Seòmar agus comataidhean

In regards to part A of the question, the best source for care home closure data sits with the Care Inspectorate (CI) via their ‘service cancellations and registrations publication’. The most recent version was published on 22 January 2025, which you can access via the link below

https://www.careinspectorate.com/images/documents/7934/CI_Stats_Report_RegCanxQtr3_24_25.csv

37 care home services have cancelled their registration with CI since the start of 2024, according to this most recent report. This includes care home services for older people, children & young people, mental health, alcohol & drugs misuse, learning disabilities and respite services.

In order to see those services that have been cancelled you can look at the cancelled services column the publication table.

It is important to note that often the services listed will most likely have been reopened under a different business name and care service number since this data was released. Over the same period, there have been 30 registered care homes services, you can view this in the registered services columns in the same table.

In regards to Part B, to understand the care home services that are at risk of closure you can look at the RAD score – current Scrutiny Assessment Tool (SAT) score, High-Medium-Low – for each service which is available on the Care Inspectorate data store publication. The most recent one was published on 28 February

https://careinspectorate.com/images/documents/8039/MDSF_data_28%20February%202025.xlsx

The SAT is a trigger tool to identify indicators of potential concerns in services. The SAT was developed using feedback from staff, information from our enforcement review, intelligence and learning from the pandemic and the Hull early indicators of concern (which has been widely adopted by the health and social care sector). It only provides a picture of the services that have been inspected, rather than all care homes in the country.

I would highlight that although we have overall responsibility for health and social care policy in Scotland, the statutory responsibility for delivering, commissioning, providing appropriate social care capacity at a local level lies with local authorities, NHS boards and Integrated Joint Boards. This includes the responsibility for these organisations to develop contingency plans for each service they commission or provide and to have robust plans in place should a service close. COSLA have provided guidance on how to manage a service closure and under procurement contracts, including the National Care Home Contract, providers are required to have appropriate business continuity plans in place.

However, we do understand that additional pressures have been brought to the sector by the decisions of the UK Government, such as the increase in employers National Insurance Contributions, changes to the social care visa system and salary threshold levels.

Safeguards are in place to support the sector with regulators, COSLA and the Scottish Government available to provide additional support where necessary. We will continue to provide targeted support to local areas through the Collaborative Support and Assurance Group, co-chaired by myself and the COSLA spokesperson on Health and Social Care, Councillor Kelly. COSLA also chairs the National Contingency Planning Group, which can be stood up in the event of a large-scale threat to the sector affecting more than one local authority.

The Scottish Government are undertaking a programme of work to understand and respond to the current financial viability pressures facing the care home and wider social care sectors, and identify where extra support, contingencies and mitigations may be required. This work has included collaboration with COSLA, sector partners and representative bodies. Work remains ongoing but is proceeding at pace.

Numerous Scottish public bodies deliver support and tailored strategic investment into Scottish businesses including Scottish Enterprise, the Scottish National Investment Bank, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, South of Scotland Enterprise, Business Gateway and the Scottish Government’s £42m national Techscaler programme.

The Scottish Government-backed investment funds deployed by these organisations are designed to fill gaps in the supply of capital available to businesses and at the same time crowd in private capital to create a busier ecosystem of investors active in Scotland. Underpinned by Techscaler offering online education, expert mentoring, and a network of 14 hubs across seven regions in Scotland, these funds support tech startups from creation through to scale, ensuring support is accessible and rooted in communities across the country.

Examples of this funding and support include:

• Over £118m capital raised by founders since the inception of Techscaler in 2022 and in November 2024 Techscaler, in partnership with Focused for Business launched the Funding Accelerator programme designed to help Scottish startups secure their first or second equity funding round, with investments ranging from £100k to £1m.
• In 2024/25, Scottish Enterprise made 125 investments totalling £42.5m in early-stage companies, with 52% of these investments in companies located out with Edinburgh and Glasgow.
• South of Scotland Enterprise has supported 391 individuals in the South of Scotland as part of a Pathways pre-start pilot for under-represented groups, providing start-up grants of £1,000 to eligible participants.
• Highlands and Islands Enterprise IMPACT30 programme has supported 301 young entrepreneurs across its region and the Highlands and Islands Enterprise Techscaler Kickstart Grant Scheme offers grants ranging from £5,000 to £10,000 to ambitious tech founders and entrepreneurs in developing their business ideas.
• Through our Ecosystem Fund, we have supported various in-person and remote projects specifically focussed on access to finance, resulting in over 700 individuals growing their investment network.
• Scottish Government has consistently provided support for the Scottish EDGE business competition, including £1.4m in 2024-25, with an aim of identifying and supporting Scotland’s innovative, high growth potential entrepreneurial talent. This recently included a pilot Regional EDGE competition to specifically target support to different regions.
• To support the establishment of a network of entrepreneurial campuses, the Scottish Government allocated Converge with £100k to provide early-stage business microgrants. These microgrants have enabled 55 projects, run by university students and staff, to test their initial business idea. Microgrants were awarded to every university in Scotland to ensure all parts of the country have educational institutions that support entrepreneurial activity.

The question does not reference the actual public satisfaction survey. The most recent survey, the British Social Attitudes survey report is for the whole of the UK. It does not have a particular locus for dental services in Scotland.

The Member is instead referred to Official statistics from Public Health Scotland at: NHS dental data monitoring report - Quarter Ending December 2024 - NHS dental data monitoring report - Publications - Public Health Scotland

The most recent findings show that in February, over 4.1 million courses of treatment were delivered to Scotland patients in 2024 under the new payment system, and over 900,000 patients were seen by an NHS dentist in the last quarter of 2024. This shows that the significant and continuing investment made in NHS dentistry is supporting high volumes of patient access to NHS care and delivering on our aims to sustain NHS dental services.

We also remain the only country in the UK to offer free dental examinations for everyone in Scotland, ensuring that cost is not a barrier to accessing care.

The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost as it is not held centrally.

Official labour market statistics do not include data on reasons why individuals are unemployed. However, there is data available on reasons why individuals are economically inactive and not participating in the labour market.

The latest ONS Annual Population Survey (APS) statistics for 16 to 24 year olds for January to December 2024, published on 16 April 2025, show an estimated 12.7% of economically inactive 16 to 24 year olds in Scotland gave their reason for being inactive as “long-term sick or disabled”.

The Scottish Government has published analysis on the link between economic inactivity and ill health. On 24 September 2024 an evidence review indicated an increase in physical and mental health conditions in inactive people since 2018, with rising numbers of young people citing mental health concerns as a reason for being economically inactive (Economic inactivity in Scotland: supporting those with longer-term health conditions and disabilities to remain economically active - gov.scot). Previous analysis published on 30 August 2023 identified physical and mental ill-health as possible barriers that prevent young people from entering the labour market (Economic inactivity of young people aged 16-24: Definition, reasons and potential future focus - gov.scot).

The Scottish Government reviews studies on the economic modelling of the impact of proposed US tariffs for Scotland, including from the Office for Budget Responsibility and the National Institute for Economic and Social Research.

These studies suggest that UK GDP will be lower with US tariffs in place. The economic impact will be dependent on the level of tariffs that are ultimately imposed by the US and the response of other countries to the US tariffs.

I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-36532 on 29 April 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-36536 on 28 April 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Offshore oil and gas licensing, consenting and the associated fiscal regime are all matters that are currently reserved to the UK Government.

The Scottish Government is taking the appropriate time to carefully consider the UK Government’s current consultations on Building the North Sea’s Energy Future and a future Oil and Gas fiscal mechanism, and their potential outcomes.

Alongside this consideration, Scottish Government Ministers and officials continue to engage with UK Government counterparts and UK regulators (including the North Sea Transition Authority) on a range of issues relevant to the energy transition.

We are clear in our own support for a just transition for Scotland’s oil and gas sector, that recognises the maturity of the North Sea basin and is in line with our climate change commitments. At the heart of our approach is ensuring a just transition for Scotland’s valued and highly skilled oil and gas workforces to a net-zero future.