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Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S6W-19223

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 28 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what projects NHS Scotland's national Centre for Sustainable Delivery has undertaken in each year since 2021.

NHS Scotland’s Centre for Sustainable Delivery (CfSD), launched in 2021, is playing a central role in working with Health Boards to sustainably improve and transform Scotland's health care system through innovation, collaboration and clinical leadership.

Hosted by NHS Golden Jubilee and commissioned by the Scottish Government, CfSD brings together existing transformation programmes with an innovation team to support the rapid rollout of new techniques, innovations and safe, fast and efficient pathways for Scotland’s patients.

From 2021-2023, we invested £8.6 million in CfSD programmes and £7.2 million in core staffing to support the transformation programmes, including:

The Detect Cancer Early (DCE) Programme
Clinically led Specialty Delivery Groups (SDGs)
Once for Scotland pathways including Active Clinical Referral Triage (ACRT), Discharge Patient Initiated Reviews (PIR) and Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS)
The Accelerated National Innovation Adoption (ANIA) pathway, including Cytosponge and Colon Capsule Endoscopy (CCE)
The National Green Theatres Programme

The CfSD, which is supported by almost 60 WTE staff, work with experts and patients from across Scotland to ensure that people receive the right care, from the right people, at the right time. It also works with partner organisations on a number of national workforce development programmes, including Accelerating the Development of Enhanced Practitioners. Further details on the CfSD’s work can be found here: The national Centre for Sustainable Delivery (nhscfsd.co.uk)

Question reference: S6W-18886

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 28 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with the administrators of the Glasgow-based engineering firm, British Polar Engines Limited, in order to establish what the reasons were for the firm going into administration, and what its assessment is of whether the business can be salvaged as a going concern.

Question reference: S6W-19262

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 16 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 28 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of public adherence to its recommendation that people continue to wear a face covering in indoor public places and on public transport.

At the start of the pandemic Scottish Government set up opinion polling research to help understand knowledge, attitudes and claimed behaviour in relation to coronavirus, and motivations and barriers to adopting desired behaviours.

This ran weekly from end of March 2020 to June 2021 when it moved to fortnightly and then approximately monthly from April 2022. The public opinion research company YouGov carried out fieldwork on their online omnibus, with a sample each wave of c.1,000 adults 18+ representative of the online population of Scotland.

Questions were included at various times on the perceived importance of a number of protective behaviours (including face coverings) and how well people felt they were doing these to allow us to monitor these measures over time.

COVID-specific polling ended at the end of March 2023.

Question reference: S6W-19257

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 16 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 28 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether all developers of wind farms leased through the ScotWind process will recognise the digital offshore training passport when it comes online.

Offshore wind developers, oil and gas companies and relevant trade unions have already expressed their support for a solution which helps facilitate a fairer and more streamlined workforce transition across offshore sectors.

Through its Just Transition Fund, the Scottish Government continues to support a cross sectoral Energy Skills Passport solution, and we will work closely with all stakeholders to help promote its successful delivery.

Question reference: S6W-19232

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 28 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Public Health Scotland's recently published statistics, whether it will provide a breakdown of the reasons why 225 referrals for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in NHS Forth Valley were not accepted between January 2023 and March 2023.

Question reference: S6W-19172

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 28 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it will next meet with the Law Society of Scotland to discuss the Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Bill.

Question reference: S6W-19226

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 28 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many adult social care workers are not currently receiving the adult social care workers minimum pay, broken down by sector.

Question reference: S6W-19239

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 16 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 27 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what immediate action it is taking in response to reports of rising levels of hate crimes being committed.

The Scottish Government unequivocally condemns any form of hate crime. The latest figures from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service are a reminder to redouble our efforts to tackle hate and confront prejudice wherever it occurs. We are resolute in our commitment to tackling all incidents of hate crime and we encourage everyone who experiences or witnesses hate crime to report it directly to the police or by using a third party reporting centre.

In March, we published a new Hate Crime Strategy which sets out our vision for a Scotland where everyone lives free from hatred and prejudice, and where our communities are empowered, inclusive and safe. The strategy makes a number of commitments including ensuring improved support for victims of hate crime, improving data and evidence on hate crime and developing effective approaches to preventing hate crime. It will also support implementation of the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021.

A delivery plan, setting out our immediate and longer term activity, will be published later this year.

Question reference: S6W-19253

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 16 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 27 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take through its Islands Connectivity Plan to replace the ageing fleet of large and small vessels operated by Orkney Islands Council.

The Islands Connectivity Plan (ICP) will replace the Ferries Plan but be broader in scope, taking account of aviation, ferries and fixed links, as well as onward and connecting travel issues. The ICP will consist of several delivery plans with a short strategic document setting out the Government’s strategic objectives and policies for island connectivity, based on supporting delivery of the National Transport Strategy (NTS2) and the National Islands Plan, and be informed by the outcomes of the Strategic Transport Projects Review 2.

It is envisaged that the strategic ICP document will set a vision and outline good practice for delivery of ferry services in Scotland which will support local authorities in the preparation of any delivery plans they require for their areas of responsibility.

Ferry services provided by Orkney Islands Council, including developing any required delivery plans and spending on vessels and ports, are wholly a matter for Orkney Islands Council. The Scottish Government continues to engage regarding these matters, including through the Orkney Islands Councils' Ferry Replacement Task Forces.

Question reference: S6W-19254

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 16 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 27 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that the ferry and terminal replacement programme for (a) inter-island and (b) Northern Isles ferry services is fully funded.

The responsibility for the ferry and terminal replacement programme for inter-island ferries, is wholly a matter for the local authority that run those services. The Scottish Government continues to engage regarding these matters, including through the Orkney and Shetland Islands Councils' Ferry Replacement Task Forces.

As part of the Scottish Government’s Infrastructure Investment Plan set out in February 2021, £580 million was secured to fund a series of vessel and port projects from April 2021 to March 2026. Beyond this, and as part of the Islands Connectivity Plan, the Long-Term Plan for Vessels and Ports is focusing on the key current challenges of replacing or renewing vessel and port assets and increasing the resilience of ferry services and ferry fleets across both the Clyde and Hebrides and Northern Isles networks.