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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-21487

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 3 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when the next round of the Flexible Workforce Development Fund will be announced.

Question reference: S6W-21566

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 3 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many adverse incident reviews have been undertaken in (a) Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and (b) Adult Mental Health services in each year since 1999.

Question reference: S6W-21486

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 3 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, as part of its move towards parity of support for part-time students that it announced in its Programme for Government 2023-24, whether it plans to implement the recommendation contained in the report of the independent review of student financial support in Scotland that “the Scottish Government works in collaboration with other interested parties, to look at how the key principles of this Review should be best implemented for part-time students and those currently receiving Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA)”.

Question reference: S6W-21552

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 3 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of individuals deemed "high risk" have yet to receive their (a) flu vaccine (b) COVID-19 booster in 2023.

Public reporting of the winter flu and COVID-19 vaccination programme launched on 21 September and can be accessed via PHS Vaccination Surveillance (shinyapps.io) .

The only publicly currently available data is the total number of vaccinations administered for both Covid-19 and flu. By the end of October, Public Health Scotland will begin publishing uptake data by eligible JCVI groups, including those at highest risk. It will also publish Health Board-level uptake data, alongside other information such as uptake by ethnicity and SIMD.

The additional data isn’t publicly available because it is management information that cannot be disclosed until the necessary data quality checks are complete to ensure that the data is robust. In the meantime, officials and health boards are using the management information to monitor uptake to ensure that it is what we are expecting.

Question reference: S6W-21554

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 3 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what measures are being implemented to ensure the financial viability of respite care services, especially in light of reports of rising demand and escalating costs.

The Scottish Government has overall responsibility for health and social care policy in Scotland and local Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs) have the responsibility for commissioning and managing the appropriate services for local needs. The Scottish Government are investing £1.7bn for social care and integration in 2023-24 to support the people who deliver, and rely, on these services.

The National Care Service Programme includes a ‘Market Shaping’ work stream. This project will deliver tools and techniques for securing services through contracts, grants, and alliances that are financially sustainable and that meet the needs of people receiving care and the people delivering care. Market Shaping tools and techniques will be designed with providers of social care, commissioners, procurement experts and other stakeholders. It will consider how to improve the financial sustainability of current services, and how services that are not currently offered by the market can be designed and secured in ways that providers are able to deliver.

Question reference: S6W-21457

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 3 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on implementing a local inheritance tax.

Question reference: S6W-21642

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 22 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 3 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on the proportion of undisputed invoices to each (a) of its directorates, (b) of its agencies and (c) non-departmental public body that was paid within five days, in each year since 2011.

The Scottish Government is committed to paying its contractors promptly, and has a commitment to pay all valid invoices within 10 days of receipt, going beyond the contractual responsibility to pay within 30 days. Systems and processes are in place to monitor and maintain performance data against this 10 day prompt payment target for each Director General area within the core Scottish Government and where payment services are provided centrally for relevant agencies.

Since 2014, the Scottish Government has also maintained a top level figure for the percentage of valid invoices paid within 5 days across the whole of the Scottish Government and its agencies, as shown in the table below. However, as systems are calibrated to report on the 10 prompt payment commitment, it is not possible to break this down further into directorate or agency reports.

Financial Year	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
% paid in 5 days (inc EPC)*	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported	77.8	79.6	79.7	79.7	84.6	83.8	78.4	75.2	80.3
% paid in 10 days (inc EPC)*	96.8	97.6	98.5	98.5	98.4	98.6	98.2	99.0	98.7	97.6	97.1	97.3

*The figure shows the percentage of payments made within 5 and 10 days, inclusive of payments made via the government electronic procurement card

Question reference: S6W-21707

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 22 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 3 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether school catering workers have a role in monitoring or pursuing school meal debt.

Question reference: S6W-21697

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Friday, 22 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 3 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government on which date it plans to publish a draft of the proposed Gaelic and Scots and Scottish Languages Bill.

Question reference: S6W-21706

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 22 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 3 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance is available for schools and local authorities on accepting cash or other donations from individuals and organisations towards helping families experiencing financial hardship, who are ineligible for free school meals, or those with school meal debt.