Questions and answers

Question reference: S6F-02100

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 May 2023

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to support colleges and universities in Scotland.

Question reference: S6F-02098

Asked by: Fiona Hyslop, MSP for Linlithgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 May 2023

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's position is on the view of the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland that NHS Lothian should review its Children’s Rights Impact Assessment of the decision to end the Youth Navigator programme, which operates at St John's Hospital.

Question reference: S6F-02083

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 May 2023

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-02082

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 May 2023

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-02085

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 May 2023

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's position is on the potential impact of the proposed timetable reductions by ScotRail on efforts to ensure a modal shift from car to train.

Question reference: S6W-17094

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 9 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the average real terms spending, based on current prices, was for a Scotland-domiciled student in receipt of (a) a young students' bursary, (b) an independent students' bursary, (c) a care experienced students' bursary, (d) a lone parents' grant, (e) a dependants' grant, (f) a care experienced accommodation grant, (g) placement expenses, (h) a paramedic, nursing and midwifery bursary and (i) a disabled students' allowance, in each year since the support scheme was introduced.

Tables 1 and 2 reflect the relevant bursaries and grants since 1997-98 when consistent data recording started. The types of relevant bursaries and grants that were available each year varied. Bursaries and grants available to students depended on their circumstances as well as the type of course they were studying.

Table 1: Average Bursary Spend, 1997-98 to 2021-22
Year	Young Students' Bursary		Independent Students' Bursary		Care-experienced Students' Bursary		Paramedic, Nursing and Midwifery Bursary
Year	Cash terms	real terms (2021-22 prices)	Cash terms	real terms (2021-22 prices)	Cash terms	real terms (2021-22 prices)	Cash terms	real terms (2021-22 prices)
1997-98							£3,408	£5,579
1998-99							£4,584	£7,374
1999-00							£4,710	£7,483
2000-01							£4,809	£7,545
2001-02	£1,309	£2,012					£6,204	£9,539
2002-03	£1,380	£2,074					£5,355	£8,049
2003-04	£1,407	£2,065					- a	- a
2004-05	£1,445	£2,059					- a	- a
2005-06	£1,862	£2,580					- a	- a
2006-07	£1,914	£2,576					£5,831	£7,847
2007-08	£1,955	£2,571					£6,776	£8,908
2008-09	£1,988	£2,523					£6,057	£7,685
2009-10	£2,051	£2,568					£2,021	£2,530
2010-11	£1,665	£2,050	£935	£1,151			£6,117	£7,534
2011-12	£2,093	£2,532	£923	£1,117			£6,024	£7,290
2012-13	£2,104	£2,502	£927	£1,102			£5,098	£6,064
2013-14	£1,226	£1,428	£710	£827			£6,059	£7,060
2014-15	£1,235	£1,423	£710	£818			£6,136	£7,072
2015-16	£1,252	£1,432	£712	£815			£6,158	£7,041
2016-17	£1,390	£1,557	£826	£926			£6,216	£6,965
2017-18	£1,406	£1,550	£822	£906	£7,017	£7,733	£6,177	£6,808
2018-19	£1,407	£1,523	£825	£893	£7,621	£8,252	£6,178	£6,689
2019-20	£1,540	£1,625	£945	£997	£7,638	£8,061	£7,602	£8,023
2020-21	£1,543	£1,532	£960	£954	£7,716	£7,662	£9,379	£9,314
2021-22	£1,503	£1,503	£942	£942	£7,591	£7,591	£9,270	£9,270

Table 2: Average Grant Spend, 1997-98 to 2021-22
Year	Lone Parents' Grant		Dependents' Grant		Care-experienced Accommodation Grant		Placement Expenses		Disabled Students' Allowance
Year	Cash terms	real terms (2021-22 prices)	Cash terms	real terms (2021-22 prices)	Cash terms	real terms (2021-22 prices)	Cash terms	real terms (2021-22 prices)	Cash terms	real terms (2021-22 prices)
1997-98	£920	£1,506	£2,225	£3,643			-	-	£1,867	£3,056
1998-99	£949	£1,527	£2,265	£3,644			-	-	£2,187	£3,518
1999-00	£964	£1,531	£2,271	£3,607			-	-	£2,472	£3,927
2000-01	£980	£1,538	£2,266	£3,556			-	-	£2,460	£3,860
2001-02	£1,029	£1,582	£2,349	£3,612			-	-	£2,456	£3,777
2002-03	£1,064	£1,600	£2,432	£3,655			-	-	£2,516	£3,782
2003-04	£1,094 a	£1,606 a	£2,473 a	£3,629 a			-	-	£2,252	£3,304
2004-05	£1,099 a	£1,565 a	£1,971 a	£2,807 a			-	-	£2,364	£3,367
2005-06	£1,125 a	£1,559 a	£2,041 a	£2,829 a			-	-	£2,221	£3,078
2006-07	£1,148	£1,545	£2,522	£3,394			-	-	£2,232	£3,003
2007-08	£1,227	£1,613	£2,974	£3,909			-	-	£2,223	£2,923
2008-09	£1,184	£1,502	£2,601	£3,301			-	-	£2,168	£2,750
2009-10	£998	£1,249	£1,181	£1,478			-	-	£2,074	£2,597
2010-11	£1,188	£1,463	£2,581	£3,178			-	-	£1,902	£2,342
2011-12	£1,193	£1,444	£2,599	£3,145			£592	£717	£2,172	£2,628
2012-13	£1,138	£1,353	£2,214	£2,634			£450	£536	£1,809	£2,151
2013-14	£1,197	£1,394	£2,522	£2,939			£534	£622	£1,815	£2,115
2014-15	£1,206	£1,390	£2,587	£2,982			£688	£793	£1,695	£1,954
2015-16	£1,208	£1,381	£2,686	£3,071			£725	£829	£1,776	£2,031
2016-17	£1,199	£1,344	£2,743	£3,074			£752	£843	£1,780	£1,995
2017-18	£1,425	£1,570	£3,481	£3,836			£750	£827	£1,837	£2,025
2018-19	£1,446	£1,566	£3,478	£3,765	£1,087	£1,177	£837	£906	£1,989	£2,153
2019-20	£1,460	£1,541	£3,519	£3,714	£1,777	£1,875	£563	£594	£1,903	£2,009
2020-21	£1,499	£1,489	£3,547	£3,523	£1,842	£1,830	£929	£922	£2,028	£2,014
2021-22	£1,496	£1,496	£3,473	£3,473	£1,288	£1,288	£936	£936	£2,066	£2,066

Source: SG Analysis of SAAS and HM Treasury Data

Notes:

1. Blank entries indicate that the bursary or grant was either discontinued or did not exist at that time

2. The dash symbol denotes missing data for an available bursary or grant.

3. SAAS have advised that Placement Expenses student support funding was recorded under ad-hoc payments until 2011-12. Therefore the total value of Placement Expenses student support funding up to that year cannot be accurately determined.

4. Letter (a) is used to indicate that there was no data for Nursing and Midwifery students between 2003-04 and 2005-06, therefore there is no entry for the corresponding years under Paramedic, Nursing and Midwifery Bursary.

5. The missing Nursing and Midwifery data between 2003-04 and 2005-06 also impacted the corresponding datasets for Lone Parents’ and Dependents’ students. The letter (a) is also used to indicate that the average Lone Parents’ and Dependents’ grants values for those years are also impacted because of this.

6. The Paramedic Science Bursary, included under Paramedic, Nursing, and Midwifery Student Bursary, started in year 2021-22.

7. SAAS have advised that there are data record issues in years up to and including 2012-13, therefore average bursary and grant values from 1998-99 to 2012-13 are likely to be less accurate than more recent years.

Question reference: S6W-17472

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 9 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the comment by the former Minister for Transport, during the members’ business debate on motion S6M-06478 on 21 March 2023, that she would "ask Transport Scotland officials to speak to Argyll and Bute Council" in relation to reported road traffic accidents on the A815, whether it will provide an update on this.

Transport Scotland officials have liaised with Argyll and Bute council and Police Scotland regarding the road safety performance of the A815.

As a Police investigation into a recent road traffic collision is ongoing, it would be inappropriate for me to comment further at this time.

Argyll and Bute council are responsible for local roads in their council area. For any further information about road casualties on the council’s local roads please contact: Hugh.O'[email protected] or [email protected] who will be able to help you further.

Question reference: S6W-17404

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 24 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 9 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what statute or regulation defines responsibilities towards (a) maintaining, (b) enhancing and (c) preventing the deterioration of the quality of water in the environment; to which statutory body or bodies any responsibility for this falls; who (i) measures and (ii) reports on the quality of water in the environment; whether the quality has been improving or declining; what the explicit and enforceable targets are for enhancing the quality of water in the environment, and (A) to what levels and (B) within what timescales, and what budget it provides for supporting enhancements in water quality.

The River Basin Management Plans are the key tools for implementing the European Community (EC)’s Water Framework Directive (WFD) .The regulations cover rivers, lochs, transitional waters (estuaries), coastal waters groundwater, and groundwater dependant wetlands. This legislation became law in Scotland as the Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003 (WEWS Act) and covers activities such as discharges to the water environment, abstractions, and physical works in rivers and lochs that can threaten the water environment and the animals and people that rely on it.

The Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2011 – more commonly known as the Controlled Activity Regulations (CAR) – and their further amendments of 2013 and 2017 apply regulatory controls over activities which may affect Scotland’s water environment.

Scotland’s third River Basin Management Plan (RBMP) set statutory objectives to protect and improve Scotland’s water environment by 2027. These objectives are based on ecological assessments and economic judgments. The regulations cover all types of water body, e.g. rivers, lochs, lakes, estuaries, coastal waters and groundwater.

This RBMP builds on previous RBMPs published in 2009 and 2015, setting revised objectives for the period from 2021 to the end of 2027 and providing a programme of actions for achieving the objectives. While, 66% of Scotland’s overall water environment meets ‘good’ ecological status, the RBMP objectives for the 2021-27 period, and the associated work programme aims to ensure that 81% of Scotland’s water bodies achieve a ‘good’ or better classification by 2027 and continue to improve as natural conditions recover beyond that date.

This RBMP sets out a framework for protecting and improving the water environment across Scotland. The Scottish Government, Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), responsible authorities and all of Scotland’s other public bodies are responsible for developing and implementing the RBMP. Detailed information about the RBMP can be found in the water environment hub . It provides information on each waterbody, pressures, measures and the objectives (targets) that we have set.

SEPA is responsible for monitoring, assessing and classifying Scotland’s water environment including coastal waters and Shellfish Water Protected Areas. The classification data is available to the public online at the water classification hub . The Scottish Budget has allocated nearly £3 million to improvement of the water environment in 2023-24.

Question reference: S6W-17426

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 9 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to further promote the Scottish Welfare Fund to older people, in light of a higher proportion of older people not being online.

I refer the Member to answers S6W-15324 on 9 March and S6W-16168 on 24 March 2023.

As stated in answer S6W-15324, the Statutory Guidance for the Scottish Welfare Fund sets out the responsibilities for Local Authorities in their administration of the Fund, including promotion and raising awareness across all potentially eligible individuals. This includes providing information on the Fund and making clear guidance available on how to apply for a grant. Local Authorities are also required to ensure that other services which have contact with people in crisis have up to date information about the Fund, including promotional posters and leaflets.

The Statutory Guidance sets out a requirement for Local Authorities to make provision for applications to be made online, on the phone and face-to-face. Local Authorities are expected to actively promote these channels. This is important to meet the varying needs of applicants, including older people who may not be online.

The Independent Review into the Scottish Welfare Fund published on 24 March 2023. As set out in answer S6W-16168, the Scottish Government is working to publish an Action Plan by the end of Spring 2023. The Action Plan will set out next steps for policy improvements to the Fund across a range of areas, including accessibility and promotion.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Question reference: S6W-17410

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 24 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 9 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many protected (a) freshwater and (b) terrestrial sites met favourable condition criteria when last reported; what requirements exist for owners of protected sites to bring such sites up to a specific standard of condition, and what support is available from it or its agencies to assist such owners in meeting any such standards.

The results of NatureScot’s Site Condition Monitoring programme show:

(a) 240 out of 307 (76%) freshwater habitat and associated species natural features are in favourable condition

(b) 3,773 out of 4,864 (78%) earth science, terrestrial habitats and associated species natural features are in favourable condition

There are no legal requirements for owners of protected sites to manage their land in order to achieve a specific standard of condition. It is an offence to intentionally or recklessly damage a protected area. Owners and occupiers must not carry out certain operations that could potentially damage SSSIs without prior consent from NatureScot.

The main sources of financial support for land managers for positive management of protected areas is through the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) and Forestry Grant Scheme. NatureScot can also enter in to management agreements with owners and occupiers of land to support a range of actions to improve and maintain their condition.

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