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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

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Question reference: S6W-26722

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 05 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don on 23 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many of its childminder recruitment pilots are based in the Highlands and Islands, and where they are based.

The Scottish Government and partners have been supporting pilot phases of the Scottish Childminding Partnership recruitment model, led by the Scottish Childminding Association, to recruit and train new professional childminders across rural, island and urban communities.

The first phase operated in 10 rural local authorities, including: Argyll and Bute; Dumfries and Galloway; Highland; Moray; North Ayrshire (Arran and Cumbrae); Orkney; Scottish Borders; Shetland; Stirling and Cne Siar.

The second phase tested the model in urban areas, including: Edinburgh; Glasgow; Dundee and East Renfrewshire. However, a number of rural areas continued to participate, including: Dumfries and Galloway; Highlands (Sutherland, Caithness and Isle of Skye); areas within Cne Siar; Orkney; and Arran in North Ayrshire.

As announced in the 2023 Programme for Government, the Scottish Government is committed to scaling up these innovative pilots to grow the childminding workforce by 1,000. We are currently working with the Scottish Childminding Association to develop a new national programme of recruitment and retention activity which will be offered to all Local Authorities.

Question reference: S6W-26711

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 05 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 23 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding in total has been distributed from the Fuel Insecurity Fund within each local authority area in each year since it was launched.

The Scottish Government does not hold the full level of information requested.

Each FIF partner was distinct in terms of their delivery and approach, which was often demand-driven through referral partner networks. We agreed an approach to monitoring and evaluation of support provided by delivery partners which sought to avoid excessive demands for data gathering and reporting, yet provides a level of robust quantitative and qualitative data, which ensured the FIF could be distributed to those most in need.

The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) support included funding for Registered Social Landlords and cooperatives, covering distribution across the 32 local authorities as set out in the following table:

Local Authority	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24	Total
Aberdeen City		1,682	235,317	99,078	336,077
Aberdeenshire	238	13,297	163,617	101,887	279,039
Angus	6,238	17,265	72,374	63,273	159,150
Argyll & Bute	238	14,265	24,162	67,293	105,958
City of Edinburgh	88,072	104,887	419,621	414,813	1,027,393
Clackmannanshire	2,196	16,234	116,286	140,532	275,248
Dumfries & Galloway	35,236	49,429	159,369	95,185	339,219
Dundee City	11,050	17,265	79,220	127,681	235,216
East Ayrshire	31,906	62,376	176,962	76,993	348,237
East Dunbartonshire	3,862	66,050	87,491	75,948	233,351
East Lothian	47,412	37,087	197,747	130,902	413,148
Eilean Siar			100,000	62,144	162,144
East Renfrewshire	422,496	526,130	84,555	112,506	1,145,687
Falkirk	47,650	49,702	118,487	118,569	334,408
Fife	95,910	133,030	151,048	257,557	637,545
Glasgow City	201,419	206,687	1,072,733	2,131,181	3,612,020
Highlands	10,146	60,132	598,275	656,164	1,324,717
Inverclyde	99,968	31,587	176,141	292,027	599,723
Midlothian	1,958	4,587	117,464	96,883	220,892
Moray	238	16,947	100,752	85,051	202,988
North Ayrshire	29,948	24,814	81,091	66,142	201,995
North Lanarkshire	49,316	104,718	226,987	149,663	530,684
Perth & Kinross	8,196	20,884	97,132	73,374	199,586
Renfrewshire	52,950	75,722	237,530	223,152	589,354
Scottish Borders	452,196	317,884	496,354	222,092	1,488,526
South Ayrshire	1,958	39,594	118,586	144,683	304,821
South Lanarkshire	186,416	252,803	390,265	271,668	1,101,152
Stirling	2,196	17,884	175,413	195,098	390,591
West Dumbarton	72,650	50,020	205,451	231,509	559,630
West Lothian	47,650	49,802	116,157	181,909	395,518
Total amount distributed	2,009,709	2,382,764	6,396,587	6,964,957	17,754,017

Advice Direct Scotland (ADS) and the Fuel Bank Foundation utilised large referral networks across the nation and therefore do not currently hold data based on distributed funding per local authority area. Fuel Bank support was provided by their 200+ partner network across all 32 local authorities. ADS had an associated Scotland-wide network of over 1400 partners with coverage across all 32 local authorities.

The Wise Group were a new FIF delivery partner brought on in 2023-24, operating a pilot project across 6 local authorities in Glasgow, Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, North and South Lanarkshire and the Borders supporting up to 3,000 households, with a holistic, sustainable long-term approach to lifting people out of poverty.

On receipt of FIF delivery partners 2023/24 summary reports, further information can be made available and will be published on respective partner websites.

Question reference: S6W-26705

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 05 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 23 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many residential rehabilitation beds there currently are in the Highlands and Islands region, broken down by local authority area.

The Scottish Government pathways report , published in November 2021, provides a full breakdown of how many beds there are in the Highland and Island region by local authority. Public Health Scotland latest report , published on 19 December, details how many beds have become available since then as a result of the Residential Rehabilitation Rapid Capacity Programme (RRRCP).

As part of the second round of the RRRCP, funding has been awarded to create 6 additional beds at CrossReach’s Beechwood House in Inverness and 1 additional bed at the Maxie Richards Foundation in Tignabruaich. This funding will deliver an additional 25 placements over the course of the year for the Highlands and Islands.

Question reference: S6W-26710

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 05 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 23 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the Fuel Insecurity Fund has been distributed in each financial year since it was launched.

The Fuel Insecurity Fund was first established in the winter of 2020, as part of the wider Winter Support Fund, to help households struggling with their energy costs who were at risk of severely rationing, or self-disconnecting entirely because they could not afford their energy costs.

The Scottish Government has distributed a total of £63.595 million to third sector partners to deliver the Fuel Insecurity Fund up until March 2024. The following table gives an overview of the budget and distribution since inception:

Year	Budgeted	Distributed
2020-21	£7m	£3.595m
2021-22	£10m	£10m
2022-23	£20m*	£20m
2023-24	£30m**	£30m

*originally £10m; raised to £20m at Emergency Budget Review

**originally £20m in the 2023-24 Scottish Budget; increased to £30m in March 2023

Question reference: S6W-26715

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 05 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 22 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that the Bòrd na Gàidhlig will be ending its Gaelic Officers scheme as a result of the Scottish Government not providing an uplift in funding of £354,000 alongside the 2024-25 budget for the Bòrd na Gàidhlig.

Following the 2024-25 budget settlement, the Scottish Government reviewed a number of budget lines in Education and Skills. In relation to Gaelic the outcome of this review is that there will now be no reduction to the MG ALBA funding for 2024-25. There will also be no reduction of the Gaelic, Education and Culture budget line which would have had an impact on the funding of Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, Storlann and other organisations and the Scottish Government has now provided additional funding to enable Bòrd na Gidhlig to continue its support for the Gaelic Officers’ Scheme in 2024-25.

Question reference: S6W-26717

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 05 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 18 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to publish sub-local authority data from Scotland’s Census 2022.

I have asked Janet Egdell, Chief Executive of National Records of Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

The next release of census data will be May 2024. This release will include:

Population by age and sex at all geographies down to output area (unrounded)
Number of households at all geographies down to output area (unrounded)

Please note, output areas are made up of approximately 50 households. Up to date information on future releases can be found on the census outputs schedule webpage .

In line with the requirements of the Code of Practice for Statistics, National Records of Scotland will publish the specific release date and time for each publication at least four weeks in advance.

Question reference: S6O-03352

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 April 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what activity it will undertake regarding its Action Plan to Address Depopulation.

Question reference: S6W-26718

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 05 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Emma Roddick on 16 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how often the Population Roundtable co-chaired by the Scottish Government and COSLA has met to date, and when it will next meet.

Question reference: S6W-26721

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 05 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Emma Roddick on 16 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding is available in (a) 2024-25 and (b) 2025-26 for its Addressing Depopulation Fund, as set out in its Action Plan to Address Depopulation.

As part of our commitment to acknowledge the role of local leadership in addressing challenges linked to depopulation, the Scottish Government has committed to establishing an Addressing Depopulation Fund to enable local authorities to trial pathfinder interventions in support of population attraction and retention. The Fund will initially make available £180,000 to be split between a prospective three local authorities across financial years 2024-25 and 2025-26.

Question reference: S6W-26723

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 05 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Emma Roddick on 16 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government on what date it will launch its online digital Talent Attraction and Migration Service (TAMS), and how this will be promoted to employers across Scotland.

The first iteration of Scotland’s Migration Service launched on 27 March 2024. The previous working title of ‘Talent Attraction and Migration Service’ was updated following testing with users.

The service is hosted on Scotland.org and provides information and advice to people who have recently moved to Scotland, international students, employers and inward investors, who are able to book one-to-one advice appointments with our expert suppliers – Citizens Advice Scotland and the law firm Seraphus. The scope of the full service will widen in Autumn 2024 to service the needs of individuals located outside Scotland with an interest in moving to Scotland.

Delivery of the first phase of the service is being promoted to employers across Scotland and all other users through a stakeholder advocacy approach. This involves targeted promotional activities through existing relationships and networks of stakeholders. Partnership communications toolkits have been shared with stakeholders containing materials to promote and encourage their own service users to use Scotland's Migration Service. The launch was also promoted via a news release from Scottish Government and social media post.

Further promotional activities will be conducted in Autumn to accompany the launch of the full service.