- Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 December 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 16 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans to increase vitamin D levels among people in Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Government fully supports Food Standards Scotland (FSS) winter campaign to raise awareness of vitamin D and to encourage people to take vitamin D supplements to maintain bone and muscle health.
The campaign will run until February 2023 and builds on the previous FSS social media campaigns and other work by FSS, Scottish Government and Public Health Scotland to raise awareness of vitamin D. A campaign toolkit is available and we continue to encourage stakeholders to share and promote the campaign messages.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 19 December 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 16 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the proposed 24% reduction in spending on More Homes in 2023-24, what its revised resource planning assumptions are for local authorities to plan their housing supply for 2021-22 to 2025-26, broken down by local authority area.
Answer
The 24% reduction is when comparing the total More Homes budget in 2023-24 against the total More Homes budget in 2022-23. The profile of our more than £3.5 billion commitment over this parliament varies from year to year as do its component parts which include capital, financial transactions and anticipated receipts.
The £751.945m budget for 2023-24 for the Affordable Housing Supply Programme has reduced by 4.7% from that previously planned, a net decrease of £37.320m, and will be supplemented by donations from the Charitable Bond Programme and contributions from the Heat in Buildings Fund for the installation of zero emission heating systems in affordable homes where these systems are installed.
Our guidance asks Local Authorities to over plan in their Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP) programmes against these planning assumptions by at least 25% to mitigate delays to housing programmes. There are therefore no plans to revise Resource Planning Assumptions for 2023-24. Any in year funding pressures that emerge will be managed in discussion with local partners. Planned annual budgets for the remainder of the parliament have not been reduced.
- Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 19 December 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 16 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the publication, Neurological Conditions: estimating the prevalence in Scotland of selected conditions using General Practice and Hospital Admissions datasets, of those with a diagnosis of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and in the GP practice dataset, how many were children whose age when the extract was taken was (a) under 5, (b) 5-11 and (c) 12-17.
Answer
This publication’s Supporting Documents include a spreadsheet file titled ‘General Practice recorded diagnoses’. Table 4 in this spreadsheet shows GP recorded diagnoses of neurological conditions, by sex and age. For each neurological condition shown, it gives the number of GP recorded diagnoses by sex in the following age bands: 0-4, 5-9, 10-14, 15-19. This data is shown in the following table. In some cases small numbers have been suppressed to help maintain patient confidentiality. We do not have data apportioned to the exact age bands in the question.
Number of people diagnosed with ME/CFS by sex and age group
| | Age 0-4 | Age 5-9 | Age 10-14 | Age 15-19 |
Female | - | 7 | 16 | 115 |
Male | * | * | 27 | 77 |
(-) indicates a zero value
(*) indicates values that have been suppressed due to the potential risk of disclosure and to help maintain patient confidentiality
Please note that that these figures do not cover the whole of Scotland. The general practices whose data are included represented 72.7% of registered patients at the time of the data extract.
- Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 19 December 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 16 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many full-time equivalent staff, broken down by grade, have worked on tobacco policy within its Health Improvement Division in each year since 2017-18.
Answer
The following table details the number of full-time equivalent staff, broken down by grade, who have worked on tobacco policy within Health Improvement Division since 2017-18.
Please note the following:
- numbers do not equate to head count within Health Improvement Division.
- vacancies have not been included.
- numbers have been compiled using historic Scottish Government HR records
- during 2020/21 some staff would have focused on COVID pandemic response work
| | 31 March 2017 | 31 March 2018 | 31 March 2019 | 31 March 2020 | 31 March 2021 | 31 March 2022 | 10 January 2023 |
C2 | - | - | - | - | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.9 |
C1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0.6 |
B3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - |
B2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
B1 | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 1 | 1 |
A4 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Total | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 3.5 |
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 19 December 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Patrick Harvie on 16 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions have taken place regarding potentially establishing a Rural Homes Just Transition Package.
Answer
Scottish Government officials had discussions with the Existing Homes Alliance during 2022 as part of the Alliance’s work to develop a Rural Homes Just Transition Package .
Our own National Just Transition Framework will ensure that those likely to face the greatest impacts as a result of the transition to net zero, including rural communities, are given a voice. Our draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan, due to be published early next year, involved engagement with 1500 people (including businesses, workers, communities and young people).
We are producing Just Transition Plans for Transport, Land and Agriculture, Buildings and Construction that will publish in draft form in November 2023 alongside the new Climate Change Plan.
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 23 December 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 16 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many pharmacist trainees have stayed in Scotland to complete their pre-registration training in each year since 2007.
Answer
Data is only available from 2015-16. Since 2015-16 a total of 1,531 pharmacist trainees have stayed in Scotland to complete their pre-registration training year.
The following table shows number of pharmacist trainees who have stayed in Scotland to complete their registration broken down for each year since 2015-16.
Pre-reg / Foundation Training Year Cohort | Trainees undertaking Pre-registration/Foundation training in Scotland who graduated from Scottish Schools of Pharmacy | As Percentage % of Total |
2015-16 | 188 | 71% |
2016-17 | 182 | 76% |
2017-18 | 206 | 82% |
2018-19 | 191 | 78% |
2019-20 | 184 | 88% |
2020-21 | 207 | 86% |
2021-22 | 188 | 90% |
2022-23 | 185 | 82% |
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 December 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 16 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how expert parties and interested stakeholders can inform the work of its Bioenergy Expert Panel.
Answer
The Bioenergy Expert Panel is still to be assembled. However, in the meantime, interested stakeholders and expert parties can engage with policy officials. Stakeholders can get in touch via email: Stephen.Corrie@gov.scot
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 05 January 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 16 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been diagnosed with kidney failure and in need of a transplant in (a) the NHS Ayrshire and Arran area and (b) Inverclyde in each year since 2016, and what the average waiting time to receive a transplant has been in each year since 2016.
Answer
The number of patients that have been or are on the active kidney transplant waiting list as of 31 March each year since 2016 in the NHS Ayrshire and Arran and the Inverclyde local authority postcode areas is as follows:
Postcode Area | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
NHS Ayrshire & Arran | 37 | 27 | 20 | 26 | 33 | 15 | 20 |
Inverclyde | 7 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 11 |
Some patients who receive a living donor transplant may never be registered on the waiting list for a deceased donor transplant so those patients would not be included in the table above.
The risk-adjusted median waiting times for kidney only transplants for adults in the various UK transplant centres are published annually by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT). In Scotland, kidney transplants are undertaken at the Edinburgh and West of Scotland (Glasgow) Transplant Units; patients living in either Ayrshire and Arran or Inverclyde would receive their transplant at the Glasgow Unit. The figures for those adults registered at the Glasgow transplant unit from 2016 were published in the 2019-2022 NHSBT annual reports as follows:
Year published | Patient Registered | Waiting time (days) | | | | Unadjusted median | 95% Confidence Interval | Risk-adjusted median | 2022 | 01-04-16-31-03-19 | 622 | 566-678 | 626 | 2021 | 01-04-15-31-03-18 | 644 | 579-709 | 689 | 2020 | 01-04-14-31-03-17 | 622 | 558-686 | 689 | 2019 | 01-04-13-31-03-16 | 699 | 622-776 | 721 |
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Please note that there are significant differences in waiting times depending on a number of factors, such as the patient’s blood group and also antibodies they have from previous pregnancies, transplants or blood transfusions.
- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 05 January 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 16 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its response to the Freedom of Information request, FOI/202200330247, for what reason 32,200 properties in the Highlands and Islands region are still to be connected through R100 contracts.
Answer
The 32,200 figure quoted in response to FOI/202200330247 is the number of premises in the Highlands and Islands Region currently planned to be connected upon completion of the Scottish Government Reaching 100% (R100) North contract. As of the 30th November 2022, a total of 2,056 premises in the Highlands and Islands Region have already been delivered through the R100 North contract build.
The £600 million R100 contract build is a huge civil engineering undertaking which is delivering gigabit-capable broadband infrastructure across some of the most challenging terrain in Scotland, with over 114,000 premises currently expected to be connected upon completion. The contracts are delivered in phases that have been designed to maximise efficiency and support wider network configuration.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 December 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 16 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Scottish Water regarding the reported 150% increase in burst water pipes in December 2022.
Answer
The Scottish Government and Scottish Water are in regular dialogue about a number of issues, including the potential for burst water pipes.
I was briefed in person by Scottish Water on the expectations that the recent thaw would bring a substantial increase in the number of bursts across Scottish Water’s network and I was reassured that additional response teams were ready to tackle that anticipated situation.
