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-04757

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 03 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 15 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its news release on 29 October 2021 regarding a £41 million Winter Support Fund for low-income households, which organisations have received funding from the £6 million for third sector organisations and how much each received.

To date, the following organisations have been awarded funding from the £6 million funding available through the Winter Support Fund for the third sector:

ORGANISATION	AMOUNT
Aberlour	£250,000
Action for Children	£450,000
Barnardo’s	£345,000
Cash for Kids	£1,250,000
Children 1st	£300,000
Citizens Advice Scotland	£140,000
Churches Action for the Homeless	£500
Corra Foundation	£750,000
Family Fund	£300,000
Families Outside	£52,500
One Parent Families Scotland	£275,000
STV Appeal	£1,200,000
Transform Community Development	£1,000
Who Cares? Scotland	£401,000
TOTAL	£5,715,000

Question reference: S6W-04966

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 15 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what percentage of children in the NHS Tayside area who were referred for mental health treatment in (a) 2020 and (b) 2021 started treatment within the 18-week target.

The following table provides statistics for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) in the NHS Tayside area. It is possible that children were seen within Psychological Therapy (PT) in addition to this however it is not possible at present to disaggregate child data from the wider adult PT data return.

2021 is not complete at present, therefore a partial 2021 has been presented including activity from Jan 2021 to Sep 2021, compared to the whole of 2020 (Jan – Dec).

Table 1 - NHS Tayside

Children and Young People (CYP)

Number of CYP starting Treatment in CAMHS within 18 weeks

Percentage of CYP starting treatment within 18 weeks

2021 YTD (Jan – Sep)

828

82.9%

2020 (Jan – Dec)

792

65.5%

Question reference: S6W-04965

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 15 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what percentage of children in the NHS Grampian area who were referred for mental health treatment in (a) 2020 and (b) 2021 started treatment within the 18-week target.

The following table provides statistics for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) in the NHS Grampian area. It is possible that children were seen within Psychological Therapy in addition to this however it is not possible at present to disaggregate child data from the wider adult PT data return.

2021 is not complete at present, therefore a partial 2021 has been presented including activity from Jan 2021 to Sep 2021, compared to the whole of 2020 (Jan – Dec).

Table 1 - NHS Grampian

Children and Young People (CYP)

Number of CYP starting Treatment in CAMHS within 18 weeks

Percentage of CYP starting treatment within 18 weeks

2021 YTD (Jan – Sep)

1,045

92.7%

2020 (Jan – Dec)

1,188

87.4%

Question reference: S6W-04842

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 06 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 15 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance community choirs should follow when meeting for rehearsals.

People who participate in performing arts, including community choirs should follow general Covid-19 guidance ( Coronavirus in Scotland - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . This encourages people to get vaccinated, take regular lateral flow tests, wear face coverings, self-isolate and book a PCR test at the onset of symptoms of Covid-19, keep good hygiene and hand-washing practices, open windows indoors, keep distance from people outwith their immediate group, and use the Covid Status, Protection Scotland, and Check In Scotland apps.

In addition to this, community choirs should also follow the Coronavirus (COVID-19): reopening of cultural performances and events guidance - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) which contains further information including on face coverings for rehearsals and performances.

Question reference: S6W-04391

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 15 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 14 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government by what date it will have recruited 500 advanced nurse practitioners, in line with its commitment in the Programme for Government, and whether the number of staff recruited will amount to 500 whole-time equivalent posts.

Question reference: S6W-04687

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 29 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 14 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government by what date booster vaccinations will be displayed on the NHS Scotland COVID status app.

Question reference: S6W-04807

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 14 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what carbon metric-based recycling targets it has considered setting for local authorities.

As previously set out, we are working with industry, local government and environmental groups to develop a route map to deliver our waste and recycling targets for 2025. This work will be critical in determining how the waste and resources sector, including local government, will contribute towards lower carbon emissions in the period to 2030 and beyond, including the approach to evaluating progress against our goal to reduce emissions.

Question reference: S6W-04773

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 03 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 14 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many children and adolescents have (a) waited longer than the 18-week target to begin treatment within child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) and (b) received treatment within CAMHS in each year since the target was introduced.

Table 1 shows the total number of patients seen for first treatment following referral to CAMH Services, and the number of patients seen who waited more than 18 weeks between referral and first treatment appointment in CAMH Services for each year between January 2015 and up to the latest published data for quarter ending September 2021.

The Scottish Government national standard is that 90% of children and young people should start treatment within 18 weeks of referral.

Table 1: Total number of patients seen and waiting times from referral to treatment, NHS Scotland

Year	Total Number of Patients Seen from Referral to Treatment	Number of Patients who Waited Longer than 18 Weeks from Referral to Treatment
Jan 15 - Dec 15	17,476	4,152
Jan 16 - Dec 16	17,745	3,407
Jan 17 - Dec 17	15,864	3,577
Jan 18 - Dec 18	17,451	5,227
Jan 19 - Dec 19	16,035	5,019
Jan 20 - Dec 20	15,802	5,428
Jan 21 - Sep 21	12,440	3,188

Source: PHS CAMHS database

Note that data presented in this table may vary slightly when compared to that originally published, due to subsequent resubmission of data.

Question reference: S6W-04763

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 14 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what consultation opportunities will be offered to stakeholders as part of the Fair Fares review.

Our Fair Fares Review is part of a broader package of work being taken forward by Transport Scotland to ensure that there is a viable and sustainable transport system for the future. Immediate priorities for this work include ensuring that our transport system is aligned with the prevailing Covid-19 conditions, providing up to date guidance and communications support to passengers and operators, and securing a safe and confident return to public transport at the right time as we recover from the pandemic.

The Fair Fares Review, which is currently in its planning stages, is being undertaken to ensure a sustainable and integrated approach to public transport fares in the future. The review will look at the range of discounts and concessionary schemes which are available on all modes including bus, rail and ferry. It will take cognisance of the cost and availability of services, and will consider options against a background where the costs of car travel are declining and public transport costs are increasing.

Given the present state of the pandemic, Transport Scotland is currently considering how stakeholders can most effectively engage with the review and further details on this and on the timescale for the review will be provided to Parliament in due course.

Question reference: S6W-04745

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 14 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Emergency Measures Agreements that were put in place in 2020 will remain in place or be withdrawn when ScotRail is nationalised.