- Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Clare Haughey on 16 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to protect children and young people from care experienced backgrounds from developing an alcohol or drug dependency issue.
Answer
Together with Public Health Scotland, the Scottish Government is developing a consensus statement on substance use prevention for young people. This will provide an agreed expert view and understanding in where our collective efforts should lie in improving practice and associated outcomes for children and young people. It will be used to support planning and delivery at a national and local level, and will include consideration of the specific needs of care experienced children and young people.
The Scottish Government’s whole family approach to drug and alcohol services is supported by our annual investment of £3.5 million through Alcohol and Drug Partnerships. Additional funding, such as the £3 million Children and Families Fund administered through the Corra Foundation, is in place to improve support for children, young people and families impacted by drug use.
- Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Clare Haughey on 16 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to ensure that, as outlined in The Promise, children from care experienced backgrounds are not excluded from school.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to keeping The Promise and improving the outcomes of care experienced children and young people in education. To achieve this we continue to work with partners, including Education Scotland, COSLA and ADES.
Our national guidance, Included, Engaged and Involved Part 2 , is clear that exclusion should be used as a measure of last resort. The guidance includes particular considerations regarding the exclusion of care experienced young people.
Engagement activity includes with the Scottish Advisory Group for Relationships and Behaviour in Schools (SAGRABIS), to consider exclusion in the context of promoting positive relationships and behaviour in schools.
- Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 13 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether pharmacy provision is keeping up with demand.
Answer
Ensuring sufficient community pharmacy provision is the responsibility of NHS Health Boards in their local areas. Arrangements are set out in the NHS (Pharmaceutical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 2009 and decisions regarding pharmacy provision are made through a Board’s Pharmacy Practices Committee (PPC). The process is independent of Scottish Ministers and Government.
- Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 28 February 2023
To ask the Scottish Government from which existing portfolios it has funded the Family Wellbeing Fund in (a) 2022 and (b) 2023.
Answer
The Whole Family Wellbeing Funding (WFWF) requires a collaborative approach. A cross portfolio ministerial group oversees the programme at a high level, whilst Governance is provided by the Programme Board which consists of Directors from across the relevant portfolios as well as key external stakeholders.
WFWF is funded by the Education and Justice portfolio for financial year 2022-23 and will again be funded through this portfolio in the financial year 2023-24 as set out in the Scottish Budget.
- Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Angus Robertson on 28 February 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to promote and support local newspapers.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to supporting the sustainability of local news as a key part of the public interest news sector in Scotland. In 2021, we established the Public Interest Journalism Working Group to consider the long-term sustainability of public interest journalism, including local news, and to recommend ways to ensure its ongoing resilience. We responded to the Group’s recommendations on 24 June 2022. This included a commitment to facilitate a Roundtable event to support the creation of a new Scottish Public Interest Journalism Institute, which was held on 23 November. While it is not for Scottish Government to influence the remit of the Institute, it is likely, in line with the Working Group’s recommendations, that part of its role will be to support local news.
The Scottish Government and public bodies also use local media, including newspaper, to promote initiatives such as public health campaigns.
- Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 17 February 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to employers in the care sector to help them pay employees the Living Wage.
Answer
Since 2016, the Scottish Government has provided funding to ensure that adult social care workers, delivering direct care in the third and independent sectors, are paid at least the Real Living Wage (RLW).
From April 2023, these workers will see their pay increase to a minimum of £10.90 per hour; in line with the RLW rate for the 2023/24 Financial Year. This represents an increase of 3.8% from the £10.50 minimum rate that was introduced in April 2022 and is a 14.7% increase for these workers in the last two years; with pay rising from at least £9.50 per hour in April 2021 to at least £10.90 in April 2023.
This funding will be delivered through Local Government contracts and the Scottish Government will transfer £100 million to Local Government to deliver this uplift to providers in the third and independent sectors; this investment takes Scottish Government recurring funding for adult social care pay in commissioned services to £0.6 billion per year.
- Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 February 2023
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 22 February 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to eliminate long waits in A&E departments within NHS Fife.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 22 February 2023
- Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 January 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 27 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making towards delivering the ambitions of the (a) City Centre Recovery Task Force report, which was published on 31 March 2021 and (b) Town Centre Action Plan Review – Joint response from Scottish Government and COSLA, which was published on 13 April 2022.
Answer
As the implementation of the City Centre Recovery Task Force report continues, the Scottish Government is supporting our cities to decide how best to prioritise their own recovery plans. This includes investing £2m in a Recovery Fund, with a focus on inclusive and sustainable growth.
Important progress to deliver the ambitions of the Town Centre Action Plan Review and the City Centre Recovery Task Force has been made by the recent approval of the National Planning Framework 4. This strengthens support for development in centres to be considered first, while limiting out-of-town retail development. In addition, we continue to roll out our Place Based Investment Programme which last year meant local authorities received £33m to invest in their town centres, 20-minute neighbourhoods, community wealth building and community-led regeneration programmes. £140m is allocated to Scotland’s local authorities over 5 years.
- Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 13 January 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 26 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what representations it has received regarding its decision not to introduce business rates relief for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses, as has been introduced in Wales and England.
Answer
The Scottish Government has received correspondence from business representative organisations and individual businesses within the retail, hospitality or leisure sectors, or their elected representatives.
Prior to the publication of the Scottish Budget 2023-24, the number one ask of business organisations was to freeze the non-domestic rates poundage, which we have delivered, saving businesses £308 million compared to an inflationary increase, along with a package of reliefs worth £744m. We expect around half the properties in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors to be eligible for 100% Small Business Bonus Scheme relief next year. Properties in these sectors may also be eligible for the transitional relief schemes set out in the Budget.
- Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 January 2023
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 2 February 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what impact its Town Centre Action Plan is having in communities in the Mid Scotland and Fife region.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 2 February 2023
