Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-30170

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 8 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it last reviewed the Adoption Support Services and Allowances (Scotland) Regulations 2009, and what conclusion any such review reached regarding the efficacy of the regulations in providing proportionate and equitable support for adoptive families.

A National Review of Care Allowances was published in 2018 which highlighted that each local authority is able to develop their own adoption allowance scheme within the parameters of the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007 (‘the 2007 Act’). Under the 2007 Act, local authorities have a duty to assess someone’s need for adoption support services and to provide this support.

Adoption agencies should ensure that prospective adopters are made aware at the earliest opportunity of the adoption process about the purpose of an adoption allowance, as well as the process for applying.

In addition, the Adoption Support Services and Allowances (Scotland) Regulations 2009 (‘the 2009 Regulations’) are designed to ensure that those persons identified in section 1 of the 2007 Act can access and receive the ongoing support for an adoption required to ensure the improved outcomes associated with adoption. It is the duty of local authorities to implement these duties to ensure that adoptive families receive this support.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that adoptive families receive the support they need, when and where they need it throughout life. This includes the provision of over £770,000 funding in 2024/25 to organisations delivering services and support to adoptive families and practitioners.

Question reference: S6W-30208

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 8 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government on how many occasions the number of road workers onsite at the (a) A83 Rest and Be Thankful and (b) Old Military Road, when operating under convoy control, has fallen below the minimum required level, resulting in the convoy being unable to operate, in each year since 2016.

Question reference: S6W-30110

Asked by: Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 8 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to implementing the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020 earlier than April 2025.

I have asked Gerard Hart, Chief Executive of Disclosure Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:

Implementation of the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020 was initially to be April 2024. Following the onset of the cost crisis in the public sector, Disclosure Scotland advised its Ministers that a one-year delay would be more cost effective in the context of the worsening financial climate. This delay would allow Disclosure Scotland to build the required technology at reduced expense and deliver a better product in terms of quality.

Disclosure Scotland advised Ministers that the longer delivery period would also allow our stakeholders more time to get ready for the coming changes and that the delay would not diminish the child and adult protection services that are the number one priority for Scottish Ministers in operating the PVG Scheme.

Ministers decided to agree a one-year delay in Act implementation but asked that appropriate elements of the new legislation should be commenced sooner, where possible.

Accordingly, parts of the Act and the policy intent of the Act have commenced earlier than the substantive implementation date, specifically:

On 10 December 2021, the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020 (Commencement No.1 and Transitory Provision) Regulations 2021 came into force. These related to sections 83-85 of the 2020 Act which enabled individuals to withdraw from the PVG Scheme, to apply for removal from the barred list(s), permitted Scottish Ministers powers to obtain information to assess whether an individual is no longer unsuitable and to remove an individual from the list(s).
On 19 December 2022,The Police Act 1997 (Offences in Schedules 8A and 8B) Amendment (Scotland) Regulations 2022 updated the offence lists in the Police Act 1997 to reflect the changes listed in the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020.
On 01 April 2023,the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020 (Commencement No.2) Regulations 2023 came into force. These related to section 89 of the 2020 Act and provided Scottish Ministers must issue guidance to the chief constable of the Police Service of Scotland relating to disclosure of ‘other relevant information’.
On 30 September 2024, Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020 (Commencement No.3) Regulations 2024 brought into force provisions of the 2020 Act including section 82 which amended the PVG Act to give local authorities and integration joint boards referral powers.

Question reference: S6W-30149

Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Falkirk West, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 8 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to bring forward Falkirk Growth Deal projects, in light of reports of the Grangemouth refinery closure.

Project development and delivery are led by Falkirk Council and other local partners. Officials are in regular communication with both the UK Government and Falkirk Council regarding the signing of the Falkirk and Grangemouth Growth Deal. Partners are currently preparing business cases for all projects and officials are working to support this process to enable project delivery to commence. This crucial project development work has been ongoing ahead of the formal signing. Partners have identified the Deal projects which are sufficiently developed to commence and have prioritised those accordingly within the 10 year delivery programme of the Growth Deal.

Question reference: S6W-30150

Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Falkirk West, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 8 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with (a) the UK Government and (b) Falkirk Council regarding the final sign-off of the Falkirk Growth Deal.

Officials are in regular contact with both the UK Government and Falkirk Council regarding the signing of the Falkirk and Grangemouth Growth Deal. Discussion continues at pace to align Ministers and Falkirk Council to secure a date for the signing to bring the Deal into delivery. Signing was previously scheduled before the General Election but had to be postponed during that process. Project development is led by Falkirk Council and other local partners and this has continued ahead of the formal signing, ensuring this delay does not adversely impact Deal progress.

Question reference: S6W-30114

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 8 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to tackle the so-called evidence gap in assessing rural poverty and deprivation, as described in the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation’s Rural deprivation: Evidence summary, which was published in November 2016.

The Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation rural deprivation evidence summary included sections describing the main issues associated with using SIMD in rural areas, as well as ways of overcoming these through using the wide range of available data sources alongside SIMD for exploring particular topics or communities of interest. The evidence summary was published alongside two case studies Fuel poverty in Dumfries and Galloway and Child poverty in the Orkney Islands which illustrated how this could be done. The SIMD 2020 introductory booklet included a case study on using SIMD in a rural area.

Scottish Government has also published (or funded) a number of reports and resources on poverty and deprivation in rural areas, including Poverty in rural Scotland: evidence review, The cost of remoteness - reflecting higher living costs in remote rural Scotland when measuring fuel poverty: research report, National Islands Plan Survey: final report, Improving our understanding of child poverty in rural and island Scotland, A design based approach to understanding and tackling rural child poverty,Scottish Islands Survey 2023: main findings,Rural Scotland data dashboard: overview and Review of evidence on rural community interventions.

The Scottish Government Office of the Chief Social Policy Adviser has recently funded a UKRI/ESRC Policy Fellow to carry out research on trends in rural and island poverty.

National Records of Scotland are in the process of developing the 2022 Census-based household level deprivation indicator which will allow analysis of key household variables by deprivation for very small geographies.

There are numerous other reports and resources produced by a range of external stakeholder organisations.

Question reference: S6W-30141

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 8 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will carry out a comprehensive review of maternity experiences throughout Scotland to understand the occurrence of pregnancy-related trauma.

We are committed to gathering evidence on maternity care experiences across Scotland and are currently developing the next iteration of the Maternity Care Survey, which was previously run in 2013, 2015 and 2018. Our intention is for the next survey to take place in 2025. The survey will ask about experiences of antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal maternity care, including questions about person-centred care, trust in healthcare providers, and the provision of advice and support. However this survey is not the right vehicle to ask about pregnancy related trauma, which requires sensitive and responsive inquiry.

In line with NICE guidelines, we would expect Health Professionals to offer advice and support to women who have had a traumatic birth and wish to understand and talk about their experience. We are working with NHS Boards to develop specialist Community Perinatal Mental Health services to provide assessment and care for women with moderate to severe mental illness, including psychological impact following the birth of a baby.

Question reference: S6W-30112

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 8 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has made any assessment of its current ability to provide additional childcare to (a) parents and (b) guardians of nursery-age children with (i) short- and (ii) long-term additional support needs.

Education authorities have a duty under the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 (as amended) to identify, provide for and review the additional support needs of their children, including in respect of funded early learning and childcare (ELC). The Scottish Government provides funding to education authorities for additional support for learning as part of their block grant. It is for individual education authorities to manage their own budget and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.

Question reference: S6W-30171

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 8 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to review the Adoption Support Services and Allowances (Scotland) Regulations 2009 during the current parliamentary session.

The Scottish Government has no plans to undertake a review of The Adoption Support Services and Allowances (Scotland) Regulations 2009, however we continue to keep adoption policy and practice under review. This is in close collaboration with stakeholders, as we work collectively to Keep the Promise by 2030. As part of this we will publish an adoption vision statement which sets out the place of adoption in Scotland today and our strategic priorities moving forward. This includes a focus on understanding the needs and priorities in relation to improving the consistency of post-adoption support across Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-30210

Asked by: Marie McNair, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 8 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to reduce waiting times for NHS audiology services, in particular for people requiring hearing aids.

The Scottish Government accepted, in principle, the recommendations set out by the Independent Review of Audiology Services in Scotland and are fully committed to seeing improvement in Audiology services.

Audiology is now being considered as a clinical priority area, and work is being progressed through the National Planning and Delivery Board arrangements led by the Chief Operating Officer – NHS Scotland.

In order to support with long waits, our NHS Recovery Plan sets out our plans for health and social care over the course of this parliament. The plan will support an increase in inpatient, day case, and outpatient activity to address the backlogs of care, which will be supported by the implementation of sustainable improvements and new models of care.

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