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-14749

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 17 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it has issued regarding "purposeful walkers" restraint practices in hospitals and care homes.

The Scottish Government has issued the following guidance regarding “purposeful walkers” and use of restraint practices in hospitals and care homes:

Coronavirus (COVID-19): living with dementia in care homes (2022).Guidance on supporting people with dementia or cognitive impairment to remain safe during periods of isolation.

Coronavirus (COVID-19): living with dementia in care homes - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

COVID-19 Clinical Guidance For NHS Scotland: Using Physical Restraint For Mental Health And Learning Disability Patients With Confirmed Or Suspected COVID-19 (2020)

Coronavirus (COVID-19): clinical guidance - using physical restraint for patients - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Question reference: S6W-14731

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 17 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what review it has made of the different pay scales for adult and child social care staff.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving fair work practices across the social care sector.

There are more than 1,200 social care providers across Scotland; and each of these providers will have their own internal pay scales.

Since 2016, the Scottish Government has delivered funding to ensure adult social care workers are paid at least the Real Living Wage (RLW). Our ambition is that all care workers, including those working in the children’s sector, are paid the Real Living Wage as a minimum. Work to better understand the current composition of the Children’s social care sector is taking place in collaboration with key stakeholders.

Question reference: S6W-14738

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 17 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what support has been made available to local authorities in each year since 1999 to assist young carers.

The share of local government funding to be allocated to young carers is not set centrally, and the Scottish Government does not hold this information.

The Scottish Government’s policy towards local authority spending is to allow each local authority the financial freedom to operate independently. As such, the vast majority of local authority funding is provided by means of a block grant. It is then the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, including support for young carers, on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.

Since 2018-19, additional funding to support the implementation of the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 has been included within the local government block grant, as set out in the following table:

Year	Cumulative Carers Act Implementation funding
2018-19	£17.4 million
2019-20	£27.9 million
2020-21	£39.5 million
2021-22	£68.0 million
2022-23	£88.4 million

While the level of funding allocated for supporting adult and young carers is ultimately a matter for local authorities, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care wrote to authorities in February 2022 to highlight the additional Carers Act funding and the importance of prioritising carer support. This letter can be accessed at: www.gov.scot/publications/carers-act-funding-letter-to-councils-and-integration-authorities .

Question reference: S6W-14404

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 17 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government which NHS boards include patient-reported outcomes as part of their clinical consultations, with a view to discussing emotional health.

Question reference: S6W-14946

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 17 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to employers in the care sector to help them pay employees the Living Wage.

Since 2016, the Scottish Government has provided funding to ensure that adult social care workers, delivering direct care in the third and independent sectors, are paid at least the Real Living Wage (RLW).

From April 2023, these workers will see their pay increase to a minimum of £10.90 per hour; in line with the RLW rate for the 2023/24 Financial Year. This represents an increase of 3.8% from the £10.50 minimum rate that was introduced in April 2022 and is a 14.7% increase for these workers in the last two years; with pay rising from at least £9.50 per hour in April 2021 to at least £10.90 in April 2023.

This funding will be delivered through Local Government contracts and the Scottish Government will transfer £100 million to Local Government to deliver this uplift to providers in the third and independent sectors; this investment takes Scottish Government recurring funding for adult social care pay in commissioned services to £0.6 billion per year.

Question reference: S6W-14730

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 17 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many working groups it has launched in each year since 2007.

Question reference: S6W-14552

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 16 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether mental health professionals within the NHS are trained to identify pressures of financial strain in patients and signpost to money advice services if appropriate.

As part of a person-centred assessment, Mental Health professionals (e.g. mental health nurses, psychiatrists and psychologists) working in the NHS are skilled in discussing a wide range of factors that may impact a person’s mental health and wellbeing. This could include financial wellbeing where they will signpost to appropriate help or liaise with local services and/or local authority colleagues.

More specific training on financial wellbeing/inclusion takes place locally, as part of local initiatives and/or promoted through partnership approaches. This is a matter for local partnerships/health boards and as such this information is not held centrally.

Question reference: S6W-14550

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 16 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it undertakes any mental health and wellbeing impact assessments in formulating new policy, and, if this is not the case, whether it will consider creating a mental health impact assessment tool, as recommended by the Mental Health Foundation.

We do not currently routinely require formal mental health and wellbeing impact assessments. However, we expect that careful consideration of any effects on mental health is a feature of the formulation of all new Government policy; and link across directorates to facilitate this.

The Mental Health Foundation has responded to the public consultation on the forthcoming Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy with a recommendation that all Government departments should consider how their policies impact mental health. We are carefully considering all consultation responses as we develop the new Strategy, due to be published in Spring 2023. The Strategy will be evidence-based, informed by lived experience, and underpinned by equality and human rights.

Question reference: S6W-14865

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 13 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 16 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S6W-13235 and S6W-13236 by Mairi Gougeon on 20 December 2022, when it anticipates that (a) the report from the UK Animal Welfare Committee regarding the welfare of farmed fish at slaughter will be published and (b) any recommendations in the report will be implemented, following its completion.

Question reference: S6O-01929

Asked by: Paul McLennan, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 February 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its Hydrogen Action Plan, including regarding the role that local authorities can play in defining demand.