Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-04420

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 24 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many Best Start Grant Pregnancy and Baby Payments have been made in each year since the scheme was established.

Social Security Scotland routinely publish information as part of the quarterly Official Statistics release ‘Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods’. This includes information on the value of payments issued for Best Start Grant Pregnancy and Baby Payments each month.

Number and value of Best Start Grant Pregnancy and Baby Payments issued, by year

	Number of payments issued	Value of payments issued
2018-19 (10 th December to 31 st March)	10,675	£4,072,200
2019-20	15,875	£6,638,100
2020-21	16,315	£6,942,600
2021-22 (1 st April to 31 st August)	7,755	£3,238,914

*NOTE: The Pregnancy and Baby Payment provides eligible families with £606 for a first child and £303 for any subsequent children. Prior to 1 April 2021, the value of the payment was £600 for a first child and £300 for a subsequent child.

The latest Official Statistics, covering the period from 10 December 2018 to
‎ 31 August 2021, were last published on the 26 October 2021 and are available from:

https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/reporting/publications/best-start-grant-and-best-start-foods-high-level-statistics-to-31-august-2021

Question reference: S6W-04422

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 24 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications for benefits have been rejected by Social Security Scotland, broken down by the type of benefit that was applied for.

Social Security Scotland routinely publish official statistics publications on each of the devolved benefits at:https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/publications

For benefits where clients can apply to Social Security Scotland, published statistics include information on the number of applications received and the outcomes of applications, including the number that have been rejected. The latest publication for each benefit can be found at:

Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods statistics to 31 August 2021

https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/reporting/publications/best-start-grant-and-best-start-foods-high-level-statistics-to-31-august-2021

Funeral Support Payment statistics to 30 September 2021

https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/reporting/publications/funeral-support-payment-high-level-statistics-to-30-september-2021

Young Carer Grant statistics to 31 July 2021

https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/reporting/publications/young-carer-grant-high-level-statistics-to-31-july-2021

Job Start Payment statistics to 30 September 2021

https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/reporting/publications/job-start-payment-high-level-statistics-to-30-september-2021

Scottish Child Payment statistics to 30 June 2021

https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/reporting/publications/scottish-child-payment-high-level-statistics-to-30-june-2021

Question reference: S6W-04303

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 24 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) reported incidents of, (b) prosecutions for and (c) convictions for wildlife crime there have been in each of the last five years.

(a) The latest available information for Recorded crime data is for the financial year 2020-21 and is presented in the following table:

Wildlife crime Recorded by Police Scotland, 2016-17 to 2020-21

Financial year	Total
2016-17	231
2017-18	236
2018-19	171
2019-20	198
2020-21	308

Source: Recorded Crime in Scotland National Statistics Dataset

(b)(c) The latest available information for criminal proceedings is for the financial year 2019-20 and is presented in the following table:

People proceeded against in Scottish courts for wildlife crimes, where main charge, 2015-16 to 2019-20

Financial year	Total prosecuted	Total convicted
2015-16	25	20
2016-17	23	22
2017-18	29	25
2018-19	15	10
2019-20	12	11

Source: Scottish Government Criminal Proceedings database

The statistics dealing with recorded crime and court proceedings are not directly comparable for a number of reasons. Recorded crime statistics count crimes and offences at the time that they came to the attention of Police Scotland while criminal proceedings statistics report on cases which have concluded in court. This means that a crime may be recorded by the police in one year and court proceedings concluded in a subsequent year. In addition, a person may be proceeded against for more than one crime, or a set of crimes with more than one victim, in a proceeding, but only the main charge is counted in these court proceedings statistics. There is also the possibility that the crime recorded by the police may be altered in the course of judicial proceedings. Crimes and offences alleged to have been committed by children under 16 years old are also generally dealt with through the children’s hearings system rather than through the courts.

Question reference: S6W-04289

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 24 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when the next round of funding from the Victim Surcharge Fund will be distributed to victims groups.

Question reference: S6W-03979

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 24 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many sessions are being provided as part of the COVID-19 booster programme, compared with the initial vaccination programme.

Scotland’s Covid-19 vaccination programme has been extremely successful, with over 8 million doses administered within 10 months. With the ongoing pandemic, we are following the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advice by prioritising based on age and health status with highest health needs first as we know both increase the risk of serious illness from Covid-19.

Given the scale and the challenges that the programme faces, delivering all boosters will take place over a period of several months, however the vaccination programme is continuing at considerable pace – including administering over 436,000 COVID-19 and flu doses in the first week of November.

Health boards are working at pace and appointing those in most vulnerable groups for when they become eligible for a booster. Since the booster programme began in mid-September, the number of booster and third doses administered stands at 1,342,841 as of 19 November.

You can view more information on the number of 1st , 2nd , 3rd and booster doses delivered at: COVID-19 Daily Dashboard | Tableau Public .

Question reference: S6W-04253

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Ash Regan on 24 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its current estimate is of the number of people who have been trafficked into Scotland or are being held against their will through acts of modern slavery.

Human trafficking is a hidden and often complex crime. Accurately assessing the scale of the problem in Scotland and beyond is challenging, although a range of estimates exist around the prevalence of the issue, both in the UK and globally.

Data on the number of trafficking victims in Scotland is drawn from the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). The NRM is the UK-wide framework for identifying potential victims of trafficking and ensuring they receive appropriate support and assistance.

Information from the NRM is released by the Home Office Single Competent Authority quarterly and in an end of year summary. Data relating to 2020 and 2021 can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-referral-mechanism-statistics .

Question reference: S6W-04281

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 24 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its capital allocation has been to North Ayrshire Council in real terms in each year since 1999-2000, up to and including 2021-22.

The total capital grant funding provided by the Scottish Government to North Ayrshire Council, in real terms, since 2008-09 is set out in the following table. Prior to 2008-09 the Scottish Government supported local authorities’ capital funding programmes through a combination of loan charge support for historic debt, supported borrowing allocations and a range of separate capital grants outwith the annual local government finance settlement (the details of which are not held centrally).

The capital funding for local authorities changed fundamentally with effect from 1 April 2008 with these individual capital grants being incorporated into the annual local government finance settlement. It should also be noted that funding for Police and Fire transferred out of the local government finance settlement with effect from 1 April 2013. As a result the years prior to 2013-14 are not comparable to the years after 2013-14.

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

Year	Cash	Real terms
	£m	£m
2008-09	17.071	21.863
2009-10	17.445	21.996
2010-11	13.472	16.708
2011-12	12.193	14.897
2012-13	9.578	11.471

2013-14	9.739	11.402
2014-15	14.076	16.292
2015-16	16.190	18.624
2016-17	12.108	13.623
2017-18	32.387	35.824
2018-19*	1.894	2.055
2019-20	26.160	27.717
2020-21	32.339	32.121
2021-22*	0.609	0.609

* North Ayrshire Council's reduced allocations were due to slippage in the Flood Prevention Scheme projects (Millport Coastal and Upper Garnock). Capital funding provided in advance was adjusted to reflect the latest financial forecasts provided by the council.

Question reference: S6W-03980

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 25 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 24 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have received the COVID-19 booster vaccine six months after the initial course of the vaccine, as recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

Booster vaccinations in Scotland started as soon as possible once the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) provided their advice on boosters, which stated that the booster dose should be offered no earlier than six months after completion of the primary vaccine course, however there is some flexibility to offer a booster vaccination to the most vulnerable groups after five months.

1,342,841 people have received a booster or 3rd dose to 19 November, and we are working as quickly as we can, prioritising those most vulnerable.

Data on boosters by JCVI priority group is not yet published. We continue to work closely with Public Health Scotland to develop the vaccination data to provide robust statistics that enhance public understanding.

Question reference: S6W-03908

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 22 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 24 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many social care staff who are eligible for their COVID-19 booster vaccine have received this dose, and by what date all social care staff will have received their COVID-19 booster vaccine.

Booster vaccinations in Scotland started as soon as possible once the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) provided their advice on boosters, which stated that the booster dose should be offered no earlier than six months after completion of the primary vaccine course, however there is some flexibility to offer a booster vaccination to the most vulnerable groups after five months.

1,342,841 people have received a booster or 3rd dose to 19 November, and we are working as quickly as we can, prioritising those most vulnerable.

Data on boosters by JCVI priority group is not yet published. We continue to work closely with Public Health Scotland to develop the vaccination data to provide robust statistics that enhance public understanding.

Question reference: S6W-03936

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 22 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 24 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of eligible patients will have received their COVID-19 booster vaccine by 31 December 2021.

Booster vaccinations in Scotland started as soon as possible once the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) provided their advice on boosters, which stated that the booster dose should be offered no earlier than six months after completion of the primary vaccine course, however there is some flexibility to offer a booster vaccination to the most vulnerable groups after five months.

1,342,841 people have received a booster or 3rd dose to 19 November, and we are working as quickly as we can, prioritising those most vulnerable.

Data on boosters by JCVI priority group is not yet published. We continue to work closely with Public Health Scotland to develop the vaccination data to provide robust statistics that enhance public understanding.

Chamber and committees