- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 January 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 27 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will list the 37 schools that have been identified as having reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) present in their buildings.
Answer
It is important that there is transparency around the schools where RAAC has been identified and the mitigations in place, and a list of the initial local authorities with confirmed cases of RAAC was published in a Scottish Government news release on 8 th September 2023. This news release is available here - Local authorities publish RAAC data - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
However, it is the statutory responsibility of local authorities to manage and maintain their school estate, and all schools with RAAC should be available on relevant local authority websites.
We are currently aware that RAAC has been identified in 39 schools - including 4 ELC settings within primary schools - and 1 standalone ELC setting, across 18 local authorities. All 32 local authorities have completed assessments of their school estate.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 January 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 27 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will list the six colleges that have been identified as having reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) present in their buildings.
Answer
Seven colleges have confirmed the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete in their buildings. These are:
- UHI Moray College
- Borders College
- Dundee & Angus College
- Edinburgh College
- Fife College
- Glasgow Clyde College
- West College Scotland
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 26 February 2024
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 29 February 2024
To ask the First Minister when the Cabinet will next meet.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 29 February 2024
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 09 February 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 22 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when the report of the Fair Fares Review will be published.
Answer
The review has now reported its findings, recommendations, and proposed actions. I am carefully considering these, particularly in the context of the Scottish budget set out on 19 December, ahead of publication in the coming weeks.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 February 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 20 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the minutes of the meeting of the Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) Cross Sector Working Group on 11 October 2023, which hospital has RAAC present and also has some water ingress.
Answer
The building referred to on 11 October 2023 Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) Cross Sector Working Group minutes was the Ward 1 Plant Room at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh.
The Plant room was surveyed on Friday 22 September 2023 . The surveying Engineer noted that there was no immediate concern of structural collapse and made recommendations. Immediate remedial action was taken to ensure the area was safe. There is no immediate risk to patients, staff, or visitors.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 February 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 19 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the minutes of the meeting of the Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) Cross Sector Working Group on 11 October 2023, which four public bodies have confirmed that there is RAAC present in their buildings.
Answer
The Public Bodies referenced in the minutes of 11 October in respect of the presence of RAAC were NHS Lanarkshire, the Scottish Police Authority, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and SportScotland.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 January 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 13 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has (a) carried out any research into and (b) undertaken any other work exploring any impact that the presence of fire can have on reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) panels and beams.
Answer
The Scottish Government has not carried out or commissioned research into the impact that the presence of fire can have on reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC). However, the Scottish Government works directly with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS), is in close contact with the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) and officials liaise with UK Government colleagues as the issue around fire safety and RAAC is explored.
The condition of RAAC and any risk of weakness or collapse is clearly of critical concern to firefighters. Where RAAC is identified through SFRS Operational Intelligence information gathering or a Fire Safety Enforcement audit, SFRS staff will record information regarding any affected buildings. This allows SFRS to develop a tactical plan to protect firefighters and minimise risk to the wider public in the event of any emergency incident, including those with premises containing RAAC.
More generally, the Scottish Government engages with various academic and building industry organisations which are themselves involved in research work, including through meetings of the Cross Sector Working Group, and would promote awareness of the findings of RAAC related research as and when appropriate.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 January 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 6 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how many mental health first aiders (a) have been trained in each of the last five years and (b) are currently being trained; how many people are currently employed to train mental health first aiders, and how much money it (i) has spent in each of the last five years and (ii) is currently spending on training mental health first aiders.
Answer
The following table shows the number of participants undertaking Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training over the last 5 years, including numbers to date in 2024, based on the latest available data, as well as the total number of MHFA trainers (active and inactive) since 2020 to date.
1 April –
31 March | Number of people who have participated in the SMHFA programme | Number of trainers (active and inactive)* | Number of active Trainers |
2019-2020 | 7906 | Data not available** | 176 |
2020-2021 | 443 | 290 | 167 |
2021-2022 | 828*** | 290 | 167 |
2022-2023 | 5133 | 324 | 201 (34 new trainers) |
2023-2024 | 4604**** | 324 | 201 |
TABLE NOTES :-
*total number of trainers who have completed the programme to become a trainer. Active trainers have completed the required number of training sessions in each year and have completed General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requirements. Inactive trainers might not have delivered the required training sessions or completed GDPR compliance
**work was undertaken during period to review all trainer accounts
***programme restarted course in November 2021 following a programme break due to COVID
**** up to January 2024
The following table shows the total spend on MHFA over the last 5 complete financial year.
This includes spend which is allocated by the Scottish Government to Public Health Scotland for this purpose and does not cover any training fees charged to participants by independent trainers to deliver the MHFA programme. Actual spend data is not available yet for the whole of financial year 2023-24, so an estimated figure is provided.
Financial Year | Amount |
2023-2024 | £43526 (estimated) |
2022-2023 | £42014 |
2021-2022 | £59740 |
2020-2021 | £28350 |
2019-2020 | £49000 |
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 January 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 6 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) original estimated (i) cost and (ii) opening date was and (b) current estimated (A) cost and (B) opening date is for each National Treatment Centre.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-24710 on 5 February 2024. 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: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 January 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 5 February 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to free earwax removal services provided through NHS Scotland, how many people have accessed these services in each of the last five years; whether there are any plans to withdraw these services, and whether there are any NHS boards that do not currently offer these services.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold information on how many people have accessed earwax removal services. Health Boards are responsible for the delivery of primary medical services in their areas.
Formerly most ear wax management procedures were carried out in GP practices. The new GP contract, introduced in 2018, committed Health Boards to set up Community Treatment and Care (CTAC) services to shift workload away from GP practices to NHS Board employed staff so that GP practices could focus on what only they can do. The Scottish Government has confirmed to Health Boards that CTAC services should cover ear wax management generally.
We are supporting the development of CTAC services through the Primary Care Improvement Fund (£190 million in 2023-24).
We are now also introducing an additional ‘phased investment programme’ working with a small number of areas to demonstrate what model CTAC and other related services can look like in practice. The findings from this programme will build understanding of the national context for further implementation and inform future long-term Scottish Government investment.
