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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: S6W-14059

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 27 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of use of the social care staff support fund by private social care providers, including the amount (a) of funds claimed and (b) paid out to social care staff.

Question reference: S6W-13885

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 27 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to increase the number of Veterans Champions.

The work of Armed Forces and Veterans Champions throughout Scotland is crucial to ensuring veterans can access the right support, guidance and services. The Scottish Government supports fully the work of the Champions in public sector organisations including Police Scotland, Local Authorities, the NHS, Department for Work and Pensions and Higher and Further Education institutions. I am chairing a roundtable with Local Authority Champions in late January.

We would encourage any service delivery organisation providing support to veterans to consider developing a veterans champion role.

Question reference: S6W-13948

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 27 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-13495 by Kevin Stewart on 13 January 2023, how much it spent on the There’s More to Care Than Caring campaign, and how much it plans to spend on the 2023 campaign.

The total cost of the 2021-2022 campaign was £206,970. The 2023 campaign has been developed to have a much greater media presence and will aim to reach a broader audience than previous campaigns. With this, the projected spend for the 2023 campaign is £500,000. This also cost also includes activities on insights gathering to gain further clarity on how the campaign messaging is received and the public perceptions of a career in social care to help inform and shape future recruitment support.

Question reference: S6W-13955

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 27 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-13496 by Kevin Stewart on 13 January 2023, how many (a) health and social care partnerships and (b) provider representative organisations it has worked with to deliver webinars for social care employers, and what plans it has to engage with any such remaining organisations.

Officials hosted webinars which took place week commencing‎ 9 January to offer additional support to providers in applying PR and Marketing approaches at a local level, based on their specific need, and to share more insight into the alternative recruitment routes available, such as Apprenticeship and Employability programmes.

These events were optional and open to all providers across social care sector. Invitations were issued to providers through CCPS and Scottish Care.

We plan to review the feedback provided on these webinars to assess the interest for further webinars to be hosted, consider how these may be improved in the future and what additional topics participates would be keen for these to cover.

Question reference: S6W-14098

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 27 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the commitment in its Digital Health and Care Strategy, how it has developed the provision of computerised cognitive behavioural therapies (cCBT).

We established the Digital Mental Health Programme in late 2020 to oversee ongoing development of cCBT and other digital mental health services. The development and expansion of digital services was supported by a national implementation team.

The number of available cCBT treatments has increased from 1 in 2019 to 27 in 2022. The introduction of self-referral treatments, Sleepio and Daylight have greatly increased access to digital treatments with 25,668 self-referrals in 2022, compared to 12,356 the year before.

These numbers continue to rise, with usage of cCBT programs increasing from 22,385 in 2020 to 66,163 in 2022. We continue to invest in the long term sustainability of digital therapies (including cCBT), including innovation, staff training, evaluation and inclusion.

Question reference: S6W-14085

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 27 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government on what basis the remit of the Interim Governance Group to Develop National Anti-Racist Infrastructure was established.

In June 2020, the Expert Reference Group on COVID-19 and Ethnicity was established to consider and inform the Scottish Government’s approach in relation to the impacts of COVID-19 on Minority Ethnic (ME) communities. This was in response to reports at a UK-wide and international level that some ME groups may be at risk of experiencing disproportionate effects, both in terms of adverse health outcomes and in a wider context, including economically.

Our current priorities are rooted in the delivery of the recommendations of our Expert Reference Group on COVID-19 and Ethnicity (ERG). Specifically, these actions cover the ongoing work to implement the data and systemic recommendations of the Expert Reference Group (ERG) for COVID-19 and Ethnicity, as agreed to by the Scottish Government in November 2020 .

Recommendation 7 from the ERG outlined the need to establish a more effective accountability and governance infrastructure in Scotland, namely an independent Race Observatory. The Scottish Government required specific expertise to help move forward with establishing the Observatory and therefore formed a short-life working group, now known as the IGG, to provide advice and feedback to Scottish Ministers.

Question reference: S6W-14060

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 27 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what sanctions are in place if a private social care provider fails to use its social care staff support fund correctly.

The Social Care Staff Support Fund is available for social care staff who are absent from work due to having covid-19, or self-isolating in line with public health guidance, to support and encourage infection prevention and control in social care settings.

Scottish Ministers strongly encourage employers to access the Fund on behalf of any staff member who meets all of the eligibility criteria.

The guidance on the Fund includes routes of recourse for any social care worker who has not received support from the Fund that they believe they are entitled to.

Local Authority and Health and Social Care Partnerships will have their own internal and governance processes in place and must adhere to their duties in relation to accounting for public funds. This includes ensuring that payments for additional costs are made in line with the Social Care Staff Support Fund Guidance.

Question reference: S6W-14213

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 20 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 27 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it will next publish statistics in relation to the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-14086

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 27 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information from the work of the Interim Governance Group to Develop National Anti-Racist Infrastructure will be made publicly available.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-14802 on‎ 27 January 2023 which outlines that the IGG is committed to being open and transparent about its work. Documents and minutes of meetings are published on the IGG webpage: Interim Governance Group to Develop National Anti-Racist Infrastructure

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-14343

Current Status: Withdrawn