong health and wellbeing.

Question reference: S5W-32887

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 October 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 11 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what investment it is making in rheumatology services in the north of the country, in light of reports suggesting that the ratio of rheumatology consultants to people in this area is 1:142,857.

Question reference: S5T-02494

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 November 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that some NHS boards reduced COVID-19 testing for patients over 70 on the basis of guidance issued by the Chief Nursing Officer.

Question reference: S5O-04654

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 September 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to resolve the reported serious environmental issues arising from a lack of ongoing maintenance at Tarbolton Moss Landfill.

Question reference: S5F-04384

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 14 September 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 September 2020

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to reports that several of Scotland’s leisure trusts, which operate sports and other leisure facilities, are close to financial collapse.

Question reference: S5O-04575

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 September 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 September 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential benefits of improving transport infrastructure in south west Scotland.

Question reference: S5F-04341

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 31 August 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 September 2020

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to reports that police call-outs for people experiencing severe mental distress have increased by up to 25% during the lockdown.

Question reference: S5W-30782

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 14 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take to promote local food production following the COVID-19 outbreak.

Through the Ambition 2030 Food & Drink Industry Strategy, launched in 2017 by the First Minister, the Scottish Government has been working in partnership with Scotland Food & Drink and key sectoral trade bodies to sell more fresh, quality Scottish produce to people in Scotland and the rest of the UK.

With many food and drink businesses losing their traditional foodservice or export markets as result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have supported Scotland Food & Drink to develop an online directory to help connect companies with consumers and other businesses throughout Scotland. Launched in May, the supportlocal.scot website has over 300 companies listed and it is expected that this directory will continue long term to help direct consumers and businesses to Scottish food and drink producers, wholesalers and foodservice companies.

We have also asked all supermarkets in the UK to rise to the occasion in order to use their collective consumer reach to promote Scottish and capitalise on a golden opportunity to capture public imagination around the importance of supporting local producers. We are currently engaging with retailers on ways to help the food and drink industry recover and grow with a focus on sourcing more Scottish produce and encouraging consumers to buy fresh, local produce.

The Scotland Food & Drink partnership is also developing a COVID-19 recovery plan for the sector which will include specific actions to further stimulate local sourcing. Further detail will become available on this once the plan is finalised.

Question reference: S5W-30885

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 July 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 13 August 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on international supply chains, what action it is taking to encourage and increase the manufacturing of medical devices and PPE in Scotland, and what analysis it has carried out of (a) the potential economic impact of such an approach and (b) how this could improve national resilience.

In order to strengthen our domestic supplies of medical devices and PPE, NHS Scotland, Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise and the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland have supported a wide range of Scottish businesses to increase their manufacturing output in response to Covid-19.

Well over 50 Scottish businesses have expanded or repurposed production to help meet NHS Scotland demand and bolster supply chain resilience. For example, Berry BPI on-shored production of over 100 million polythene aprons – equivalent to a full year’s supply for NHS Scotland – creating an additional 60 jobs in Greenock. We are working to preserve and create jobs, and develop resilience against future shocks including the possibility of a second wave or future pandemics.