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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: S6W-21042

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 19 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken to increase the number of people starting psychological therapies within the 18-week target, following a reported decrease in the number of people being seen within that target window over the previous two quarters to March 2023.

The Scottish Government remains committed to supporting all Boards to meet the standard that 90% of patients start treatment within 18 weeks of referral. We continue to provide targeted, tailored support towards those Boards with the longest waits and poorest performance.

We have allocated £48.6 million of supplementary funding to Boards this year via the Mental Health Outcomes Framework to improve the quality and delivery of mental health services for all. This is in addition to £36.7 million allocated to Health Boards via the Outcomes Framework in 2022-23; and to the total package of core funding that Health Boards receive.

Within the Outcomes Framework funding for this year, Boards are expected to: build capacity within psychological therapy services to deliver the standard and reduce backlogs; improve quality and access in response to local need; and implement the forthcoming national specification for psychological therapies.

Question reference: S6W-20970

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Monday, 04 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 19 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish an inspection schedule for all NHS buildings that have still to be inspected for reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.

The schedule NHS Scotland buildings included in the on-site phase of the survey programme was submitted as part of the answer to question S6W-19366 on 21 July 2023 and was published on the NHS Scotland Assure website on the 15th September 2023: RAAC -List of Properties v1 Jul 23 (nhs.scot) . 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 .

Question reference: S6W-20969

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 19 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the reported 255 NHS buildings that are suspected to contain reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete have been inspected by structural engineers.

Question reference: S6W-20968

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 19 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish a list of all hospital buildings that are (a) suspected and (b) have been confirmed to contain reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.

The list of buildings to be surveyed was included in the answer to question S6W-19366 on 21 July 2023. NHS Scotland Assure published the list of buildings to be surveyed on the 15th September 2023: RAAC -List of Properties v1 Jul 23 (nhs.scot) . In response to part (b) of the Question; there have, as of the 19th September 2023, been 14 properties confirmed to contain RAAC, these will also be published in due course. 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 .

Question reference: S6W-20730

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 14 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many community link worker posts were funded by the Primary Care Improvement Fund in financial years (a) 2022-23 and (b) 2023-24, broken down by local authority area.

Question reference: S6W-20728

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 14 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government to which Health and Social Care Partnerships it has awarded discretionary funding in 2023-24 for community link worker provision, and how many posts were covered by any such discretionary funding awards.

Question reference: S6W-21137

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 14 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported marketing for sale of the Clydebridge Steelworks by Liberty Steel, what it is doing to safeguard Clydebridge's future as a green steelmaking facility of strategic importance to the Scottish economy.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-17708 on 16 May 2023 The Clydebridge Steelworks site in Cambuslang is not currently operational and no staff are currently employed at the site. The future of the site is an operational matter for Liberty Steel and I understand that a number of options for the future of the site are being considered including a possible sale.

Scottish Government maintain an open dialogue with Liberty Steel and have regular meetings with them.

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 .

Question reference: S6W-20729

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 14 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will continue any discretionary funding awards made to Health and Social Care Partnerships for community link worker programmes for 2023-24 in the next financial year.

Question reference: S6O-02524

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 September 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take to support Glasgow’s museums and galleries.

Question reference: S6W-20684

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 12 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any corrosive or erosive effect of rock salt used for the treatment of roads and pedestrian areas in cold weather on the built environment, compared with alternative grit products.

As members of PIARC (World Road Association) and the National Winter Service Research Group (NWSRG), Transport Scotland routinely participates and contributes to research programmes to enable the production of industry best practice.

In 2020, Transport Scotland commissioned the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) to undertake an introductory review into the effects of the use of rock salt on the major structures and bridges on the Scottish trunk road network.

Transport Scotland are currently reviewing the outcomes of this research including the next phases of research and potential use of alternative de-icing products as advised by the findings.

As an increase in the standard applied to the treatment of footpaths in the recently awarded Scottish Ministers Network Management Contracts (NMCs), precautionary footpath treatments are now undertaken using liquid treatment applications.