- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 23 September 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 1 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government in what ways it evaluates the efficacy of the Funeral Support Payment.
Answer
The Scottish Government published the Funeral Support Payment evaluation in July 2022, which found that the payment reduced the need for people to borrow money to arrange a funeral.
Social Security Scotland’s annual client survey monitors the impact of benefit payments. Respondents to the most recent survey in 2022-23 rated Funeral Support Payment an average of 8.7 out of 10 when asked to rate how much benefit payments had helped make a difference to their lives.
We are committed to continually improving Scottish benefits. As a result of evaluation findings and learnings since Funeral Support Payment was launched in 2019, we have recently introduced regulations into Parliament to make improvements to the payment, further supporting bereaved people.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 20 September 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 1 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how it engages with dental practices in remote and rural areas to understand and respond to the reported challenges that they face, such as recruitment and retention.
Answer
As the Health Board makes the arrangements with independent dental contractors and bodies corporate, it is for the Board to have direct discussions with the rural practices.
Each NHS Board has a Director of Dentistry. Officials meet all NHS Boards regularly to discuss local issues, potential solutions and manage risk, which the Director of Dentistry attends.
The Scottish Government also regularly meet with the official representative body, British Dental Association Scotland, to discuss a range of matters including recruitment and retention across rural and island Scotland.
- Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 20 September 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Fairlie on 1 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of them currently delivering a reported 80% of the annual deer cull, how it will ensure that the policy intention to establish deer management nature restoration orders under the proposed Natural Environment Bill will not adversely affect private deer managers, and what impact assessment it will carry out.
Answer
We recognise the key role that private deer managers play in managing deer across Scotland. We expect to continue to work in collaboration with private deer managers in our objectives to modernise deer management across Scotland and want to work collaboratively with them.
As stated in the answer to S6W-30037 on 1 October 2024, we have consulted on a range of potential reforms to deer management. Alongside our public consultation we will also continue to speak with stakeholders to help inform any new legislation.
In addition to this we will be undertaking a number of impact assessments in relation to any provisions included in the Natural Environment Bill, including a Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA).
BRIAs are used to assess the costs, benefits and risks of any proposed or policy changes that may have an impact on the public, private, third sector or regulators. These impact assessments will be an integral and necessary part of evidenced-based policy development in relation to deer management.
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.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 20 September 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 1 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to expedite the delivery of the Veterans Homelessness Prevention Pathway, in light of it having been two years since publication and the reported delay in implementation having been cited as a concern in the Scottish Veterans Commissioner progress reports in both 2023 and 2024, and, if so, how it plans to do so.
Answer
The report from the Scottish Veterans Commissioner recognised the progress made in bringing forward the homelessness prevention provisions within the Housing (Scotland) Bill, which builds on the existing strong rights for people who are homeless, including veterans.
The number of homeless veterans in Scotland remains low and homeless veterans are a relatively small proportion (2%) of homeless households. However, we recognise that when veterans do become homeless they may have particular needs and we will continue to work with partners, including Veterans Scotland, both to prevent homelessness and improve housing outcomes for veterans.
- Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 20 September 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Fairlie on 1 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what the position is of NatureScot regarding the policy intention to establish deer management nature restoration orders under the proposed Natural Environment Bill, and whether it will publish all of the correspondence and advice, including the minutes of any meetings, that it has received from NatureScot regarding these orders.
Answer
As set out in the 2024-25 Programme for Government, the Natural Environment Bill will include provisions to modernise the way in which deer are managed in Scotland.
In January the Scottish Government consulted on a range of potential reforms to deer management, including the introduction of new powers designed to secure effective deer management that supports Scottish Government nature and climate objectives (Deer Management Nature Restoration Orders). The 'Managing Deer for Climate and Nature: consultation' closed on 29 March 2024. We received around 1600 responses and the full analysis report of the responses was published on 9 September 2024.
The Scottish Government is currently giving careful consideration to all of the consultation responses, which will inform the development of the provisions to be included in the future Natural Environment Bill.
We have no plans to publish all correspondence and advice on the development of planned legislation. The minutes of the Strategic Deer Board relevant to the legislation are published on the Scottish Government website.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 20 September 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 1 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors the impact of Scottish Dental Access Initiative grants, and what its position is on whether the funding is supporting NHS dentistry in remote and rural areas.
Answer
Scottish Dental Access Initiative (SDAI) grants are Health Board led and are subject to continuous review.
The purpose of SDAI grants is to provide targeted additional funding to those areas in Scotland where there is clear evidence of unmet need in NHS dental service provision.
The significant national policy intervention was made on the 1st November 2023, to increase fees and make NHS Dentistry more attractive to providers. This clearly benefits and supports NHS dentistry in rural areas.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 20 September 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 1 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-29797 by Angela Constance on 19 September 2024, whether there have been any recorded instances of requests that were unknowingly or inadvertently made in conflict with what was recorded in the Cell Sharing Risk Assessment, and what policy governs the response to such a situation.
Answer
I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:
A Cell Sharing Risk Assessment (CSRA) must be completed before any individual is allocated to share a cell. SPS has no recorded instances of individuals sharing a cell that conflicts with a CSRA.
The CSRA will be used to make an informed decision on the individual's suitability to share a cell and if required alternative options are explored with the safety, security, health and wellbeing at the forefront of any decision made.
The CSRA process is used as the assessment process in accordance with Rule 28 (Accommodation of Prisoners) of the Prison Rules (Scotland) 2011.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 20 September 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 1 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with NHS Tayside regarding access to Scottish Dental Access Initiative grants in Brechin and Montrose, and whether there are plans to review the allowance in this part of Scotland.
Answer
Officials meet NHS Boards regularly to discuss local issues, potential solutions and manage risk, which the Director of Dentistry attends. This includes Scottish Dental Access Initiative (SDAI) provision in the Tayside area.
The Chief Dental Officer wrote to Health Boards on 2 September 2024, confirming our intention to introduce a more targeted and evidence-based approach to SDAI provision, ensuring those areas with clear unmet need are supported.
- Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 20 September 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Fairlie on 1 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish details of the specific case studies demonstrating that it had been unable to exercise powers under sections 7 and 8 of the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996, which have led to the policy intention to establish deer management nature restoration orders under the proposed Natural Environment Bill.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not intend to publish details of any case studies in relation to regulatory powers under sections 7 and 8 of the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996.
However any legislation brought forward under the Natural Environment Bill will be justified and accompanied by published policy notes and impact assessments.
- Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 September 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 1 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government when the Assisted Support for Learning Project Board last met, and what was discussed.
Answer
The Additional Support for Learning (ASL) Project Board last met on the 12 September 2024. The Project Board discussed the upcoming publication of the ASL Progress Report and updated Action Plan. This included discussions on how the relevant outcomes from the Education, Children and Young People Committee Inquiry on ASL, would be reflected.
The minutes of every Project Board meeting are published on the groups dedicated Scottish Government web page. A more detailed view on discussions held at the last meeting will be published soon.
The Scottish Government continue to work at pace, working closely with local government partners through the Additional Support for Learning Project Board to improve the experience of children and young people with additional support needs at school, implementing the recommendations of the 2020 review of additional support for learning.