Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-11696

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 4 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the Just Transition Commission report, Making the Future, which was published on 14 July 2022, what consideration it has given to the recommendations regarding the Land Reform Bill.

Making the Future contains two substantive references to the Land Reform Bill.

One (under “Strategic Priorities) welcomed the publication of the consultation on the Bill https://www.gov.scot/publications/land-reform-net-zero-nation-consultation-paper/ published 4 July 2022).

The second was a recommendation: that “An ambitious Land Reform Bill should tackle concentrations in ownership and enshrine transparency, equality and public good into the future of Scotland’s land use.”

The measures put forward in the consultation for inclusion in the Bill aim to achieve these objectives. They will do so within the context of Article A1P1 of the European Convention of Human Rights, and the devolved settlement.

The consultation closed on 30 October 2022. Responses to the consultation, and the views of the Just Transition Commission, will be carefully considered as the proposals set out are developed.

Question reference: S6W-11702

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 4 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what specialist person-centred support is available to help people with poor mental health to quit smoking, broken down by NHS board.

The Scottish Government does not currently hold information on cessation support services, available in each NHS board area. However, The Scottish Government are developing an expert group that will be reporting on smoking cessation services early next year. We are also committed to working with our NHS cessation coordinators and pharmacy colleagues across Scotland to refocus and remobilise these services to ensure we are reaching those in our communities who are in most need of support to quit.

In addition, we encourage anyone wishing to stop smoking to contact the free NHS stop smoking service: 'Quit Your Way Scotland' helpline on 0800 84 84 84 to speak to an advisor. Alternatively, local pharmacies can also offer a range of therapies and interventions to help quit tobacco products.

Question reference: S6W-11687

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 4 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what water monitoring is being done for potential emerging contaminants, including pharmaceuticals, and whether there will be additional funding to support this new area of research and monitoring.

The Scottish Government understands the important issue of emerging contaminates of concern and has been funding research in this area since 2016 through strategic research at the James Hutton Institute, the Centre of Expertise on Water (CREW), and the Hydro Nation Scholars programme. For example, these studies produced the first national assessment of pharmaceutical pollution in Scotland’s water environment, published in 2022, covering existing data on 60 pharmaceuticals between 2014 and 2019.

Building on the earlier studies described above, the Scottish Government continues to support active research, by investing £32m per year overall, under the current RESAS Strategic Research Programme 2022-2027, and the Centre of Expertise on Water. Current plans include work which will further develop the understanding of sources and levels of emerging contaminants in Scotland’s freshwaters and river sediments and recommend priorities and strategic approaches for future monitoring in Scotland.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is currently trialling a new water analysis technique and is considering which chemicals of emerging concern to Scotland’s environment should be built into its surveillance network. SEPA is working with various UK partner organisations to identify and prioritise chemicals of emerging concern in the environment.

For example, Scottish Water has worked in partnership with the SEPA for many years in the Chemical Investigation Programme (Scotland). Through environmental investigation this project identifies contaminants of concern, their sources and concentrations leaving the sewerage system and how they should be addressed in the most sustainable way.

Question reference: S6W-11688

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 4 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what changes to the funding for SEPA in relation to its role in water quality testing have there been in the last five years.

SEPA’s grant in aid funding from Scottish Government has increased over the last five-year period from £34,936,000 to £41,406,000. SEPA determine the amount of resources allocated to water quality testing through their Annual Operating Plan in each year in agreement with the Scottish Government

SEPA Grant in Aid Funding

£34,963,000 in 2018-19

£34,425,000 in 2019-20

£37,098,000 in 2020-21

£44,449,000 in 2021-22

£41,406,000 in 2022-23

Question reference: S6W-11680

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 21 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 4 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, of the 44 Fatal Accident Inquiries (FAIs) that ended during 2021-22, what five FAIs took the longest time period to conclude, broken down by the time taken for each.

In 2020-21 and 2021-22, over 15,000 deaths were reported to COPFS. This was a 40% increase from 2019/20. Notwithstanding this increase, in 2021-22 95% of deaths where no investigation was required were closed within 6 weeks of receipt of the death report, and 49% of deaths requiring further investigation were concluded within 12 weeks. Only a small proportion of reported deaths result in a Fatal Accident being held.

In relation to deaths which require further investigation, there are a number of factors which may influence when those investigations may be concluded and many are outwith the Crown’s control. These include the need to await the outcome of investigations by other reporting agencies, information from other public bodies and receipt of expert opinion. In addition, in some cases criminal proceedings require to be initiated and concluded before a decision can be taken on the holding of an FAI.

The lodging of a First Notice is the process by which the Crown will intimate that a FAI requires to be held. Thereafter, the Crown has limited control over the timescale for commencing and concluding the Inquiry. Matters such as the scope of the Inquiry and the evidence that requires to be led are ultimately for the presiding Sheriff to determine.

The following information relates to the five FAIs in 2021/22 which took the longest time to conclude:

NAME OF DECEASED	DATE OF DEATH	FIRST NOTICE LODGED	FAI EVIDENCE (DATE BEGAN/ CONCLUDED)	DETERMINATION DATE	ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Pjero Kurida	10-6-12	5-1-21	6-10-21 - 10-11-21	18-2-22	Consideration required to be given to the possibility of criminal proceedings before a First Notice could be lodged with the Sheriff Clerk. The presiding Sheriff stated in the Determination that “I do not consider that the lapse of time will have affected any of the findings and recommendations set out in my determination”
Roderick MacLean	16-11-12	15-5-19	16-2-21 - 19-2-21	26-4-21	Criminal proceedings related to the circumstances surrounding the death required to be concluded before the FAI proceedings could be commenced. It had been intended that the Inquiry take place in May 2020 but there was an unavoidable delay due to the Covid pandemic, the closure of the court for some months and the phased reintroduction of business.
Leylan Forte	27-4-15	10-9-19	29-11-21 - 3-12-21	15-12-21	A First Notice was lodged in September 2019. A number of issues required to be resolved before the FAI could commence, including the scope of the Inquiry, the remit of expert witnesses and the areas that were capable of agreement. There was also a delay during much of 2020 when only essential court business was being conducted during lockdown.
James Kerr	30-4-15	16-7-20	8-2-21 - 23-3-21	26-4-21	The Sheriff’s Determination sets out the procedural history provided by the Crown: “following the receipt of the HSL and HSE reports in late 2015, there was a meeting between the Crown and the police at which the police were instructed to make certain further enquiries. Following the conclusion of those enquiries, a Standard Prosecution Report was submitted by the police to the Crown on 14 June 2016. Thereafter, consideration was given to potential criminal charges against certain participants in this Inquiry, and as a result there were discussions and correspondence between those parties and the Crown, as well as between the Crown, the police and the MCA. Crown Counsel initially issued an instruction on 18 December 2019 to the effect that no criminal proceedings should be raised and that a Fatal Accident Inquiry should be held. Following the engagement of the Victims’ Right to Review scheme, a final instruction from Crown Counsel was issued on 6 January 2020 confirming the initial instruction. Progress was then hampered by the start of the pandemic. The case had been complicated by a number of factors, including the complexity of the engineering aspects, but notwithstanding this the Crown accepted there had been an unsatisfactory degree of delay and expressed its regret for that delay. New case management procedures are now in place which should prevent similar delays in future”
William Black	26-1-16	21-12-20	24-5-21 - 7-6-21	5-8-21	Criminal proceedings related to the circumstances surrounding the death required to be concluded before an FAI could be held. In addition, following the conclusion of the criminal trial further enquiries required to be carried out before a decision could be taken as to whether an FAI still required to be held.

Question reference: S6W-11436

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 4 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on (a) the work of the Remote and Rural General Practice Working Group and (b) any planned developments in rural general practice and primary care.

The Remote and Rural General Practice Working Group was created in 2018 to support the implementation of the GP Contract in remote and rural areas. It met between 2018 and 2022. In 2020, the Group put forward recommendations to Ministers which are contained within its Shaping the Future Together Report. The Group last met on the 9 th June 2022 and agreed to bring the Group to an end.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting and developing rural general practice and primary care. In terms of planned developments, The Scottish Government is working to develop a Remote and Rural workforce recruitment strategy by the end of 2024. This will support employers to ensure that the Health and Social Care needs of people who live in remote and rural communities are met. In addition, The Scottish Government’s Programme for Government 2021-22 included a commitment to create a centre of excellence for rural and remote medicine and social care, with scoping work starting in 2021-22. The Scottish Government has been working closely with NHS Education Scotland (NES) over recent months to carry out extensive scoping and consultation with stakeholders. NES has submitted a business case for the Centre. The Scottish Government is evaluating the business case and considering next steps.

We are already taking forward a range of initiatives to support recruitment and retention of workforce in rural General Practice. The Golden Hello scheme offers a one-off bursary of £10,000 to every GP taking up an eligible post in a remote and rural area. Furthermore, ScotGEM is a four-year graduate-entry medical degree which began in 2018, with a focus on rural medicine and healthcare improvement, supporting graduates to choose careers in general practice. The Scottish Government is also supporting an initiative by the four rural boards in the north of Scotland, NHS Shetland, NHS Orkney, NHS Highland and NHS Western Isles who have piloted an innovative recruitment campaign called Rediscover The Joy (RTJ). RTJ aims to recruit experienced GPs to provide support for remote and rural practices.

Question reference: S6W-11816

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 4 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) self-funded and (b) council-funded care home places there have there been in each year since 1999, broken down by (i) care home and (ii) local authority area.

The number of resident places by funding category (i.e. self-funded/publicly funded) is not available. However, Public Health Scotland have published the estimated number of long stay residents in care homes for older people by funding category and by local authority since 2009.

a) i) This information is not held centrally and is not published by Public Health Scotland.

a) ii) These figures are available in two parts:

The latest Public Health Scotland Care Home Census for adults publication contains figures from 2012 - 2022. The figures can be found in the “Funding and Charges” section of the dashboard.

The Public Health Scotland Care Home Census for adults 2020 publication contains figures from 2009 – 2011. The figures can be found in Table 13C of the accompanying Care Home Census Data Tables.

b) i) This information is not held centrally and is not published by Public Health Scotland.

b) ii) These figures are available in two parts:

The latest Public Health Scotland Care Home Census for adults publication contains figures from 2012 - 2022. The figures can be found in the “Funding and Charges” section of the dashboard.

The Public Health Scotland Care Home Census for adults 2020 publication contains figures from 2009 – 2011. The figures can be found in Table 13C of the accompanying Care Home Census Data Tables.

Question reference: S6W-11785

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 4 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many police station closures there have been since 2013 in the areas served by the (a) Ayrshire and (b) Renfrewshire and Inverclyde Police Division.

Responsibility for the management of the police estate sits with the Scottish Police Authority and the Chief Constable.

However, Police Scotland has confirmed that 15 police stations have been closed since 2013 across Ayrshire, Renfrewshire and Inverclyde with the majority of them been moved to a new modern co-located accommodation within the same towns or officers were moved to new police stations nearby.

The Police Scotland Estate Strategy, approved by the SPA in May 2019, provides a framework for planning the future of the police estate to support the long term vision of policing which includes enhanced partnership working, and seeks to respond to the changing needs of communities while maintaining public visibility and confidence.

Question reference: S6W-11741

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 4 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to assist NHS Lanarkshire to overcome reported difficulties in filling vacancies in the neurodevelopmental service.

We are working with all NHS Boards to support them to implement the National Neurodevelopmental Specification: Principles and Standards of Care , including working with NHS Lanarkshire through regular engagement.

NHS Education for Scotland CAMHS Workforce data, published 6 September 2022, showed an increase of 17% in CAMHS community staffing in NHS Lanarkshire compared to March 2021. This CAMHS workforce data includes Neurodevelopmental staffing.

Question reference: S6W-11739

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 4 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the comments by the Law Society of Scotland that thousands of people in the most deprived communities are facing a "chronic shortage of civil legal aid firms".

Civil solicitors have always covered a wide geographical area. The location of firms does not appear to support the assertion that advice is not available. Unlike in other jurisdictions, the Scottish Government has maintained wide access to legal aid for civil law issues. In addition to the availability of legal aid for private legal firms, we also fund a number of law centres who provide advice and representation on issues not normally dealt with by commercial firms, as well as localised advice providers who are supported by grant funding from the legal aid fund. We also fund public legal services through the Civil Legal Assistance Office. All of these services can and do operate across a wide geographic area.

Chamber and committees