Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S6W-09600

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 26 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-02448 by Maree Todd on 21 September 2021, whether it will provide an update on how many newborn screenings have taken place in each month since the start of 2019.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the newborn hearing test and newborn infant physical examination. These would need to be requested from health boards directly.

Further to the answer to question S6W-02448 which provided information on the number of babies screened using the bloodspot test in the newborn screening programme for each month between January 2019 and July 2021. 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 . The following table provides information on the number of babies screened using the bloodspot test in the newborn screening programme, for each month in the period that followed from August 2021 to June 2022:

Year and Month	Number of babies screened
2021
August	4583
September	4779
October	4264
November	4647
December	4229
2022
January	3962
February	3721
March	4422
April	3993
May	4265
June	4319

However, it is important to note that the Scottish Government does not routinely publish this information as it is only held as management information and is not subject to the standard quality control checks required for official publication. During the acute phase of COVID-19 management, the information was provided in light of the increased interest in screening performance.

Question reference: S6W-09597

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 26 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-02449 by Maree Todd on 21 September 2021, whether it will provide an update on how many abdominal aortic aneurysm screenings have taken place in each month since the start of 2019.

Further to the answer to question S6W-02449 which provided information on the number of people who attended an abdominal aortic aneurysm screening appointment between January 2019 and July 2021. 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 The following table provides information on the number of people who attended an abdominal aortic aneurysm screening in each of the months that followed from August 2021 to June 2022.

Year	Month	Number of people screened
2021	August	2785
	September	2796
	October	2873
	November	3192
	December	2497
2022	January	2487
	February	2521
	March	3027
	April	2707
	May	3348
	June	3024

However, it is important to note that the Scottish Government does not routinely publish this information as it is only held as management data, and is not subject to the standard quality control checks required for official publication. During the acute phase of COVID-19 management, the data was provided in light of the increased interest in screening performance. However, a report is produced annually providing fully checked information and statistics for each of the national screening programmes, and I now refer to the most recently published report which can be found here:

https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/scottish-abdominal-aortic-aneurysm-aaa-screening-programme-statistics/scottish-abdominal-aortic-aneurysm-aaa-screening-programme-statistics-year-ending-31-march-2021/.

Question reference: S6W-09608

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 25 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-02344 by Humza Yousaf on 30 September 2021, whether it will provide an update on how many calls to the Scottish Ambulance Service have been responded to (a) within (i) under 10, (ii) 10 to 29, (iii) 30 to 59 and (iv) 60 to 120 and (b) after over 120 minutes in each calendar year since 2007, also broken down by NHS board area.

Question reference: S6W-09603

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 25 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-03190 by Humza Yousaf on 18 October 2021, whether it will provide an update on how many additional GPs (a) have subsequently been recruited each year and (b) it expects to recruit in each of the next six years.

We remain committed to increasing the number of GPs working in Scotland by at least 800 by 2027. We have taken a number of actions, including launching our GP recruitment marketing campaign last month, increasing the number of medical places at universities, and taking steps to encourage medical graduates to choose general practice. To that end, between 2015-16 and 2021-22 the Scottish Government will have increased the annual intake of medical places in Scottish universities from 848 to 1117 (269 places, a 32% increase). The majority of these new places are focused on general practice.

By increasing the amount of undergraduate curriculum that is delivered in general practice to 25%. We are confident increased exposure to general practice will encourage more students to train as GPs. With an increase of 89 GPs in 2019-20 we are now confident we are starting to see the positive impact of these actions.

Number of GPs working in Scotland since 2017

	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
All GPs	4,918	4,987	5,044	5,121	5195

Question reference: S6W-09596

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 20 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-00243 by Kevin Stewart on 4 June 2021, whether it will provide an update on how many suicides have been recorded in each year since 2007.

The total number of deaths by suicide recorded by National Records of Scotland (NRS) from 2007 to 2020 are detailed in the following table. Finalised statistics for deaths by suicide in 2021 are not yet available. NRS plan to publish these on 2 August 2022.

Year of registration	Suicides registered ‎ in Scotland ‎ (old coding rules)	Suicides registered ‎ in Scotland ‎ (new coding rules)
2007	838	-
2008	843	-
2009	746	-
2010	781	-
2011	772	889
2012	762	830
2013	746	795
2014	659	696
2015	656	672
2016	697	728
2017	664	680
2018	753	784
2019	819	833
2020	802	805

For completeness, these statistics show suicide deaths registered under old and new coding rules. NRS changed their coding rules in 2011 for certain causes of death to take account of changes made by the World Health Organisation. Some deaths previously coded under 'mental and behavioural disorders' are now classed as 'self-poisoning of undetermined intent' and consequently are classified as suicide deaths.

Question reference: S6W-09594

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 19 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-00750 by Shona Robison on 29 June 2021, whether it will provide an update on how many empty (a) private and (b) public sector residential properties there have been in each local authority area in the South Scotland parliamentary region, in each year since 2007.

Question reference: S6W-09591

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 19 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what support it has provided to East Lothian Council to assist with the redevelopment of the former Cockenzie Power Station site.

The site is identified as a national development in the current National Planning Framework 3 (2014). The draft National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) (November 2021) does not propose a national development designation for Cockenzie, however its spatial strategy notes that there are existing assets and infrastructure at coastal former baseload power generation sites that can be repurposed to form the basis of new proposals. At Cockenzie it identifies ongoing work to develop the Climate Evolution Zone.

The comments received through the Parliamentary scrutiny and public consultation processes are being analysed prior to laying a revised NPF4 in the Scottish Parliament in the autumn.

Question reference: S6W-09593

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 19 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-00751 by Tom Arthur on 5 July 2021, whether it will provide an update on how many empty commercial properties there have been in each local authority area in the South Scotland parliamentary region, in each year since 2007.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of empty commercial properties. Data is collected on properties eligible for and claiming non-domestic rates reliefs, including reliefs or exemptions for unoccupied properties, on specific snapshot dates.

The following table shows the number of properties receiving a non-domestic rates relief or exemption from rates for unoccupied properties since 2011. Data for years before 2011, as well as for 2014 and 2017, is not available. The figures are as at the snapshot date and may therefore underestimate final numbers of recipients in a given year, and include entire local authority areas as data by parliamentary region is not held.

Data for 2022 is expected to become available in late 2022.

Local Authority	2011	2012	2013	2015	2016	2018	2019	2020	2021
Dumfries & Galloway	400	590	590	560	520	540	490	460	460
East Ayrshire	400	450	440	290	330	190	190	160	160
East Lothian *	290	270	230	230	210	260	260	280	250
Midlothian *	140	260	260	190	190	140	200	120	140
Scottish Borders	650	640	580	560	570	530	510	460	450
South Ayrshire	480	480	430	420	410	350	290	280	320
South Lanarkshire *	1,100	1,070	900	850	600	300	250	10	130

Data: Billing System Snapshots provided to the Scottish Government by local authorities. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.

* Some parts of these local authorities are not in the South Scotland parliamentary region.

"Properties" refers to subjects listed as separate entries in the Valuation Roll, and includes shops, offices, warehouses, but also self-catering properties, properties that do not necessarily contain buildings, etc. Figures exclude properties for which the rateable value is zero.

Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.

Reliefs and exemptions for empty properties are typically cancelled by local authorities at the beginning of each financial year, with ratepayers required to reapply. Therefore these figures are likely to underestimate the full number of unoccupied properties as at the snapshot dates.

The snapshot dates are: 31 March 2011, 17 May 2012, 1 October 2013, 1 October 2015, 5 October 2016, 1 June 2018, 31 May 2019, 1 July 2020, and 1 June 2021.

Question reference: S6W-09590

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 19 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with East Lothian Council regarding the redevelopment of the former Cockenzie Power Station site.

Question reference: S6W-09595

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 19 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-00749 by Shona Robison on 29 June 2021, whether it will provide an update on how many homes in each local authority area in the South Scotland parliamentary region have been returned to use with support from the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership, in each year since 2007.

Year	Number of homes brought back into use
2011-12	4
2012-13	76
2013-14	278
2014-15	560
2015-16	697
2016-17	859
2017-18	742
2018-19	1,128
2019-20	1,412
2020-21	851
2021-22	1,152
Total	7,759