- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 20 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 29 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding private finance initiative (PFI) and public private partnership (PPP) contracts, what the total amount in unitary charge payments is that (a) has been paid since 1997-98, up to and including the latest financial year for which figures are available, for all (i) expired and (ii) active projects, and (b) remains to be paid for all active projects until contract expiry by (A) local authorities, (B) NHS Scotland, (C) the Scottish Funding Council, (D) Transport Scotland, (E) the Scottish Prison Service, (F) Scottish Water, (G) Police Scotland and (H) the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration.
Answer
The latest published data as at 31 March 2023 relating to (a) the total unitary charge payments associated with PFI and PPP contracts including NPD (Non-Profit Distributing) which were paid across the public sector in Scotland from 1997-98 to 2022-23 comprising both (i) expired and (ii) active contracts are contained within the following table.
Contract Type | 1997-98 to 2022-23 | 1997-98 to 2022-23 |
| (a)(i) Expired Contracts | (a)(ii) Active Contracts |
| (£m) | (£m) |
PFI | 372 | 15,437 |
NPD (pre-2010) | - | 758 |
NPD Programme | - | 1,573 |
Total | 372 | 17,768 |
The latest published data as at 31 March 2023 relating (b) the total estimated remaining unitary charge payments associated with PFI and PPP contracts including NPD from 2023-24 until contract expiry for (A) local authorities, (B) NHS Scotland, (C) the Scottish Funding Council, (D) Transport Scotland, (E) the Scottish Prison Service, (F) Scottish Water, and (G) Police Scotland are contained within the following table (the PFI contract relating to (H) the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration expired in 2012-13 when the last payment was made).
Contract Type | Procuring Authority | 2023-24 onwards |
| | (b) Active Contracts |
| | (£m) |
PFI | (A) Local Authorities | 8,147 |
| (B) NHS Boards | 3,999 |
| (C) Scottish Funding Council / Colleges | 6 |
| (D) Transport Scotland | 644 |
| (E) Scottish Prison Service | 511 |
| (F) Scottish Water | 1,376 |
| (G) Police Scotland | 17 |
NPD (pre-2010) | (A) Local Authorities | 1,025 |
| (B) NHS Boards | 274 |
NPD Programme | (A) Local Authorities | 1,986 |
| (B) NHS Boards | 1,955 |
| (C) Scottish Funding Council / Colleges | 662 |
| (D) Transport Scotland | 2,510 |
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 20 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 29 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what initiatives it has introduced to promote workplace wellness programmes, and how these have been implemented in rural areas.
Answer
The Scottish Government supports the Healthy Working Lives (HWL) initiative, hosted by Public Health Scotland, which offers a range of materials to support employers on all aspects of work-related health promotion and ill health prevention, return to work and workplace safety.
The Scottish Government, in partnership with Public Health Scotland and See Me, also delivers the Supporting a Mentally Healthy Workplace: National Learning Network for Employers. The network brings together employers of all sizes and across all sectors to share learning and experiences of supporting mental health and wellbeing in the workplace. Over 800 individuals are now engaged with the network.
The Scottish Government also fund Paths for All, a Scottish charity which promotes everyday walking. Paths for All run two national challenges a year in the spring and autumn. The Step Count Challenge (SCC) is a walking challenge for Scottish workplaces, which aims to encourage business to support employees to walk more to improve mental and physical health. In 2023-24, 325 workplaces took part in the spring, autumn and bespoke challenges.
- Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 29 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how it is working to help ensure that victims of trauma, either physical or mental, do not turn to illicit substance use.
Answer
Evidence confirms that substance use can be a potential consequence for those of us who have experienced high levels of trauma and adversity in our lives.
The Scottish Government’s ambition, shared with COSLA, is for anyone who has been affected by trauma to be supported by the trauma-informed and responsive support, care and services they need. These are services built on safe, trusted relationships, which foster recovery, prevent re-traumatisation and help reduce the risk that individuals and/or their families might turn to substance use to cope.
Since 2018, the Scottish Government has invested over £12 million in the National Trauma Transformation Programme (NTTP). The NTTP aims to support all sectors of the workforce, to understand how to adapt the way they work to be trauma-informed. This includes understanding how substances can be a coping strategy for the impact of trauma and embedding the principles of choice, collaboration, empowerment, safety and trust to help improve the life outcomes of those affected.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 29 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what evaluation criteria it uses to assess the effectiveness of its social media management spending.
Answer
Standard metrics particularly related to social media management include reach (how many people were reached), engagement (how many people engaged with the content) and or follower growth (how many people have chosen to associate with and regularly receive content from the account) among target audiences.
Social media activity will typically be part of a multi-channel campaign and assessing performance on social platforms spans a number of disciplines including of advertising, PR, influencer marketing and paid-for media management.
Our social media management and effectiveness is evaluated in a range of ways, according to the SMART objectives:
- Evaluation from Scottish Government’s independent media planning and buying agencies, using audited sector data where available.
- Indicators of direct response to a campaign and across specific platforms and channels such as post engagement, views of website content, calls to a website, vaccine uptake, cancer referrals, etc – during the campaign period. This is captured on a continuous basis and insight fed back into a process of continuous improvement.
- Where possible, quantitative research also tracks pre and post campaign metrics such as awareness, message take-out, attitudes and claimed behaviour among the target audience.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 29 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken to ensure that rural areas, including Aberdeenshire, are adequately equipped with healthcare resources to address future challenges posed by climate change.
Answer
It is the responsibility of all Health Boards in Scotland, including those with rural communities, to ensure they put measures in place to address future challenges posed by climate change.
The Climate Change Sustainability and Environment Team within NHS Scotland Assure is available to provide support and advice to Scotland's Health Boards on climate change adaptation actions, including addressing any issues specific to rural areas.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 29 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what work it is undertaking to ensure that digital access to medical records, with appropriate safeguards, is facilitated between (a) neighbouring NHS boards and (b) NHS boards and other medical services, such as community pharmacies.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-18931 on 21 June 2023. 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/questions-and-answers
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 29 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many employees are shared across more than one of the advisory non-departmental public bodies.
Answer
For the advisory non-Departmental Public Bodies that the Scottish government holds employee information for, our data shows no employees are assigned on our HR management information system to more than one advisory non-Departmental Public Body.
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 29 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many employees are shared across more than one of its other significant national bodies.
Answer
For the significant national bodies that the Scottish government holds employee information for – our data shows no employees assigned on our HR management information system to more than one significant national body.
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 29 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many employees are shared across more than one of its executive agencies.
Answer
For the Executive Agencies that the Scottish Government holds employee information for, our data shows no employees are assigned on our HR management information system to more than one Executive Agency.
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 29 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many employees are shared across more than one of the executive non-departmental public bodies.
Answer
For the Non-Departmental Public Bodies that the Scottish government holds employee information for, our data shows no employees are assigned on our HR management information system to more than one Non-Departmental Public Body.