Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-25354

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the most recent round of the Learning Estate Investment Programme funding.

On 30 October 2023, the Scottish Government announced the following 10 successful Learning Estate Investment Programme (LEIP) Phase 3 projects:

1. Hazlehead Academy (Aberdeen City)

2. Mull Campus (Argyll and Bute)

3. Lochies ASN School (Clackmannanshire)

4. Lenzie Academy (East Dunbartonshire)

5. Carrongrange ASN School extension (Falkirk)

6. Forres Academy (Moray)

7. Chryston High School extension (North Lanarkshire)

8. Kirkwall ASN Centre (Orkney)

9. Brae Campus (Shetland)

10. Riverside and Letham Primary School (West Lothian)

Every local authority which has submitted a bid through the LEIP has been awarded funding for a project in Phases 1, 2 or 3.

The £2bn LEIP is being delivered in partnership with local authorities and will benefit tens of thousands of pupils across Scotland.

The proportion of schools in “good” or “satisfactory” condition in Scotland has increased from 61% in April 2007 to almost 91% in April 2023, and LEIP investment will build on this progress.

Question reference: S6W-25322

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much one child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) appointment costs the NHS.

The Scottish Government does not collect data on CAMHS appointment costs across NHS boards centrally.

Every presentation to CAMHS is treated differently depending on the individual needs of the young person. It may involve a multidisciplinary response involving a range of specialists. Therefore the cost per appointment will vary depending on the range of professionals involved and the needs of the child or young person.

The Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) NHS Scotland national service specification outlines provisions young people and their families can expect from the NHS.

Question reference: S6W-25233

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 05 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-21777 by Maree Todd on 24 October 2023, what analysis it has undertaken of any reduction in the number of young people participating in sport.

The Scottish Government and sportscotland passionately believe that sport is for everyone. We should all feel included, and able to take part and access the benefits of sport.

An ongoing priority for the Scottish Government is to support participation across all groups and tackle inequalities in participation.

Currently available Scottish Health Survey data shows that 11-15 year old’s participation in sport appears to have remained stable since pre-covid levels at 65%. Other data that we use to track participation in sport is published by sportscotland.

Recent data published by sportscotland in 2023 shows significantly increased participation levels in their national Active Schools programme, across the past academic year (2022-23), with over 4.6 million visits (a rise of 34% on 2021-22) made to almost 247,000 Active Schools sessions. The number of Active Schools participants (over 269,000 children and young people), deliverers (over 17,900 with 90% of those being volunteers), and school/club links (over 2,500) also increased from the previous academic year as the recovery from covid continued.

Question reference: S6W-25228

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 05 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the availability of qualified stonemasons to repair and maintain traditionally built homes, in light of Edinburgh College no longer delivering a stonemasonry apprenticeship.

The Scottish Government has been exploring the workforce demand for skilled stonemasons through engagement with the stonemasonry short life working group led by Historic Environment Scotland. The working group was set up to look at stonemasonry and traditional skills provision in Scotland with a view to identifying sustainable models of stonemasonry training for future delivery.

Additionally, Historic Environment Scotland ran a stonemasonry consultation in early 2023 to inform understanding of the size, shape and resilience of the stonemasonry sector in Scotland. The stonemasonry working group have since provided their report of findings and recommendations to Ministers for their consideration.

Regarding the cessation of stonemasonry apprenticeship training at Edinburgh College, the then Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development and I met Historic Environment Scotland in recent months to discuss stonemasonry and we await their proposals to address the skills issues in the sector.

Question reference: S6W-25172

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S4W-29691, S5W-22664 and S6W-01165 by Angela Constance on 2 March 2016, by John Swinney on 1 May 2019 and by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 28 July 2021 respectively, whether it will provide the figures for each year since 2020-21.

Table 1 provides information on average gross revenue expenditure in Scotland per child attending pre-school, and primary and secondary pupil alongside allocations (accounting for teaching and tuition fees funding) per college and university place.

Table 1: Average expenditure per place for each education level in cash terms
Education level	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24
Pre-School	£9,366	£10,435	-	-
Primary School	£6,130	£6,550	-	-
Secondary School	£7,906	£8,174	-	-
College	£4,878	£4,952	£5,054	£5,506
University	£7,316	£7,433	£7,558	£7,613

Table 2 provides the same information in 2023-24 prices. Real terms conversions are based on HM Treasury’s GDP Deflator series, December 2023.

Table 2: Average expenditure per place for each education level in real terms (2023-24 prices)
Education level	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24
Pre-School	£10,526	£11,824	-	-
Primary School	£6,890	£7,423	-	-
Secondary School	£8,885	£9,263	-	-
College	£5,482	£5,612	£5,362	£5,506
University	£8,222	£8,423	£8,019	£7,613

Methodology

The methodologies used to determine the average expenditure per place for each education level are provided in more detail below.

Pre-school: average gross revenue expenditure per child in pre-primary education is arrived at by taking the total gross revenue expenditure on pre-primary education, adjusted for inter-authority transfers, as reported by local authorities to the local financial return. These figures are then divided by the number of pupils in funded early learning and childcare as per the statistics reported in the early learning and childcare (ELC) census. The figures for per child expenditure on pre-primary education are likely to be overestimates due to the fact that September (when the figures for the ELC census are collected) is a point in the academic year when ELC registrations are at their lowest. This is because children starting funded ELC (usually when they turn three) start at the beginning of the term which starts after their birthday – so, in the Autumn term only some of the children who will become eligible for funded ELC during that academic year have already taken up their funded place. However, this issue applies every year, meaning that the above time-series comparison is reasonable.

Primary and Secondary school: average gross revenue expenditure per pupil in primary and secondary education respectively is arrived at by taking the total gross revenue expenditure adjusted for inter-authority transfers, reported by local authorities on primary and secondary education to the local financial return, divided by the number of pupils in primary and secondary education as per the statistics reported in the pupil census.

Colleges: The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) have supplied detail of the average cost of a College place (expenditure per full-time equivalent (FTE)). This is calculated by taking funding provided to Colleges for core teaching and assumed tuition fee income (see supplementary note 3) and dividing this by the number of student places.

Universities: The cost of an average University place, also provided by the SFC, is estimated by taking the total teaching grant awarded to Universities (excluding teaching grant associated with rUK students studying expensive strategically important subjects, who are not eligible for funding) and assumed tuition fee income associated with those places (see supplementary note 3) and dividing this by the total number of SFC funded places for Scottish and EU domiciled FTEs. Expenditure figures exclude funding for student support, and SFC’s research and strategic funds. Total FTE figures are SFC/SG funded places and do not include fees only and international places.

The methodology used in this PQ is similar to S6W-15187 answered on 7 March 2023 in that the average amounts for universities and colleges include assumed tuition fee elements and exclude certain funding elements related to rUK students studying expensive strategically important subjects for universities. Therefore, the answer is not comparable to PQs S4W-29691, S5W-22664 and S6W-01165.

Supplementary notes

1. “-“ indicates that there is no available data for this year.

2. 2022-23 figures for pre-school and primary and secondary school will be available after the publication of the 2022-23 Scottish local government finance statistics on the 5 th of March 2024.

3. Assumed tuition fees include income from SAAS, SDS, employers and students paying their own tuition fees for SFC funded programmes.

4. For 2020-21 the university allocation includes funded places and funding for childcare that were announced after the publication of the final funding announcement, to ensure consistency with other years.

5. For college and university figures, the funded places/weighted SUMS/credits figures used are taken from the final published main grant letters or outcome agreements, and do not take account of any subsequent adjustments.

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 .

Question reference: S6W-25434

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what lessons have been learned from the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to hospital size and design, and how any such findings have impacted on the consideration of the Monklands Replacement Project.

The OBC from NHS Lanarkshire considered in great detail the impact of the pandemic within their design. The new facility has considered best use of space and layout alongside ventilation to ensure consideration has been given to any future pandemic so that areas like Critical Care and Operating Theatre suites can accommodate reconfiguration to continue to provide services to high-risk infected patients. NHS Lanarkshire continues to embrace digital technology, brought on as a requirement in the pandemic, to reduce unnecessary patient attendances.

Question reference: S6W-25431

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what contingencies it has put in place to ensure that NHS Lanarkshire has sufficient capital funding for the completion of the replacement for University Hospital Monklands.

Question reference: S6W-25448

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 09 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the No Time To Wait model, which is being piloted in East Lothian by the Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity to tackle the growing mental health needs of children and young people, is one that it would consider for wider roll out.

The Scottish Government welcomes the model of early intervention being piloted as part of the Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity (ECHC) ‘No Time To Wait’ project. We will continue to engage with ECHC as the ‘No Time To Wait’ pilot continues and look forward to learning more from the evaluation of the model in due course.

We recognise the important role third sector organisations, such as ECHC, play in supporting and improving children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing. That is why we fund a variety of organisations and services with a focus on prevention and early intervention to ensure all of Scotland’s children, young people and families receive the right care and support, at the right time, in settings which best meets their needs. In this financial year (23-24) we have invested a further £15 million into community mental health services for children, young people and families through our local authority framework to achieve this aim.

Question reference: S6W-25414

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a further explanation of the reasons why it is reportedly prevented from interfering in the operations of Glasgow Prestwick Airport due to a number of post-Brexit trade deals with the EU.

To comply with the UK’s Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the EU, that states each party shall respect and make best use of relevant international standards including the OECD Guidelines on corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprises, the business is required to operate on a commercial basis and at arm’s length from the Scottish Government.

Scottish Government abides by international law and guidelines. Ministers do not intervene in commercial operations of the airport.

Question reference: S6W-25447

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 09 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with the Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity’s child and family mental health resilience and wellbeing pilot, No Time To Wait, in East Lothian.

I visited the Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity’s (ECHC) wellbeing centre, The Hub, based in the Edinburgh Royal Hospital for Children and Young People, on 24 October 2023. During my visit I met with some of the charity’s team members and spoke to them about their new wellbeing and resilience service, The Haven, based in East Lothian.

In addition, Scottish Government officials are currently liaising with ECHC staff to arrange a visit for the Cabinet Secretary of NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care, who has recently been invited to the service.

Chamber and committees