Questions and answers

Question reference: S6O-03791

Asked by: Karen Adam, MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 September 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support neurodivergent people, in light of reports of people waiting years for diagnosis, and subsequent access to support and treatment, which is seriously impacting their lives.

Question reference: S6W-29636

Asked by: Karen Adam, MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 20 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many meetings of the British Sign Language National Plan 2023-2029 Implementation Advisory Group have taken place since the publication of the plan in November 2023.

The Scottish Government is committed to making Scotland the best place in the world for BSL users to live, work, visit and learn. The BSL National Plan 2023-29 is a cross government plan containing 45 actions under the 10 priority themes. The actions will address barriers faced by BSL users in their daily lives. Ensuring equal access, opportunity, representation and inclusion are key components of our plan stemming across areas such as education, health, justice and culture.

To inform the delivery of the National Plan, an Implementation Advisory Group (IAG) consisting of representative organisations of the deaf and deafblind communities was established to help advise on the delivery of actions and provide accountability on the overall plan.

The group has met twice since the publication of the National Plan. The next meeting is due to take place at the end of October.

Question reference: S6W-29635

Asked by: Karen Adam, MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 20 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to build partnerships and effective working relationships between NHS teams and providers of BSL language and support services to children and young people, as set out in action 10 of the British Sign Language National Plan 2023-2029, since the publication of the plan in November 2023.

The Scottish Government is committed to making Scotland the best place in the world for BSL users to live, work, visit and learn.

The BSL National Plan 2023-29 is a cross government plan containing 45 actions under the 10 priority themes. This is a six year plan and the actions within it are designed to address barriers faced by BSL users in their daily lives. Ensuring equal access, opportunity, representation and inclusion are key components of our plan stemming across areas such as education, health, justice and culture.

We recognise the importance in building effective partnerships and effective working relationships between NHS teams and providers of BSL language, that is why our work to date has focused on understanding the landscape better and identifying possible next steps in helping us deliver action 10 with the BSL National Plan.

Question reference: S6W-29633

Asked by: Karen Adam, MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 20 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the authorities listed in the schedule of the British Sign Language (Scotland) Act 2015 had published their own BSL local plans by May 2024, in line with the requirement in section 3 of the Act.

The Scottish Government is committed to making Scotland the best place in the world for BSL users to live, work, visit and learn. The BSL National Plan 2023-29 is a cross government plan containing 45 actions under the 10 priority themes. The actions will address barriers faced by BSL users in their daily lives. Ensuring equal access, opportunity, representation and inclusion are key components of our plan stemming across areas such as education, health, justice and culture.

The Scottish Government does not have a regulatory role in ensuring compliance with the British Sign Language (Scotland) Act 2015. It is for Listed Authorities to satisfy themselves they are complying with the law, meet statutory deadlines and assess the legal risks should they fail to do so.

The Scottish Government has a strong interest in the actions contained in BSL local plans. As a result, we are engaging with key partners to identify initiatives that can be shared as best practice across the wider system.

Question reference: S6W-29634

Asked by: Karen Adam, MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 20 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to improve (a) access to BSL for children and young people and (b) teaching of BSL in schools, as set out in action 19 of the British Sign Language National Plan 2023-2029, since the publication of the plan in November 2023.

The Scottish Government is committed to making Scotland the best place in the world for BSL users to live, work, visit and learn. The BSL National Plan 2023-29 is a cross government plan containing 45 actions under the 10 priority themes. Education is a key theme within the plan, with stretch aims that will help improve access to BSL for children and young people in schools.

The BSL National Plan Implementation Advisory Group will consider this theme further over the course of the plan's six year life cycle. Activity to date has focused on understanding the support put in place by Local Authorities, who have responsibility under the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 to identify, provide for and review the additional support needs of their pupils, including those affected by deafness.

Question reference: S6O-03707

Asked by: Karen Adam, MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 September 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding any impact on the administration of Scottish social security benefits, what information it holds on the percentage of pensioners in Scotland who have not claimed pension credit for which they are eligible.

Question reference: S6O-03580

Asked by: Karen Adam, MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 13 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the implications of the reported decision by Aberdeenshire Integration Joint Board to close minor injuries units overnight in Peterhead and Fraserburgh without prior consultation, which has raised significant concerns among constituents.

As the member will know, decisions on how to deliver healthcare services for local communities are ultimately for local health boards and integration authorities to make. Boards and IJBs are expected to carry out proportionate engagement around service change proposals in line with Planning for People: Community Engagement and Participation Guidance. HIS have met with the board and made a number of recommendations on how they can better adhere to the guidance going forward.

Question reference: S6O-03584

Asked by: Karen Adam, MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how much of its annual budget is allocated to the provision of BSL services to ensure that the Parliament is accessible to those who use BSL, in light of the 2022 Census results showing that BSL is used by 117,300 people or 2.2% of the population.

Question reference: S6O-03510

Asked by: Karen Adam, MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support BSL users across Scotland to access culture, in light of the publication of Scotland’s Census 2022 report on language, which found that 117,300 people can use BSL.

Question reference: S6F-03076

Asked by: Karen Adam, MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 April 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 May 2024

To ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of the potential impact on Police Scotland and devolved agencies of reports that the Home Office is planning to launch a major operation to detain asylum seekers across the UK, following the passing of the UK Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024.

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