- Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 05 June 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 13 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what actions its Working Group on Missing People has taken to support the delivery of the National Missing Persons Framework for Scotland.
Answer
The Working Group for Missing People continues to support the implementation of the National Missing Persons Framework across Scotland.
Key actions taken forward by the Framework so far include a standardisation of the national definition of missing persons; a standardised approach to risk assessment; and the development and delivery of return discussion training to ensure more consistency across the country. Building on this work, the Group will continue work with National Co-ordinators to engage with and support multi-agency partners in areas across Scotland to limit the likelihood of people going missing.
A comprehensive update on the Group’s work was published in 2020 – Working Group for Missing People in Scotland: National Framework for Missing Persons - implementation report - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . A further update will be part of a refreshed Framework later this year.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 05 June 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 13 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it met its target of 58,000 additional outpatient activity in 2022-23, as outlined in its NHS Recovery Plan.
Answer
Our £1 Billion backed NHS Recovery Plan aims to continually increase capacity for outpatients.
We have seen an increase in the level of activity for new outpatients in the latest quarter (May 2023), which was at the highest level of activity in any quarter since the start of the pandemic.
Last year there were over 1.2 million patients seen for an outpatient appointment, an increase of 8% compared to 2021, when over 1.1 million outpatients were seen.
Further statistics on additional inpatient and day case activity in 2022-2023 will be released alongside the NHS Recovery Plan update this autumn.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 05 June 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 13 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to raise awareness that, according to Citizens Advice Scotland, "Council Tax debt collection is much harsher and faster compared to commercial debt collection".
Answer
Council tax is a local tax, set and collected by each local authority, with every council financially and administratively accountable to their electorate. Council Tax Debt was discussed at the last meeting of the Joint Working Group on Sources of Local Government Funding and Council Tax Reform on 22 March 2023. It is important that local authorities retain the tools to enforce the payment of council tax by those who have the means to pay but choose not to do so, whilst the Council Tax Reduction Scheme, promoted as part of the Scottish Government funded Citizens Advice Scotland's Money Talk Team, as well as by local authorities and the DWP, means nobody should have to meet a council tax liability they cannot be expected to afford.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 05 June 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 13 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it met its target of 27,500 additional inpatient and day case activity in 2022-23, as outlined in its NHS Recovery Plan.
Answer
Our £1 Billion backed NHS Recovery Plan aims to continually increase capacity for inpatient and day case procedures.
We have seen an increase in the level of activity for inpatient / day-cases in the latest quarter (May 2023), which was the highest level of activity in any quarter since the start of the pandemic.
Last year, over 217,000 patients were seen as an inpatient or day case. This reflects a 15.3% increase from the previous year.
Further statistics on additional inpatient and day case activity in 2022-2023 will be released alongside the NHS Recovery Plan update this autumn.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 05 June 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 13 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to tackle the issue of council tax debt in its proposed new deal for local government.
Answer
The New Deal for Local Government reflects a desire of both partners to re-set the relationship between local and national government. The New Deal will provide greater flexibility over local funding, with clear accountability for delivery on shared priorities and outcomes. This will include considering further reforms for council tax in partnership with local government through the Joint Working Group on sources of local government funding.
- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 05 June 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Christina McKelvie on 13 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has allocated to the maintenance of Scotland's UNESCO World Heritage Sites in each year since 2007, broken down by site.
Answer
Scotland’s six UNESCO World Heritage Sites are highly varied in their composition and management. As Historic Environment Scotland is a partner for all six sites, I have asked it to write to the member with the information on Historic Scotland funding from 2007-15, and Historic Environment Scotland funding since 2015 when it was formed.
Exceptionally, there has been some direct funding from the Scottish Government, for example in the light of lost income during the COVID-19 pandemic. The amounts provided from 2015 onwards can be found in the following table.
| World Heritage Site | Year | Maintenance Funding |
| New Lanark | 2020-21 | £2,439,000 |
| 2021-22 | £327,000 |
| 2022-23 | £435,000 |
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 05 June 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 13 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how much has been received in planning gain contributions by each local authority, in each year since 1999.
Answer
This information is not held centrally. Research on the value, incidence and impact of developer contributions was published in 2021: https://www.gov.scot/publications/value-incidence-impact-developer-contributions-scotland/documents/
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 05 June 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 13 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it met its target of 78,000 additional diagnostic procedures in 2022-23, as outlined in its NHS Recovery Plan.
Answer
Our £1 Billion backed NHS Recovery Plan aims to continually increase capacity for outpatients.
We are seeing improvements in diagnostic waiting times, and we continue to prioritise those referred with an urgent suspicion of cancer for scope-based diagnostic tests.
Further statistics on additional inpatient and day case activity in 2022-2023 will be released alongside the NHS Recovery Plan update this autumn.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 05 June 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 13 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the report, Understanding the Drivers Behind the Accrual of Council Tax Arrears, published by Citizens Advice Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Government welcomes this report and would encourage local authorities, who are responsible for the collection and enforcement of Council Tax arrears, to consider its findings.
- Asked by: Fiona Hyslop, MSP for Linlithgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 13 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with financial institutions across the UK to ensure that they recognise powers of attorney arranged in Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Government is working closely with the Office of the Public Guardian (Scotland) (OPG) who have responsibility for registering powers of attorney in Scotland to highlight the concerns about recognition of these with UK financial institutions.
OPG have engaged directly with UK financial organisations when they have been made aware of common or recurring issues that require attention and on a case by case basis when needed.
OPG are planning a series of information based events later in 2023, aimed specifically at staff in UK financial organisations, with the aim of raising awareness of OPG’s role and of the financial provisions of the Adults with Incapacity legislation. The feedback will be raised at a meeting OPG is attending with Scottish banking representatives in August 2023.
OPG is also currently working in collaboration with colleagues from OPG England and similar departments in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, with the intention of delivering or preparing cross border training to highlight key differences in process and terminology across the jurisdictions as well as raising awareness of recognition issues. The aim of these efforts is to lead to a more cohesive and collaborative approach with the banks.
