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: S5W-24436

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 22 July 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 14 August 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of the role that emerging technologies can play in helping people live independently for longer.

The Scottish Government recognise the benefit of evidence based implementation of technology. For example, in the latest social care statistics published, 132,000 people are already using telecare to manage their health and wellbeing and this continues to grow. Scotland's Digital Health and Care Strategy also identified the need to ensure we monitor the role that emerging technologies can play within health and social care and we will continue to review any developments. There have been a number of commissioned reviews to look at this. These include:

A report into the role of telecare within Scotland - https://sctt.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Telecare-Feasibility-Study-Report-FINAL.pdf

The Scottish Government's partner, The Digital Health and Care Institute (DHI) also undertake a number of studies. These include:

A review of emerging trends in digital health and care - https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/67860/1/Rooney_etal_DHI_2019_Review_of_emerging
_trends_in_digital_health_and_care.pdf
Making technology meaningful in social care - https://futurehealthandwellbeing.org/
making-tech-meaningful-in-social-care/
The Future of Housing – A Guide to the Emerging Market of Smart House Developers - https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/69029/1/Morrison_DHI_2018_Supporting_health_and
_wellbeing_can_smart_housing_help_revolutionise_health_and_carepdf.pdf

The Scottish Government's Technology Enabled Care Programme have also recently commissioned Alzheimer Scotland to look at what every day technologies (mobile phones, voice recognition technology etc) can do to support people to live longer healthier lives at home and we are awaiting the final report from that.

Question reference: S5W-24710

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 August 2019
Current Status: Answer expected on 10 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Scotland's Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriage Helpline Annual Report 2017-2018, how it plans to help women who "feel unsupported and let down during legal proceedings" regarding child contact and residence arrangements.

Question reference: S5W-24414

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 22 July 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 13 August 2019

To ask the Scottish Government further to the answer to question S5W-23871 by Kevin Stewart on 15 July 2019, what immediate action it is taking in response to reports that at least one young person each week goes straight from a care home to homelessness.

Whilst the most recent statistics published in June show a very small reduction in the number of young people leaving care straight into homelessness, there has been a 70% reduction over the last 10 years.

However, we are very clear that no one leaving care should find themselves homeless and preventing homelessness for care leavers is a key focus for the Scottish Government.

As indicated in my response to your question S5W-23872 on 15 July 2019, a working group has been convened, chaired by CELCIS, which is already looking at the actions needed to prevent homelessness for people with experience of care. We expect this group to report in the Autumn.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

Question reference: S5W-24702

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 12 August 2019
Current Status: Answer expected on 9 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Reform Scotland briefing, Closing the early years gap, which states that 50% of children are not guaranteed two years of funded early years education, what action it is taking to remedy this.

Question reference: S5W-24666

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 August 2019
Current Status: Answer expected on 5 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport approved the payment of £11.6 million made by NHS Lothian to Integrated Health Solutions Lothian to facilitate resolution of issues at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People, Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services project; what other options were considered, and who it informed of the existence of the payment following the Scottish Government's approval in August 2018.

Question reference: S5W-24412

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 22 July 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 8 August 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what the average waiting time is for a hysterectomy operation, broken down by NHS board.

Question reference: S5W-24298

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 July 2019
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 7 August 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its news release of 9 July 2019, Barriers to employment in early learning and childcare: EQIA, how many of the 11,000 additional workers required for the sector have so far been recruited through the workforce expansion project.

As set out in the latest Delivery Progress report published by the Improvement Service, 2,173 of the 9,251 full time equivalent additional Local Authority staff had been recruited by 30 April 2019. The report is available at http://www.improvementservice.org.uk/documents/ELC/elc-delivery-progress-report-june-19.pdf

Local authorities continue to refine their plans for the Early Learning and Childcare expansion and data updating forecasts about the number of additional Local Authority staff required, will be collected in September 2019. It is expected that this will change the forecast number of additional Local Authority staff required to deliver the expansion.

Question reference: S5W-24478

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 July 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 7 August 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-24217 by Kevin Stewart on 15 July 2019, whether it will provide a breakdown of the number of social rent homes that have (a) been completed and (b) started construction by local authority area.

Our published annual Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) Outturn Reports include tables showing a breakdown of approvals, site starts and completions by local authority area. Please see links to the Outturn Reports for 2016-17 and 2017-18. Tables 4 and 5 in each document set out the information you require:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/affordable-housing-supply-programme-out-turn-report-2016-2017/

https://www.gov.scot/publications/affordable-housing-supply-programme-out-turn-report-2017-2018/

As the outturn Report for 2018-19 will not be published until late in 2019, the following tables show the number of site starts and completions by local authority:

Site starts in 2018-19

Council	Number of site starts
Aberdeenshire	93
Angus	77
Argyll & Bute	334
City of Aberdeen	226
Clackmannanshire	4
Dumfries & Galloway	136
Dundee	97
East Ayrshire	197
East Dunbartonshire	126
East Lothian	215
East Renfrewshire	32
Edinburgh	716
Falkirk	204
Fife	268
Glasgow (inc. GHA)	847
Highland	444
Inverclyde	464
Midlothian	231
Moray	128
North Ayrshire	294
North Lanarkshire	299
Orkney Islands	9
Perth & Kinross	145
Renfrewshire	246
Scottish Borders	226
Shetland	0
South Ayrshire	104
South Lanarkshire	437
Stirling	42
West Dunbartonshire	64
West Lothian	253
Western Isles	14
Total	6,972

Completions in 2018-19

Council	Number of completions
Aberdeenshire	148
Angus	138
Argyll & Bute	91
City of Aberdeen	202
Clackmannanshire	55
Dumfries & Galloway	56
Dundee	112
East Ayrshire	80
East Dunbartonshire	60
East Lothian	110
East Renfrewshire	33
Edinburgh	439
Falkirk	155
Fife	407
Glasgow (inc. GHA)	1,022
Highland	421
Inverclyde	92
Midlothian	185
Moray	90
North Ayrshire	270
North Lanarkshire	359
Orkney Islands	29
Perth & Kinross	169
Renfrewshire	133
Scottish Borders	209
Shetland	16
South Ayrshire	156
South Lanarkshire	488
Stirling	83
West Dunbartonshire	145
West Lothian	603
Western Isles	17
Total	6,573

Question reference: S5W-24374

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 July 2019
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 6 August 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the 25 drug users with HIV in Glasgow identified in 2018 have received support and treatment.

Question reference: S5W-24373

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 July 2019
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 6 August 2019

The number of needles distributed to drugs users in Glasgow in; (a) 2015-16 can be found at
https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Drugs-and-Alcohol-Misuse/Publications/2017-06-13/2017-06-13-IEP-Report.pdf ;

(b) 2016-17 can be found at
https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Drugs-and-Alcohol-Misuse/Publications/2018-08-07/2018-08-07-IEP-Report.pdf .

The data for 2017-18 and 2018-19 will be published by Information Services Division in due course.