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-05964

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 7 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has held with home insurance companies on the implications for homeowners of the new rules on interlinked fire alarms; when these meetings took place, and what was discussed.

Question reference: S6W-05967

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 7 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, following the publication of Audit Scotland’s report, Planning for Skills, what action it is taking to improve collaborative working between Skills Development Scotland and the Scottish Funding Council on skills alignment.

The Scottish Government has welcomed the recommendations that Audit Scotland has made in its report and there are a number of areas highlighted in the report where progress has already been made.

The first of these is bringing the responsibility for the tertiary education and skills system within a single Ministerial portfolio. This represents a material change to the leadership and oversight of both agencies responsible for delivering improvements to our skills system and provides clear lines of accountability.

New governance arrangements have recently been established to oversee a number of collaborative projects in this space. This is the Shared Outcomes Assurance Group which brings together the Senior Responsible Officers from both agencies and government to provide constructive challenge, seek assurance on delivery and to identify solutions to any issues and challenges arising.

There are also numerous examples of positive collaborative working that are already well established, including delivery of apprenticeships, the Young Persons Guarantee and the National Transition Training Fund.

We will update Parliament on how we plan to take forward our response to the report’s recommendations in due course.

Question reference: S6W-05745

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 21 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 2 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many children and young people aged 19 and under were prescribed antidepressants in conjunction with psychological therapy in 2019-20.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all children and young people are able to access the right support for their mental health without stigma, including medication where this is the most appropriate intervention.

The Scottish Government does not hold data on the numbers of children and young people aged 19 and under who were prescribed antidepressants in conjunction with psychological therapy in 2019-20.

NICE guideline NG134 sets out the procedures for clinicians treating children and young people who may be experiencing instances of depression. The guidance is clear that psychological therapy and other therapeutic interventions are the first recommended treatments for children and young people experiencing mild to moderate depression. The guidance also makes clear that antidepressant medication should only be offered to a child or young person with moderate to severe depression in combination with a concurrent psychological therapy.

The numbers of children and young people being prescribed with antidepressant medication is extremely small. The latest Public Health Scotland data, shows that in 2019-20, in the 0–19 age category, 1.8% of children and young people in Scotland were prescribed anti-depressants.

Question reference: S6W-05748

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 21 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 2 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when (a) it will publish the eligibility criteria for applying for the 10-year £500 million Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray and (b) the first £20 million of the fund will be awarded to qualifying projects.

The design of the Just Transition Fund is currently being developed through discussion with regional partners to ensure that together we secure maximum impact. This work will also be supported by the engagement that is being undertaken to support the development of the draft Energy Just Transition Plan. An update on plans will be given in due course.

We expect the first £20 million of the Fund to be allocated within this financial year (2022-23).

Question reference: S6W-05747

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 21 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 31 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the explanation provided in the 2022-23 Level 4 Budget data, whether it will provide further details of the reasons for the budget allocation to Skills Development Scotland being reduced by £5.8 million in its draft Budget 2022-23, and what assessment has been made of the impact of this reduction on (a) upskilling and (b) reskilling workers.

This was one of the most fiscally challenging Scottish Budgets to date, with efficiencies having to be found across a number of portfolios. The budget allocation to Skills Development Scotland (SDS) should be seen in that context.

The SDS budget allocation includes Grant in-Aid for programme delivery and programme liabilities, which fluctuate depending on the numbers of people in training. The allocation also covers operational and staffing costs.

In 2021-22, the SDS budget allocation included around £8m for the continued delivery of programmes created as a response to COVID-19 which we do not expect will be continuing at the same levels in 2022/23.

We are working with SDS to finalise the details of their budget approach in 2022-23. This will ensure continued provision against Ministerial priorities and prioritise the delivery of training and learning opportunities.

Question reference: S6W-05749

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 21 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 28 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported findings that 95% of cybersecurity issues can be attributed to human error, and what actions it is taking to improve digital literacy skills.

Cyber security issues can result from, or be exacerbated by, human error and it is increasingly important for everyone to be aware of the cyber risks and to be able to mitigate them.

The Scottish Government works closely with partners such as Education Scotland, Police Scotland, Lead Scotland, YouthLink Scotland and Young Scot to raise awareness of cyber risks and of the measures people can take to protect themselves, their families and their communities.

Cyber resilience and broader digital skills are embedded into the Curriculum for Excellence. In 2017, we refreshed the Technologies curriculum to ensure that young people are learning up-to-date computing, digital and cyber resilience skills from early years onwards.

Question reference: S6W-05746

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 21 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 28 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many children and young people aged 19 and under were prescribed the antidepressant, fluoxetine, in 2019-20, and, of those, how many were prescribed other antidepressants, broken down by what these antidepressants were.

Question reference: S6O-00649

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 January 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met representatives of the live music and night time industries sectors and what was discussed.

Question reference: S6W-04961

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 23 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what the original estimated cost was for the Haudagain Improvement project, and what the current estimated cost is.

Question reference: S6W-04962

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 23 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what the original estimated date was for roads to open to traffic following the completion of the Haudagain Improvement project, and what the current estimated date is.

The A92 A96 Haudagain Improvement project, which was anticipated to be complete in winter 2021, has faced a number of challenges including the impact of the pandemic continuing to disrupt progress. The contractor has indicated a revised date for completing the works, with the Improvement now due to open to traffic by the end of March 2022 as detailed in the recent press release available on the Transport Scotland website at: https://www.transport.gov.scot/news/a92a96-haudagain-improvement-update-to-expected-completion-date/ .

I also refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05362 on 21 December 2021. 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 .