Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-08624 on  6 June 2022. 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

The Scottish Government remains committed to enhancing diagnosis and care for people with coeliac disease in Scotland. We have developed a Scottish Coeliac Disease Pathway (2020) in partnership with people living with the condition, the charity Coeliac UK and clinicians. This has been shown to accelerate correct diagnosis and access to appropriate treatment (gluten-free diet and lifestyle) as detailed in the Coeliac Disease Pathway Report . It is our expectation that all Health Boards will fully implement this pathway.

We have also invested £70 million in support of our Endoscopy and Urology Diagnostic Recovery and Renewal Plan . This includes a commitment to promote and implement guidelines for non-biopsy diagnosis for coeliac disease, which is expected to reduce waiting times for diagnosis for this condition. This plan will be overseen by the Endoscopy and Urology Diagnostic Elective Care Group (EUDECG) with representation from all key stakeholders to support delivery, including NHS Boards and Endoscopy units across the country.

Data relating to visas and arrivals under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, including the Scottish super sponsor scheme, is published regularly by the UK Government;

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/ukraine-sponsorship-scheme-visa-data-by-country-upper-and-lower-tier-local-authority

Through our Affordable Housing Supply Programme, over this parliamentary session, we will make available over £156 million of funding for the South Lanarkshire Council area to support delivery of social and affordable homes. Details of the resource planning assumptions for this period can be accessed on our webpage – Affordable housing: resource planning assumptions to councils 2021-2022 to 2025-2026 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

This funding will support the delivery of projects identified as strategic affordable housing priorities to the area, as set out in the Council’s Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP), and will be administered through our Scottish Government More Homes local area team, working with delivery partners across the local authority area. A copy of the South Lanarkshire Council SHIP should be available online and is updated annually.

Based on the 2022-27 SHIP, it is estimated that over 3,000 affordable homes could be delivered across South Lanarkshire in this parliamentary term including over 700 in East Kilbride. It should be noted that the SHIP is a moveable document and planned figures are subject to change throughout the course of a financial year.

At present, there is no marked increase in applications to the Home Owners Support Fund (HOSF). However, to ensure the scheme has maximum impact as part of our response to the current economic situation, I can confirm my officials are currently reviewing HOSF to consider what more can be done through the scheme to support homeowners struggling with mortgage repayments as a result of rising interest rates and the cost of living crisis.

For ease of reference, the most recent estimate for whole time equivalent of GPs can be found in the General Practice Workforce Survey 2019 which estimated that there were 3,613 GP whole time equivalents (WTE) in Scotland in 2019. The GP (excluding Specialist Trainees) WTE increased from an estimated 3,520 in 2017 to an estimated 3,613 in 2019, based on 8 sessions per week being one WTE. These are the most recent available published data for GP whole time equivalent due to impacts of the pandemic on surveys.

In our helpful discussion at the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee on 29 March 2022, I undertook to look further at options for attaining and publishing whole-time equivalent data. I can confirm that I have now commissioned NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) to run this important survey afresh, and the General Practice Workforce Survey 2022 issued to practices in week commencing 30 May 2022. Further, I can confirm the Scottish Government is making arrangements for this survey to take place on an annual basis in future.

I agree that updated data are essential in understanding capacity in general practice, and I expect a full report on t T his year’s data to be published in the Autumn. I will be pleased to write to the Committee Convenor with that report when it is available.

The Scottish Fiscal Commission publish estimates and forecasts of eligibility and payments for Scottish Child Payment and Best Start Grant but only for Scotland. There are no estimates or forecasts of eligibility and take-up (the proportion of eligible children that receive payments) by area within Scotland. The following figures cannot be used to inform eligibility or take-up for East Kilbride specifically.

However, internal Scottish Government analysis suggests around 6000 children in East Kilbride are forecast to be eligible for Scottish Child Payment in each of the next 6 years and around 1000 for Best Start Grant. Also, that in 2022-23 around 4000 children are forecast to receive Scottish Child Payment, rising to 5000 from 2023-24 onwards. For Best Start Grant, around 1000 children are expected to receive payment in each of the next 6 years.

All figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand to reflect these are approximate estimates and use national level eligibility and take-up rates. See Tables 1 and 2:

Table 1: Estimated number of children in East Kilbride constituency forecast to be eligible for Scottish Child Payment and Best Start Grant.

The Scottish Government expects all women to receive high quality, safe care including in the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of pre-eclampsia.

The Scottish Perinatal Network has been tasked with examining the adoption of PlGF testing in light of the draft NICE guidance published for consultation in March this year and we expect the finalised guidance to be published on 27 July 2022.

As part of its initial work, the Network is engaging with the clinical and scientific community to understand how the additional two tests included in the draft guidance work in practice. This work is underway and I have asked my officials to continue working with the Network to explore how we can best implement PlGF testing in Scotland.

The provision of community pharmacy pharmaceutical services are made according to arrangements set out in the NHS (Pharmaceutical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 2009. Under this, decisions are a matter for NHS Health Boards, through their Pharmacy Practices Committee (PPC). The process is independent of Scottish Ministers and Government.

The Scottish Government provides resource for local authorities to tackle homelessness through the annual local government finance settlement. In 2022-23, local authorities received £55.322 million [1] of homelessness grant aided expenditure. In addition, the Scottish Government has made available £100 million between 2018-19 and 2025-26 from the Ending Homelessness Together fund to transform homelessness services. Of this, £42 million supports the development and implementation of local authority rapid rehousing transition plans.

In May 2020, the Unsuitable Accommodation Order was extended to all households to ensure people are provided with suitable accommodation to support them out of homelessness. We are aware that full compliance with the Order remains challenging for some local authorities. Scottish Government officials have met with the local authorities that are facing the greatest barriers in complying with the Order to offer support. Engagement with local authorities has shown positive progress is being made in reducing the use of unsuitable accommodation and there are plans for learning to be shared more widely.

Ultimately, it is for local authorities to meet their statutory duty to provide temporary accommodation that is suitable for the needs of a household.

[1] Scottish Local Government Finance 'Green Book' 2022-23 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)