Parliamentary questions

Paul Sweeney

1,340 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

14 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the finding in the publication, NHS Recovery Plan 2021-2026 Annual Progress Update 2023, that the percentage of frontline NHS spend allocated to child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) is currently 0.66%, whether it is still on track to meet its commitment to allo…

Answer · Maree Todd: We continue to work towards delivery of the commitment that at least 1% of frontline health spending will be dedicated to mental health services for children and young people by the end of this parliamentary session. The NHS Recovery Plan 2021-2026 Annual Pr…

13 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will revise the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) model for future rail infrastructure investment, in light of patronage projections for the reopening of Stow, Galashiels and Tweedbank stations on the Borders Railway reportedly having been underestimated for the fir…

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Transport Scotland keeps forecasting methodology under review to ensure best practice. The Borders Railway business case demand forecasts were based on modelling that was informed by surveys of residents regarding their potential use of the line. This resulte…

13 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it requested that any COVID-19-related funding be returned to it by NHS boards in the financial year 2022-23, and, if so, how much, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government did not request that any Covid-19-related funding be returned by Health Boards to Scottish Government in the financial year 2022-23. All funding available across the Health and Social Care Sector was used to support the Covid-19 effort…

12 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to continue funding the Ending Homelessness Together action plan, and, if it is the case that it does not, what support it will provide to organisations to help prevent homelessness.

Answer · Paul McLennan: Scotland’s long term strategy for ending homelessness is delivered in partnership with local government, third sector organisations and the wider homelessness sector in Scotland. It requires commitment and investment by all partners on the actions each takes …

11 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-23424 by Maree Todd on 11 December 2023, what programmes were expected to receive increased funding which now cannot be progressed as a result of the in-year budget changes set out by the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance on 21…

Answer · Maree Todd: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-23811 on? 8 January 2024. 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-committ…

11 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-23424 by Maree Todd on 11 December 2023, what planned new programmes cannot proceed as anticipated as a result of the in-year budget changes set out by the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance on 21 November 2023.

Answer · Maree Todd: Difficult decisions have had to be made to allow us to balance the Scottish Government budget while still progressing implementation of our mental health and wellbeing and other strategies from a revised direct budget of £260.3 million. The in-year budget ch…

11 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that access to diabetes technology is equal for patients from all socioeconomic backgrounds, in light of reports that some diabetes technology requires the use of a personal mobile phone and access to a mobile data allowance.

Answer · Jenni Minto: Our refreshed Diabetes Improvement Plan outlines our commitment to further increase access to diabetes technologies to all who would benefit. We would expect the prescribing clinician to discuss the most appropriate device for the individual and their circum…

11 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has examined the state ownership structure of the shipbuilding firms, Chantiers de l’Atlantique, of Saint-Nazaire in France, via the APE (Agence de Participation de l'État, or State Participation Agency), and the Fincantieri Group, of Italy, via the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, …

Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government continues to consider all avenues for securing a sustainable future for Ferguson Marine, including learning from relevant international examples.

10 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure Scottish representation and impact at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan.

Answer · Neil Gray: World Expos are regulated by the Intergovernmental Organisation - Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) and membership is reserved. Scotland’s participation is reliant on invitation from the UK Government to be a sponsor partner of the UK Pavilion. Build…

10 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider preparing a bid for the World Expo in 2035.

Answer · Neil Gray: World Expos are overseen and regulated by the Intergovernmental Organisation - Bureau International des Expositions (BIE). BIE membership is reserved so any bid to host a World Expo would need to be progressed by the UK Government and any participation by Sco…

8 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the number of ferry breakdowns in the last year, what processes and procedures are being put in place in the next 12 months to ensure that CalMac can maintain continuous ferry services to communities, and how this will be managed and improved upon in the future.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: While delivery of investments in new vessels and port infrastructure is being progressed, this Government has authorised a six month extension to the current charter of MV Alfred. The primary focus of the vessel MV Alfred is for resilience purposes. However, …

7 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to give unpaid carers access to at least two weeks of respite as a minimum.

Answer · Maree Todd: The National Care Service Bill makes changes to the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 to deliver a right to personalised short breaks support for any carer who is not currently able to access ‘sufficient breaks’ – accessed via their personalised plan under the Carer…

7 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the finding in the Carers Scotland report, State of Caring 2023, that over a quarter of unpaid carers said their mental health is bad or very bad, rising to 37% for those in receipt of Carer's Allowance.

Answer · Maree Todd: We know that many carers experience mental, physical, employment and financial impacts as a result of their caring role. We must ensure adequate support for carers, particularly those most at risk of poorer health, to ensure their wellbeing and sustain them i…

7 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with NHS boards to ensure that unpaid carers are involved in decisions about discharge plans for the people that they care for after they have spent time in hospital.

Answer · Maree Todd: Our National Discharge Without Delay Steering Group has representatives from every NHS Board and Health and Social Care Partnership in Scotland. The group leads on improvement and sharing best practice across Scotland on areas related to good hospital to comm…

7 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the recommendation in the Carers Scotland report, State of Caring 2023, to fast track unpaid carers to support by introducing vouchers or payments to access non-NHS assessments, counselling and other services.

Answer · Maree Todd: We recognise the significant contribution that Scotland’s unpaid carers make to our communities. It is very important that people who are caring for others know how to access carer support, and that professionals know how to direct people to support. Under …

7 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that unpaid carers have access to tailored mental health support, including support for anticipatory grief, bereavement counselling and support for young carers.

Answer · Maree Todd: Under the Carers (Scotland) Act, all adult and young carers have the right to a personalised plan to identify what is important to them, which may include counselling and emotional support, according to their individual circumstances. Future needs for bereave…

7 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its progress in delivering the National Carers Strategy.

Answer · Maree Todd: We are approaching the end of the first year of implementing the National Carers Strategy (published in December 2022). The implementation of the strategy is monitored by the Carers Rights and Support Steering Group (CRSSG), made up of representatives from …

7 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it made of the mental health of unpaid carers in the formulation of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

Answer · Maree Todd: As part of the process to develop the Scottish Government/COSLA Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy, we undertook a literature review and engaged with stakeholders, people with lived experiences and the Equality and Human Rights Forum to gather evidence and …

7 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which four child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) services had not yet managed to effectively eliminate long waits as of June 2023, as referenced in its publication, NHS Recovery Plan 2021-26: Annual Progress Update 2023, and when it expects those services to eliminate such …

Answer · Maree Todd: Statistics published on 5 September 2023 covering quarter ending June 2023 show that NHS Forth Valley, NHS Highland, NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Orkney did not effectively eliminate their long waits (where 4% or fewer of all waits are over one year). However, st…

7 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether its commitment to fund 320 additional child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) staff refers to WTE staff or headcount.

Answer · Maree Todd: Responsibility for the recruitment of CAMHS staff lies with NHS Boards. In the NHS Recovery Plan 2021-2026 , the Scottish Government committed to provide sufficient funding for around 320 additional staff in CAMHS by 2026, with the potential to increase cap…

7 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown by NHS board of the £4.25 million allocated specifically for clearing child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) backlogs, as referenced in its publication, NHS Recovery Plan 2021-26: Annual Progress Update 2023.

Answer · Maree Todd: Table 1 shows funding allocated to each NHS Health Board in 2021-22 for clearance of any backlogs on waiting lists for CAMHS. Table 1: NHS Board CAMHS Waiting List Allocation Ayrshire & Arran £311,701 Borders £90,925 Dumfries & Galloway £126,671 Fif…

7 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the update on child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) staff set out in its publication, NHS Recovery Plan 2021-26: Annual Progress Update 2023, how many additional CAMHS cases have been taken on since 2021, and whether the "potential to increase capacity for CAMH…

Answer · Maree Todd: It is not possible to report accurately on the number of additional CAMHS cases taken on since 2021 as the current aggregate data set does not allow identification of separate individuals, it only gives a snapshot of the total number of open cases at any one …

6 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider introducing an updated English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) Strategy for Scotland.

Answer · Graeme Dey: The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that everyone in Scotland whose first language is not English can contribute to Scotland’s future and the society they live in. Having support to learn English is key for many refugees and people seeking asylum…

6 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of the revised English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) Strategy for Scotland in 2015.

6 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve access to English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) classes.

Answer · Graeme Dey: The Scottish Government’s aim is to support high quality, relevant, appropriate and accessible ESOL provision that meets learner need. The Scottish Government’s ESOL funding is currently provided through colleges as part of the grant allocated to the Scottish…

5 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the findings of the Mental health quality indicator profile, published last week by Public Health Scotland, which states that there were 111,130 delayed discharge bed days occupied in mental health specialties in 2022-23, compared with 98,716 bed days in 2021-22.

Answer · Maree Todd: Historically Scotland has a relatively high number of mental health beds per 100,000 of the population and lower levels of bed occupancy (compared to the rest of the UK). However, we are aware of recent pressures on the availability of psychiatric beds, exac…

5 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on how the in-year profiling of spend, outlined in the letter from the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance to the Finance and Public Administration Committee on 21 November 2023, will impact levels of delayed discharge across the NHS, particularly…

Answer · Maree Todd: The vast majority of spending on mental health is delivered through NHS board budgets – and this is not directly affected by the Budget reprioritisation. Between the Scottish Government and NHS boards we expect spending on Mental Health to be well in excess o…

5 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its work on the National Digital Platform for Scotland, including when patients in Scotland will (a) have digital access to their medical records and (b) be able to digitally book appointments.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The National Digital Platform continues to undergo development, with core components that will enable individual access, such as standards-based data storage and integration, access controls and user authentication for the workforce now largely in place. H…

5 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent on developing the National Digital Platform for Scotland since 2018, broken down by financial year.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government commissioned NHS Education Scotland (NES) to develop and run the National Digital Platform. The following table details spend incurred by NES by financial year on the design, development, and support for the National Digital Platform (…

5 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will instruct Transport Scotland to request that its trunk road contactor, Amey, renews the feature LED parapet lighting installations on the Carnoustie Street, West Street and Eglinton Street flyovers on the M74 motorway in Glasgow.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: LED parapet lighting installations are currently in place and attached to the Carnoustie Street, West Street and Eglinton Street flyovers on the M74 motorway in Glasgow. Transport Scotland’s Operating Company for the Glasgow area, Amey Ltd, has identified so…