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-24610

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 25 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what objectives it set for any funding that it has provided to Family Mediation West since 2019.

The Scottish Government has not provided any funding directly to Family Mediation West from 2019.

Relationships Scotland operate a network of 21 Member Services across Scotland, including Family Mediation West.

Since 2016, the Scottish Government has provided Relationships Scotland with core funding via the Children, Young People and Families Early Intervention and Adult Learning & Empowering Communities third sector fund, which will continue until March 2025.

Since 2020, the Scottish Government has provided Relationships Scotland with grant funding to provide child contact services.

Question reference: S6W-24556

Asked by: Sue Webber, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 25 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to urgently provide equitable access to prehabilitation, especially for patients with a less survivable cancer.

The Cancer Action Plan 2023-2026 sets out our ambitious programme of work to ensure access to cancer prehabilitation.

The Scottish Government is working with experts across health and social care to ensure timely access to all services providing the multi-modal, tiered and personalised interventions that make up prehabilitation. This includes developing the frameworks to screen, assess and signpost people affected by cancer to the relevant services as soon as possible. A national website has been created in partnership with those with lived experience to provide universal and accessible information and advice. A new primary care cancer education platform for NHS Scotland that will feature prehabilitation advice will also go live early 2024 to enable effective decision-making and support earlier diagnosis efforts.

Prehabilitation is a key part of the Optimal Cancer Diagnostic Pathways and Clinical Management Pathways (CMPs) that have been developed for Lung Cancer and the CMP for Adult Brain Cancers, also in development. The Scottish Government has also provided £350,000 to develop and implement universal prehabilitation workshops for the Maggie’s Centres. Further funding has been allocated to support each board area to adopt the nationally provided tools to reinforce care pathways, directly benefiting those affected by cancer, including less survivable cancers.

Question reference: S6W-24528

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 15 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 25 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government to what extent the effects of long COVID are informing its (a) policy on mask mandates and (b) COVID-19 winter booster vaccination roll-out.

Our guidance to stay well and help others in winter can be found here Respiratory infections including Coronavirus (COVID-19): staying well and protecting others - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . We have no current plans to mandate the wearing of face coverings.

It is due to the success of vaccines in protecting people, driving down cases and the availability of treatments that the guidance on wearing masks was withdrawn.

The Scottish Government follows JCVI for clinical recommendations for vaccination and their current assessment of the evidence does not support the inclusion of long COVID as an eligible at risk health criteria. We intend to continue to be guided by the expert independent advice of the JCVI on this issue.

We continue to monitor studies on COVID-19 vaccination and their relationship to long COVID. There have been a selection of international studies that suggest that receiving COVID-19 vaccination, before infection, can reduce the risk of receiving a diagnosis of long COVID. It is therefore important that we continue to work to improve uptake of our COVID-19 vaccination programmes to potentially prevent more instances of long COVID, but also to continue to protect those at higher risk from severe illness, hospitalisation and death and to protect our NHS.

Question reference: S6W-24324

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 25 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many ScotRail staff have (a) ticket examination and (b) revenue protection responsibilities, and, of these, how many are (a) full-time and (b) part-time staff.

Question reference: S6W-24471

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 25 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what Scottish caseload and application modelling it anticipates it will receive from the UK Government in the event that the recommendations in the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council report, Review and Update of the Prescription for Prescribed Disease D1 (Pneumoconiosis), are implemented by the UK Government.

Question reference: S6W-24440

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 25 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the funding set out in the NHS Recovery Plan 2021-2026 has been allocated to improving child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) in the (a) NHS Lothian and (b) West Lothian Council area.

Table One shows the funding allocated to NHS Lothian for improving child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) in 2021-2022 and for a broader range of Mental Health Services, including CAMHS, from 2022-2023. Allocations for the current financial year, 2023-2024 have not yet concluded.

It should be noted that allocations from 2022-2023 onwards were made from the Mental Health Outcomes Framework, which bundled a number of funding streams to allow NHS Boards flexibility to meet local priorities against the stated outcomes. The total allocation can be utilised to support improvements in CAMHS, psychological therapies, eating disorder care, primary care and children and young people’s neurodevelopmental services, as well as ongoing innovation and service reform. It is therefore not possible to provide a specific figure for funding allocated to CAMHS improvement from 2022-23 onwards.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the final allocations to specific Integration Joint Boards. NHS Lothian will be able to advise on the funding received for CAMHS in the West Lothian Council area resulting from their delegation arrangements.

Table One:

Financial Year	NHS Lothian Allocation
2021-2022	£5,702,137
2022-2023	£9,154,511

Question reference: S6W-24465

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 25 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has undertaken of any impact that its reported decision to cancel the Flexible Workforce Development Fund will have on college financing.

It is too early to determine the impact of the withdrawal of Flexible Workforce Development Fund on college financing. However, the Scottish Government and the Scottish Funding Council will continue to support colleges to understand and minimise any negative impacts on short, medium and long-term financial sustainability.

We remain committed to supporting an education and skills system that responds to the needs of Scotland’s employers/learners and we would encourage employers to continue to work with colleges, building on the relationships they now have. SFC will work with the sector to consider how we make best use of the resources available to enable colleges to maximise opportunities for learners and be responsive to employers’ needs, building on the strong foundations they have established over recent years.

Question reference: S6W-24464

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 25 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has modelled any impact of its reported decision to end the Flexible Workforce Development Fund, and any effect that it will have on job-related training.

The decision to halt the Flexible Workforce Development Fund was not taken lightly but in an extremely challenging budget environment. It is too early to tell the impact of this decision on the overall job-related training across Scotland. It is hoped that many of the employers who have benefitted from FWDF since 2017 will continue to recognise the value of upskilling their workforce to support economic growth.

Employers have a key role to play in workforce development. We will continue to encourage employers to build on the strong partnerships they have developed and work with their local colleges and universities to ensure training offers align to labour market needs.

Question reference: S6W-24294

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 25 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that the commitments made to GP contractors in The National Code of Practice for GP premises are being upheld.

NHS Boards are responsible for implementing the National Code of Practice for GP premises.

The NHS Scotland National Primary Care (GP) Premises Group has been set up to consider all matters relating to GP Premises including:

Oversight of the implementation of the Code of Practice for GP Premises.
Implementation of GP Sustainability Loans.
Consideration and review of available guidance.
Consideration of appropriate schedules of accommodation within Primary Care premises, and specifically that of General Practice occupied areas and how this may affect reimbursement.
Provide a platform for the Scottish Government to present papers/proposals to the group.
Provide a platform for the BMA to present papers to the group.
Provide a platform for the NHS Boards to present papers to the group.
Ensure the Rent Review Process is consistent and supports the intent of the GP contract where required.
Standardise approaches, e.g. standardise leases across Scotland.

Health Boards are represented on a regional basis alongside the BMA, the Scottish Government and other stakeholders.

Question reference: S6O-03052

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 January 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with the UK Government regarding any charges levied by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency for converting to, and investing in, net zero fishing vessels.