Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-09008

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 15 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason £97 million has been removed from the Scottish Water budget in 2022-23, and then £98 million in each of the next four years, in the Resource Spending Review.

The Scottish Government Budget for 2022-23 sets out that during this financial year, the Scottish Government intends to lend £170m per annum in capital funding and to receive some £105m income per annum which is the interest on loans issued to Scottish Water. Across the 2021-27 period Ministers have committed to lend Scottish Water up to £1.03bn. Lending in future years will be agreed in future Budget Acts.

The quoted figure of -£97m is the resource budget for the Water Industry portfolio. This reflects some £105m income of interest payments by Scottish Water less amounts of spend on Hydro Nation and Private Water activities. The breakdown of spend is included within table 9.16 of the Budget.

Scottish Water is financed through revenue raised from customer charges and loans issued by the Scottish Government. The spending review has simply confirmed the intention to lend £170m per annum to Scottish Water and hence it has no impact on customers’ bills.

Question reference: S6W-08924

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 15 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been diagnosed with an eating disorder in each year since 1999.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) does not hold comprehensive data on the number of people diagnosed with an eating disorder since 1999.

However, we can provide data on the number of child and adult patients admitted in NHS psychiatric or general/acute hospitals, either as day cases or inpatients, with an eating disorder in any diagnostic field, for the period 2007-2021. The data is disaggregated by age group (child or adult), calendar year, and health board of residence.

Child Patients 2007 -2021

Number of child 1 patients 2 admitted to a general/acute or mental health specialty 3 , either as an inpatient or day case, with an eating disorder 4 ; by year of admission and NHS health board of patient residence, 2007 - 2021.

	Year of Admission
NHS Board	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
Ayrshire and Arran	*	5	*	5	*	*	8	*	5	5	*	*	7	13	*
Borders	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	5	5	15	5	5	9
Dumfries and Galloway	*	*	*	*	-	*	*	8	6	*	*	6	*	*	9
Fife	*	*	6	*	6	5	*	*	*	*	6	10	9	9	16
Forth Valley	-	*	*	-	*	8	*	*	*	7	8	8	9	19	16
Grampian	7	*	9	7	11	16	7	12	10	9	14	9	10	14	22
Greater Glasgow and Clyde	16	7	7	8	9	10	17	25	13	13	16	14	17	32	38
Highland	5	11	5	*	*	14	9	14	17	6	7	*	8	17	26
Lanarkshire	*	6	*	6	7	8	12	7	*	10	11	12	19	17	26
Lothian	15	12	16	17	17	14	18	25	35	25	22	23	28	31	45
Orkney	*	*	-	-	*	*	*	*	*	-	-	-	*	-	*
Other	*	-	*	-	-	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	-	-	-
Shetland	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	-
Tayside	*	7	11	9	8	10	12	12	9	12	6	11	7	22	18
Western Isles	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	*	*	-	*	*	*	-	-
Total	60	62	69	61	72	94	98	119	109	102	108	122	125	184	233

Notes

* - Denotes values which have been suppressed to protect patient confidentiality.

1. A child is defined as someone whose age on admission was less than 18

2. Patients will be counted multiple times if they have been admitted within the same board in different years, or different boards in the same year, or both. A patient will be counted as both an adult and a child in the year they turn 18 if they had an episode when they were 17 and a subsequent episode that year aged 18.

3. The numbers represented show those who have been admitted to hospital and do not include those diagnosed in other settings. Therefore, these figures are likely to be undercount of the total number of people diagnosed with an eating disorder

4. Patients identified are those with an ICD-10 code of F50 in any of 6 diagnostic fields. Further information can be found on the ICD-10 website: https://icd.who.int/browse10/2019/en.

5. The "Other" category is a combination of the following health board categories: "Rest of UK (Outside Scotland)", "Outside the UK", "No Fixed Abode" and "Unknown residency".

Adult Patients 2007 - 2021

Number of adult 1 patients 2 admitted to a general/acute or mental health specialty 3 , either as an inpatient or day case, with an eating disorder 4 ; by year of admission and NHS health board of patient residence, 2007 - 2021.

	Year of Admission
NHS Board	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
Ayrshire and Arran	19	17	17	18	20	13	16	15	15	23	19	21	19	23	23
Borders	7	7	*	7	8	11	11	7	*	10	*	9	10	14	9
Dumfries and Galloway	7	9	9	11	13	6	10	14	13	17	17	15	12	14	17
Fife	22	15	21	10	14	14	17	18	17	17	26	21	21	21	23
Forth Valley	7	7	8	9	17	10	15	11	9	13	19	19	24	34	28
Grampian	36	30	35	27	31	36	33	47	41	32	40	41	37	38	28
Greater Glasgow and Clyde	47	53	51	45	37	61	58	68	67	63	67	65	80	64	71
Highland	17	11	24	23	36	21	26	34	27	24	34	41	41	37	23
Lanarkshire	24	17	17	20	26	34	26	23	27	41	34	47	39	36	40
Lothian	57	56	48	46	32	69	62	60	58	63	49	58	66	91	77
Orkney	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	-	*	-	*	*
Other	*	*	*	*	*	5	*	22	39	50	29	20	23	30	22
Shetland	*	*	*	*	-	*	*	*	-	*	-	*	*	*	*
Tayside	17	15	15	23	22	29	22	26	19	21	23	21	16	17	27
Western Isles	-	-	*	*	-	*	*	-	-	*	*	*	*	*	*
Total	264	241	261	249	261	313	307	349	345	379	368	387	391	424	392

Notes

* - Denotes values which have been suppressed to protect patient confidentiality.

1. An adult is someone whose age on admission was 18 or older.

2. Patients will be counted multiple times if they have been admitted within the same board in different years, or different boards in the same year, or both. A patient will be counted as both an adult and a child in the year they turn 18 if they had an episode when they were 17 and a subsequent episode that year aged 18.

3. The numbers represented show those who have been admitted to hospital and do not include those diagnosed in other settings. Therefore, these figures are likely to be undercount of the total number of people diagnosed with an eating disorder.

4. Patients identified are those with an ICD-10 code of F50 in any of 6 diagnostic fields. Further information can be found on the ICD-10 website: https://icd.who.int/browse10/2019/en.

5. The "Other" category is a combination of the following health board categories: "Rest of UK (Outside Scotland)", "Outside the UK", "No Fixed Abode" and "Unknown residency".

Question reference: S6W-08800

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 14 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the announcement of trials in England and Wales to monitor excessive noise from car exhausts in towns, whether it will introduce a similar initiative.

My officials in Transport Scotland are aware of the DfT Roadside Vehicle Noise Measurement trials and will be monitoring their progress and effectiveness. Setting of legal limits for noise levels from vehicles is reserved to UK Government via the Construction and Use Regulations. Prioritising the management of transport noise is a key component in protecting our environment. Scotland’s Transport Noise Action Plan sets out how we seek to manage noise levels where necessary and practicable and aim to preserve environmental noise quality where it is good.

Question reference: S6W-09254

Asked by: Dr Alasdair Allan, MSP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 June 2022
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Angus Robertson on 14 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the development of its prospectus for an independent Scotland.

As part of our Programme for Government commitment to provide the people of Scotland with the information they need to make an informed choice about their future, I am pleased to advise Parliament that the Scottish Government is today publishing Independence in the Modern World. Wealthier, Happier, Fairer: Why Not Scotland?

This is the first paper in the Building a New Scotland prospectus series designed to inform the debate on Scotland’s future. The paper sets out how other European countries comparable to Scotland use their full powers of independence to tailor policies to their own specific circumstances and in doing so outperform the UK across a range of indicators. The Building a New Scotland papers will set out the vision for a fairer, more prosperous and greener Scotland and, taken together, will form a prospectus for how an independent Scotland could work.

Independence in the Modern World. Wealthier, Happier, Fairer: Why Not Scotland? is available to view on the Scottish Government website from today :

http://www.gov.scot/newscotland

Question reference: S6W-08754

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 14 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many properties have been advertised for rent by social housing landlords on the Home2Fit accessible housing register in the last five years.

Question reference: S6W-08847

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 14 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure pharmacy capacity is increased in areas of high population growth.

Question reference: S6W-08753

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 14 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress regarding the action point in Housing to 2040, which states that the Scottish Government will “establish an inclusive programme of retrofitting social homes”, and how the work in connection with this action point is being monitored.

Housing to 2040 sets out Scotland’s first ever long-term national housing strategy with a vision for what we want housing to look like and how it will be provided to the people of Scotland. As such, it sets out how we will take housing policy forward over the long term and this means that not all actions are intended to be taken forward at the same time. This action point relates to wider work which is in progress towards the new tenure-neutral housing standard for Scotland; an Equalities Impact Assessment is being developed and initial engagement with stakeholders is underway. We aim to produce a draft standard in 2023 and to progress legislation in 2024-25 for phased introduction from 2025-30, in line with Action Point 18 in Housing to 2040. Monitoring occurs through regular reviews of the project workplan and discussions between myself and the Scottish Government officials responsible for developing this new housing standard. The specific action to establish an inclusive programme of retrofitting social homes, with a focus on accessibility, will be addressed in future years as this wider development of the new housing standard progresses.

Question reference: S6W-08776

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 30 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 14 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that land ownership patterns align with the principles set out in the Scottish Land Rights and Responsibilities statement.

Scotland’s Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement (LRRS) introduced in 2017 is a ground-breaking example of Scotland’s ambitious land reform journey. We are currently reviewing the LRRS, have recently published an analysis report of the consultation responses and will report our response (with any revisions following the consultation process) to Parliament in September. We are also committed to bringing forward a new Land Reform Bill in this parliamentary session and will undertake a wide-ranging consultation later this year on proposals for the Bill.

Question reference: S6W-08725

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 14 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it received, in each year since 2019, as a result of the UK Government levy on providers of credit, and, whether it will set out how it spent this funding.

We have published tables showing the debt advice levy funding for Scotland and the funding allocation for each year since 2019:

Debt advice levy funding: 2019 to 2020 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

https://www.gov.scot/publications/levy-funding-allocated-by-scottish-government-for-2020-21/

https://www.gov.scot/publications/levy-funding-allocated-by-scottish-government-for-2021-22/

https://www.gov.scot/publications/levy-funding-allocated-by-scottish-government-for-2022-23/

Question reference: S6W-08848

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 14 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what it considers the (a) maximum and (b) minimum number of patients for a pharmacy practice should be.

The Scottish Government does not stipulate the maximum or minimum number of patients that can access a community pharmacy. Health Boards are responsible for the provision of pharmaceutical care services within their areas, taking into consideration neighbourhood, the adequacy of existing pharmaceutical services in the area and the necessity and desirability of approving an application to secure adequate pharmaceutical services in the area.

Community pharmacy owners are responsible for ensuring that pharmacies are safe and effective for pharmacy teams and patients. This includes setting safe staffing levels in line with the guidance provided by the regulator, The General Pharmaceutical Council.

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