Questions and answers

Question reference: S5O-04881

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 December 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what impact any reduction in residential drug rehabilitation treatments has had on recovery rates and the level of drug-related deaths.

Question reference: S5W-33518

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 November 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 16 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-32418 by Jeane Freeman on 23 October 2020, when a decision on funding for a new Edinburgh Cancer Centre will be made.

Funding decisions for all major infrastructure projects are taken as part of the development of the Scottish Government's Infrastructure Investment Plan (IIP). Funding for this project will be considered when the IIP is next updated and after we have received an approved business case.

NHS Lothian have submitted an Initial Agreement (IA) for the development of a new Edinburgh Cancer Centre (which is the first stage in the business case process) and that will be reviewed by the Capital Investment Group (CIG) at their meeting in December. No decision on funding will be made until the CIG is satisfied that the strategic case for investment has been effectively evidenced.

Question reference: S5W-33479

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 November 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 16 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-32056 by Jeane Freeman on 25 September 2020, what discussions are taking place regarding free hospital parking after January 2021.

In September 2020, the Scottish Government reached an agreement with the three PFI hospital car park providers to extend the free car parking arrangements until January 2021. This extension of free parking continues to support staff and remove the barriers to our staff working with the NHS during these unprecedented times.

The Health Boards, together with the PFI providers, are currently reviewing the options for beyond that period. Parliament will be updated once these discussions have concluded, but as they are commercially sensitive negotiations we are not in a position to provide further detail at this point.

Question reference: S5W-33584

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 November 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 14 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the publication of its Programme for Government 2020-21 on 1 September 2020, and its plan to “reduce long-term reliance” on specialist treatments and reduce or stop opioids, whether it is in a position to identify the chronic pain specialist services and treatments that it considers “demonstrate limited health outcomes” so that patients can be informed, and what consultation it has had with patients on this.

Question reference: S5W-33505

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 November 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 10 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many Hospedia contracts that had been agreed by each NHS board for the provision of bedside communication and entertainment for patients have been taken on directly by it since January 2020, and for what reasons, broken down by date, and what the average (a) length and (b) cost is of each of these contracts.

Question reference: S5W-33384

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 November 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 10 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the feasibility of outcome-based payment for cancer medicines.

Scottish Government officials are actively considering new opportunities in relation to innovative and flexible approaches to pricing, including exploring outcome based reimbursement and commercial payment agreements. This work will also consider some of the associated uncertainty about a medicine’s clinical and/or cost effectiveness. As the work progresses, Scottish Government will engage with a range of stakeholders who can provide expertise in this area. In the meantime, Patient Access Schemes (PAS) offer the opportunity for outcome-based payments for cancer medicines. The feasibility of linking outcomes with pricing relies on whether the outcome of interest is routinely collected and readily available for monitoring. In addition, at UK level, Scottish Government officials are working with the Accelerated Access Collaborative (AAC). The AAC programme of work for ATMP treatments, which include cancer medicines, includes a workstream that is focused on new payment and reimbursement models.

Question reference: S5W-33383

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 November 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 10 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Scottish Medicines Consortium has been working with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry on introducing multi-indication pricing.

The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has had no discussions this year with NICE or the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) on multi-indication pricing. The SMC was required to temporarily suspend all meetings in March 2020, in the early phase of the pandemic. Since meetings resumed in July the focus has been on prioritising the assessment of new medicines with the potential to deliver the greatest benefits to patients. A high proportion of company submissions to SMC include a Patient Access Scheme (PAS) to improve the cost-effectiveness of a medicine. Where the cost-effectiveness of a medicine varies significantly across indications, companies can address this through the current PAS arrangements.

Question reference: S5W-33385

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 November 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 10 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on routine COVID-19 testing for NHS staff.

As I outlined to Parliament on 25 th November, and in line with clinical and public health priorities identified through the review of our testing strategy, twice weekly testing will be offered to all patient-facing NHS staff in our hospitals, Scottish Ambulance Service, Covid Assessment Centres in the community and to healthcare professionals who visit care homes. Details of the testing strategy review can be found here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-review-of-testing-strategy-october-2020/ .

The scale of this challenge should not be underestimated, NHS Scotland employs more than 170,000 people and although not all are in patient facing roles, a considerable number are. We know that front-line NHS staff are at highest risk of being exposed to COVID-19 and as community transmission rises so, too does the risk of hospital outbreaks. A phased roll out will therefore start at the beginning of December, to be completed by the end of December.

Testing is only one measure of protection against COVID-19, alongside a strong emphasis on robust infection prevention and control measures, including the use of PPE, the extended use of face masks, physical distancing and good hygiene.

Question reference: S5W-33679

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 10 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason casinos are included on the list of businesses required to close in areas within Level 2 of COVID-19 restrictions, and whether it will provide the scientific advice that informed its decision.

Within the Strategic Framework approach Casinos are treated as leisure and entertainment. This is because the settings and circumstances of engagement in leisure and entertainment activities are different to those for the broader hospitality sector.

The overall package of measures within each level is designed to supress the virus as far as possible whilst minimising broader harms. The Scottish Government will keep the protective measures in all levels under review to ensure that they remain necessary and proportionate to address the ongoing public health emergency.

The evidence of virus transmission risks in indoor settings has been included in the published regulatory impact assessment for casinos which is available here https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2020/344/pdfs/ssifia_20200344_en_003.pdf .

Question reference: S5O-04857

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 December 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on promoting Fair Trade awareness across the public sector.

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