- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 September 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 15 September 2015
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it is carrying out of sickness absence rates in the public sector and what action is being taken as a result.
Answer
The Scottish Government holds and analyses sickness absence figures for staff in core Scottish Government directorates and some associated agencies, and has arrangements in place to monitor sickness absence levels closely. This ensures that appropriate action can be taken to help reduce the overall absence rates and to support individual members of staff during periods of ill-health. We also provide regular sick absence information to the Cabinet Office, who collate the results and publish sickness absence figures for the whole of the UK Civil Service:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/355941/CS_Website_Absence_update_September_2014.pdf
National Health Service Scotland
Sickness absences rates for the NHS Boards, including the Scottish Ambulance Services can be found on:
http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Workforce/Publications/data-tables.asp?id=1059
Our staff are at the heart of our NHS. The welfare of NHS staff is critically important with every health board required to have policies in place and to comply with national policies on managing health at work. The Staff Governance Standard for NHS Scotland commits all Boards to providing a continuously improving and safe working environment promoting the health and wellbeing of staff, patients and the wider community. Through our monitoring arrangements, we are ensuring that Boards have policies and actions in place to support staff. We are updating the Managing Health at Work Partnership Information Network policy that will be researched and prepared on a partnership basis involving NHSScotland employers, trade unions, professional organisations and The Scottish Government.
For information about sickness absence in other parts of the public sector, please see response to S4W-27292 on 10 September 2015. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 September 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 10 September 2015
To ask the Scottish Government what the sickness absence rate is for (a) Police Scotland, (b) the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, (c) the Scottish Ambulance Service, (d) the NHS, (e) the college sector, (f) local authorities, and (g) the Scottish civil service in each of the last seven years, expressed as a percentage.
Answer
In response to (a) the recording and management of sickness absence for police officers and staff is a matter for the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) and Police Scotland. Sickness absence is reported to the SPA board regularly, with papers published on the SPA website.
In response to (b) sickness absences rates for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is not held centrally or available publicly.
In response to (c) and (d) sickness absences rates for the NHS boards, including the Scottish Ambulance Services can be found on http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Workforce/Publications/data-tables.asp?id=1059
In response to (e) and (f) sickness absence rates for the college sector and local authorities are not held centrally.
In response to (g) the Scottish Government holds sickness absence figures for staff in core Scottish Government directorates and some of the associated agencies.
Sick absence rates for the core Scottish Government for the last seven years are as follows:
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Year
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Sick absence rate
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2008-09
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3.8%
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2009-10
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3.4%
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2010-11
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3.0%
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2011-12
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2.8%
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2012-13
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3.1%
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2013-14
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2.9%
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2014-15
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3.2%
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- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 September 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 9 September 2015
To ask the Scottish Government how many community mental health teams are operating in each NHS board and how many people are supported by these teams, broken down by NHS board area.
Answer
The information is not held centrally. NHS Boards are responsible for working with their partners to provide care, services and support which meet the assessed needs of people living with a mental illness across Scotland, in line with their statutory obligations and Scottish Government policy. An additional £85 million funding for mental health was announced on 24 May 2015. This follows the £15 million over three years announced in November 2014 for the Mental Health Innovation Fund providing £100 million in total. This funding will be invested in improving mental health services.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 September 2015
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 9 September 2015
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Economy has had with Moray Council and Elgin High School Parent Council regarding delays to the replacement of Elgin High School.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 9 September 2015
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 August 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 2 September 2015
To ask the Scottish Government what advice and support it provides to local authorities and private landlords regarding unauthorised Gypsy/Traveller sites.
Answer
The Scottish Government published guidelines for managing unauthorised camping in 2004. These have been reviewed in the past, and we have begun a further review which will involve the Police, local authorities, Gypsy/Travellers, and others.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 19 June 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 28 July 2015
To ask the Scottish Government when national pay bargaining will be in place for lecturers in further education.
Answer
In recent discussions with stakeholders, Ministers have again made clear their commitment to national bargaining. Employers and staff representatives have made good progress in putting in place the necessary structures and processes for national bargaining. I understand that these arrangements will be up and running soon.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 19 June 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 28 July 2015
To ask the Scottish Government what is being done to promote training for postgraduate qualifications relating to visual impairments, including in Braille.
Answer
In Scotland, the responsibility for ensuring that teachers are appropriately trained under the Requirements for Teachers (Scotland) Regulations 2005, rests with education authorities.
To support this, the Scottish Government funds the Scottish Sensory Centre to provide high-quality continuous professional learning and development. The Scottish Government provide the Scottish Sensory Centre with a grant (£150,000 for 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17) to support teachers of deaf, visually impaired and deaf-blind pupils.
The University of Edinburgh delivers a postgraduate programme in 'Additional Support for Learning (Visual Impairment)' aimed at the professional development of teachers working with children and young people who have a visual impairment.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 19 June 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 28 July 2015
To ask the Scottish Government whether all further education lecturers will be paid an equal salary for equal responsibilities, regardless of where they work.
Answer
Ministers remain firmly committed to the introduction of national bargaining. I am encouraged by progress towards harmonisation at a regional level, following the recent programme of mergers. Additionally, employers and staff representatives are putting in place the necessary structures and processes for national bargaining. I understand that these arrangements will be up and running soon.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 19 June 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by Fergus Ewing on 20 July 2015
To ask the Scottish Government how it can ensure that all habitat management plans for energy developments include all protected (a) species and (b) sites.
Answer
Scottish Ministers have responsibility under the Electricity Act 1989 for electricity generation stations that are greater than 50MW, including wind farms of that scale, and those applications that are less than 50MW are determined by planning authorities.
There is a range of statutory powers, consenting controls, management tools, procedures and guidance that are used to ensure that wind farm developments have no adverse effects on protected species or sites.
Habitat management plans (HMPs) are one such management tool and Scottish Natural Heritage has published guidance on what to consider and include. Not all HMPs have to refer to protected species and sites, unless there is a specific reason to do so. In general, effects on protected species and sites will be picked up in the planning process and dealt with through mitigation. HMPs are then used to address any remaining issues, or to secure habitat enhancement, and it is not always necessary for them to cover all species/protected sites.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 19 June 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by Aileen McLeod on 15 July 2015
To ask the Scottish Government who is responsible for silt mitigation in relation to freshwater pearl mussel beds during the development of energy projects and how the process is funded.
Answer
Managing the potential environmental impacts of energy or other projects is the responsibility of the individual developer who will be required to ensure that appropriate mitigation measures are undertaken.
