Chamber and committees

Information about alcohol specific deaths, which includes deaths by latest cause, is published annually by National Records of Scotland. The latest data was published on 17 August.

There have been 16,917 deaths attributed to alcohol liver disease since 2000. Records prior to the year of 2000 do not include latest cause of death, so it is not possible to report the number of deaths attributed to alcohol-related liver damage for 1999 year.

More information is available on Alcohol-specific deaths | National Records of Scotland (nrscotland.gov.uk)

We are investing £4.5 million of funding to implement the Neurological Care and Support Framework. Through the framework, we have funded Action for ME to produce an online CPD learning module on ME/CFS for GPs and health professionals in Scotland, which aims to support person-centred care, informed by good practice and current research. In June 2021, officials presented the module to the Scottish Deans Medical Education Group, who agreed to consider introducing into medical school curriculums.

We are also liaising with NHS Education Scotland who have committed to producing a Practice-Based Small Group Learning module on ME/CFS following publication of the final National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines, and we understand that this work is now underway.

The Scottish Government’s consultation on a National Care Service closed on 2 November, and received around 1,300 written responses. There was also significant digital and face to face engagement with members of the public throughout the consultation period.

Written responses will be published, where permission has been given, along with summary notes of points raised at the engagement events. An independent contractor has been appointed to undertake a detailed analysis of the responses and we expect to publish the analysis report in early 2022.

In our NHS Recovery Plan we have committed to provide sufficient funding for around 320 additional staff in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) over the next 5 years.

Since May 2021, we have allocated approximately £40m to NHS Boards to support CAMHS and the implementation of the National CAMHS Service Specification. Through this funding, NHS Boards have started to recruit additional staff to implement the Specification and to build professional capacity to support children and young people with neurodevelopmental support needs. NHS Boards will recruit a variety of staff in different roles, based on individual service needs.

The breakdown of CAMHS workforce is published on a quarterly basis through the NHS Education for Scotland (NES) CAMHS Workforce publication. This data can be found on the NES Turas Data Intelligence platform and provides a breakdown of staffing per NHS Board in CAMHS, including breakdown of professional role.

The Scottish Government is not responsible for the recruitment of NHS staff. It is NHS Boards’ responsibility to recruit workforce. The Scottish Government has provided guidance to NHS Boards, through the National CAMHS Service and Neurodevelopmental Specifications, on the appropriate roles and professionals expected to be employed within Boards.

The Woods In and Around Towns (WIAT) programme provides support to expand and sustainably manage Scotland’s urban woodlands while encouraging people to use and enjoy them. The programme supports activities in socially deprived communities and contributes to improving people’s health and well-being, sequestering carbon and helping our urban communities adapt to a changing climate.

The programme facilitates collaboration between local authorities, the private and the community sector to deliver initiatives ranging from the Central Scotland Green Network, Clyde Climate Forest and recent Lost Woods Project that provided the opportunity for children from all of Glasgow’s primary schools to take part in a mass tree planting scheme.

Under the current Forestry Grant Scheme the average annual funding available for the improvement and management of existing urban woodland is £750,000-£900,000 and for the creation of new woodland in areas covered by the Central Scotland Green Network, which is a focus area for the programme, is £8 million.

The total value of approved projects under these grants is:

In 2021, the Scottish Government commissioned a study from the Plant Health Centre on the implications of gene editing for plant health, including environmental impacts, at a cost of £18,441 to date.

Otherwise no funding has been committed specifically to research on the benefits and costs of gene editing since 2016. The Scottish Government has access to a wealth of expertise in its advisors, including the Chief Scientific Advisor for Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture, who follow the latest scientific evidence and are qualified to comment on the impacts of gene editing.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-04189 on 22 November 2021. 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 additional £40 million for the culture sector was announced in light of the consequential funding expected from the £300 million uplift to the Culture Recovery Fund in March 2021 UK Budget. The Scottish Government has so far only received £9 million of these consequentials. We are still seeking clarity from HM Treasury on why the £40 million has not yet been passed on in full to us and are continuing to press the UK Government to deliver the remaining £31 million.

Despite only receiving to date £9 million of the consequentials, we have made available £25 million to support recovery in the culture sector, principally through the Cultural Organisations and Venues Recovery Fund (COVRF) and the Performing Arts Venues Relief Fund (PAVRF). £17.2 million has been awarded to performing arts venues and culture organisations via Creative Scotland. £1.25m has also been announced for funding for the Public Library Covid Relief Fund. This leaves £6.55m remaining to be allocated, £2m of which is capital. We are working with the culture sector to understand ongoing needs, and announcements on the final allocations will be made in the coming weeks.

The total revenue funding provided by the Scottish Government to North Ayrshire Council as part of the annual local government finance settlement, in real terms, is set out in the following table.

It should be noted that the basis of local government funding changed with effect from 1 April 2008. The total revenue funding figures for 2008-09 onwards include previously ring-fenced funding which was outwith the annual local government finance settlement. It should also be noted that the funding for Police and Fire transferred out of the local government finance settlement with effect from 1 April 2013. As a result of these two changes the period between 1999-00 and 2007-08 is not directly comparable with the period between 2008-09 and 2012-13. Similarly the period between 2008-09 and 2012-13 is not directly comparable with the subsequent period from 2013-14 onwards.

The real terms figures were calculated using the October 2021 HM Treasury GDP deflators.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

The SPS does not hold the requested data. Since 2013, SPS has asked all persons on admission to custody to self-declare any known disability. The response is recorded on SPS’ internal system as either: yes, no or prefer not to disclose. However, the type of disability it is not specifically recorded.

Every individual in SPS custody is interviewed by a Healthcare Professional on admission in order to assess their healthcare needs. Where there is an identified need for additional support or reasonable adjustments whilst in custody, SPS, NHS and our education service partners will work in partnership to facilitate this.