- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 September 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 1 October 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how much the increase in employers' national insurance payments will have on (a) the NHS, (b) local government and (c) all other parts of the public sector in Scotland.
Answer
Our initial estimates are that the increase in employer National Insurance contributions will result in the following costs:
(a) NHS - £67 million
(b) Local Government - £31 million
(c) Other parts of public sector - £53 million
Combined these come to an initial cost estimate of £151 million across the public sector in Scotland.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 September 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 1 October 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that, in NHS Grampian, the (a) average waiting time for the psychological therapy services is 28 weeks, with 240 people waiting and (b) current waiting for a first assessment for psychotherapy services is 32 weeks, with 124 people waiting, and what action it is taking to support the NHS board in reducing these times.
Answer
The Scottish Government recognises that long waits are unacceptable, and remains committed to meeting the standard that 90% of patients begin treatment within 18 weeks of referral.
We have asked all Boards, including NHS Grampian, to set out their plans and trajectories for meeting the waiting times standards and clearing backlogs by the end of March 2023. To support this, we have already allocated £5m from the Mental Health Recovery and Renewal Fund, for the first year of clearing waiting list backlogs in Psychological Therapies. NHS Grampian has received £490,666 from this fund.
Nationally, we are starting to see this investment reflected in improved Psychological Therapies waiting times performance, and a decrease in the number of people waiting longest. We will continue to work closely with individual Health Boards to monitor and drive performance in mental health waiting times across Scotland.
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 September 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 1 October 2021
To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that all nationally significant infrastructure projects deliver a net biodiversity gain.
Answer
The Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 sets out six outcomes to which a future National Planning Framework (NPF) should work towards, including securing positive effects for biodiversity, and we are developing new proposals which deliver positive outcomes for biodiversity from development without the need for overly complex metrics.
We will lay a draft NPF4 in the Scottish Parliament this autumn and will carry out extensive public consultation at the same time. We anticipate producing a final version of NPF4 for approval and adoption around spring 2022.
- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 September 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 1 October 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on whether there are any services in Scotland that provide assistance dogs for people with autism or autism spectrum disorders.
Answer
The information requested is not held centrally.
- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 September 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 1 October 2021
To ask the Scottish Government how it assists people with autism or autism spectrum disorders to get an assistance dog for support.
Answer
The Scottish Government continues to be committed to improving the lives of autistic people in Scotland. We published our Learning/Intellectual Disabilities and Autism: Towards Transformation Plan in March 2021, which builds on existing autism and learning disabilities strategies. The plan looks at the actions needed to shape supports, services and attitudes to ensure that the human rights of autistic people and people with learning/intellectual disabilities are respected and protected and that they are empowered to live their lives, the same as everyone else.
We do not directly fund assistance dogs for autistic people. You may find it useful to know that the Scottish Government was approached and does fund a project run by Alzheimer’s Scotland that pioneers the use of assistance dogs for people with dementia.
Whilst the Scottish Government has overall responsibility for health and social care policy in Scotland, it is for the regional health & social care partnerships to determine the level of services that are required to meet local needs and to arrange an appropriate and suitable range of services to meet these local needs, as mandated under statute in the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act. Local Authorities may be able to say whether they consider assistance dogs as part of their package of support options.
- Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 September 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by George Adam on 1 October 2021
To ask the Scottish Government how many full-time employees there are in each cabinet secretary's and minister's private office, broken down by pay scale.
Answer
The current allocation of full-time employees per Scottish Government Minister is:
Cabinet Secretary/Minister | Number of Private Office staff by Grade and pay scale |
A4 £24,184-£25,709 | B1 £26,995-£29,776 | B2 £31,266-£35,813 | B3 £39,312-£47,065 | C1 £49,420-£61,617 | C2 £64,698-£74,675 |
First Minister | 0.5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
Minister for Drugs Policy | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
Minister for Parliamentary Business | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Cabinet Secretary for Education & Skills | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Minister for Higher Education, Further Education, Youth Employment & Training | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Minister for Children & Young People | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Cabinet Secretary for Finance & Economy | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism & Enterprise | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Minister for Just Transition, Employment & Fair Work | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Minister for Public Finance, Planning & Community Wealth | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy & Biodiversity | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Cabinet Secretary for Health & Social Care | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Minister for Public Health, Women’s Health & Sport | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Minister for Mental Wellbeing & Social Care | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy & Transport | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Minister for Transport | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Minister for Environment & Land Reform | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing & Local Government | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Minister for Equalities & Older People | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Minister for Social Security & Local Government | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel & Tenants’ Rights | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Cabinet Secretary for Justice & Veterans | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Minister for Community Safety | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs & Culture | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Minister for Culture, Europe & International Development | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
- Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 September 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 1 October 2021
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the proposal in its Programme for Government, how it plans to support 2,000 women to transition back to work following a career gap; how the figure of 2,000 was reached, and over what time period this transition back to work is expected to take place.
Answer
We committed in our 2018-19 Programme for Government to invest up to £5 million over a three year period to support 2,000 women who have had a career break to return to the workplace. This commitment and the scale of ambition built on the learning from our 2017 pilot Women Returners Programme.
An initial Programme commenced in late 2020 which offered immediate support to women during the pandemic. Within the three month period of delivery it attracted twelve projects offering support to over 450 women. This included projects such as HRC Recruitment which provided employability workshops combined with menopause support and mental health fitness coaching to women over 50 years old.
The programme for government published in September 2021 committed to continuing the programme. SDS are delivering the programme this year on behalf of Scottish Government backed with up to £2 million. Bids from prospective providers are currently being assessed. Women will be given support to enable them to apply for jobs or take part in activity such as further training that suits their own personal needs, timescales and circumstances for returning to work.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 September 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 1 October 2021
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the business and regulatory impact assessment (BRIA) for its short-term lets licensing scheme and planning control area legislation, what cases and evidence there are to support the assertion that short-term let accommodation in Scotland is used “for criminal enterprises (such drug dealing, sex trafficking etc.), with or without the collusion of the host”.
Answer
Our proposed licensing scheme will assist in ensuring that short-term lets are safe and used for lawful purposes. Police Scotland is represented on the Short Term Lets Stakeholder Working Group and has expressed concern about some short-term lets being used for criminal purposes. Residents and community groups have also raised concerns with the Scottish Government.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 September 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 1 October 2021
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-02357 by Graeme Dey on 13 September 2021, whether it will provide the information requested regarding whether fully electrifying the East Coast Main Line between Edinburgh Haymarket and Aberdeen is required for it to achieve its ambition to decarbonise Scotland's Railway, and for what reason it did not provide this information in its response.
Answer
The Scottish Government has maintained a rolling programme of rail electrification, unlike other parts of the UK. In line with our Rail Decarbonisation Action Plan it remains the expectation that the East Coast Main Line between Edinburgh Haymarket and Aberdeen will be fully electrified.
We will confirm investment decisions will be made in an appropriate manner following due appraisal, necessarily having regard to the capital funding available to the Scottish Government in the light of UK Government budgetary decisions, however positive progress is being made with Network Rail confirming ground investigation works for the Aberdeen to Central Belt project are starting in October 2021.
- Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 September 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Claire Baker MSP (on behalf of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Bo on 1 October 2021
To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what discussions it had with (a) MSPs, (b) MSP staff and (c) other Scottish Parliament staff regarding its plans to apply to the Home Office for the Scottish Parliament to become a protected site on national security grounds.
Answer
The SPCB is elected by the Parliament to take decisions regarding its statutory functions under section 21 of the Scotland Act 1988, which are to provide the Parliament, or ensure that the Parliament is provided, with the property, staff and services required for the Parliament’s purposes. As part of these functions, it is incumbent on the SPCB in terms of its legal duties and obligations, as both an employer and as the owner occupier, to provide a safe and secure parliamentary estate. As the decision on applying to become a designated site was based on confidential security advice from Police Scotland, it would not have been appropriate to have held prior discussions with MSPs, MSP staff or other Scottish Parliament staff.