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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.

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Question reference: S5O-05159

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 March 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to increase the number of affordable homes.

Question reference: S5W-35326

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 February 2021
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Angela Constance on 19 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made by the Residential Rehabilitation Working Group on drug and alcohol residential treatment services.

In June 2020, the then Minister for Public Health, Sport and Wellbeing asked Dr David McCartney to chair a Working Group tasked with reporting on and making recommendations to the Scottish Government towards the strengthening of referral pathways, capacity planning and developing models of good practice for funding and delivery for drug and alcohol residential rehabilitation treatment.

The group reported to Ministers in December 2020 making a number recommendations. The Scottish Government published its response today, accepting all recommendations where it is within Minister’s remit to do so. This can be found on the Scottish Government website at http://www.gov.scot/Publications/Recent .

Progress has already been made in some areas. A good practice guide on pathways into and out of residential rehabilitation is already being developed; we continue to see referrals through our prison to residential rehabilitation pathway, and the Scottish Recovery Consortium, through Scottish Government funding, is running a pilot to help people most at risk following near fatal overdose to access residential rehabilitation treatment services.

The report raises a number of questions on which we need to do more. The Scottish Government will be guided every step of the way by the experience of people whose lives have been touched by drug use and the front line services who support people. Dr McCartney will lead a newly convened Residential Rehabilitation Working Group which will be focused on advising Scottish Government on taking forward all the actions set out in the recommendations and their implementation.

The First Minister, in her statement to Scottish Parliament in January, announced significant additional investment of £250 million over the five years of the next parliament as part of our national mission to tackle drugs deaths; and a £5 million support package to ensure immediate action before the end of this financial year. £100 million of this will support further investment in - and expansion of - residential rehabilitation and associated aftercare, with a further two £1 million grant funds to support grassroots and third sector organisations. £3 million of this package has already been allocated to Alcohol and Drug Partnerships.

Question reference: S5O-05000

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 February 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what measures in its Budget aim to tackle workplace inequalities.

Question reference: S5W-34849

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 January 2021
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Clare Haughey on 29 January 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress with the Distress Brief Intervention associate programme, which was announced in 2018.

The first DBI associate site went live in Moray in 2019; the lead agency and local DBI provider there is Penumbra.

There are now two more areas with associate programmes which have gone live this month. These are Inverclyde; and Ayrshire & Arran. The lead agencies and local DBI providers for these programmes are the Scottish Association for Mental Health & Penumbra respectively.

In the associate programme sites, the lead agencies are working closely with local partners including Health and Social Care Partnerships, Police Scotland, Primary Care, Emergency Departments, and others to provide DBI locally.

In addition, the Programme Manager for DBI is in discussion with several other areas in Scotland who have also expressed an interest in joining DBI as associate programmes. The associate sites are important building blocks towards our 2020 Programme for Government target of having DBI embedded in all Health Boards by 2024.

In 2019 we also expanded DBI so that it became available to 16- and 17-year olds. This was a commitment from Programme for Government 2018.

In addition, as part of our wider response to the Covid pandemic, in Spring 2020 we introduced a new pathway to DBI, in which people contacting NHS24 in emotional distress from anywhere in Scotland can, where assessed as appropriate, be referred for DBI support.

I would like to thank all our partners involved in the development and implementation of DBI thus far, for the vital support which they have provided to people in distress.

Question reference: S5O-04971

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 January 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to ensure the Test and Protect system is accessible to all.

Question reference: S5O-04911

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 January 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 January 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has made available to businesses throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Question reference: S5O-04891

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 December 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve housing outcomes for women experiencing domestic abuse.

Question reference: S5O-04868

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 December 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 December 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to engage with business stakeholders to inform its response to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Question reference: S5O-04729

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 November 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 November 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what recent engagement it has had with the Treasury.

Question reference: S5O-04697

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 October 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 October 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that children and young people and their families are actively involved in decisions regarding additional support for learning that directly affect them.