Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-11449

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 4 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to (a) review the financial support available for 18- to 25-year-olds with cancer and (b) expand the support available to this age group, if it is considered necessary.

Those aged between 18 – 25 years old continue to have access to the Patient Travel Expenses Scheme or the Highlands and Islands Travel Scheme, both of which provide eligible claimants with support to meet travel costs associated with outpatient appointments.

Further to this, the introduction of the Improving the Cancer Journey scheme provides all adults diagnosed with cancer with the opportunity to be referred to a link officer under the joint partnership. The link officer will complete a Holistic Needs Assessment and will generate a care plan to meet the needs identified. This programme is the first of its kind in the UK. It looks to ensure that every cancer patient who can access emotional, financial and practical support. Local community assets can at this stage be identified and utilised to support the service user in meeting their needs.

Question reference: S6W-11699

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 4 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the monitoring of seals that have been rehabilitated and then released, in order to identify any unusual behaviour that could be potentially damaging to native species.

The Scottish Government is not aware of any monitoring that takes place with regards to the release of rehabilitated seals from rescue centres. However, advice from the Special Committee on Seals ( 2019 Report ) is that rehabilitated seals typically behave like wild seals shortly following release. Rehabilitated seals are released back into the wild close to the sites at which they were found. No non-native seals are released in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-11734

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 4 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether there are any plans for (a) ministers and (b) official delegations to visit Qatar during the 2022 World Cup.

Question reference: S6W-11601

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 4 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-11176 by Mairi McAllan on 5 October 2022, when the work by the environmental consultant will commence at the Tarbolton Moss landfill site.

With funding from the Scottish Government, in December 2021, SEPA contracted an environmental consultant to manage the construction of a leachate management system at the former landfill site at Tarbolton Moss, to prevent the ongoing discharges of landfill leachate to neighbouring watercourses and make it possible for leachate disposal to the public sewerage system. The design phase is now complete. As the answer to S6W-11600 on the 4 November 2022 updates, we are working with public partners to begin work to implement leachate management as soon as possible. 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-11602

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 4 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-11176 by Mairi McAllan on 5 October 2022, whether it is the case that SEPA found no increase associated with the migration of landfill gas or impact to groundwater from leachate at the Tarbolton Moss landfill site.

SEPA continues to monitor ongoing environmental risks at the site and completed its latest survey in August 2022. This found no significant increasing trends associated with the migration of landfill gas or impact to groundwater from leachate.

SEPA publishes monitoring updates and the latest update (August 2022) will be available shortly here: Tarbolton Moss Landfill | Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA)

Question reference: S6W-11450

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 4 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of its £500 million Whole Family Wellbeing Fund has been allocated in (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23.

The Scottish Government provided £3.275 million in 2021-22 to local authorities and the third sector to provide direct support to families in financial crisis. This funding was targeted at families with children who are on the edge of care, or have experience of care. In 2022-23, the Scottish Government has committed to providing the first £50 million of the £500 million Whole Family Wellbeing Funding.

Question reference: S6W-11451

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 4 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to measure and monitor the impact of its £500 million Whole Family Wellbeing Fund.

Given the scale of change and the associated ambitions, the Scottish Government has made a commitment to undertake a rigorous monitoring and evaluation of the Whole Family Wellbeing Funding (WFWF) up to 2025-26.

The evaluation process is divided into two stages. We have commissioned an independent social and market research agency, IFF Research, to undertake an initial evaluation of the first year of the funding. The year 1 evaluation report will be published by late 2023. The second stage of the monitoring and evaluation of WFWF for the period 2023-2026 is currently being developed in close consultation with key stakeholders.

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.

Question reference: S6W-11714

Asked by: Gillian Mackay, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 4 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to reduce the stigma reportedly faced by liver disease patients from healthcare professionals in (a) primary and (b) secondary care.

I recognise that stigma associated with liver disease can create very specific challenges, including by isolating people from their communities and act as a significant barrier to seeking help and support. This can increase the harms experienced due to delayed presentation especially given the generalised association between liver disease and alcohol misuse and/or drug abuse.

The Scottish Government is committed to tackling this stigma, including among health care professionals across the healthcare system. We are currently developing a national stigma action plan for drugs and alcohol that will include taking the principles of the stigma charter developed by the Drugs Death Taskforce and putting these into action.

The issue of stigma is also clearly referenced on the NHS Inform website which states that a drug or alcohol problem is a health condition and people should receive help and support, not judgement.

Alcohol and drugs are of course not the exclusive causes of liver disease. On 20 June 2022, Public Health Scotland launched the Challenging Weight Stigma Learning Hub . The learning hub aims to raise awareness of the impact weight stigma can have on people living with overweight and obesity and what health professionals can do to mitigate this. It is interactive and has been developed alongside academics, health professionals and those with lived experience of stigma.

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.

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