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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-28114

Asked by: Collette Stevenson, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 25 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many people in (a) the East Kilbride constituency and (b) each local authority area it estimates are (i) receiving Carer’s Allowance and (ii) eligible for the new Carer Support Payment.

The Scottish Fiscal Commission’s December 2023 publication forecast that a total of 98,000 people in Scotland will receive payments for Carer’s Allowance/Carer’s Support Payment in the financial year 2024-25.

Statistics on the number of people receiving Carer’s Allowance in each local authority and constituency area in Scotland can be found on the DWP’s statxplore tool: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/jsf/login.xhtml .

Carer Support Payment is replacing Carer’s Allowance in Scotland and is only currently available for new applications in Dundee City, Perth and Kinross and Na h-Eileanan Siar. Carer Support Payment will be open to new applicants in South Lanarkshire from 24 June 2024. Everyone in Scotland already receiving Carer’s Allowance will automatically have their awards moved safely and securely to Carer Support Payment. We are writing to carers to let them know when their award has been selected for transfer and what to expect.

Carer Support Payment statistics are published on a quarterly basis. The latest published statistics are available at https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/publications/statistics .The next publication of Official Statistics is due to be released on 13 August 2024.

Question reference: S6W-28111

Asked by: Collette Stevenson, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 25 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many people in the East Kilbride constituency it estimates have received support from the Carer’s Allowance Supplement since its introduction, and what the average amount received by recipients is for these payments.

The latest published statistics show that since Carer’s Allowance Supplement was first introduced in April 2018, payments have been made to 10,845 carers in South Lanarkshire local authority area who were eligible on at least one eligibility date from April 2018 to October 2023.

Carer’s Allowance Supplement is paid twice a year. For April 2023 and October 2023 eligibility dates, the payment value was £270.50. For the April 2024 eligibility date, the payment value increased to £288.60.

The latest statistics were published on 13 February 2024 and covered carers in receipt of Carer’s Allowance Supplement to the October 2023 eligibility date. This information is available at: https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/reporting/publications/summary-statistics-for-carers-allowance-supplement-to-october-eligibility-date-2023 . The next publication of Official Statistics is due to be released on 13 August 2024 and will include information to the April 2024 eligibility date.

Question reference: S6W-28113

Asked by: Collette Stevenson, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 25 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many children and young people it estimates, in the current financial year, are (a) eligible and (b) receiving payments for the (i) Scottish Child Payment and (ii) Best Start Grants, broken down by constituency.

In their published December 2023 Economic and Fiscal Forecasts, the Scottish Fiscal Commission forecast 368,000 children will be eligible for the Scottish Child Payment in Scotland in 2024-2025 and that 329,000 children will receive payments.

They also forecast Best Start Foods will be paid for 51,000 children and pregnant women in Scotland in 2024-2025 and 58,000 Best Start Grant payments will be made, 16,000 for Pregnancy and Baby Payment, 20,000 for Early Learning Payment and 22,000 for School Age Payment.

The Scottish Fiscal Commission do not publish forecasts of the number of children eligible for Best Start Grant or Best Start Foods, or the number of children receiving Scottish Child Payment, Best Start Grant or Best Start Foods by constituency.

Social Security Scotland routinely publish Official Statistics for Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods, and Scottish Child Payment. The latest statistics, covering the period to the end of March 2024, do not currently include information by Scottish Parliament constituency. These also do not include information on the number of children benefitted from Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods.

The latest statistics show that, as of 31 March 2024, 329,055 children and young people aged 0-15 years were actively benefitting from Scottish Child Payment. This information along with further breakdowns including local authority area, and individual child age can be found at Social Security Scotland - Scottish Child Payment: high level statistics to 31 March 2024 .

The latest statistics show that, in the 2023-2024 financial year covering April 2023 to March 2024, 56,455 individual parents or carers were paid for Best Start Grant. For comparison, 204,460 parents or carers received at least one Scottish Child Payment.

The latest publication for each benefit can be found at: Social Security Scotland - Statistics .

Question reference: S6W-28112

Asked by: Collette Stevenson, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds regarding the value of each local authority's reserves in real terms in 2023-24, and how this compares with the equivalent value in (a) 2003-04 and (b) 2013-14.

The following table shows the cash and real terms value of Local Authority General Fund reserves at 31 March 2014 (final audited) and 31 March 2024 (budget estimate). Please note that the information requested on reserves is not held prior to 2007.

Adjustments for inflation have been made using the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) deflators for March 2024 (available at: GDP deflators at market prices, and money GDP - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) ).

Figures for 31 March 2024 will be superseded on 25 June 2024 by data published in Local Government 2023-24 Provisional Outturn and 2024-25 Budget Estimates.

Further information on Local Government Finance Statistics can be found at: Local government finance statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

General Fund Reserves (in £ millions) as at 31 March
Sources: LFR 23 for 31 March 2014 (audited data), POBE 2023 for 31 March 2024 which is a budget estimate provided in early 2023.

	Cash Terms		Real Terms (2023-24 Prices)
Local Authority	31-Mar-14	31-Mar-24	31-Mar-14	31-Mar-24
	Final Audited	Budget Estimate	Final Audited	Budget Estimate
Aberdeen City	57.1	70.1	75.2	70.1
Aberdeenshire	57.5	73.8	75.7	73.8
Angus	19.8	45.7	26.1	45.7
Argyll & Bute	44.0	88.2	58.0	88.2
City of Edinburgh	123.3	198.7	162.3	198.7
Clackmannanshire	12.0	14.2	15.8	14.2
Dumfries & Galloway	58.4	70.2	76.9	70.2
Dundee City	8.1	44.2	10.6	44.2
East Ayrshire	28.0	38.6	36.9	38.6
East Dunbartonshire	11.3	28.0	14.9	28.0
East Lothian	9.2	16.6	12.1	16.6
East Renfrewshire	14.9	23.5	19.6	23.5
Falkirk	25.8	33.2	33.9	33.2
Fife	85.0	181.9	111.9	181.9
Glasgow City	32.8	137.6	43.2	137.6
Highland	40.3	72.7	53.1	72.7
Inverclyde	42.9	6.4	56.5	6.4
Midlothian	20.5	7.8	27.0	7.8
Moray	21.4	19.6	28.1	19.6
Na h-Eileanan Siar	18.3	14.2	24.1	14.2
North Ayrshire	25.2	109.0	33.1	109.0
North Lanarkshire	75.0	256.6	98.8	256.6
Orkney Islands	23.8	34.3	31.3	34.3
Perth & Kinross	48.2	39.8	63.5	39.8
Renfrewshire	52.9	73.3	69.7	73.3
Scottish Borders	17.1	34.2	22.6	34.2
Shetland Islands	13.9	25.8	18.2	25.8
South Ayrshire	22.9	11.1	30.2	11.1
South Lanarkshire	13.4	108.0	17.6	108.0
Stirling	13.3	66.0	17.5	66.0
West Dunbartonshire	10.1	4.6	13.3	4.6
West Lothian	22.6	9.7	29.7	9.7
Ayrshire VJB	0.2	0.4	0.3	0.4
Central VJB	0.8	0.5	1.0	0.5
Dunbartonshire & Argyll & Bute VJB	0.5	0.4	0.6	0.4
Grampian VJB	0.2	0.5	0.3	0.5
Highland & Western Isles VJB	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.1
Lanarkshire VJB	-	1.3	-	1.3
Lothian VJB	-	0.5	-	0.5
Orkney & Shetland VJB	-	0.0	-	0.0
Renfrewshire VJB	0.5	1.0	0.6	1.0
Tayside VJB	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
Tay Road Bridge	1.2	1.2	1.5	1.2
HITRANS	0.2	0.0	0.3	0.0
NESTRANS	0.0	2.7	0.0	2.7
SESTRAN	-	0.0	-	0.0
SPT	12.5	83.2	16.5	83.2
SWESTRANS	-	0.0	-	0.0
TACTRAN	-	0.0	-	0.0
ZetTrans	-	0.0	-	0.0
Scotland	1,085.4	2,049.6	1,428.8	2,049.6

VJB = Valuation Joint Board
GDP Deflator	75.97	100.00

Question reference: S6W-28208

Asked by: Collette Stevenson, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 June 2024
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Graeme Dey on 17 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it will launch a consultation on plans to reform the regional strategic bodies for the colleges in the Glasgow and Lanarkshire regions.

Question reference: S6O-03578

Asked by: Collette Stevenson, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its work to tackle poverty, in light of recent analysis by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation showing that 86% of low-income households receiving Universal Credit were going without the essentials and that nearly one million people in the UK are "only £10 a week away from poverty".

Question reference: S6O-03498

Asked by: Collette Stevenson, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with NHS Lanarkshire, and what was discussed.

Question reference: S6O-03420

Asked by: Collette Stevenson, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what discussions it has had with stakeholders in Scotland affected by Brexit in preparation for any input that it will provide to the review of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

Question reference: S6W-27124

Asked by: Collette Stevenson, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 April 2024
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 30 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans to publish its consultation on Employment Injury Assistance.

The Scottish Government launched its consultation on Employment Injury Assistance on 30 April 2024 at 09:00. This consultation is an important first step in the longer-term reform of the UK Industrial Injuries Scheme in Scotland. I want to hear a broad range of views on the approach we should take to delivering Employment Injury Assistance, and I would encourage individuals and stakeholders with an interest to respond to our consultation. Responses to this consultation will provide us with vital insights into how Employment Injury Assistance can better meet the needs of disabled people in Scotland in the future.

The consultation can be accessed at https://consult.gov.scot/social-security/employment-injury-assistance-next-steps .

Question reference: S6F-03082

Asked by: Collette Stevenson, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 April 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 May 2024

To ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of the potential impact on devolved social security benefits of the UK Government’s proposed reforms to disability benefits.