- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 3 July 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what monitoring is in place to ensure consistency and quality in school-based counselling services across local authority areas.
Answer
Our national guidance for local authorities sets out expectations for monitoring and reviewing the service. The guidance also makes clear that the operation of the counselling service within the school should be reviewed annually and any necessary improvements made.
The Scottish Government facilitates a quarterly Counsellors Network to provide a forum for local authority representatives co-ordinating the school counselling service to discuss practice and delivery.
Local authorities also provide annual reports to the Scottish Government on counselling services. These returns provide national oversight and inform ongoing engagement with local authorities. A summary of these reports can be accessed here: Access to counsellors in secondary schools and children and young people’s community mental health services – summary reports - gov.scot.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 3 July 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to extend access to counselling provision in primary schools, building on its existing commitment to secondary school counselling.
Answer
School counselling services are available to all pupils aged 10 and over, including primary and special school pupils.
The Scottish Government engaged with professional counselling bodies prior to establishing counselling services who advised that therapeutic counselling is not appropriate for younger pupils.
Counselling is just one of a range of mental health supports available for children and young people.
We are also providing local authorities with £15 million per annum to fund community-based mental health and wellbeing supports for children, young people and their families, which includes younger primary-school-aged children.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 3 July 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will explore the introduction of mobile or hybrid counselling models in any under-served areas.
Answer
It is for local authorities to determine how they deliver the counselling service in their area.
The school counselling aims and principles, agreed jointly with COSLA, set out that counselling services should be accessible, utilising technology, virtual approaches and delivery in non-educational settings where that best meets children and young people’s needs and interests, including, for example, in rural and island communities.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 3 July 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish data on the (a) frequency, (b) type and (c) availability of counselling provision in schools in the last five years, broken down by local authority area, including rural and island areas.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold this information. Local authorities may hold this information.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 26 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many weapons have been seized and recorded as being carried by pupils in schools in each year since 1999.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-33307 on 28 January 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
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 26 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to identify any errors in reports on chronic pain that it has commissioned and supervised, in light of reports that one such report did not make it clear that it was based on accounts of commercially recruited people who were paid £200 each to participate, and that, when these people were interviewed, they were not asked whether their condition had been diagnosed by a health professional.
Answer
The Scottish Government takes the accuracy of its commissioned reports seriously and aims to ensure that work carried out on its behalf is appropriate.
The report referenced was produced by an independent research organisation using established qualitative research methods. Participants were recruited and offered reimbursement for their time, which is standard practice in lived experience research.
The research intended to explore experiences of people living with chronic pain rather than to verify clinical diagnosis. As such, participants were not asked to provide a confirmation of diagnosis.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 25 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent on counsellors in schools in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority.
Answer
The mental health and wellbeing of children and young people is an absolute priority for the Scottish Government. Since 2021, we have continued to support our local authority partners with £16 million in funding to ensure that all school pupils aged 10 and above and all secondary schools in Scotland have access to school counselling services.
Funding for school counselling services was established in the 2019-20 financial year and therefore the table below outlines the distribution and allocation of funding since 2019-20. The funding for the years 2019–20 to 2022–23 was ring-fenced for the provision of counselling services. From 2023–24 onwards, this funding has been baselined in the overall local government settlement.
The following figures represent funding provided to local authorities for the provision of counselling services. The Scottish Government does not hold information on how much has been spent on counsellors in schools as local authorities are responsible for the delivery of education. Local authorities may hold this information.
Funding distribution and allocations - Scottish Government funding for delivering access to counsellors in schools
Local Authority | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 |
| | | | | | | | |
Aberdeen City | 350,000 | 466,000 | 466,000 | 466,000 | 466,000 | 466,000 | 466,000 |
Aberdeenshire | 574,000 | 774,000 | 774,000 | 774,000 | 774,000 | 774,000 | 774,000 |
Angus | 264,000 | 346,000 | 346,000 | 346,000 | 346,000 | 346,000 | 346,000 |
Argyll and Bute | 286,000 | 377,000 | 377,000 | 377,000 | 377,000 | 377,000 | 377,000 |
Clackmannanshire | 131,000 | 164,000 | 164,000 | 164,000 | 164,000 | 164,000 | 164,000 |
Dumfries and Galloway | 385,000 | 514,000 | 514,000 | 514,000 | 514,000 | 514,000 | 514,000 |
Dundee City | 299,000 | 395,000 | 395,000 | 395,000 | 395,000 | 395,000 | 395,000 |
East Ayrshire | 287,000 | 378,000 | 378,000 | 378,000 | 378,000 | 378,000 | 378,000 |
East Dunbartonshire | 308,000 | 407,000 | 407,000 | 407,000 | 407,000 | 407,000 | 407,000 |
East Lothian | 242,000 | 317,000 | 317,000 | 317,000 | 317,000 | 317,000 | 317,000 |
East Renfrewshire | 311,000 | 411,000 | 411,000 | 411,000 | 411,000 | 411,000 | 411,000 |
Edinburgh City | 705,000 | 955,000 | 955,000 | 955,000 | 955,000 | 955,000 | 955,000 |
Eilean Siar (Western Isles) | 140,000 | 177,000 | 177,000 | 177,000 | 177,000 | 177,000 | 177,000 |
Falkirk | 352,000 | 468,000 | 468,000 | 468,000 | 468,000 | 468,000 | 468,000 |
Fife | 738,000 | 1,000,000 | 1,000,000 | 1,000,000 | 1,000,000 | 1,000,000 | 1,000,000 |
Glasgow City | 955,000 | 1,300,000 | 1,300,000 | 1,300,000 | 1,300,000 | 1,300,000 | 1,300,000 |
Highland | 754,000 | 1,022,000 | 1,022,000 | 1,022,000 | 1,022,000 | 1,022,000 | 1,022,000 |
Inverclyde | 195,000 | 251,000 | 251,000 | 251,000 | 251,000 | 251,000 | 251,000 |
Midlothian | 220,000 | 286,000 | 286,000 | 286,000 | 286,000 | 286,000 | 286,000 |
Moray | 208,000 | 270,000 | 270,000 | 270,000 | 270,000 | 270,000 | 270,000 |
North Ayrshire | 329,000 | 437,000 | 437,000 | 437,000 | 437,000 | 437,000 | 437,000 |
North Lanarkshire | 765,000 | 1,037,000 | 1,037,000 | 1,037,000 | 1,037,000 | 1,037,000 | 1,037,000 |
Orkney Islands | 146,000 | 185,000 | 185,000 | 185,000 | 185,000 | 185,000 | 185,000 |
Perth and Kinross | 328,000 | 436,000 | 436,000 | 436,000 | 436,000 | 436,000 | 436,000 |
Renfrewshire | 389,000 | 519,000 | 519,000 | 519,000 | 519,000 | 519,000 | 519,000 |
Scottish Borders | 263,000 | 345,000 | 345,000 | 345,000 | 345,000 | 345,000 | 345,000 |
Shetland Islands | 197,000 | 255,000 | 255,000 | 255,000 | 255,000 | 255,000 | 255,000 |
South Ayrshire | 253,000 | 332,000 | 332,000 | 332,000 | 332,000 | 332,000 | 332,000 |
South Lanarkshire | 709,000 | 961,000 | 961,000 | 961,000 | 961,000 | 961,000 | 961,000 |
Stirling | 262,000 | 344,000 | 344,000 | 344,000 | 344,000 | 344,000 | 344,000 |
West Dunbartonshire | 226,000 | 294,000 | 294,000 | 294,000 | 294,000 | 294,000 | 294,000 |
West Lothian | 429,000 | 574,000 | 574,000 | 574,000 | 574,000 | 574,000 | 574,000 |
| | | | | | | | |
SCOTLAND | £12,000,000 | 16,000,000 | £16,000,000 | £16,000,000 | 16,000,000 | £16,000,000 | £16,000,000 |
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 24 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to ensure that palliative care becomes a national priority.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that everyone who needs it can access seamless, timely and high quality palliative care.
That is why later this summer we will publish our new palliative care strategy, Palliative Care Matters for All. The strategy will set out a series of aims and outcomes designed to help to improve palliative care services across Scotland.
The strategy will be accompanied by a delivery plan which will set out how the actions will be delivered through collaboration with a variety of service providers such as Integration Joint Boards, Health Boards, third sector organisations (including independent hospices) and other independent service providers such as care homes.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 24 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many classroom assistants have been employed in schools in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority.
Answer
Information on the number of classroom assistants for the years 2003-2020 was provided in answer to question S6W-01069 on 14 July 2021 which is available on the Scottish Parliament website at: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/questions-and-answers
Data on classroom assistants by sector and local authority is available from 2019 to 2023, here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/school-support-staff-management-information/
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 24 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that blood cancer patients from Scotland's most deprived areas have equal access to CAR T-cell therapies, following the findings in Public Health Scotland's recent report on CAR-T for haematological malignancies from 2020 to 2023.
Answer
The Scottish Government welcomes the finding that eligible patients are increasingly accessing CAR-T therapies.
NHS Board Chief Executives have endorsed a three-centre regional service model for delivering CAR-T therapies across Scotland, in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, NHS Grampian and NHS Lothian, to expand capacity and provide easier access for people requiring this treatment. This service delivery model fully commenced on 1 April 2025.
