- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 25 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking to address the reported backlog of NHS hospital appointments for children and young people, in particular for those aged 15 to 17.
Answer
We published our NHS Recovery Plan on 25 August 2021, which sets out our ambition of increasing NHS capacity by at least 10% as quickly as possible in order to address the backlog of care and meet the ongoing healthcare needs for people across Scotland.
Backed by over £1 billion of funding, the Plan will support an increase in inpatient, daycase, and outpatient activity to address the backlog of care, which will be supported by the implementation of sustainable improvements through new models of care.
Health Boards’ elective activity is being actively monitored through daily and weekly returns to the Scottish Government and support provided where required.
- Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 18 March 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 25 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how it has supported former Hong Kong residents who have resettled in Scotland.
Answer
We welcome people from Hong Kong who have chosen to move to Scotland. The Scottish Government is committed to supporting their integration into our communities and we have also published a dedicated British National (Overseas) welcome pack, in both English and Cantonese, on our website.
The Scottish Government is taking a coordinated cross-portfolio approach to support BN(O) nationals coming to Scotland, working with COSLA to assess the impact on public services in key local authorities. We have been pressing the UK Government to provide clarity on when the £2.98M funding for integration support will be transferred to the Scottish Government.
- Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 18 March 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 25 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many young people are currently waiting for an additional support needs (ASN) diagnosis in (a) Scotland and (b) each local authority area.
Answer
Additional support needs, as defined under the Education (Additional Support for Learning) Act 2004 (as amended), arise if a child or young person is, or is likely to be, unable without the provision of additional support to benefit from school education. An additional support need can be of short or long-term duration. Under the Act, education authorities are required to identify, provide for and to review the additional support needs of their pupils. Local authorities are supported to carry out their duties under the Act by the statutory Supporting Learners’ Code of Practice.
Under the Act, a formal diagnosis is not required in order for support to be provided. The Pupil census: supplementary statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) , published on 15 March 2022 includes the latest information and a local authority level breakdown of the reasons why additional support was provided. The data collected does not distinguish between support not being provided and a need being identified and support not being in place.
- Asked by: Dr Alasdair Allan, MSP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 18 March 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 25 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what representations it is making to the UK Government to ensure that Gaelic broadcasting achieves parity in statute through the broadcasting bill, which is reportedly due to be introduced in the UK Parliament.
Answer
These matters are at an early stage and we understand that the UK Government is currently considering next steps. We are aware, however, that MG ALBA is making preparations for a possible media bill and will be meeting the Minister for State at DCMS to discuss these matters soon. We are also aware of what MG ALBA would hope to see included in a bill and the Scottish Government will support MG ALBA with its requests to ensure greater equity between minority indigenous languages across the UK and to defend and strengthen public service broadcasting in Scotland.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 March 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 25 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-06381 by Humza Yousaf on 2 March 2022, which NHS boards are currently providing in-person antenatal classes.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. While we provide guidance for NHS Boards on the management of maternity and neonatal services during COVID-19 to aid local service planning, NHS Boards are responsible for undertaking local risk assessments to evaluate whether antenatal sessions can take place virtually or in person.
- Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 March 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 25 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what the average waiting time has been, for children who have learning disabilities, to access treatment through Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) once they have been referred, broken down by NHS board, in each of the last five years.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-07353 on 25 March 2022. 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 .
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 March 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 25 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Homes for Scotland report, The Social and Economic Benefits of Home Building in Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Government welcomes the focus in the report on the delivery of high quality, accessible homes in sustainable communities and recognition of the broader contribution that housing can play in terms of people's health and well-being.
- Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 March 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 25 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what the average waiting time has been, for people waiting for treatment through specialist mental health services for adults with learning disabilities, broken down by NHS board, in each of the last five years.
Answer
This data is not centrally available.
PHS are developing a patient level dataset, Child, Adolescent and Psychological Therapies National Dataset (CAPTND) and the Scottish Government has commissioned Directors of eHealth in NHS Boards, working with others, including PHS , to work to improve the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) digital infrastructure. This will enable the recording and extraction of the full CAMHS and Psychological Therapies (PT) National Dataset (CAPTND), which will allow improved reporting on patient characteristics.
- Asked by: Audrey Nicoll, MSP for Aberdeen South and North Kincardine, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 March 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 25 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the most recent level of police, public order and safety spending per person in Scotland, and how this compares with (a) England and (b) Wales.
Answer
The 2021 Country and Regional Analysis (produced by HM Treasury) includes analysis of expenditure on public services in Scotland and comparisons with other parts of the UK as a whole. In 2020-21 public order and safety spending in Scotland was £3.1bn. On a per capita basis, spending in Scotland was 11% higher than in England and 7% higher than in Wales, as shown in the following table:
Public Order & Safety Expenditure (per capita)
| | 2020-21 (£) |
Scotland | 569 |
England | 512 |
Wales | 534 |
Source: Country and regional analysis: 2021: Country and regional analysis: 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Spending on public order and safety includes expenditure on a number of areas including police, prosecution, criminal courts, the prison and probation services, and the fire services.
- Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 March 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 24 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the possible resettlement in Scotland of refugees who may be fleeing conflict or persecution, including in relation to Afghans, Syrians, Iranians and Uyghurs, as well as Ukrainians.
Answer
All 32 Scottish local authorities welcomed refugees under the Syrian resettlement scheme. Local authorities have also re-affirmed their continuing support for resettlement with all 32 Scottish local authorities committing to participate in the Afghanistan resettlement and relocation schemes and to support those arriving from Ukraine.
The Scottish Government continues to work with local authorities, COSLA, UK Government and wider partners to support people arriving through the UK Resettlement Scheme, Afghanistan relocation and resettlement schemes and the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
We have a wealth of experience and learning from previous schemes to support and resettle displaced people. Scotland stands ready to offer refuge and sanctuary to anyone who may need it.