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-03233

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 5 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many pollution incidents related to the water environment have been reported to SEPA since 1 April 2021, and how many of these have resulted in regulatory action.

Question reference: S6W-03251

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 5 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-02502 by Kevin Stewart on 21 September 2021, for what reason this data on dementia diagnosis is not held centrally, and what effect this has on its ability to workforce plan and target resources effectively.

Strategic national action on dementia to support local service design and delivery is informed by extensive national data, both actual and estimated. We commissioned and published in 2016 the first national report on estimated annual diagnosed dementia incidence, designed to show the estimated annual flow of new diagnoses into the health and social care system, specifically to help local workforce planning and resourcing around dementia post-diagnostic support, and to enable local and national measurement against the national dementia post-diagnostic commitment. This report will be re-commissioned this year.

Local systems collect and hold diagnosis data when individuals with a dementia diagnosis are referred for post-diagnostic support.

Question reference: S6W-03244

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 5 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what support it will provide for carers in light of the expiry of temporary changes to Carer’s Allowance rules that allowed them to maintain the allowance when the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in them having to take breaks in care.

Under the terms of our Agency Agreement with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Carer’s Allowance must be delivered in Scotland under the same procedures and rules as in England and Wales. As the COVID restrictions are lifted, DWP’s firm position is that there is no longer a need for these easements. We have encouraged DWP to consider closely the impact of this change. Regulations remain in place that continue to ensure that breaks in care for the period from March 2020 up to 31 August 2021 are disregarded as part of Carer’s Allowance calculations. Moreover, if Parliament passes the Carers Allowance Supplement (Scotland) Bill then an increased payment of Carer’s Allowance Supplement will be made in December, which will total £462.80 for those in receipt of Carer’s Allowance in Scotland.

Carers Allowance sits alongside a wide range of carer support, including the Carers Act which enhances and extends the rights of all carers in Scotland. This year we have invested an additional £28.5m for local carer support, bringing total investment in the Carers (Scotland) Act to £68m per year. We are currently consulting on how best to amend the Carers (Scotland) Act to create a new right to breaks from caring. Alongside the statutory support, we fund Shared Care Scotland and Family Fund to deliver the £3 million per year Short Breaks Fund. Last year we put an extra £1.1m into the Short Breaks Fund and £300,000 in our Young Scot young carer package, to support carers of all ages to enjoy some time away from their caring role and look after themselves. This year we have already committed an extra £570,000 for the Short Breaks Fund and in October will be opening the ScotSpirit Holiday Voucher Scheme for carers and families on low incomes. Although not specifically for carers, the Scottish Welfare Fund can also provide a vital safety net for those on a low income experiencing a short term financial crisis.

Question reference: S6W-03252

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 5 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-02503 by Kevin Stewart on 21 September 2021, for what reason this data on what the average time has been to see a dementia specialist is not held centrally, and what effect this has on its ability to workforce plan and target resources effectively.

Public Health Scotland hold and publish data at consultant or speciality level, which means, for dementia clinical assessments and clinical treatments, old age psychiatry. Those consultations are not broken down by condition or illness.

The Scottish Government draws on extensive actual and estimated data to support local dementia service, workforce and resource planning, including data on estimated dementia prevalence and annual estimated diagnosed incidence, as well as estimated annual spend on dementia by Integration Joint Boards

Question reference: S6W-03243

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 5 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many unannounced inspections SEPA has undertaken since April 2021 to assess compliance with General Binding Rules for diffuse pollution in (a) priority catchments identified in the first River Basin Management Plan, (b) priority catchments identified in the second River Basin Management Plan and (c) catchments not identified as "priority".

Question reference: S6W-02855

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 5 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will increase spending to ensure that the NHS can (a) provide adequate support to staff in relation to mental health issues, (b) ensure staff safety in hospitals and (c) overcome any low staffing issues.

NHS Scotland's staffing levels are at a record high, with 25,000 more whole time equivalent staff members working in our NHS under this Government.

Supporting our National Health Service is a central part of the Scottish Government’s programme of work. This is backed by record investment of over £16 billion this year which includes funding to support wellbeing and capacity across our NHS workforce.

On supporting staff in relation to mental health issues: for the financial year 2021-22 the Scottish Government has announced an increased budget of £8 million - an increase of £3 million on last year - to provide ongoing support for the mental health and wellbeing of health and social care workforce across Scotland. This includes targeted support to the primary care and social care workforces of £2 million.

On staff wellbeing and safety, our Health Recovery Plan, published on 25 August, outlines that recovery of staff is intrinsic to our collective ambitions for renewing services. Investment in support for staff wellbeing is therefore an essential and vital component of the recovery plans.

On staffing issues, to support recruitment and free up capacity in the short term we will provide £2 million of financial support to NHS Boards to increase capacity within their recruitment teams and support international recruitment.

We will invest £11 million over the next 5 years in new national and international recruitment campaigns and establish a new national Centre for Workforce Supply. International recruitment of healthcare workers will build capacity in our health workforce and complement existing routes into NHS Scotland.

Work has been undertaken throughout the pandemic with national Regulatory Bodies to ensure that as many former nurses, doctors and allied health professionals who wish to return to work in NHS Scotland are able to do so. We will also support the aims of the Young Person’s Guarantee by increasing opportunities for young people to access employment in NHS Scotland and will explore a range of new initiatives, links with schools and increasing apprenticeships.

Question reference: S6W-02384

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 5 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many people in the NHS Highland area have waited longer than the 18-week referral-to-treatment waiting time standard for orthopaedic treatment in each month since January 2020.

Table one shows the total number of patients seen and number that waited over 18 weeks to be seen for orthopaedic treatment in NHS Highland, from January 2020 to June 2021.

Month	Total Patients Seen	Number of patients seen waiting >18 weeks	Unknown Waits
Jan-20	766	223	256
Feb-20	707	226	210
Mar-20	478	136	161
Apr-20	168	27	84
May-20	187	36	107
Jun-20	298	102	111
Jul-20	542	281	137
Aug-20	519	279	153
Sep-20	685	332	247
Oct-20	481	141	185
Nov-20	672	210	291
Dec-20	493	133	166
Jan-21	417	129	160
Feb-21	398	79	186
Mar-21	477	98	204
Apr-21	583	111	286
May-21	567	156	283
Jun-21	702	208	282

Source: PHS 18 Weeks RTT Database

Question reference: S6T-00218

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 04 October 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what measures public sector agencies, including the Scottish Government, Police Scotland and the Crown Office, will take to increase efforts to ensure women are protected from harassment and violence.

Question reference: S6F-00348

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 October 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 October 2021

To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government will review the implementation date for changes to allow parents to defer their child's start at primary school.

Question reference: S6F-00341

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 October 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 October 2021

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the announcement that the SQA has entered a two-year agreement with the Equality and Human Rights Commission to improve equalities practices after the Commission established that the SQA was not routinely assessing the impact of its policies and practices against the three needs of the Public Sector Equality Duty.