- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 04 March 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 14 March 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to increase digital access for adults aged 60 and over, in light of the 2022 Scottish Household Survey finding that 44% of disabled adults and 19% of non-disabled adults aged 60 and over do not use the internet.
Answer
The Scottish Government is keenly aware of the importance of increasing digital access for all people in Scotland. Through programmes such as Connecting Scotland, the Scottish Government is taking action to improve digital access for multiple priority groups, including older people and people who are living with a long-term illness or disability.
In August 2023, the Connecting Scotland programme launched two projects to provide kit and connectivity through Device Libraries and Social Housing organisations. Over £204,000 was awarded across both projects to a range of organisations across Scotland. This funding is helping Device Libraries to expand their range of devices, to extend the number of devices available for loan and to replace devices that are coming to the end of their lives. The funding is also supporting Social Housing providers to support connectivity infrastructure projects that benefit their residents, as our research has shown that Social Housing tenants are a group particularly impacted by digital exclusion.
Social tariffs can additionally provide the means for people in need of digital access to get online by providing reduced broadband tariff rates. Connecting Scotland is working with Ofcom to improve information about social tariffs for people in Scotland. In April 2023, based on dialogue with officials, Ofcom updated their webpage to show which tariffs are available to which regions of the UK. Officials will continue dialogue with Ofcom to ensure that social tariffs are widely understood as a potential option for older people and people living with long-term illness or disability to get online.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 March 2024
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 21 March 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what support it can provide to any local authorities that are struggling to meet the rising costs associated with providing school transport, so that children and young people can travel to school in a safe, efficient and affordable manner.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 21 March 2024
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 February 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 13 March 2024
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the processing time for major planning applications in Q1 and Q2 of 2023-24 was 62.1 weeks, in light of the statutory timeframe being 16 weeks.
Answer
There can be many reasons for delays in determining applications including requests for and submission of additional information, delays with responses from statutory consultees and the requirement for a legal agreement. The specific reasons for the time taken to determine individual major planning applications would be held by the individual planning authority making the determination.
The average timescale for all major applications determined without a processing agreement was 35.2 weeks in Q1 and Q2 of 2023-24. Due to the low number of applications involved, average determination timescales are volatile and can be affected by one or two lengthy cases. In the same period, 23 of the 57 major applications not subject to processing agreements were determined within the statutory timescale, and 46 of those 57 major applications determined within the same period were determined in a time faster than the national average.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 February 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 12 March 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to announce or propose any further Council Tax freezes during the current parliamentary session, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.
Answer
The Council Tax Freeze that was announced by the First Minister, and accepted by almost all Councils, relates only to the 2024-25 financial year. It will provide certainty to households during a time of economic uncertainty and rising prices.
The funding provided in 2024-25 for the purposes of freezing Council Tax will be baselined into the General Revenue Grant in future years for those councils which freeze their Council Tax.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 February 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 12 March 2024
To ask the Scottish Government when the (a) First Minister and (b) Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills plans to read the recent Educational Institute for Scotland (EIS) report on violence in schools, in light of it highlighting an EIS survey of nearly 800 members in Aberdeen, which found that 42% of respondents reported violent pupil behaviour in school every day, 37% said they had been physically assaulted by a pupil, over 50% felt their school did not have clear strategies to prevent violence and 60% of teachers in Aberdeen were considering leaving the profession.
Answer
The Scottish Government received a copy of the EIS report on violence in schools in Aberdeen on 26 February 2024. The First Minister and myself have both read the report.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 February 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 12 March 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with local authorities regarding their obligations under section 42 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 in the last 12 months.
Answer
The statutory minimum walking distances set out in legislation are a long-standing feature of our education system and there are no plans to change them. The Scottish Government published guidance for local authorities regarding home to school transport in 2021.
The Scottish Government regularly engages with representative bodies for local government on education related matters. However, no requests have been made to discuss local authorities’ obligations under section 42 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 in the last 12 months. The provision of home to school transport is responsibility of local authorities and decisions about changes to eligibility for free school transport are for local authorities to make, subject to the applicable statutory requirements.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 February 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 11 March 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how many age-appropriate inpatient mental health beds for children and young people each NHS board currently has.
Answer
There are currently 54 Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) inpatient beds across Scotland for children and adolescents.
Forty eight of these beds are commissioned on a regional basis. These are split across:
- North of Scotland Region - Dudhope Young People’s Inpatient Unit - 12 beds;
- South and East Region - Melville Young People’s Mental Health Unit - 12 beds;
- West Region Skye House Adolescent Inpatient Unit - 24 beds.
These units admit children and young people from Health Boards in that region, with the flexibility to admit from other regions if the unit closest to a child or young person is full.
Additionally, the National Child Psychiatry Inpatient Unit in the Glasgow Royal Hospital for Children has 6 beds for children under 12 years and admits children from across Scotland, based on clinical need. This includes one to two national beds for children with profound learning disabilities and mental health disorders.
The National Adolescent Secure Inpatient Unit, Foxgrove, is due to open later in 2024 and initially will provide 4 beds for young people who require care in an inpatient setting with medium levels of security.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 February 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 11 March 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the funding that it provides to bus companies to subsidise the Young Persons’ (Under 22s) Free Bus Travel Scheme, for what reason local authorities are reportedly unable to access this, or similar, funding to meet school transport costs, and whether it will consider allowing local authorities to access such funding to meet these costs.
Answer
The National Bus Travel Concession Scheme for Young Persons provides free travel on local registered bus services and long distance bus services throughout Scotland. Dedicated school transport services do not fall within the definition of eligible services set out in the legislation as they are generally not registered as local bus services or available to members of the public. Local authorities receive funding via the local government block grant to enable them to meet their statutory obligations, including the provision of home to school transport.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 February 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 11 March 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how it is measuring success in its performance against key success metrics in relation to its total budget spend for the (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23 financial year.
Answer
The Consolidated Accounts are published annually and include a Performance Report which includes a Performance Overview and Performance Analysis, with high level financial information split by portfolio. The Consolidated Accounts for the years noted can be found at the following links:
The Scottish Government Consolidated Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2022 (www.gov.scot)
The Scottish Government Consolidated Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2023 (www.gov.scot)
I receive regular performance delivery updates on the three Policy Prospectus missions of equality, opportunity and community. I also engage regularly with Cabinet Secretaries to support strong collaboration across portfolios and budgets and enable effective delivery of Mandate Letter commitments. These arrangements are routinely reviewed and improved where appropriate.
The statutory review of the National Performance Framework National Outcomes is underway and reporting on progress towards the National Outcomes will continue to be delivered via the NPF website nationalperformance.gov.scot
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 29 February 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 11 March 2024
To ask the Scottish Government who can legally decide whether a dog is an XL Bully-type dog, in the event that an owner, a local authority, the police or a court needs to determine whether a dog is of this type, and what training has been provided to allow the decision-maker(s) to make this determination.
Answer
The confirmation standard developed by the UK Government is being used to ensure consistency of approach in Scotland. The details of the confirmation standard are available on the Mygov.scot website: https://www.mygov.scot/xl-bully-dogs
In the first instance, it will be for owners to assess if they own an XL Bully dog. If in doubt, we recommend a precautionary approach by adhering to the new requirements to avoid any possibility of breaching the new legal requirements
The Scottish Government is continuing to engage with Police Scotland, local authorities and animal welfare organisations in relation to the new safeguards and this includes in relation to how XL Bully dogs can be identified.
Where a potential breach of the new legal requirements is prosecuted in court, it will be for the court to determine whether an offence has been committed and that may, in certain circumstances, require evidence relating to whether a dog is in fact an XL Bully dog. While a matter for the independent court, they will use the confirmation standard and may wish to hear as needed expert evidence on the question of identification of a dog as an XL Bully dog in a given case.
