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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-18732

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 13 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service Equality Advisory Group last met, and what was discussed.

Question reference: S6W-18714

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 13 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many additional advanced nurse practitioners, which were announced in April 2018, have been trained to date.

Question reference: S6W-18679

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 13 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (LFASS) claims have received an on-farm inspection since 2016, and in how many instances a breach of the terms of the scheme has been identified.

Question reference: S6W-18698

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 05 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 13 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what actions its Working Group on Missing People has taken to support the delivery of the National Missing Persons Framework for Scotland.

The Working Group for Missing People continues to support the implementation of the National Missing Persons Framework across Scotland.

Key actions taken forward by the Framework so far include a standardisation of the national definition of missing persons; a standardised approach to risk assessment; and the development and delivery of return discussion training to ensure more consistency across the country. Building on this work, the Group will continue work with National Co-ordinators to engage with and support multi-agency partners in areas across Scotland to limit the likelihood of people going missing.

A comprehensive update on the Group’s work was published in 2020 – Working Group for Missing People in Scotland: National Framework for Missing Persons - implementation report - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . A further update will be part of a refreshed Framework later this year.

Question reference: S6W-18705

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 05 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 13 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it met its target of 58,000 additional outpatient activity in 2022-23, as outlined in its NHS Recovery Plan.

Our £1 Billion backed NHS Recovery Plan aims to continually increase capacity for outpatients.

We have seen an increase in the level of activity for new outpatients in the latest quarter (May 2023), which was at the highest level of activity in any quarter since the start of the pandemic.

Last year there were over 1.2 million patients seen for an outpatient appointment, an increase of 8% compared to 2021, when over 1.1 million outpatients were seen.

Further statistics on additional inpatient and day case activity in 2022-2023 will be released alongside the NHS Recovery Plan update this autumn.

Question reference: S6W-18656

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 05 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 13 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to raise awareness that, according to Citizens Advice Scotland, "Council Tax debt collection is much harsher and faster compared to commercial debt collection".

Council tax is a local tax, set and collected by each local authority, with every council financially and administratively accountable to their electorate. Council Tax Debt was discussed at the last meeting of the Joint Working Group on Sources of Local Government Funding and Council Tax Reform on 22 March 2023. It is important that local authorities retain the tools to enforce the payment of council tax by those who have the means to pay but choose not to do so, whilst the Council Tax Reduction Scheme, promoted as part of the Scottish Government funded Citizens Advice Scotland's Money Talk Team, as well as by local authorities and the DWP, means nobody should have to meet a council tax liability they cannot be expected to afford.

Question reference: S6W-18704

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 05 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 13 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it met its target of 27,500 additional inpatient and day case activity in 2022-23, as outlined in its NHS Recovery Plan.

Our £1 Billion backed NHS Recovery Plan aims to continually increase capacity for inpatient and day case procedures.

We have seen an increase in the level of activity for inpatient / day-cases in the latest quarter (May 2023), which was the highest level of activity in any quarter since the start of the pandemic.

Last year, over 217,000 patients were seen as an inpatient or day case. This reflects a 15.3% increase from the previous year.

Further statistics on additional inpatient and day case activity in 2022-2023 will be released alongside the NHS Recovery Plan update this autumn.

Question reference: S6W-18655

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 05 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 13 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to tackle the issue of council tax debt in its proposed new deal for local government.

The New Deal for Local Government reflects a desire of both partners to re-set the relationship between local and national government. The New Deal will provide greater flexibility over local funding, with clear accountability for delivery on shared priorities and outcomes. This will include considering further reforms for council tax in partnership with local government through the Joint Working Group on sources of local government funding.

Question reference: S6W-18645

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 13 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has allocated to the maintenance of Scotland's UNESCO World Heritage Sites in each year since 2007, broken down by site.

Scotland’s six UNESCO World Heritage Sites are highly varied in their composition and management. As Historic Environment Scotland is a partner for all six sites, I have asked it to write to the member with the information on Historic Scotland funding from 2007-15, and Historic Environment Scotland funding since 2015 when it was formed.

Exceptionally, there has been some direct funding from the Scottish Government, for example in the light of lost income during the COVID-19 pandemic. The amounts provided from 2015 onwards can be found in the following table.

World Heritage Site	Year	Maintenance Funding
New Lanark	2020-21	£2,439,000
2021-22	£327,000
2022-23	£435,000

Question reference: S6W-18660

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 13 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how much has been received in planning gain contributions by each local authority, in each year since 1999.