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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-11476

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many hospital beds, including acute beds and other beds, there have been in each financial year in (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20, (c) 2020-21, (d) 2021-22 and (e) 2022-23.

The latest statistics on average number of available, staffed hospital beds, including for acute specialties, is published in ‘Table 4 - beds.xlsx’ within Public Health Scotland’s annual acute hospital activity and NHS beds publication (available under the ‘Data files’ heading on this Public Health Scotland web page: https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/acute-hospital-activity-and-nhs-beds-information-annual/acute-hospital-activity-and-nhs-beds-information-annual-annual-year-ending-31-march-2022/ ).

Question reference: S6W-11474

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many new recruits have been employed to work in each National Treatment Centre.

Question reference: S6W-11468

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £600 million funding package, announced by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care on 4 October 2022, is in addition to the £1 billion of targeted investment, which is referred to in the NHS Recovery Plan 2021-2026.

As announced by myself on 4 October 2022, more than £600 million of funding is provided through the 2022-23 budget to support a range of measures to support the Health & Social Care system through the winter period. This builds on £1 billion of investment already announced in the earlier 2021-26 NHS recovery plan, and includes £550 million of additional funding and the continuation of the £50 million of Urgent and Unscheduled Care Collaborative from the recovery plan.

Question reference: S6W-11469

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether the reported delay in the roll-out of the National Treatment Centres has resulted in a revision of its plan to increase the number of inpatient and day case activity procedures by 55,500 in 2025-26.

Question reference: S6W-11786

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 28 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 7 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-08911 by Michael Matheson on 15 June 2022, what figure was used for (a) revenue, (b) applicable discounts, and (c) the number of household properties in the most recent calculations of the average water charge in Scotland.

The calculation of the average water charge in Scotland for 2022-23 was done prior to the start of the current financial year (in February 2022), and is therefore a forecast, which was based on the expected average charges for 2021-22, uprated by the 2022-23 charge increase (4.2%).

The relevant figures that were used to calculate the forecast average charges for 2022-23 were:

? water revenue - net of applicable discounts, exemptions and reductions - £442.7m arising from 2.53m household water properties giving an average water charge of £175.05 and

? wastewater revenue – net of applicable discounts, exemptions and reductions - £486.4m arising from 2.43m household wastewater customers giving an average wastewater charge of £200.40.

Each of these averages was increased by the 4.2% increase in household charges to arrive at an average charge for a household with both water and wastewater services of £391.20 in 2022-23.

The total value of household discounts, exemptions and reductions in 2021-22 was £182m.

Question reference: S6W-11628

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 7 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when the (a) First Minister and (b) Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture last had (i) a meeting and (ii) correspondence with the (A) Edinburgh International Film Festival and (B) Edinburgh Filmhouse, and what issues were discussed.

As the Edinburgh International Film Festival and Edinburgh Filmhouse were both part of the Centre for the Moving Image (CMI), any meetings and correspondence would have been with the CMI. The last meeting the First Minister had with the CMI was as part of the All Festivals Reception at Bute House on 8 August 2022. The last meeting the Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture had with the CMI was as part of the Closing Gala of the EIFF 2022 on 20 August 2022. At both meetings, the 2022 EIFF programme and the value of the screen industry to Scotland were discussed.

In the last year, there has been no correspondence between the First Minister and the CMI. The CMI last wrote to the Cabinet Secretary on 26 September 2022, outlining the financial challenges it was facing. This correspondence also highlighted that the CMI had highlighted the matter to officials at the Scottish Government and with Creative Scotland and Edinburgh City Council.

Question reference: S6W-11404

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 07 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 4 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made towards the implementation of the new electronic patient record system, including the timetable for roll-out, and how much funding has been allocated in the current financial year for this.

The 2021 Digital Health and Care strategy aims to make the right information available to all appropriate staff, when and where it is needed, building on the existing use of electronic patient record systems used by all Health Boards and GP practices. Whilst our strategy is for all health records to be held electronically, this will not result in a single, discrete electronic patient record that maintains all of the data from all of the health and care systems in Scotland in a single platform. Rather the focus is on allowing medical records to be stored, linked and shared securely according to the information needed. To achieve this most Health Boards have a Clinical Portal. This system works across organisational, regional and national boundaries to provide a timely transfer of information.

Clinical portals are in place across Scotland within acute services and provide access to multiple specialist clinical systems, supporting the better transfer of information between Health Boards and within services. Currently, Clinical Portals cover the West of Scotland Boards, the East of Scotland boards and the North of Scotland Boards are in the process of implementing their Clinical Portal. Further key national developments are also underway that we expect to further improve data sharing. The National Digital Platform has improved our digital health and care infrastructure, supported the development of key digital platforms for the covid-19 response and will now look to focus on linking different sources of data where that offers value. The significant investment in new GP IT system rollout is also underway to provide modern, secure GP IT systems which will support evolving models of care.

The key developments to improve the sharing of information within Health Boards is the GPIT Programme, the National Digital Platform, TRAK Care and Clinical Portal. The total funding provided for these key developments to improve data sharing this financial year is £3.743 million.

We are due to publish a Digital Health and Care Strategy Delivery Plan in the coming weeks that will be available to all Parliamentary Members. Additionally, we will also publish the first ever Data Strategy for Health and Care in early 2023, which will further set out our ambition for ensuring the right data is available to the right professionals at the right time.

Question reference: S6W-11405

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 07 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 4 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has updated its eHealth strategy 2014-2017, and whether it plans to produce a new strategy in the future.

Scotland’s Digital Health and Care Strategy was published in April 2018 and refreshed in October 2021 supersedes the eHealth strategy 2014-2017. The Digital Health and Care Strategy embraces the aims and progress as previously set out but incorporates a broader and more collaborative aim for digital transformation across Health and Care.

A copy of the 2021 Digital Health and Care Strategy can be found on the Scottish Government website Digital health and care strategy - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

Question reference: S6O-01514

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 November 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what further financial support it will provide to Argyll and Bute to help tackle depopulation of rural areas and islands.

Question reference: S6W-11662

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 21 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 2 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what has been done to progress its fair work plans, including the expansion of Fair Work First criteria to include the Living Wage.

Payment of the real Living Wage has always been central to our Fair Work First approach; the policy has been applied to some £4bn of public sector funding since 2019.

As committed to in the Bute House Agreement, we will introduce a requirement on public sector grants to pay at least the real Living Wage, and provide appropriate channels for effective voice, subject to limits on devolved competence. Ministers will confirm the detail of the conditionality in the coming weeks.

Fair Work is more important than ever, and we will use all the levers we can to drive fair work practices. Public sector funding should leverage wider benefits, support the development of a sustainable economic recovery and a successful wellbeing economy. One example will be the future civil engineering framework (£600m over four years) that includes a requirement to pay at least the real Living Wage.

Fair Work, including fair pay, is vital in tackling the cost crisis, in-work poverty and child poverty.