Chamber and committees

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-12017

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 22 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the progress of the proposed independent review of the Scottish Welfare Fund.

The Scottish Welfare Fund is a key priority for the Scottish Government, which is why we instructed an Independent Review within the first year of this Parliament.

The Review is a substantial and comprehensive exercise to examine purpose, funding levels, Local Authority administration, accessibility and promotion.

As set out in correspondence to the Social Justice and Social Security Committee on 14 November 2022, the Review continues to progress on schedule with the final report due to be published in early 2023.

The Scottish Government will provide an update to Parliament following publication of the report.

Question reference: S6W-12016

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 21 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the implementation timetable for the roll-out of the new Scottish Carers Allowance.

We will begin to roll out Scottish Carer’s Assistance by the end of 2023, with full national introduction in spring 2024. We are also developing our response to the recently published independent analysis of the Scottish Carer’s Assistance consultation responses.

We will provide further detail on the implementation timetable as part of that response and through our intended update to Parliament early next year on the timetable for further benefit delivery.

Question reference: S6O-01609

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 November 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it will consult MSP staff trade unions before deciding on uprating the Staff Cost Provision in the 2023-24 financial year.

Question reference: S6W-11892

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 17 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much it costs for Social Security Scotland to carry out a re-determination request in relation to benefits administered in Scotland.

Social Security Scotland has 16 working days to complete a re-determination for Low Income Benefits. In the case of Adult Disability Payment and Child Disability Payment, the timescale for completion of a re-determination is 56 calendar days. Work on a particular case may fluctuate during these time periods depending on progress to reach a conclusion. The number of hours invested by colleagues will depend on the complexity of the case.

Therefore Social Security Scotland is unable to provide an estimated cost of a re-determination request. How long it takes can vary depending upon the benefit involved and the complexity of the case - with a key factor in this being time taken to gather any further evidence. We do not monitor hours spent on processing a re-determination, we monitor the total turnaround time for providing a response to clients to ensure we do this in a timely manner and within the statutory periods. As our staff become more experienced, we would expect to see further efficiencies in this service.

Re-determination is an important part of our decision-making process and gives people the opportunity to ask us to look again and reconsider their application. At the re-determination stage, people often provide additional information that can be used to determine eligibility.

If on re-determination someone is found to be eligible, they will be paid from the date they first applied. Providing the option for re-determination minimises the need to go through the Tribunal Service with an appeal.

Question reference: S6O-01560

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 November 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to improve positive destinations for disabled people leaving school.

Question reference: S6W-11498

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what obligations NHS boards have each year to elevate their performance in each of the Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme priority areas, and whether there is a minimum performance of stroke care that NHS boards have to achieve to be able to admit stroke patients.

The Scottish Stroke Improvement Team supports Managed Clinical Networks to evaluate Board performance, identify areas of concern and work with them to implement local action plans with strong managerial support to improve the delivery of stroke care across Scotland.

This support includes visiting all NHS Boards at least once per year to review stroke care with NHS Board representatives to assess performance, highlight achievements and good practice and to formulate an improvement plan for areas of concern where necessary.

The Scottish Government has not set a minimum standard of performance but expects NHS Boards to deliver the best possible care for those who have experienced a stroke. We expect care provided to be safe, effective and person-centred and reflect the needs of local populations.

Question reference: S6W-11497

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to S6W-10871 by Humza Yousaf on 27 September 2022, whether the Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme priority area benchmark descriptors have been used consistently since 2019.

Question reference: S6W-11508

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 8 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether Social Security Scotland's systems include a mechanism for increasing the frequency of benefit payments.

Question reference: S6W-11420

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 2 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to create through its agencies a capital funding stream for community services and community spaces.

The Scottish Government has no plans to create through its agencies a capital funding stream for community services and community spaces. It is for agencies to determine how best to apply allocated funding from Government, including capital and some of them do fund community oriented activity and infrastructure. Examples would include South of Scotland Enterprise Agency, Transport Scotland and Forestry and Land Scotland.

Question reference: S6F-01422

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 03 October 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 October 2022

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation report, Poverty in Scotland 2022.