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 MSPs 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: S6T-00301

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is giving to NHS boards that are under pressure.

Question reference: S6T-00296

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 22 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many schools are currently shut due to staff shortages resulting from COVID-19 cases.

Question reference: S6W-04425

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 22 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many deaths have been attributed to alcohol-related liver damage in each year since 1999.

Information about alcohol specific deaths, which includes deaths by latest cause, is published annually by National Records of Scotland. The latest data was published on 17 August.

There have been 16,917 deaths attributed to alcohol liver disease since 2000. Records prior to the year of 2000 do not include latest cause of death, so it is not possible to report the number of deaths attributed to alcohol-related liver damage for 1999 year.

More information is available on Alcohol-specific deaths | National Records of Scotland (nrscotland.gov.uk)

Question reference: S6W-04192

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 12 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 22 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how it is increasing awareness in the medical community about ME, including its symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment.

We are investing £4.5 million of funding to implement the Neurological Care and Support Framework. Through the framework, we have funded Action for ME to produce an online CPD learning module on ME/CFS for GPs and health professionals in Scotland, which aims to support person-centred care, informed by good practice and current research. In June 2021, officials presented the module to the Scottish Deans Medical Education Group, who agreed to consider introducing into medical school curriculums.

We are also liaising with NHS Education Scotland who have committed to producing a Practice-Based Small Group Learning module on ME/CFS following publication of the final National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines, and we understand that this work is now underway.

Question reference: S6W-04423

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 22 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many objections it has received in response to proposals for a National Care Service.

The Scottish Government’s consultation on a National Care Service closed on 2 November, and received around 1,300 written responses. There was also significant digital and face to face engagement with members of the public throughout the consultation period.

Written responses will be published, where permission has been given, along with summary notes of points raised at the engagement events. An independent contractor has been appointed to undertake a detailed analysis of the responses and we expect to publish the analysis report in early 2022.

Question reference: S6W-04390

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 15 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 22 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of its plans to recruit 320 additional staff in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) over the next five years, and how many additional staff members it expects to have recruited in (a) 2021-22, (b) 2022-23, (c) 2023-24, (d) 2024-25 and (e) 2025-26.

In our NHS Recovery Plan we have committed to provide sufficient funding for around 320 additional staff in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) over the next 5 years.

Since May 2021, we have allocated approximately £40m to NHS Boards to support CAMHS and the implementation of the National CAMHS Service Specification. Through this funding, NHS Boards have started to recruit additional staff to implement the Specification and to build professional capacity to support children and young people with neurodevelopmental support needs. NHS Boards will recruit a variety of staff in different roles, based on individual service needs.

The breakdown of CAMHS workforce is published on a quarterly basis through the NHS Education for Scotland (NES) CAMHS Workforce publication. This data can be found on the NES Turas Data Intelligence platform and provides a breakdown of staffing per NHS Board in CAMHS, including breakdown of professional role.

The Scottish Government is not responsible for the recruitment of NHS staff. It is NHS Boards’ responsibility to recruit workforce. The Scottish Government has provided guidance to NHS Boards, through the National CAMHS Service and Neurodevelopmental Specifications, on the appropriate roles and professionals expected to be employed within Boards.

Question reference: S6W-04095

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 November 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 22 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding (a) it has allocated to and (b) has been distributed through the Woods in and Around Towns programme in each year since its inception.

The Woods In and Around Towns (WIAT) programme provides support to expand and sustainably manage Scotland’s urban woodlands while encouraging people to use and enjoy them. The programme supports activities in socially deprived communities and contributes to improving people’s health and well-being, sequestering carbon and helping our urban communities adapt to a changing climate.

The programme facilitates collaboration between local authorities, the private and the community sector to deliver initiatives ranging from the Central Scotland Green Network, Clyde Climate Forest and recent Lost Woods Project that provided the opportunity for children from all of Glasgow’s primary schools to take part in a mass tree planting scheme.

Under the current Forestry Grant Scheme the average annual funding available for the improvement and management of existing urban woodland is £750,000-£900,000 and for the creation of new woodland in areas covered by the Central Scotland Green Network, which is a focus area for the programme, is £8 million.

The total value of approved projects under these grants is:

	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
Improvement and management	£157,783	£800,617	£855,885	£939,162	£550,977	£582,772
Woodland Creation (CSGN)	£4,350,219	£8,799,331	£13,329,490	£8,738,268	£8,363,875	£11,537,432

This spending is often part of larger projects that draw funding from a range of sources.

Question reference: S6W-04264

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 22 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on researching the (a) benefits and (b) costs of gene editing, in each year since 2016.

In 2021, the Scottish Government commissioned a study from the Plant Health Centre on the implications of gene editing for plant health, including environmental impacts, at a cost of £18,441 to date.

Otherwise no funding has been committed specifically to research on the benefits and costs of gene editing since 2016. The Scottish Government has access to a wealth of expertise in its advisors, including the Chief Scientific Advisor for Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture, who follow the latest scientific evidence and are qualified to comment on the impacts of gene editing.

Question reference: S6W-04190

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 12 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 22 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to establish centres with specialist services for people with ME.

Question reference: S6W-04277

Asked by: Fiona Hyslop, MSP for Linlithgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 22 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the funding of up to £40 million for the culture sector that was announced by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy on 2 June 2021 (Official Report, c. 16); how much of this funding has been distributed, and in what form; how much funding remains to be distributed, and when this will be distributed to support the culture sector.

The additional £40 million for the culture sector was announced in light of the consequential funding expected from the £300 million uplift to the Culture Recovery Fund in March 2021 UK Budget. The Scottish Government has so far only received £9 million of these consequentials. We are still seeking clarity from HM Treasury on why the £40 million has not yet been passed on in full to us and are continuing to press the UK Government to deliver the remaining £31 million.

Despite only receiving to date £9 million of the consequentials, we have made available £25 million to support recovery in the culture sector, principally through the Cultural Organisations and Venues Recovery Fund (COVRF) and the Performing Arts Venues Relief Fund (PAVRF). £17.2 million has been awarded to performing arts venues and culture organisations via Creative Scotland. £1.25m has also been announced for funding for the Public Library Covid Relief Fund. This leaves £6.55m remaining to be allocated, £2m of which is capital. We are working with the culture sector to understand ongoing needs, and announcements on the final allocations will be made in the coming weeks.