Michelle Ballantyne

5 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many health visitors there are; what progress it is making with its plan to employ an additional 500, and by what date they will be in post.

Answer · Shona Robison: Workforce data on Health Visitors is published quarterly by ISD Scotland and is available from March 2015 onwards at the workforce statistics web site:- https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Workforce/Publications/2017-12-05/Health_Visitors_S2017.xls. H…

5 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the Family Nurse Partnership for first time mothers will be introduced nationwide; how much this will cost, and how many additional nurses will need to be recruited.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Family Nurse Partnership will be rolled out to all mainland boards by the end of 2018. This expected cost will be around £16m per year. An additional 30 family nurses are expected to be recruited between now and the end of 2018.

5 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many additional (a) qualified teachers and (b) childcare graduates were introduced to nurseries in deprived areas in 2016-17.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government is currently working with local authorities to deliver our commitment to provide an additional graduate in nurseries in Scotland’s most deprived areas by August 2018. The additional staff will start to enter settings from April 2018 an…

5 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what feedback it has received from the Early Learning and Childcare trials.

Answer · Maree Todd: We have funded 14 trials across Scotland to test out different ways in which the expansion of early learning and childcare entitlement to 1140 hours can be delivered. 12 of the trials are still operational and learning is continuing to be gathered through an …

5 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it will cost to provide free school meals to all primary schoolchildren by 2020.

Answer · John Swinney: Since the introduction of free school meals for all children in primaries 1 to 3 at all publicly funded schools in Scotland in January 2015, the Scottish Government has provided local authorities with funding of £203.1 million to deliver this commitment. We w…

5 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many qualified early learning and childcare workers there are; how many new recruits were taken on in (a) 2015-16 and (b) 2016-17, and by what date it expects to have recruited up to 20,000 additional workers.

Answer · Maree Todd: The most recent Scottish Social Services Workforce Data, published in September 2017, shows there were 38,940 people employed in the Day care of children sector (including child minders) on 31 December 2016. In 2015, the total number was 39,030. The First Min…

5 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many hours of free early learning and childcare were provided in 2016-17.

Answer · Maree Todd: It is estimated, based on registrations data collected by the Scottish Government, that around 65 million hours of funded early learning and childcare was provided in 2016-17 in local authority settings and in partner settings in the private and third sectors.

5 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much will be invested to expand primary care multidisciplinary teams.

Answer · Shona Robison: The new GP contract which has now been agreed between the Scottish Government and the BMA (British Medical Association) is a critical part of our plans to transform primary care services in Scotland. The Scottish Government will invest £100m in 2018-19 to sup…

30 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle child poverty in the Scottish Borders, in light of recent figures reportedly showing that the region has 24% of children living in families with limited resources.

Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government published experimental statistics on 29 November that will help to identify local need and develop effective responses. We currently support a range of projects in the Scottish Borders and elsewhere to help families living in poverty t…

30 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of advice from Michael Crawford, Managing Director of a Scottish house-building company, and the announcement by the UK Government on this issue, whether it will also end additional land tax on properties worth up to £300,000 for first-time buyers.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The Draft Budget 2018-19 announced that the Scottish Government will introduce a new Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) relief for first-time buyers of properties up to £175,000. The relief raises the zero tax threshold for first-time buyers from £145,…

30 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Midlothian Council regarding mitigating the impact of the local authority's projected budget shortfall on its (a) education services, (b) support for homeless people, (c) spending on (i) overall and (ii) winter road maintenance, (d) spending on street lig…

Answer · Derek Mackay: I met with the Midlothian Leader, Councillor Derek Milligan, the Chief Executive and the Head of Finance on 2 November. Grace Chalmers the Joint Secretary of Unison Midlothian was also in attendance. We discussed a range of issues relating to Midlothian Counc…

28 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-12298 by Shona Robison on 20 November 2017, what meetings it has had with (a) GPs in the area and (b) Midlothian Health and Social Care Partnership to discuss how any increase in population might impact on the workload of GPs.

Answer · Shona Robison: I met with Lothian GPs last November to discuss how our significant national investment - £71.6 million this year - can directly support general practice across Lothian. GPs are an integral and crucial part of our health service and our new GP contract, a h…

23 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-12808 by John Swinney on 23 November 2017, how the £88 million funding is to be spent.

Answer · John Swinney: As part of the 2017-18 Local Government Settlement all local authorities are required to maintain pupil teacher ratios in line with the data published in the Summary Statistics for Schools in Scotland 2016 and to secure places for all probationer teachers who…

23 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-12808 by John Swinney on 23 November 2017, what specific support has been provided to universities in developing new innovative routes into teaching and with whom it consulted in the development of this.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government is supporting 11 new routes into teaching at a cost of over £3 million in 2017-18 to cover programme development, marketing and student fees. These new routes are designed to encourage people from a range of backgrounds to consider tea…

23 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will implement recommendation 4 of the Report of the Barclay Review of non-domestic rates to provide a new relief for day nurseries to support childcare provision and, if so, what the timescale for this will be.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The intention to introduce a new relief for day nurseries was confirmed by the First Minister on 5 September in the Programme for Government. The relief will be introduced from 1 April 2018.

23 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will implement recommendation 2 of the Report of the Barclay Review of non-domestic rates to carry out three-yearly revaluations from 2022, with valuations based on market conditions on a date one year prior and, if so, what the timescale for this will be.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The intention to move to 3 yearly revaluations in Scotland from 2022 with valuations based on market conditions on a date one year prior was confirmed on 12 September.

21 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) primary and (b) secondary school teacher vacancies there have been in (i) the Scottish Borders, (ii) East Lothian and (iii) Midlothian local authority area in each of the last 10 years.

Answer · John Swinney: Data from the annual teacher and educational psychologist vacancy survey shows teacher vacancies for the years 2008 to 2010. This survey was discontinued in 2010. Teacher Vacancies 2008-10 Primary Secondary Feb 2008 Feb 2009 Feb 2010 Feb 2008 F…

20 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on tightening the regulations concerning the purchase and ownership of Samurai swords and other similar weapons.

Answer · Michael Matheson: There is already a strong regulatory regime in place. For example, the sale of such items is regulated by the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 and the Knife Dealers (Licence Conditions) Order 2009 and it is illegal to sell such items to a person under the…

16 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the observation by ISD Scotland in the report, Infant Feeding Statistics Scotland, that (a) 56% of mothers aged 40 or over were breastfeeding at the 6-8 week review, compared with 12% of under 20s and (b) "breastfeeding rates in Scotland are low compared to those …

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government continues to be committed to supporting breastfeeding. Breastfeeding rates are generally lower in more deprived areas and amongst younger mothers. However, we have seen a continuing increase in both exclusive and any breastfeeding in y…

16 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure a fairer distribution of the Pupil Equity Fund to schools in rural communities, and what its response is to a recent analysis, which suggested that the majority of schools receiving no support from the fund are in rural areas.

Answer · John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-12747 on 24 November 2017. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusines…

16 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to promote salmon and sea trout fishing on the River Tweed in light of recent figures, which suggest that catches are at their lowest since 1984.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government is funding a two year programme of support for angling clubs across Scotland, providing assistance to those that need help to promote fishing and in particular catch and release as a sustainable fishing method. This programme is being …

16 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in response to its recent figures suggesting that only 47% of the target number of student maths teachers for 2017-18 have been filled.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government is taking a range of actions to help increase the number of student teachers. We have: committed £88m this year to make sure every school has access to the right number of teachers with the right skills; provided support to universi…

9 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to figures from the Care Inspectorate, which suggest that 25% of young people in care placements have been separated from their siblings, and what action it is taking to minimise this.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government welcomes this report, which builds on our existing fostering and adoption evidence base in Scotland. In relation to your enquiry, the Care Inspectorate report states that in 2016 20% of sibling groups placed in either local authority o…

9 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the part that (a) addiction, (b) worklessness in families and (c) family breakdown plays as a driver in child poverty, and what action it is taking to tackle it.

Answer · Angela Constance: It is clear that to eradicate child poverty, we must tackle a range of social and economic drivers. Income, however, is the key underlying factor. That’s why the Scottish Parliament unanimously passed the Child Poverty (Scotland) Bill on 8 November, setting i…

9 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to Scottish Borders Council to help reduce bed-blocking at Borders General Hospital.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Borders Health and Social Care Partnership is responsible for tackling delayed discharges from hospital. The Scottish Government provides the partnership in Borders with £640,000 per year specifically to deal with this issue.

1 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take in light of its recently-published figures suggesting that there has been an increase in the number of people smoking in the Scottish Borders, while there has been a corresponding decline in the number in the area using cessation services.

Answer · Shona Robison: The relatively small decrease in the number of people using cessation services in the Scottish Borders last year was more than matched by a significant increase in the numbers of those who successfully quit using the service. The Scottish Government is workin…

1 Nov 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will be taking in response to figures suggesting that there has been a 40% increase in the number of domestic abuse incidents reported to the police in the Scottish Borders since 2008, and how this figure compares with the national average.

Answer · Michael Matheson: In 2016-17, there were 978 incidents of domestic abuse recorded by the police in the Scottish Borders. This represents an increase of 47% from 665 incidents recorded in 2008-09. The rate of incidents recorded per 10,000 population in the Scottish Borders has …

31 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it takes to alleviate workload pressure on GPs by enhancing the role of (a) pharmacists, (b) advanced physiotherapists and (c) advanced nurse practitioners, and what the (i) salary and (ii) training cost of this is.

Answer · Shona Robison: The new GP contract which has now been agreed between the Scottish Government and the Scottish General Practitioners' committee (SGPC) is a critical part of our plans to transform primary care services in Scotland. The proposals include reducing GP workload t…

31 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to Audit Scotland's comment that a new GP contract is "critical to delivering more care in the community".

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government agrees that a new GP contract is critical to delivering more care in the community. Scottish Government and the BMA have negotiated a new contract (published 13 November), details of the contract offer can be found at http://www.gov.sc…

31 Oct 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will implement Audit Scotland’s recommendation to (a) improve understanding of future demand to inform workforce decisions, including carrying out scenario planning on the future populations’ health demand and workforce supply changes, (b) provide a clear breakdown of the cost…

Answer · Shona Robison: Part 1 of the National Health and Social Care Workforce Plan, published on 28 June 2017, reflects Audit Scotland’s recommendation and is clear on the need to develop capacity to project future supply and demand. Further work is proceeding at local, regional a…