- Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Elena Whitham on 7 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what protections are in place for victims of domestic abuse when an exclusion order ends.
Answer
Under the Matrimonial Homes (Family Protection) (Scotland) Act 1981 a spouse can ask the court for an exclusion order to remove the other spouse from the matrimonial home. Civil partners have a corresponding right under the Civil Partnership Act 2004. A cohabitant can also seek an exclusion order where the court has granted them occupancy rights.
The court can make an exclusion order if it appears to the court that the making of the order is necessary for the protection of the applicant or any child of the family from any conduct or threatened or reasonably apprehended conduct which is or would be injurious to the physical or mental health of the applicant or child.
These orders are temporary. For example, an order will end if the family home is sold or the couple divorce.
There are other civil remedies available to those at risk of domestic abuse. These include an interdict which can prohibit or restrain specified behaviour. By virtue of the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2011 a breach of a domestic abuse interdict with a power of arrest attached is a criminal offence. Another potential civil remedy is a non-harassment order under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, breach of which is again a criminal offence.
The Scottish Law Commission are considering carrying out a review of civil remedies in relation to domestic abuse in phase 2 of its work on aspects of family law .
The member is welcome to write to me raising specific points about exclusion orders or other civil protection measures.
- Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 7 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will take action to ensure that the Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan Implementation Steering Group makes a full assessment of the skills needs of (a) seafarers and (b) operators of ferry services in Scotland.
Answer
The Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan is central to creating a future workforce that can support our transition to a net zero economy and ensure workers are equipped with the skills that employers will need in a green economy.
The Implementation Steering Group (ISG) for the Action Plan has an independent chair and is comprised of senior representatives from local government, public agencies, skills providers, and industry. The ISG currently has three sub-groups, including a transport sub-group which is exploring the skills required across the transport sector for the transition to net zero.
The ISG is not currently conducting a full assessment of seafarers and operators of ferry services in Scotland however could consider this as part of ongoing work.
- Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 7 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the 2022 Scottish teacher census, which showed that there had been a reduction in teacher numbers in East Dunbartonshire, compared with 2021.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that numbers of teachers and support staff are protected. We will provide local government with £145.5 million in next year's budget, which is conditional on the successful delivery of the following objectives:
- Maintaining teacher numbers at 2022 census levels, as published in the Summary School Statistics in December 2022.
- Maintaining pupil support staff numbers at 2022 census levels, which we will publish on 21 March 2023 based on the data collected from local authorities in September 2022.
- Ensuring that places remain available for probationer teachers who need them through the Teacher Induction Scheme.
In the event of these requirements not being met, the Scottish Government reserves the right to recover or withhold relevant monies allocated to individual authorities for these purposes.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 7 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to mark World Milk Day 2023.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not currently have any plans to support World Milk Day 2023 but will consider this with the relevant stakeholders. The Scottish Government provides support to both the Dairy Growth Board and the Dairy Hub, managed by NFUS, and supports consumption of dairy products as part of a healthy balanced diet.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 7 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many disabled people are currently living in temporary accommodation.
Answer
The Scottish Government HL1 data collection gathers information relating to reason support may need to be provided, according to the judgement of a homelessness officer, for households who make a homelessness application.
No information is gathered about support needs or disabilities of individuals within the household.
The HL3 data collection gathers information about temporary accommodation placements associated with homelessness applications. The following information has been derived by linking data from Scottish Government HL1 and HL3 collections
Support needs identified for households in temporary accommodation, as at 30 September 2022 (latest available)
| Number of households |
All in temporary accommodation | 14,887 |
Mental health problem | 4,272 |
Learning disability | 529 |
Physical disability | 903 |
Medical condition | 1,491 |
Drug or alcohol dependency | 1,758 |
Basic housing management / independent living skills | 2,701 |
Households with at least one support need identified | 7,010 |
Please note, it is possible for a household to have more than one identified support need.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 6 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with its counterparts in (a) England, (b) Wales and (c) Northern Ireland regarding a UK-wide strategy to address levels of foetal alcohol spectrum disorders in the UK population.
Answer
There are currently no plans to develop a UK-wide Strategy on fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). However, Scottish Government officials have made contact with Wales and Northern Ireland, and have met with counterparts in England regarding FASD policy We are also linking into international work and evidence in relation to FASD. We will continue to engage, and share learning and approaches.
The Scottish Government has funded Adoption UK (Scotland) to establish an FASD Hub in Scotland with the aim of providing support, training and advice to families, carers and professionals supporting children affected by FASD. This is the first of its kind within the UK. We also support a research, evidence and training base - the FAAST team at Edinburgh University.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 6 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-26493 by Clare Haughey on 9 December 2019, whether it will provide the same information for (a) 2019-20 and (b) 2021-22.
Answer
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) total net expenditure and the percentage of total net NHS Board expenditure spent on CAMHS is published on Public Health Scotland’s website Scottish health service costs under data files mental health expenditure Excel workbook in table 1.
This information is available for financial years 2011-12 to 2021-22 for each NHS Board in Scotland. Please note, figures presented for years 2011-12 to 2018-19 may differ from those included in the original response to question S5W-26493 on 11 February 2021 due to NHS Boards updating their expenditure figures post-publication.
The other part of this request relates to the percentage of total net NHS Board mental health expenditure spent on CAMHS – this information is presented in the following table for financial years 2019-20 to 2021-22 for each NHS Board in Scotland.
Table: Percentage of total net NHS Board mental health expenditure spent on CAMHS in financial years 2019/-0 to 2021-22.
NHS Board | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 |
NHS Scotland | 7.14% | 7.08% | 7.51% |
NHS Ayrshire & Arran | 6.26% | 6.07% | 7.58% |
NHS Borders | 6.10% | 8.64% | 8.02% |
NHS Dumfries & Galloway | 7.57% | 7.36% | 7.90% |
NHS Fife | 5.70% | 6.02% | 5.72% |
NHS Forth Valley | 6.73% | 6.49% | 7.67% |
NHS Grampian | 7.44% | 8.14% | 9.30% |
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde | 6.32% | 6.16% | 6.73% |
NHS Highland | 4.26 | 4.09% | 3.80% |
NHS Lanarkshire | 8.34% | 8.73% | 7.20% |
NHS Lothian | 11.06% | 10.61% | 11.91% |
NHS Orkney | 4.32% | 22.73% | 16.85% |
NHS Shetland | 15.58% | 14.13% | 17.22% |
NHS Tayside | 8.23% | 8.29% | 8.38% |
NHS Western Isles | 13.03% | 6.85% | 7.43% |
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
- Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Ben Macpherson on 6 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, of the households that have claimed social security benefits in the last 12 months, how many had a (a) woman and (b) man as the lead claimant.
Answer
Social Security Scotland does not routinely produce information on households claiming social security benefits.
Information on the characteristics of applicants, including gender, is published as part of Official Statistics publications on Social Security Scotland client diversity and equalities analysis.
These statistics were most recently published in September 2021 and are available at: https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/reporting/publications/social-security-scotland-client-diversity-and-equalities-analysis-to-may-2021 .
There is currently work being undertaken to produce an update to this publication, which will be published by the end of summer 2023. This will cover the period from June 2021 to October 2022.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Patrick Harvie on 6 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what advice it has sought on any potential difficulties of linked SMEs successfully applying for the SME Loan Scheme, in light of reports that some linked SMEs that have considered decoupling in order to secure a loan have been warned that, if they do so, HMRC may suspect tax fraud and open investigations.
Answer
The Scottish Government eligibility criteria prevent SMEs that are more than 25% owned or have more than a 25% stake in another business to access funding through the SME Loan. This is to protect public finance, make certain that the economic benefit from investment is realised by the intended party and ensure that there is a clear route for loan repayments to be made.
Although some businesses have expressed their disappointment at not being able to access funding we consider that this protection is necessary and proportionate. Advisors will ask about the current ownership structure of businesses in order to assess their eligibility for the SME loan scheme. However, Business Energy Scotland do not provide advice to businesses about ownership or their organisational structure.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 6 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact of the proposed pay settlements for (a) the NHS, (b) local government and (c) commissioned social care on workforce (i) recruitment and (ii) retention for third sector social care providers, and how it will measure any such impact.
Answer
The Scottish Government works closely with key stakeholders to assess all factors that impact recruitment and retention for third sector providers in the adult social care sector.
The Scottish Government recognises the effect that wider pay settlements may have and that is why a further £100 million is being provided to Local Government to ensure a £10.90 per hour minimum wage for adult social care workers in commissioned services from April 2023. This includes workers in third sector providers and takes Scottish Government recurring funding for adult social care pay in commissioned services to £0.6 billion per year. It is worth noting that the £10.90 per hour rate is the minimum rate of pay for these workers and many providers choose to pay more than these minimums. The Scottish Government will continue to engage with third sector social care providers to understand how this funding is contributing toward supporting recruitment and retention.