Questions and answers

Question reference: S5O-01750

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 31 January 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had regarding the improvement of support services for vulnerable people finding themselves homeless or in temporary accommodation.

The Scottish Government has been involved in a range of discussions with partners, which has led to swift, concrete actions, on improving support to vulnerable people facing homelessness through the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group.

Importantly, these discussions are informed by input from people with lived experience of homelessness.

Having delivered actions on rough sleeping this winter, the Action Group is working on recommendations to deliver actions to end rough sleeping for good and to transform the delivery of temporary accommodation services.

The Action Group’s work is building from the strong base of Housing Options, and the sharing of information and best practice across the network of Housing Options Hubs, to ensure people can access the appropriate support to meet their needs.

Question reference: S5O-01683

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 January 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 January 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address the reported high pupil-teacher ratios across the Lothian area.

Question reference: S5O-01621

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 December 2017
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 20 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve the quality of watercourses in the Lothian region.

Through Scotland’s river basin management plans we have set out a programme of measures to protect and improve our water environment across the country.

We recognise the importance of such improvements for our communities and the wider economy. The draft budget published last Thursday provided an increase of £2 million per annum to address a range of specific pressures on our water environment.

Question reference: S5W-13015

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 12 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has conducted a pilot exercise to establish the safety of allowing misoprostol to be taken outside of a hospital or clinic, and in the absence of medical staff, for the purpose of carrying out an abortion and, if so, whether it will publish the results, and what other action it has taken to determine the safety of the practice.

Patient safety is a priority for the Scottish Government. Allowing women to take misoprostol outwith a hospital setting where clinically appropriate is standard practice in other countries, including France, Sweden and Portugal and is supported by research studies demonstrating both its safety and effectiveness, and its acceptability to women.

Prior to this approach being permitted in Scotland, many women undergoing an early medical abortion would have taken misoprostol in a clinical setting, and then immediately travelled home in order to pass the pregnancy at home. Allowing misoprostol to be taken at home removes the need for an additional journey to a clinic, and the risk of a woman starting to pass the pregnancy while travelling to her home.

Question reference: S5W-13017

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 12 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, prior to announcing its decision to revise the licensing of misoprostol to allow it to be taken outside of a hospital or clinic, and in the absence of medical staff, for the purpose of carrying out an abortion, what assessment it made of the (a) scope for the drug not to be taken at home, including the safety aspects of this, and (b) action it can to ensure that it is taken at home only.

The Scottish Government has used powers under the 1967 Abortion Act to class a patient’s home as a place where abortion treatment can be carried out in specific circumstances, in order to enable women for whom it is appropriate to take misoprostol at home.

A range of safety issues were considered, in consultation with NHS specialists in abortion care, prior to this change being made including the possibility that a woman might take misoprostol in a location other than her own home.

It is the responsibility of the clinician caring for a woman to ensure that she understands the requirement to take misoprostol at home, and can make suitable arrangements to do this.

Question reference: S5W-13020

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 12 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government when it began consulting stakeholders regarding its decision to revise the licensing of misoprostol to allow it to be taken outside of a hospital or clinic, and in the absence of medical staff, for the purpose of carrying out an abortion; for what reason it did not carry out a public consultation on the decision, and what action it has taken to take account of public opinion on the matter.

The Scottish Government has used powers under the 1967 Abortion Act to class a patient’s home as a place where abortion treatment can be carried out in some circumstances, in order to enable women for whom it is clinically appropriate to take misoprostol at home.

The Scottish Government has no plans to consult on this decision.

As part of on-going work to support improvements to abortion services in Scotland, the Scottish Government regularly engages with NHS specialists in abortion care. This enables policy considerations to be informed by the expertise and experience of staff working directly with women accessing abortion services, thereby enabling the views of these women to be taken into account.

Question reference: S5W-13013

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 12 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) process and (b) timetable is for revising the licensing of misoprostol to allow it to be taken outside of a hospital or clinic, and in the absence of medical staff, for the purpose of carrying out an abortion, and which stakeholders it has consulted or plans to consult regarding this.

Regulation for the licensing and safety of medicines is currently a reserved area for the UK Government. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for regulating medicines and medical devices in the UK.

The Scottish Government has used powers under the 1967 Abortion Act to class a patient’s home as a place where abortion treatment can be carried out in specific circumstances, in order to enable women for whom it is clinically appropriate to take misoprostol at home.

Question reference: S5O-01588

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 December 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 December 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the UK Government's decision to do so, whether it will bring forward the linking of non-domestic rates poundage to CPI from 2020 to April 2018.

Question reference: S5O-01406

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 November 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on equality and human rights for older people.

Question reference: S5W-11898

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by Annabelle Ewing on 31 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken in response to the findings of the its reports, Evidence Assessment of the Impacts of the Criminalisation of the Purchase of Sex: A Review and Exploring available knowledge and evidence on prostitution in Scotland via practitioner-based interviews, and what plans it has to announce updated proposals for addressing prostitution.

19 responses were received which are currently being considered.

The Scottish Government believes it is important and necessary to listen to the views and understand the experiences of those with direct experience. We have engaged with a number of individuals who either are or have been engaged in prostitution to understand their real life experiences. Full consideration of these discussions as well as the outcome of research reports and the feedback thereto will help inform consideration of future prostitution policy in Scotland.

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