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: S6W-28504

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 7 August 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to review the system of student admission appeals.

Question reference: S6W-28706

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 6 August 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much money it costs to train a (a) paediatric and (b) neonatal student nurse at a Scottish university.

The Scottish Government package of support for Scottish domiciled student nurses, midwives and paramedics remains the highest level of support offered in the UK.

Annual Student Cost Breakdown

Teaching Grant to University (subject to change)

£7,775

Tuition Fees to University (subject to change)

£1,820

Annual Bursary

£10,000

Uniform Costs

On average £54.72

Health Checks

On average £233.79

Disclosure Checks: Protecting Vulnerable Groups scheme (PVG)

Costs for the scheme:

? £59 to join the scheme

? £59 or £18 to update membership (cost dependent on whether the PVG member needs to apply to work with a new vulnerable group)

Additionally, students are entitled to claim travel allowances, the amount will be variable dependent on the students circumstances.

There are also a range of additional allowances eligible students may be entitled to claim such as:

? Dependents allowance of up to £3,640 a year;

? Single Parents’ Allowance of up to £2,303 a year;

? Childcare Allowance for parents of up to £2,466 a year;

? Disable Students’ Allowance which will be variable dependent on the students requirements

Over a three year degree the average cost to train a nurse or midwife is in the region of £60,000 plus allowances and clinical placement expenses.

With regards to neonatal nurses, although a newly qualified nurse or midwife after completing their relevant pre-registration programme can be employed within a neonatal unit, a specific neonatal qualification is undertaken post-registration following an appropriate period of clinical experience. This is currently delivered by Edinburgh Napier University as a Neonatal Care - Qualified in Speciality postgraduate certificate (SCQF Level 11) part-time blended course, typically undertaken over 1 year. The current tuition fee is £1575 for Scottish & Rest of UK students, which is funded through Health Boards. Tuition fees are subject to an annual review and may increase from one year to the next.

Question reference: S6W-28704

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 6 August 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) paediatric and (b) neonatal nurses have been employed by each NHS board, in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S6W-28578

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 15 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 6 August 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to regulate the carrying out of non-surgical cosmetic procedures, such as Botox and dermal fillers, by people who are not healthcare professionals.

Scottish Government officials are currently undertaking scoping work with a variety of stakeholders including healthcare professionals (representatives from British College of Aesthetic Medicine and British Association of Cosmetic Nurses), hair and beauty industry representatives, Environmental Health Officers, Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS), and other UK Governments in order to bring forward proposals regarding the potential regulation of non-surgical cosmetic procedures.

The scoping work includes consideration of the levels of insurance, training, qualifications and supervision required to safely perform various types of non-surgical cosmetic procedures that pierce and penetrate the skin. This is to ensure that we get any potential future legislation right and that it is robust, flexible and future-proof to maintain pace with any new procedures in this fast changing sector.

We hope to be in a position to update Parliament on this shortly.

Question reference: S6W-28577

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 15 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 6 August 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what discussions it has had with Healthcare Improvement Scotland regarding regulation of the carrying out of non-surgical cosmetic procedures, such as Botox and dermal fillers, by people who are not healthcare professionals.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) is represented on, and contributes to the discussions at the Scottish Cosmetic Interventions Expert Group, which meets regularly to discuss and advise the Scottish Government on options for the potential regulation of non-surgical cosmetic procedures in Scotland.

However, as a regulator, HIS only regulates independent clinics where services are provided by a medical practitioner, dental practitioner, registered nurse, registered midwife, dental care professional, pharmacist or pharmacy technician.

Question reference: S6W-28757

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 6 August 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many building owners faced fines or other consequences for harm caused to birds by poorly installed or maintained netting, in the last three years for which figures are available.

There is no specific criminal offence of causing harm to birds by poorly installed or maintained building netting. Should such an offence be prosecuted in Scottish criminal court it would most likely be done under Section 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Although we cannot identify building owners as a subset of convicted persons, Criminal Proceedings in Scotland national statistics show no companies were convicted under Section 1 in the most recent available three financial years (2019-20 to 2021-22). The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service additionally confirmed no companies were convicted for an offence involving bird netting in the last five years (2019-2024).

Question reference: S6W-28703

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 6 August 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what the estimated number of vacancies is for (a) paediatric and (b) neonatal nurses in NHS Scotland, broken down by NHS board, and what the vacancy rate was in each of the last five years.

Information on the number of vacancies for (a) paediatric nurses in NHS Scotland, broken down by NHS board can be found on the TURAS NHS Education for Scotland workforce statistics site at: Dashboards | Turas Data Intelligence (nhs.scot) (Vacancy tab)

Information on the number of vacancies and vacancy rates for (b) neonatal nurses in not centrally collected.

Information on paediatric nursing vacancy rates across NHS Scotland in each of the last five years can be found in the following table:

Vacancy rate	Dec-19	Dec-20	Dec-21	Dec-22	Dec-23
Paediatric Nursing	5.5%	2.1%	12.5%	8.8%	5.3%

NOTE: Vacancy rates for Mar 2024 are currently unavailable and will be published on TURAS on 13 August.

Question reference: S6W-28700

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 6 August 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many graduate nurses have been employed by NHS Scotland in 2024, broken down by (a) NHS board and (b) speciality.

The requested information on how many graduate nurses have been employed by NHS Scotland in 2024, broken down by (a) NHS board and (b) speciality is not centrally held.

Information on the number of nursing staff joining the NHS broken down by band, NHS board and specialty can be found on the TURAS NHS Education for Scotland workforce statistics site at: NHS Scotland workforce (phase one) | Turas Data Intelligence (turnover tab)

Question reference: S6W-28713

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 6 August 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many university places have been available for medical students who are (a) Scotland-domiciled, (b) from the rest of the UK and (c) from overseas, in each of the last 10 years.

The number of undergraduate medical school places available since 2015, broken down by domicile, has been provided in the following table. As requested, these reflect the places available, rather than the eventual entrants.

Academic year (A/Y)	Scots/ Rest of the UK (rUK)/RoI/Gibraltar	International	Total Per year
2015-16	784	64	848
2016-17	834	64	898
2017-18	834	64	898
2018-19	889	64	953
2019-20	949	64	1013
2020-21	974	64	1038
2021-22	1039 (of which 790 must be Scottish domiciled)	78	1117
2022-23	1239	78	1317
2023-24	1339	78	1417
2024-25	1339	78	1417

It should be noted that there is no separate target for students from the rest of the UK (rUK); instead, these students are considered to be home students in line with students from the RoI and Gibraltar.

Question reference: S6W-28609

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 July 2024
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 6 August 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether resources to support alcohol dependence recovery should match those allocated to drug addiction harm reduction services, and what measures it will take to ensure that alcohol dependence recovery receives adequate attention and resources.

Funding allocated to Alcohol and Drug Partnerships (ADPs) is for both alcohol and drug treatment services. In 2024-25, £112.9 million is being made available to ADPs. This funding is used to ensure that local services meet the needs of people who experience alcohol and drugs harms.

On 7 September 2023, the previous Minister for Drugs and Alcohol Policy supported a Member’s Debate Motion calling for investment in alcohol services, outlining the Government’s plan to reduce harm from alcohol misuse.

We have asked Public Health Scotland to investigate the apparent decline in alcohol treatment numbers. This is underway and is expected to be completed in 2024. In 2023-2024, the number of statutory-funded residential rehabilitation placements increased to 938, the majority of which included alcohol use or co-dependency.

We are working with partners and stakeholders to develop a national specification for alcohol and drug treatment in Scotland. The national specification will build on the forthcoming UK Alcohol Treatment Guidelines which will support the improvement of alcohol treatment in Scotland, mirroring the use of the Orange Book Guidelines for drug treatment.

Parliament dissolved ahead of election

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