Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-23408

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 12 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how (a) many potholes have been reported on the trunk road network and (b) much has been spent on repairing potholes, in each year since 2007, also broken down by geographical area.

Transport Scotland, through its four Trunk Road Operating Companies and five Design Build Finance Operate (DBFO) Concessionaires, is responsible for the management and maintenance of the strategic trunk road network, including motorways. The repair of potholes on all other roads is the responsibility of the local authorities.

Category 1 potholes are defined within the term maintenance contract as those that present, or could present, an immediate hazard to trunk road users. They are typically detected during driven safety related inspections. The following table shows the number of Category 1 potholes recorded since 2013 broken down by operational area. A map showing these operational areas can be found here . Data between 2007 and 2013 is not available.

	South East	South West	North East	North West	AWPR	M77 DBFO	M6 DBFO	M8 DBFO	M80 DBFO	Grand Total
2013-14	0	718	0	2154		114	114		8	3108
2014-15	453	1435	204	2673		81	101	100	4	5051
2015-16	646	2011	1010	4136		89	80	215	4	8191
2016-17	598	1982	1596	3925		110	47	189	6	8453
2017-18	890	4231	2258	5155		95	94	119	18	12860
2018-19	709	4066	1384	5095		116	38	49	4	11461
2019-20	717	4872	1468	5115		106	35	61	0	12374
2020-21	678	3999	2153	5566	2	213	52	31	1	12695
2021-22	785	2181	1510	4864		134	105	23	7	9609
2022-23	879	2371	1689	3073	21	140	86	48	19	8326

The Scottish Government fully funds the inspection and repair of all Category 1 potholes and the term maintenance contracts set out strict timescales for their repair. Following identification of Category 1 pothole defects, the Operating Companies are required to make the defect safe by 6am the following morning, preferably by completing a permanent repair. Where this is not possible then a temporary repair is required within the same timescale and permanent repairs are required within 28 days.

Road maintenance works are undertaken by our contractors under a term-maintenance contract, the current version of which is known as the Network Management Contract. This contract commenced in 2020 in the South units and in 2022 in the North units. Prior to this, the 4G Operating Company Contract was in place, under which arrangements, Category 1 defect repairs were funded from commercially sensitive monthly lump sums. We cannot, therefore, provide expenditure on Category 1 defect repairs from the previous contract. Similarly, the costs for defect repairs conducted by the DBFO contractors is included within their wider service charge and so it is not possible to extract or provide these costs. Expenditure under the Network Maintenance Contract for previous financial years is provided in the following table.

Unit	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23
North East			£440,650
North West			£1,351,727
South East	£314,571	£745,003	£585,680
South West	£472,008	£570,657	£777,523

Question reference: S6W-23472

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 12 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-21458 by Michael Matheson on 4 October 2023, how many NHS properties have been physically surveyed as part of the national programme to identify the use of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.

In June 2023, NHS Scotland Assure completed a desktop review of the entire NHS estate which identified 254 health properties that were assessed to have a high or medium likelihood of RAAC. The Scottish Government made a commitment that all 254 priority properties would be subject to an intrusive survey by the end of November and that work is now complete; RAAC has been identified in 32 properties across NHS Scotland. Across NHS Scotland, the approach taken when RAAC is discovered follows the risk-based approach recommended by the Institution of Structural Engineers.

One property, Denburn Health Centre, was permanently vacated in September as a result of risks associated with RAAC. Prior to the identification of RAAC, there was an intention to vacate Denburn Health Centre at the earliest opportunity, so disruption was minimal and all services have now transferred to Carden Place which has much improved facilities. RAAC was also identified in one plant room in the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh where an initial review on the area did not highlight any structural concerns and although some repair work is required, the structural engineer confirmed the area is structurally sound. For the remaining 30 NHS properties identified with RAAC, there is no immediate disruption or concern, though additional monitoring and management of the situation is required in all cases.

Since the commencement of the survey programme, a better and wider understanding of the incidences of RAAC and a general raising of awareness has resulted in several NHS Boards approaching NHS Scotland Assure with additional properties to add to the desktop triage process. We expect somewhere in the region of 150 additional buildings will require a survey along with the 148 properties which were originally identified as having a low likelihood of RAAC.

The survey programme is now continuing with the additional properties identified as having a high or medium likelihood of RAAC followed by all properties identified in the desktop review with a Low likelihood of RAAC.

As of 7 December 2023 a total of 281 properties have been surveyed.

Details of the survey programme are available on NHS Scotland Assure’s website which also contains a link to each NHS Boards RAAC webpage for current information about progress of the survey programme:

https://www.nss.nhs.scot/publications/reinforced-autoclaved-aerated-concrete-raac-discovery-survey-programme-list-of-properties/

Question reference: S6W-23578

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 11 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-19273 by Angela Constance on 14 July 2023, how many mobile phones have been confiscated from prisoners in HMP and YOI Grampian in each month since the scheme was first introduced on the prison estate.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

Introduced on 1 July 2020 during the COVID-19 global pandemic, restricted prison issue mobile phones provided those in our care with the ability to maintain contact with family and friends during an extremely difficult and challenging period.

SPS purchased 15,317 mobile phone handsets before the provision was withdrawn on 31 July 2023.

The following table provides the number of SPS issued mobile phone handsets that were confiscated at HMP & YOI Grampian, each month, from when mobile phones were introduced on 1 July 2020 to when the provision was withdrawn on 31 July 2023:

Month	Number Confiscated
2020
July	4
August	27
September	30
October	33
November	38
December	21

2021
January	5
February	14
March	10
April	14
May	23
June	16
July	18
August	27
September	14
October	14
November	32
December	3

2022
January	14
February	11
March	15
April	19
May	21
June	22
July	32
August	20
September	19
October	20
November	28
December	25

2023
January	30
February	27
March	27
April	30
May	10
June	21
July	29

Question reference: S6W-22993

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Emma Roddick on 24 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether any research has been undertaken into the possible reasons for fertility rates in Scottish cities being "substantially lower than cities in England and Wales with comparable age and student profiles", as highlighted in its publication, A Scotland for the future: opportunities and challenges of Scotland's changing population.

In November 2022, we published the report ‘Attitudes to family formation in Scotland’ . The purpose of this study was to update the evidence base with regards to attitudes to family formation and ideal family size, to formulate a current and more nuanced picture with regards to fertility in Scotland. The Ministerial Population Taskforce is currently considering next steps for this strand of work, including comparing this position to other countries, in both urban and rural areas.

Question reference: S6W-22994

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Emma Roddick on 24 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the actions outlined in its publication, A Scotland for the future: opportunities and challenges of Scotland's changing population.

Since publication, the Ministerial Population Taskforce has taken forward a range of priority commitments from the Population Strategy, including the forthcoming Addressing Depopulation Action Plan, Talent Attraction and Migration Service, updating the evidence base on attitudes to family formation, and building new links across government and between stakeholders about issues relating to population and demography.

The Strategy continues to guide our approach to population across Scottish Government, and the purpose of the Taskforce is to drive cross-government delivery from the range of portfolios relevant to the Strategy actions. Minutes from Taskforce meetings, detailing work undertaken, are publicly available on the Scottish Government website.

Question reference: S6W-22914

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 22 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when the additional £12 million of funding for the expansion of the Hospital at Home service will be made available to NHS boards.

Question reference: S6W-22915

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 21 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking with NHS 24 to ensure that the Breathing Space webchat channel provides a reliable service for users, in light of reports of repeated incidents of the channel crashing and being offline for repairs.

Breathing Space is operated by NHS24 to provide free and confidential support for people experiencing low mood, depression and anxiety. The phone line operates between 6pm-2am on weekday evenings and from 6pm Friday to 6am Monday. The web chat is available Monday to Friday from 6pm to 2am and on Saturday and Sunday from 4pm to 12 midnight. Around 9,500 people are supported by Breathing Space each month, which is typically split between around 95% accessing the helpline and 5% using the web chat function.

The technical issues affecting the Breathing Space web chat function over the last few weeks have now been fully resolved, and NHS24 has assured Scottish Government that if has robust monitoring plans in place to ensure any future issues are identified, and resolved, quickly.

During the period of disruption to the web chat service, the Breathing Space phone lines were unaffected; users were advised via the Breathing Space website that the telephone service remained available. Those with pressing mental health issues also continued to have 24/7 access to the Mental Health Hub through NHS24’s 111 service.

Question reference: S6W-22753

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 21 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the announcement of NHS Scotland's menopause and menstrual health workplace policy, what action it is taking with stakeholders across the (a) public, (b) private and (c) third sector to improve employers' awareness of menopause and menstrual health.

The NHSScotland Menopause and Menstrual Health Policy launched on 31 October 2023. Whilst the policy was written specifically for NHS Scotland, the supporting resources, including line managers guidance and workplace adjustment guidance, are intended for use more widely across a variety of employment sectors and are available on the National Wellbeing Hub which is accessible to the public.

With the publication of the Policy and Supporting Documents having recently taken place, work can now commence on promoting the policy more widely amongst employers across all sectors.

Question reference: S6W-22754

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 21 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the implementation of the delayed discharge and hospital occupancy action plan, in light of reports that the number of patients waiting at least 24 hours in A&E is 200 times higher in 2023 than before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Action Plan reflects on the strong evidence of what we know works and builds on the firm foundations of best practice to reduce delayed discharges and overall hospital occupancy and reasserts the Scottish Government’s commitment to responding to the many challenges that still exist over the coming winter.

On 24-hour delays, while we absolutely need to work to reduce these instances, it is important to emphasize that these figures represent a fraction (0.6%) of all attendances to Emergency Departments in this period. The patients experiencing these waits will, in the main, be those who require admission and are waiting for a bed in a ward. They will have been triaged and seen by a doctor.

Question reference: S6T-01635

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 November 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of it being three weeks since Storm Babet, whether it will provide an update on the support that it is making available to the affected communities in Angus, Aberdeenshire and Dundee.

Chamber and committees