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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-16598

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 31 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 21 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been provided to Integration Joint Boards in each financial year since 2015-16.

The Scottish Government receives quarterly financial reporting from IJBs which includes information on the funding received from their Local Government and NHS partners. The reports consolidate information already in the public domain as published by individual IJBs, and are published on the Scottish Government website. This exercise began in 2018 and no data collection was performed by the Scottish Government in respect of IJB funding prior to this.

The funding figures, taken from the IJB reports provided have been collated below. The totals include reported figures from all 30 IJBs and the position in respect of the NHS Highland Lead Agency arrangement. Any information regarding IJB funding prior to 2018-19 can be found in the annual accounts published by individual IJBs.

	IJB Funding ‎ (£m)
Q4 2018-19	9,202
Q4 2019-20	9,831
Q4 2020-21	10,584
Q4 2021-22	11,333
Q3 2022-23	11,052

Question reference: S6W-16603

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 31 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 21 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many GP practices there are in the top (a) 5% and (b) 10% of the (i) most and (ii) least deprived areas, according to the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD).

The number of General Practices located in the most and least deprived areas in Scotland is shown in the following table, based on data published by Public Health Scotland relating to 1 January 2023.

	Number of Practices
Most Deprived 5%	60
Most Deprived 10%	114
Least Deprived 5%	34
Least Deprived 10%	52
Total Number of Practices	908

Sources: List of general practices (GP surgeries) - Practice details. Public Health Scotland, Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2020

Question reference: S6W-16599

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 31 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 21 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how much funding has been provided to council-owned care homes for older people in each financial year since 2007-08.

The most recent data available for 2021-22 shows a total of £251.391 million gross expenditure on Care Homes run directly by the council for Adult Social Care. We don’t have information on whether the council’s owned these Care Homes which they ran directly.

Source: Scottish local government finance statistics (SLGFS) 2021-22: workbooks - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

A breakdown of expenditure for Council-run Care Homes is not available for previous years.

Question reference: S6W-16604

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 31 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 20 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many NHS staff have been recruited from overseas in each year since 2018.

No information is held centrally on the number of NHS staff recruited from overseas from 2018 to October 2021.

In October 2021 the then Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care announced £4.5 million for Health Boards to recruit up to 200 nurses from overseas. Figures released in August 2022 show that this target was met and 200 registered nurses were recruited, taking up posts in hospitals across NHS Scotland.

On 4 October 2022, further funding of £8 million was announced to support Boards in recruiting up to 750 registered nurses, midwives and allied health professions from overseas by end of March 2023. Early indications are that boards have achieved the target with many staff already in post or have signed offers of employment to arrive as soon as practicably possible. The data is currently being reviewed and will be published shortly.

Question reference: S6W-16605

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 31 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 18 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish any correspondence that it has (a) received from and (b) sent to dental organisations, regarding the multiplier payment, since March 2022.

The Scottish Government publishes relevant correspondence to dental organisations regarding the multiplier payment on www.scottishdental.org . Notes from recent meetings with dental organisations are shared here as well. However, correspondence received by Scottish Government from stakeholders is generally private, and we do not share it as a matter of routine.

Information on the extension of the multiplier payment was also shared in Parliament during the debate ‘Addressing the Crisis in NHS Dentistry’ on 8 February 2023. A copy of the debate can be viewed at: Meeting of the Parliament: 08/02/2023 | Scottish Parliament Website .

Question reference: S6W-16606

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 31 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 18 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it will allocate to smoking cessation services in 2023-24.

The Scottish Government provides funding annually to Health Boards for smoking cessation and prevention services. The funding is provided as part of a wider Outcomes Framework allocation, whereby budget is provided to Health Boards to cover a range of outcomes. It is up to Health Boards to decide how much of this funding to allocate to each outcome. The published Scottish Budget for 2023-2024 includes £74.1 million for the Outcomes Framework.

Question reference: S6W-16601

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 31 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 17 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many social care staff are currently employed on zero hours contracts.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. However the Scottish Social Services Council estimated that in 2021, approximately 10% of social care sector staff are employed on zero hours or equivalent contracts. Their Report on Workforce Data can be reached at the following link; https://data.sssc.uk.com/data-publications/22-workforce-data-report/295-scottish-social-service-sector-report-on-2021-workforce-data

Question reference: S6W-16597

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 31 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 14 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the review of the Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus (SHBBV) Services Framework, as set out in its publication, Reset and Rebuild: A Recovery Plan for Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Services, published in August 2021.

Question reference: S6W-14638

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 5 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what provisions it has introduced to address train delays between East Lothian and Edinburgh.

Performance (reliability and punctuality) at Musselburgh, Wallyford, Prestonpans, Longniddry, and Drem on the North Berwick Line compare favourably with the ScotRail average, which in turn compares well with the GB average. Nonetheless, it is the responsibility of Scottish Rail Holdings and ScotRail to work in partnership with Network Rail in Scotland to continue to improve performance.

For Dunbar in East Lothian, many of the services are provided by LNER, Cross Country and Transpennine Express, which are UK Government train operating companies.

Question reference: S6W-14637

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 5 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what provisions it has introduced to address train delays between Tweedbank and Edinburgh.

The Borders railway line between Tweedbank and Edinburgh has been affected by ongoing issues with poor performance and the availability of diesel trains in ScotRail’s fleet. Scottish Rail Holdings and ScotRail are working to address this via an Improvement Plan. The reliability of ScotRail trains on this route has also been impacted by the poor performance of UK Government-managed train operating companies, which interact with Tweedbank services on the East Coast Mainline closer to Edinburgh.