Paul O'Kane

25 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support is available for (a) bereaved individuals under the age of 50 whose partner has died and (b) children of individuals where a parent has died under the age of 50.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government provides a range of advice and support for people experiencing bereavement.Our emotional and wellbeing support for adults includes:Providing funding to Cruse Scotland for the National Bereavement Helpline, which provides free listening…

25 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many individuals were supported into employment through its No One Left Behind programme in each of the last three years, and what this figure was as a proportion of all individuals supported through the programme in each of those years.

Answer · Tom Arthur: The Scottish Government collects and publishes statistics related to the No One Left Behind strategic approach including the number of participants supported into employment.The most recent statistics for Scottish Government funded employability support are a…

25 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has conducted any analysis on the cost per person to successfully transition an individual into employment through its Young Person's Guarantee, and, if so, what that cost was.

Answer · Graeme Dey: The Young Person’s Guarantee last and final update report was published in March 2023 and outlines the outcomes and opportunities provided by the funding from the Young Person’s Guarantee.A joint implementation evaluation of No one Left Behind and…

25 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has conducted any analysis of the appropriate level of payment for Funeral Support Payment since its introduction in 2019.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Funeral Support Payment helps towards funeral costs, it is not intended to cover the full cost of a funeral.There is a statutory duty to uprate the payment annually in line with inflation, unlike the UK Government equivalent which does not increase annual…

25 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many individuals were supported into employment through its Parental Employability Support Fund in each of the last three years, and what this figure was as a proportion of all individuals supported through the programme in each of those years.

Answer · Tom Arthur: The Scottish Government collects and publishes statistics related to the No One Left Behind strategic approach including the number of participants supported into employment. This includes a range of Scottish Government funding such as the Parental Employabil…

25 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has made an estimate of the number of individuals in Scotland whose partner has died whilst under the age of 50.

Answer · Angus Robertson: I have asked Alison Byrne, Chief Executive of National Records of Scotland to respond. Her response is:The number of individuals in Scotland whose partner has died under the age of 50 is not held. Marital status of the deceased is collected through death regi…

25 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has conducted any analysis on the cost per person to successfully transition an individual into employment through its No One Left Behind programme, and, if so, what that cost was.

Answer · Tom Arthur: No One Left Behind is the approach to devolved employability support between Scottish and Local Government, which empowers Local Employability Partnerships to lead the design and delivery of services in each Local Authority area. These services are influenced…

25 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to increase the uptake of Funeral Support Payment since its introduction in 2019.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Social Security Scotland is committed to tackling funeral poverty and increasing take-up of all Scottish benefits. Since its introduction in 2019, Funeral Support Payment has been promoted across a wide range of channels including advertising on radio, in pri…

14 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the timescale is for eligible NHS patients to receive the shingles vaccine.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Shingles vaccination programme was first introduced in Scotland in 2013. In 2023, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommended the use of a new two-course vaccine and the expansion of the age cohorts to protect individuals at an …

14 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of recent research suggesting that the shingles vaccine might reduce the risk of dementia by up to 20%, whether it plans to (a) expand or (b) accelerate the rollout of the vaccine.

Answer · Jenni Minto: Recent research suggests vaccination for shingles with the live attenuated herpes zoster vaccine (Zostavax®) could be linked to a reduction in the risk of developing dementia.In the UK, Zostavax®, a live vaccine, was routinely offered to those eligibl…

14 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which NHS boards operate their own shingles vaccination programme, and how it is ensuring equitable access to the vaccine across all NHS boards.

Answer · Jenni Minto: All Health Boards in Scotland have the responsibility for delivering the shingles vaccination programme and have operational flexibility to reflect local needs.Each year, individuals become eligible for vaccination depending on their age on 1 September. Board…

7 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the comments by the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice to the Social Justice and Social Security Committee on 5 December 2024, on what date and at what time the official ministerial decision to mitigate the two-child limit was recorded in its electronic Records and Document…

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The decision to mitigate the effect of the two-child cap was taken following discussions in Government in advance of the draft budget publication on 5 December 2024. This decision was subsequently recorded and stored in the Electronic Records and Data Managem…

3 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the steps that it has taken to share the necessary information with the Department for Work and Pensions to support the progress of the Scottish Government’s 2017 policy commitment to introduce automatic split payments of universal credit in Sco…

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-36670 on 6 May 2025. 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/wr…

3 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it anticipates that automatic split payments of universal credit in Scotland, as it committed to in 2017, will be delivered by the end of the current parliamentary session, and, if so, by what date.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The delivery of split payments to joint Universal Credit households is reliant on the ability of the DWP to adapt the UC system to facilitate the policy. The Scottish Government continues to work with the DWP to consider the steps required to deliver the poli…

3 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met officials from the Department for Work and Pensions regarding work to progress the delivery of automatic split payments of universal credit, as set out in part 6, section 94 of the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government provided a Policy Design Specification in October 2023 for formal impact assessment by the DWP, which set out how the Scottish Government would like the split policy to be delivered. I also recently met with Sir Stephen Timms MP, on 30…

3 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people currently in receipt of Adult Disability Payment have been granted an indefinite award.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Social Security Scotland holds information at an individual level on clients who have been granted an indefinite award of Adult Disability Payment, but does not currently collate this information into a total figure.Social Security Scotland will continue to r…

1 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has allocated any funding to support the Scottish Assembly for the financial year 2025-26.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Assembly will receive £107,152 in the first six months of 2025-26, with bids for three year funding from the Learning Disability Support Fund currently being considered. We expect successful bids to be confirmed in May 2025, with funding starting in…

1 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it provides support to the Scottish Assembly, and if this is the case, what kind of support it provides.

Answer · Maree Todd: Over the last three years, the Scottish Government has provided the Scottish Assembly with £425,136 to build capacity via our leadership and engagement framework and £316,349 of core funding via our Inspiring Inclusion charity portfolio over the l…

31 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many cases were brought to contest powers of attorney in each of the last three years. 

Answer · Maree Todd: Power of Attorney (PoA) applications in Scotland are registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG), which is a part of the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS). The SCTS is an independent body corporate and was established by the Judiciary a…

31 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of whether current rules for challenging powers of attorney are sufficient for challenging potential abuses of such powers.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government (SG) has acknowledged that, while the current system for Powers of Attorney (PoAs) generally functions well, certain elements require improving and updating.In January SG published analysis of responses to a consultation on proposals f…

31 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of whether current rules for obtaining powers of attorney are sufficient in preventing any abuse of such powers.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government (SG) has acknowledged that, while the current system for granting Powers of Attorney (PoAs) generally functions well, certain elements require improving and updating.In January SG published analysis of responses to a consultation on pr…

31 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with the Office of the Public Guardian (Scotland) regarding powers of attorney.

Answer · Maree Todd: Officials from the Scottish Government last met with colleagues from the Office of the Public Guardian in relation to powers of attorney on 3 October 2023. This was to discuss recommendations from the Scottish Mental Health Law Review.

31 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last reviewed the current law around lasting powers of attorney. 

Answer · Maree Todd: Lasting Powers of Attorney is an English term which refers to two separate legal documents – one for property and financial affairs, and one for health and welfare. In Scotland, the equivalent arrangement is called a Power of Attorney (PoA), which can c…

3 Feb 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Human Rights Commission report, “Tick Tock…” A human rights assessment of progress from institutionalisation to independent living in Scotland, which was published on 30 January 2025.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government thanks the Scottish Human Rights Commission for their report on independent living in Scotland.In addition, the Scottish Government asked the Mental Welfare Commission to review the care and treatment of people with learning disabiliti…

22 Jan 2025 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its stated commitment to end charges for non-residential care by the end of the current parliamentary session.

15 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when it plans to introduce a bill following its consultation, Adults with Incapacity Amendment Act.

Answer · Maree Todd: A Bill to update and modernise the Adults with Incapacity Act is expected to be introduced during the 2024-25 parliamentary year. A consultation on proposed amendments ran between July and October 2024, with analysis of the responses due to be published later…

7 Jan 2025 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the development of the Changing Places Toilet Fund.

17 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what actions are being taken to reduce waiting times for gynaecological procedures.

Answer · Neil Gray: Timely access to gynaecology services will remain a priority as we continue to develop our Women’s Health PlanThe Budget we set out on 4 December 2024 will throw the weight of the government behind performance improvements with almost £200 million…

17 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what actions are being taken to raise awareness of the symptoms and risks of long COVID, and the support services that are available.

Answer · Jenni Minto: Scotland’s national health information service NHS inform aims to provide the people of Scotland with information to help them make informed decisions about their own health and the health of the people they care for.NHS inform has a dedicated long COVI…

17 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken to provide economic support to long COVID patients, in light of reports of the financial strain that it places on them and their families. 

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Adult Disability Payment provides financial support to recognise the additional costs of being disabled or living with a long-term health condition. Individuals who are impacted by Long COVID may be entitled to Adult Disability Payment depending on their indi…