- Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Elena Whitham on 7 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether an official and publicly available investigation report was produced by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service into the cause of the large fires in Flow Country, Sutherland, and Ballindalloch, Morayshire, in 2019.
Answer
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) does not have a wildfire investigation capability as it is an extremely rare discipline in UK Fire and Rescue Services. As such, no official investigations were carried out into the large fires in Flow Country or Ballindalloch in 2019.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 7 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many people with learning disabilities have accessed the Fair Start Scotland employment support service in each year since it was established, broken down by the outcomes for those people, including how may have gone onto sustained employment.
Answer
Official statistics for Fair Start Scotland (FSS) are published quarterly by the Scottish Government. The most recent publication was on 22 February 2023 ( Scotland's Devolved Employment Services: statistical summary February 2023 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) ) and includes demographic breakdowns such as for participants with learning disabilities. The latest official statistics show:
Start and job outcomes for FSS participants with a learning disability, by start year
| | All Participants | Participants with a Learning Disability | Job Outcomes (Participants with a Learning Disability) |
Year | FSS Starts | FSS Starts | Job Starts | 3 Months | 6 Months | 12 Months |
1 | 10,063 | 185 | 33 | 28 | 17 | 16 |
2 | 12,085 | 118 | 33 | 26 | 22 | 18 |
3 | 10,359 | 51 | 16 | 11 | 10 | 6 |
4 | 12,533 | 108 | 30 | 21 | * | 6 |
5 (to date) | 8,990 | 62 | 16 | 5 | * | N/A |
Notes:
1. Data for year 5 is only available up until the end of quarter 3 (October - December 2022).
2. Number of starts is not equal to number of people. From April 2021 (year 4 onwards), following the extension of FSS beyond the initial three year period, people who have previously received support have been able to re-join the service. As a result of this change, the number of starts on FSS from year 4, and thus overall, is not the same as the number of people who have received support. For an individual to be eligible to re-join, there must be a break of at least 13 weeks since the person left FSS.
3. Job outcomes can only be reached when the participant has been in the service for at least that length of time. This means that the most recent months will not show final figures for sustained job outcomes. For each start cohort, the number of job starts and outcomes will continue to increase until participants' time in FSS comes to an end. Near final figures for:
- job starts are available up to the end of December 2021 (Quarter 3 of Year4 )
- 3 month job outcomes are available up to the end of September 2021 (Quarter 2 of Year 4)
- 6 month job outcomes are available up to the end of June 2021 (Quarter 1 of Year 4)
- 12 month job outcomes are available up to the end of December 2020 (Quarter 4 of Year 3)
4. To reduce the risk of individual participants being identified, statistical disclosure control has been applied and some figures are not reported. This is indicated by an asterisk (*).
5. Information is provided for those who reported the long-term health condition, learning disability (for example, Down's Syndrome). Participants may report more than one health condition.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 7 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what is being done to tackle misogyny in schools, and what plans there are to improve education on misogyny in schools.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6T-01111 on 24 January 2023. The answer to the Topical question is available on the Parliaments website, the Official Report can be viewed at: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/meeting-of-parliament-24-01-2023?meeting=14109&iob=127786
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 7 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how much has been spent on providing people with temporary accommodation in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not collect data on local authority expenditure on the provision of temporary accommodation to households experiencing homelessness. This information would need to be requested from each local authority directly.
The majority of homelessness funding since 1999 has been provided to local authorities through the annual local government finance settlement, which is £13.2 billion in 2023-24. Local authorities decide how best to use this resource to prevent and respond to homelessness on the basis of local needs and priorities, including the provision of temporary accommodation. This has been supplemented in recent years by £5.5 million from the Scottish Government’s health and housing budgets for the Housing First pathfinder and identifiable resource as follows:
Financial Year | Rapid Rehousing Transition Plans | Homelessness Support |
2017-18 | £0m | £22.5m |
2018-19 | £2m | £23.5m |
2019-20 | £8m | £23.5m |
2020-21 | £13m [1] | £23.5m |
2021-22 | £8m | £23.5m |
2022-23 | £8m | £23.5m |
Total | £39m | £140.0m |
Looking ahead, a new distribution formula for the £30.5 million Homelessness Prevention Fund has been agreed with COSLA leaders for 2023-24 onwards. The revised formula focuses on local authority activity on homelessness prevention and earlier intervention to better support delivery in advance of the introduction of the new homelessness prevention duties through the 2023 Housing Bill. This will be supplemented by a further £8m support for Rapid Rehousing Transition Plans in 2023-24.
[1] The Scottish Government provided an additional £5 million to local authorities for rapid rehousing transition plans in December 2020 as part of its Winter Plan for Social Protection.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 7 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a more detailed breakdown of where funding will be allocated from the budget line "Climate Action and Just Transition Fund" in the Scottish Budget 2023-24, which is set at £79.5 million.
Answer
The Scottish Government is investing £79.5 million, an increase of almost 60% from 2022-23, to deliver climate action through an updated climate change plan and Scottish adaptation programme, a public engagement strategy and community action.
The Scottish Government will provide £50 million in capital and financial transactions to support the Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray to accelerate the development of a transformed and decarbonised economy in the region. This increase from 2022-23 is part of the Scottish Government's commitment to spend £500 million over ten years.
The Scottish Government will also continue to influence positive and progressive international climate action investing at least £6m in the Climate Justice Fund.
- Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 06 March 2023
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Current Status:
Initiated by the Scottish Government.
Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 7 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the implementation of the Career Review recommendations.
Answer
Today the Career Review Programme Board, chaired by Grahame Smith, have published the Career Review: Final Report, titled 'Skills and experiences to grow and succeed in a rapidly changing world' . This report concludes a comprehensive review of Scotland's career services and provides detail on how the ten recommendations that the Scottish Government accepted in February 2022 will be taken forward.
The report is available at www.careerreview.scot
- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 7 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statement by the Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development and Minister with special responsibility for Refugees from Ukraine on 1 November 2022, whether it will provide an update on its plans to work with Palladium to deliver modular housing for Ukrainians moving from temporary accommodation in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Answer
The Scottish Government is working with Palladium to consider how modular housing could be used to provide longer-term sustainable housing. . The contract that the Scottish Government entered into with Palladium in August last year will end on 15 March 2023. The Scottish Government has competitively tendered for a successor contract to be put in place after the current contract ends. This will support the Scottish Government’s plans to pilot the use of short-term modular accommodation. However, the successor company will also work with the Scottish Government to continue to develop a proposal to deliver longer-term modular housing. Bids for the successor contract are currently being reviewed and a decision will be taken very shortly.
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Current Status:
Withdrawn
- Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 06 March 2023
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 7 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Loganair and Highlands and Islands Airports regarding the suspension of many island flights from 17 March.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 7 March 2023
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 06 March 2023
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 7 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that small shops in Scotland fear they cannot survive because of the costs and impacts of the Deposit Return Scheme, what its position is on Circularity Scotland’s confirmation on 1 March that retailers who use Reverse Vending Machines would have to wait one month for payment for returned bottles, rather than the previously expected seven days.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 7 March 2023
