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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-02571

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 30 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 9 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its deadline is for the full delivery of the provision of short-term mobility aids across all NHS boards.

Question reference: S6W-02522

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 9 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government by what date a learning disability, autism and neurodiversity commissioner will be appointed.

Question reference: S6W-02412

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 23 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 9 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it provides to (a) local authorities and (b) NHS boards to carry out suicide prevention training.

The Scottish Government does not provide specific funding to local authorities or territorial NHS Boards to carry out suicide prevention training. The Scottish Government provides funding to Public Health Scotland (PHS) to manage the licences and processes to enable delivery of Scottish Mental Health First Aid training and suicide prevention training programmes (safeTALK and ASIST), which are delivered by accredited third-party trainers. This training is available to individuals living in Scotland, including those working in local authorities, NHS boards, third sector organisations and community groups. Between 2018-19 and 2020-21, PHS was allocated a total of £400,000, principally for the management of these training programmes as part of its mental health improvement and suicide prevention work programme.

Through work with our National Suicide Prevention Leadership Group to deliver on our Suicide Prevention Action Plan (Every Life Matters) , the Scottish Government funds PHS and NHS Education for Scotland (NES) to jointly develop and promote freely-available online learning resources on suicide prevention, mental health, and self-harm for the Scottish workforce. These resources are accessible through the NES online training platform. Between 2018-19 and 2020-21, the total allocation to NES and PHS, principally for this work on learning resources, was £495,659.

Question reference: S6W-02479

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 23 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 9 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on what proportion of children who finished primary school in each year since 2018 were able to swim, also broken down by local authority.

Question reference: S6W-02413

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 23 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 9 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what importance it places on ensuring that people who deliver frontline public services receive suicide prevention training, and whether it monitors how many people are trained.

The Scottish Government places a high level of importance on providing awareness-raising and suicide prevention training for staff working in frontline public services, to help them identify and support people at risk of mental ill health or suicide. Action 2 of our Suicide Prevention Action Plan (Every Life Matters) sets out our plan to deliver this.

Working with our National Suicide Prevention Leadership Group to deliver the Suicide Prevention Action Plan , the Scottish Government funds Public Health Scotland (PHS) and NHS Education for Scotland (NES) to jointly develop and promote freely-available online learning resources on suicide prevention, mental health, and self-harm for the Scottish workforce, including frontline public service workers. These evidence-based learning resources build organisational capability to effectively respond to mental health issues of people using their services, including suicide risk. The resources can be adapted to meet individual organisation’s needs and many public sector organisations, including Police Scotland and the Scottish Prison Service, are integrating these resources into their existing staff training programmes.

Additionally, the Scottish Government provides funding to PHS to manage the licences and processes to enable delivery of the face-to-face suicide prevention training programmes safeTALK, and ASIST. This training is available to front line public services, and delivered by accredited third-party trainers Face-to-face training of these courses was paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic in line with the licence conditions. However it will recommence in November 2021, with priority access for frontline public service workers.

These programmes and resources complement our wider work under the National Trauma Training Programme, which supports the Scottish Government’s ambition for a trauma-informed and trauma-responsive workforce across Scotland. The National Trauma Training Programme, led by NHS Education for Scotland, provides a suite of freely available, evidence based, trauma training resources and implementation support to help ensure that our services and care are delivered in ways that prevent further harm or re-traumatisation for children, young people or adults affected by psychological trauma.

The Scottish Government does not routinely monitor how many people in frontline public services access suicide prevention training. In relation to Health Boards, the Scottish Government wrote to all Boards in May 2019 to ask that the requirement for NHS staff to undertake mental health and suicide prevention training (as set out in our Suicide Prevention Action Plan) be included as an essential element of Boards’ Workforce Development Plans with immediate effect. We will continue to engage with Health Boards, and the wider public sector, to design, support and evaluate approaches to the delivery of mental health and suicide prevention training.

Question reference: S6W-02334

Asked by: Joe FitzPatrick, MSP for Dundee City West, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 9 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish an update to Cycling by Design.

Question reference: S6W-02266

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 August 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 9 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action Scottish Forestry and Forestry and Land Scotland are taking to reform the Forestry Grant Scheme in order to encourage riparian planting.

The Forestry Grant Scheme already supports planting native broadleaved riparian woodland in a range of situations. Since 2016 the Forestry Grant Scheme has supported the planting of over 500 native broadleaved riparian woodlands.

Furthermore, all tree planting and restocking proposals must comply with the UK Forestry Standard, which promotes an integrated catchment management approach and places particular emphasis on riparian woodland and its role in protecting and restoring the freshwater environment.

Scottish Forestry will continue to develop and improve The Forestry Grant Scheme throughout the Stability and Simplicity rural funding transition period and as part of this there will be opportunities to review how it supports tree planting in different circumstances.

Forest and land Scotland (FLS) has no role in the Forestry Grant Scheme. FLS is a separate Agency charged with managing Scotland’s National Forest Estate.

Question reference: S6W-02063

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 9 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will reconsider plans for the workplace parking levy, in light of concerns that it may place financial pressure on businesses as they recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 provides local authorities with a discretionary power to set up workplace parking licensing (WPL) schemes.

As set out in our Climate Change Plan Update, we remain committed to plans to take forward policy consultation in advance of drafting regulations and guidance to enable local authorities to implement WPL schemes, should they wish to do so.WPL schemes have the potential to encourage the use of more sustainable travel modes, reducing congestion, improving air quality and reducing emissions.

The Scottish Government is currently consulting on the regulatory framework and supporting guidance which will underpin local authorities’ WPL schemes, with a view to this being in force in 2022. The consultation is available here: https://www.transport.gov.scot/consultation/workplace-parking-licensing-consultation-on-regulations-and-guidance

It will then be for local authorities to decide whether they wish to implement WPL locally and to shape proposals to suit local circumstances. Local authorities will be required to undertake a public consultation and impact assessments before implementing a WPL scheme.

Question reference: S6O-00147

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the finance secretary has had with the health secretary regarding the allocation of additional funding for the Scottish Ambulance Service to increase staffing and resources, particularly in rural and remote areas.

Question reference: S6O-00154

Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how it will take forward the recommendations in Professor Gordon Stobart’s review of upper-secondary education student assessment in Scotland.