Richard Simpson: 12. To ask the Scottish Government what the pupil to teacher ratio is in special schools, and how that compares with 2008. (S4O-05667)
Richard Simpson: The minister will be aware of the fact that there are 164 more special school pupils than there were in 2008, with a total of 6,920, but that there are 172 fewer teachers teaching that group of pupils. If the group is a priority in relation to inequalities, what is the Government going to do to restore that ratio to one that is reasonable, and to ensure that the numbers of special needs...
Richard Simpson: Will the First Minister tell us whether the Neurological Alliance of Scotland, which is the group of organisations that represent patients, has in fact received money? The direct grant for those organisations was stopped, but their indirect grant through the Neurological Alliance was the subject of discussion. Will the First Minister confirm that they have been funded?
Richard Simpson: 2. To ask the Scottish Government what average number and percentage of hospital beds was unavailable to new patients in 2015, and how this compared with the average number of bed-occupied days because of delayed discharges. (S4O-05596)
Richard Simpson: I welcome the fact that there is once again a downward trend. However, in July 2011, at the beginning of this parliamentary session, the monthly figure for bed-occupied days was 20,000, and the most recent available figure, albeit that it is lower than last year’s figure, is 46,000. Moreover, the total figure for bed-occupied days in England is 160,000. In other words, our bed-occupied days...
Richard Simpson: I ask for the review to look closely at the variation in stillbirth levels—which was highlighted in NHS Ayrshire and Arran recently—to determine why those significant variations occur.
Richard Simpson: I do not deny the progress that has been made in the past year, but the member must recognise, as Audit Scotland has done, that on seven of the nine targets things are deteriorating. There were 20,000 occupied bed days in July 2011 and 46,000 last month. I welcome the progress in the past year, but the current situation is more than twice as bad as it was in 2011. That is not progress.
Richard Simpson: I will begin by making what will probably be my last declaration of interests: I refer to my entry in the register of members’ interests and say that I am a fellow of two colleges and a member of the BMA and a number of other medical organisations. I thank Jackson Carlaw for his kind remarks about me and Nanette Milne as the two remaining medical members. I will depart from my usual summing...
Richard Simpson: That particular aspect demonstrates what happens when the parties work together in the committee system. I also highlight the reductions in stroke, cardiovascular disease and suicide. Gil Paterson and other members have mentioned other areas of improvement such as the reduction in smoking—especially in the number of adolescents starting—and in alcohol consumption. However, in the rest of...
Richard Simpson: We all thank the staff for their hard work. The First Minister mentioned immediate assessment units. A freedom of information request that I have made has shown that there are now 30 such units with 15 different names, that there is no common protocol, and that there is no monitoring and no reporting. Unlike in A and E, targets range from the four-hour target to no target. NHS Greater Glasgow...
Richard Simpson: What does the Deputy First Minister feel about the budget for SNP-controlled Clackmannanshire Council that was passed last week, which imposed a 7.1 per cent cut on every third sector organisation—primarily those supporting self-management of health conditions, but also those supporting children? If the increase in the retail prices index of 1.3 per cent is taken into account, that is a...
Richard Simpson: Will the minister give way?
Richard Simpson: 2. To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on reports that GP funding has been reduced by £1.6 billion over the last 10 years. (S4T-01324)
Richard Simpson: I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer, although anyone listening to it would think that we do not have a problem with general practice at all, and that although the Royal College of General Practitioners asserts that the share of funding—as opposed to the absolute funding—has reduced by £1.6 billion, there are no consequences. I say to the cabinet secretary that the constant...
Richard Simpson: I am not asking the cabinet secretary to publish details of the contract, because I entirely understand that she is in negotiations and cannot do so. However, the principles of the contract and the general role of GPs in the new model are critical both to general practitioners’ understanding of where they will go from here and to recruitment. The cabinet secretary said that I should welcome...
Richard Simpson: I am pleased to open the stage 1 debate on my Alcohol (Licensing, Public Health and Criminal Justice) (Scotland) Bill, although I regret the brevity of the time that has been allowed for the debate. This is a multipurpose bill with 10 different strands, all of which have the aim of addressing the effects of alcohol overconsumption. The common purpose of most of them—as I emphasised...
Richard Simpson: I do not deny the progress that has been made since 2001—indeed, I will refer to that when I sum up—but I have a major concern about the budget, in which the alcohol and drug partnerships will have their funding cut by 23 per cent. I would like the minister to guarantee on the record today that health boards will be required to make that money up from their general revenue, because the...
Richard Simpson: Thank you, Presiding Officer. I hope that my voice holds out until then. Unfortunately I have a slight cold. I thank members for participating in the debate. I am still concerned that it has been the briefest debate for any member’s bill, certainly for some considerable time. Given that the bill has been the longest-running bill since 1999, that is very disappointing. We did not oppose the...
Richard Simpson: I will take an intervention a little later, once I get a bit further into my speech. Duncan McNeil rightly reminded us that, as a society, our consumption of alcohol is still far too high. The damaging consequences, which may be costing us £2.5 billion to £3 billion, are very significant. Graeme Pearson drew attention to the fact that Scotland has a much higher level of alcohol-related...
Richard Simpson: Actually, I regret the fact that none of the SNP members of the committee has been able to speak in the debate. It might have been interesting to hear that point argued in a little more detail. We have been on a journey since 2001, when alcohol deaths were peaking and, as Jackson Carlaw said, the numbers around liver problems, for example, had gone up massively. As a justice minister, I...