Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-10429

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 6 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much agricultural land has been lost in Scotland to house building developments in the last decade.

The Scottish Government does not hold information relating to the amount of land that has changed from agricultural use to homes.

In our draft National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) we proposed national planning policy which included that development proposals on prime agricultural land would not be supported except in certain limited circumstances. We will lay a finalised NPF4 in the Scottish Parliament for approval in the autumn.

Question reference: S6O-01330

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 August 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many houses it estimates need to be built to tackle the current housing waiting lists in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-09859

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 4 August 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to ensure a secure future for shipbuilding and fabrication in Scotland.

Building on a rich shipbuilding heritage, the future for Scottish shipbuilding, marine engineering and fabrication is very strong. The latest official statistics show Scottish shipbuilding generated £408 million of gross value added in 2019 – a 45% increase from 2018 – and Scotland contributed 19% of the total UK shipbuilding output. The sector supports direct employment of approximately 7,500 highly skilled people in Scotland with many thousands more supported through the supply chain.

The major shipbuilding yards in Rosyth and on the Clyde continue to deliver substantial programmes of work for defence and ferries programmes, whilst a host of smaller facilities throughout Scotland service the ship repair, fabrication, fishing and aquaculture sectors. And, through our ownership of Ferguson Marine, Scottish Ministers are working to ensure the Port Glasgow yard has a secure and sustainable future.

The broader Scottish marine engineering sector continues to service offshore oil and gas markets both in the North Sea and across the globe, while the sector gears up for the truly transformational opportunities that will come through ScotWind – the world’s largest commercial round for floating offshore wind – putting Scotland at the forefront of offshore wind development globally.

Lease agreements with all 17 successful ScotWind applicants have now been signed and we welcome the commitment of developers to invest an average projection of £1.5 billion in Scotland per project, equating to more than £25 billion across all projects. Through these initial awards, ScotWind will not only deliver c.£700 million in revenues to the public purse, but also wider economic supply chain benefits to help power Scotland’s green recovery in communities across Scotland.

The Scottish Government has also committed to invest £580 million over 5 years in vessels and ports, as part of our Infrastructure Investment Plan. This substantial funding will improve Scotland’s ferry services by delivering greater resilience to the network and will allow a wider range of vessels to be used. The Islands Connectivity Plan (ICP) will replace the current Ferries Plan from January 2023 and, as part of the ICP, we will produce and maintain a long-term plan and investment programme for new ferries and development at ports.

Question reference: S6W-09036

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 23 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many social care staff have (a) joined and (b) left the sector in each of the last 10 years.

Question reference: S6O-01313

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 June 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many housing developments in Scotland are currently unable to progress as a result of funding for schools and social infrastructure not being in place.

Question reference: S6W-09002

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 22 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many hospital beds there have been in NHS Fife in each of the last 10 years.

A set of data tables for the most recent and historical hospital bed numbers for each board is available in the annual PHS publication, which was released on 28 September 2021, which be found at https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/acute-hospital-activity-and-nhs-beds-information-annual/acute-hospital-activity-and-nhs-beds-information-annual-annual-year-ending-31-march-2021/

Data is available from financial year 2011-12 to financial year 2020-21. Hospital beds data is presented in the Table 4 – beds data file, and the measure of interest is Average Available Staffed Beds for All Specialties.

A set of data tables for the most recent and historical hospital bed numbers for each board is available in the annual PHS publication, which was released on 28 September 2021, which be found at https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/acute-hospital-activity-and-nhs-beds-information-annual/acute-hospital-activity-and-nhs-beds-information-annual-annual-year-ending-31-march-2021/

Data is available from financial year 2011-12 to financial year 2020-21. Hospital beds data is presented in the Table 4 – beds data file, and the measure of interest is Average Available Staffed Beds for All Specialties.

Question reference: S6W-09039

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 22 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the average weekly cost per person is of (a) a hospital stay, (b) residential care home provision and (c) providing care at their own home.

While the average weekly cost per person per week in each of these settings is not directly comparable, published data is available as follows;

The average weekly costs per person of (a) a hospital stay for inpatients across all specialities and all hospitals in 2019-20, the latest year for which data is available, can be found in table R105. Data files - Finance - Data & intelligence from PHS (isdscotland.org)

The average weekly costs per person of (b) residential care home provision in 2021 is contained in the 'funding and charges section' of Care home census for adults in Scotland Statistics for 2011 to 2021 Dashboard - Care home census for adults in Scotland - Statistics for 2011 to 2021 (full release) - Care home census for adults in Scotland - Publications - Public Health Scotland

The average weekly cost per person of (c) providing care at their own home is not held centrally.

Question reference: S6W-09033

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 21 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what average annual charge is set by care home providers for a place that is occupied by someone who is self-funding, broken down by integration joint board (IJB) area.

We currently do not have the data by IJB and the following table gives details by Local Authority area. Full details are contained in the Care home census for adults in Scotland Statistics for 2011 to 2021 ( Care home census for adults in Scotland - Statistics for 2011 to 2021 (full release) - Care home census for adults in Scotland - Publications - Public Health Scotland ) .

Estimated Average Gross Annual Charge (£) for Fully or Mainly Self-Funded Long Stay Residents (without nursing care) in Care Homes for Older People in Scotland, by Local Authority Area.

Local Authority	Annual Charge (£)
Scotland	51,740
Aberdeen City	63,128
Aberdeenshire	53,612
Angus	48,360
Argyll and Bute	63,544
Clackmannanshire	39,988
Dumfries and Galloway	41,704
Dundee City	48,412
East Ayrshire	47,008
East Dunbartonshire	64,324
East Lothian	54,444
East Renfrewshire	46,748
Edinburgh, City of	68,692
Falkirk	56,368
Fife	49,296
Glasgow City	46,072
Highland	54,236
Inverclyde	50,232
Midlothian	55,900
Moray	55,172
Na h-Eileanan Siar	39,676
North Ayrshire	41,548
North Lanarkshire	43,108
Orkney Islands	53872
Perth and Kinross	49,764
Renfrewshire	52,416
Scottish Borders	51,532
Shetland Islands	67,860
South Ayrshire	48,568
South Lanarkshire	42,640
Stirling	53,768
West Dunbartonshire	46,852
West Lothian	50,232

The estimated average gross costs at 31 March are calculated by PHS using data submitted by care homes open on 31 March of each year. Missing data are not imputed by PHS. In 2021, 67% of care homes open on 31 March submitted data to the Care Home Census.

Question reference: S6W-09000

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 20 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding was allocated to NHS Fife in 2021-22, and how much it anticipates will be allocated in each year from 2022-23 to 2024-25.

For 2021-22 and 2022-23, I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-08999 on 20 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

Future year’s planned expenditure will be determined and set out in each year’s Scottish Budget.

Question reference: S6W-09001

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 20 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of overall spend NHS boards will be expected to save in each year from 2022-23 to 2024-25.

Each financial year, NHS Boards are typically required to deliver a level of efficiency savings to deliver financial balance. Efficiency savings are how health boards ensure they are making the best possible use of public money and every penny of efficiency savings stays with the health boards.

We are working closely with all NHS Boards to address financial pressures facing the system, whilst ensuring that patient safety and Covid recovery remain the priority.

Chamber and committees