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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: S6O-02424

Asked by: Jackie Dunbar, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 June 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how the latest Building a New Scotland paper advances its prospectus for independence.

Question reference: S6W-18899

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Elena Whitham on 21 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) the evaluation process is and (b) tools are used to assess the efficacy of Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs, which is a centrally funded organisation.

All grant funding allocated from the drugs policy division is subject to Scottish Government’s robust grant management process, outlined in the Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM). The Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM) provides guidance on the proper handling and reporting of public funds.

The SPFM also provides guidance on appraisal and evaluation techniques and procedures. The Green Book, Appraisal and Evaluation in Central Government published by HM Treasury provides more detailed guidance on the principles, techniques and procedures applicable in relation to appraisal and evaluation.

The objectives, milestones and outcomes - aligned to the National Mission Outcomes Framework - are clearly set out in the grant agreement between Scottish Government and the grant recipient. To ensure grant funding meets the agreed outcomes and provides value for money, grant evaluations are undertaken at regular intervals, and again once the project has ended to evidence whether the grant has been a success.

Question reference: S6W-18928

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 21 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact that the reported scarcity of NHS dental care availability in Dumfries and Galloway will have on the (a) oral and (b) general health of the population.

The Scottish Government is aware of emerging access issues within NHS Dumfries and Galloway, noting that this is an area which has suffered disproportionately with dental workforce issues in the past – an issue has only been heightened by the significant loss of EU workforce as a result of Brexit.

While an overall assessment of the impact of local access issues has not been undertaken, as it is a matter for the NHS Board, Scottish Government is working closely with the recently appointed Board Dental Taskforce to help understand and mitigate against the drivers of access issues. This includes strategic planning on the design and implementation of more sustainable dental services across the Board area. While this work continues, unregistered patients will continue to be able to access emergency and urgent care via Public Dental Service clinics.

Question reference: S6W-18861

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 21 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many internship placements has Scottish Water hosted in each year since 2013, including paid internships for young people through the Career Ready Programme.

As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water I have asked them to respond. Their answer is:

The number of interns Scottish Water hired in each year since 2013 is set out in the table below. In 2020, the Covid 19 pandemic impacted Scottish Water’s ability to support internships and this continued to have an impact in 2021 and 2022.

Year	Undergraduate internships	Career Ready Students	Grand Total
2013	10		10
2014	22		22
2015	10	11	21
2016	12	10	22
2017	12	7	19
2018	13	14	27
2019	13	10	23
2021	7	9	16
2022	15	6	21
2023	22		22
Grand Total	136	67	203

Question reference: S6W-18833

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 21 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has made any stipulation to (a) Circularity Scotland and (b) Deposit Return Scheme logistics partners to offset any carbon emissions produced by the scheme’s collection vehicles, and what plans it has to offset any such emissions.

Question reference: S6W-18858

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 21 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many deaths have been recorded at reservoirs managed by Scottish Water in each year since 2013.

Scottish Water has recorded the following number of deaths since 2013 at the reservoirs it manages:

2013 – Mill Glen – 2 deaths

2014 – Torduff – 1 death

2018 – Glenburn – 1 death

Scottish Water takes a proactive role in reducing the risks around its assets, and is urging people to stay safe, behave responsibly and not take risks around watercourses such as reservoirs, rivers and lochs.

Guidance on wild swimming is now available to Public Health Scotland website and provides useful information - Wild swimming: how to swim safely in Scotland's outdoor water (publichealthscotland.scot) .

Question reference: S6W-18935

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 21 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact of accelerated home working and flexible working practices on the health of the working population, and of any consequential impact on the NHS.

Good quality employment contributes to good health. We know that home and flexible working can have both positive and negative impacts on workers’ health and wellbeing. ONS data has found positive and negative health impacts vary by socio-demographic characteristics and factors, such as an employee’s work satisfaction and personal circumstances. Our understanding of the range of factors which may impact health system pressures remains informed by the latest emerging evidence.

Question reference: S6W-18821

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 21 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the delay to the passage of the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill has had on the delivery of the aims of The Promise Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-18851

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 21 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is on track to meet its R100 programme targets.

The R100 programme remains on track to meet its current contractual completion dates. The R100 contracts are currently delivering full fibre, gigabit capable connections at pace across the length and breadth of Scotland.

For any properties beyond the reach of the R100 contract build or commercial coverage plans, the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme – offering vouchers worth up to £5,000 – remains available to help secure a superfast broadband connection.

Our address checker at https://www.scotlandsuperfast.com shows the most recent plans and timescales for residential and commercial properties across Scotland, allowing access to the most up-to-date information.

Question reference: S6W-18836

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 21 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding was allocated to the oral health improvement programme, Childsmile, in each financial year from 2018-19 to 2022-23.

Funding provided to NHS Boards for Childsmile programme delivery is set out in the following table.

In addition to direct programme allocations, funding is provided to NHS Boards through the annual Outcomes Framework allocation to deliver a range of core services, including for Childsmile. The total value of this allocation for each financial year is also set out in the following table:

Year	Programme Allocation (£m)	Total Outcomes Framework (£m)
2018-19	2.0	66.2
2019-20	2.3	75.7
2020-21	2.2	71.9
2021-22	1.4	74.1
2022-23	2.4	74.1