Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-35046 on 5 March 2025. 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.

As set out in answer S6W-29116 on 6 September 2024, the cost incurred to date in relation to the planned National Treatment Centre in NHS Ayrshire and Arran, NHS Grampian, NHS Lanarkshire, NHS Lothian and NHS Tayside is as follows.

More frequent and meaningful budget engagement with COSLA and Councils was fundamental to informing the record funding settlement made available to Local Government in the Scottish Budget 2025-26. Scottish Ministers remain committed to deepening and broadening that partnership to ensure the sustainability of local services.

The needs-based formula used to distribute the funding available for local government is agreed with COSLA on behalf of all 32 local authorities each year. Scottish Ministers are open to exploring the funding formula through that meaningful engagement but any proposals for a formal review should properly come through COSLA in the first instance.

The Scottish Government published ‘Migration - Meeting Scotland's Needs’ in January setting out the economic benefits of migration to Scotland.

Scotland’s has distinct demographic challenges. While the UK’s working population is projected to increase by 0.5% between 2025-75 Scotland’s is projected to fall by 14.7%. Positive net migration increases the size of the working-age population, which is crucial for economic growth as well as fiscal sustainability. The UK Migration Advisory Committee has found that a 1% increase in the migrant share of the workforce is associated with a productivity improvement of between 1.2% and 3%. Research has shown that migrants contribute more to government revenue through taxes than they receive in public services. Migration can help meet the needs of our economy, public services and communities.

Local authorities are responsible for the management of their school estate including decisions about the closure of schools. Local authorities are required by the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 (“the 2010 Act”) to carry out a full public consultation where they are proposing a permanent school closure.

Local authorities must also undertake specific additional steps when they propose to close a rural school. These include clearly demonstrating that they have considered alternatives to closure, an assessment of the likely impact on the community and impact on travel to school arrangements for local pupils. The local authority must also set out the educational benefit of the closure which is subject to an independent report by HM Inspectors. The local authority must respond to HM Inspectors’ assessment of the educational impact on those affected. If a proposal to close a school is rejected, then the local authority cannot repeat the process for five years, providing stability for the local community. These protections are intended to ensure that local authorities think very carefully before closing a rural school and consult extensively with the local community about their proposal.

Where it appears to Scottish Ministers that the local authority may have failed, in a significant regard, to comply with the requirements imposed on it by the 2010 Act, or to take proper account of a material consideration relevant to its decision they may “call-in” the decision for review by an independent School Closure Review Panel.

Local authorities are responsible for the management of their school estate including decisions about the closure of schools. Scottish Ministers do not receive requests for school closures from local authorities.

Local authorities are however required by the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 (“the 2010 Act”) to submit school closure decisions for Ministerial review. Ministers can then “call-in” the decision for review by an independent school closure review panel if it appears to Scottish Ministers that the local authority may have failed, in a significant regard, to comply with the requirements imposed on it by the 2010 Act, or to take proper account of a material consideration relevant to its decision.

The following table sets out the number of school closure decisions for rural schools only, received by Scottish Ministers for their review from each local authority over the last four years.

Data on alcohol-specific deaths are published annually by National Records Scotland (NRS) and can be found here: https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/publications/alcohol-specific-deaths-2023/

Data on alcohol-specific deaths for 2024 are not yet published. The number of alcohol-specific deaths for the five year period 2019-2023 are listed in the following table, alongside the number and proportion of these deaths where the underlying cause of death was alcoholic liver disease.

Research conducted by Public Health Scotland estimated that Minimum Unit Pricing had reduced alcohol-attributable deaths in Scotland by 13.4%, or 156 per year, up to the end of 2020, compared to what would have happened if Minimum Unit Pricing had not been in place.

Public Health Scotland’s final report on the independent evaluation of the impact of Minimum Unit Pricing can be found here:

https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/evaluating-the-impact-of-minimum-unit-pricing-for-alcohol-in-scotland-a-synthesis-of-the-evidence/

Data on alcohol-specific deaths for 2024 is due to be published later this year. The Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment for the continuation and future pricing of Minimum Unit Pricing includes estimated impacts of a 65p per unit minimum price on mortality outcomes based on modelling undertaken by the University of Sheffield. It is estimated that, compared to the removal of Minimum Unit Pricing, a minimum price of 65p per unit would result in 110 fewer alcohol-specific deaths in the first year. Additionally, it is estimated that there would be 191 fewer all-cause deaths, as reducing alcohol consumption can prevent deaths from causes beyond those wholly attributed to alcohol, such as injuries or other health conditions.

The Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment can be found here:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/minimum-unit-pricing-mup-continuation-future-pricing-business-regulatory-impact-assessment/

The number of hospital admissions wholly attributable to alcohol is published on the Public Health Scotland’s (PHS) website. For the five year period, the number of hospital admissions wholly attributable to alcohol is presented in the following table.

The Scottish Government and Scottish Ministers act in a manner consistent with the Scottish Government’s duty to uphold the Equality Act 2010 at all times.