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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-08557

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 26 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to launch a marketing campaign to increase bus use before removing the Network Support Grant Plus.

Question reference: S6W-08554

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 26 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what support is available to bus operators to upgrade depots with the necessary infrastructure needed for zero-emission buses.

The Scottish Government provided support for the acquisition of zero emission buses, and the associated charging infrastructure, through the Scottish Ultra Low Emission Bus Scheme (SULEBS) and its successor, the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund (ScotZEB). SULEBS provided 75% of the cost of infrastructure, and ScotZEB Phase 1 offered up to 75% of the cost of battery-electric infrastructure or 85% of hydrogen refuelling infrastructure.

In total to date, through SULEBS and ScotZEB, the Scottish Government has awarded £30.4 million to bus operators to upgrade depots with the necessary infrastructure for zero emission buses.

Question reference: S6W-08357

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 24 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to invest in early intervention to improve the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people in Lanarkshire.

We aim to ensure that all children and young people in Scotland have access to appropriate support for their mental health, at the right time, without stigma. We know that the Covid-19 pandemic has been exceptionally difficult for the mental health and wellbeing of many children, young people and their families.

Last year, we provided local authorities with £15 million to fund new and enhanced community-based mental health supports for children and young people. We will issue a further £15 million to councils this year, with almost £1.8 million going to the local authorities in Lanarkshire.

The services include supports for positive mental wellbeing as well as emotional distress, and are focussed on prevention and early intervention. The funding gives councils the flexibility to implement supports on the basis of local priorities. Establishing these services is a significant step forward in supporting the mental health of our children and young people; making sure they receive the help they need when they need it.

There are currently twenty community-based services in place across Lanarkshire, with further supports in development. For example, North Lanarkshire Council have put in place the ‘Active & Creative Communities’ projects, which offer sporting activities that promote mental health and wellbeing for children and young people aged nine and over. These include ‘Street Soccer’, a targeted resource supported by youth workers and coaches who can offer mentoring and link young people into other supports to help meet their wellbeing needs.

In South Lanarkshire, the ‘early help hub’ provides strengths-based support to families by listening to what they need at the earliest opportunity and ensuring they are on a pathway that meets their needs. Instead of waiting until families meet social work intervention thresholds, the hub works alongside families to determine what interventions may prevent problems escalating.

The local authorities in Lanarkshire have advised us that over 3,250 children and young people used community-based services in the region, in the second half of last year.

In addition, advice and support to parents with young children is available throughout Scotland through the ‘Wellbeing for Wee Ones Hub’ on Parent Club and the ‘Solihull Online child development programmes’. These resources provide families with young children with easy ways to support their mental health and wellbeing.

We also continue to invest in a range of measures to support children and young people in looking after their own mental health and wellbeing. This includes providing enhanced digital resources on mental health and wellbeing available via the ‘Aye Feel’ website and social marketing campaigns, managed by Young Scot and through the ‘Mind Yer Time’ resource supported by the Scottish Youth Parliament.

Question reference: S6W-08353

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 18 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to replace ScotRail’s 25 InterCity high-speed trains before the end of their working life in 2030.

Question reference: S6W-08361

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 18 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason CalMac reportedly was not required to conduct an Island Communities Impact Assessment for its new ticketing and reservation system.

Question reference: S6W-08360

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 18 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when the bidding and contract process will start for the next Clyde and Hebrides ferry services contract, in light of the current contract being due to end in October 2024.

The current Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service contract is due to expire in September 2024. Development and planning work is currently underway by officials to consider potential options for future contracts and to create an engagement plan for key stakeholders and local communities.

This work would usually be at a more refined stage but has been impacted largely due to staff resources being redeployed over the past two years to manage the challenges presented by the Covid -19 pandemic. We will be announcing further detail in due course.

Question reference: S6W-08355

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 18 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to encourage more people to return to travelling by rail.

Following the pandemic and the move to a publicly owned ScotRail we are committed to encouraging people to return to our railway. We now have the opportunity to ensure that passenger services reflect changing passenger needs and travel behaviours whilst restoring the financial sustainability of rail services in Scotland.

On 9 May, I launched ScotRail’s 50 per cent off peak ticket offer. This fares offer, funded by the Scottish Government, is the latest ‘Yours to Use’ initiative and is focused on welcoming customers back to rail as the country continues to recover from the pandemic.

The 50 per cent off tickets can be purchased in the following ways:

Online at scotrail.co.uk/sale
By phone on 0344 811 0153
Via the ScotRail app, using the promo code SRSALE in the railcards/promotions field

Earlier this year, I announced that our National Rail Conversation will offer rail staff, passengers and communities an opportunity to contribute to the future Vision of Scotland’s Railway. This will help us to fully understand what the people of Scotland want and need when it comes to choosing rail as their mode of choice.

Question reference: S6F-01106

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 May 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 May 2022

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government is doing to prevent future rail service cancellations due to industrial action by drivers.

Question reference: S6W-08358

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 16 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of children and young people are currently beginning treatment for mental health conditions within 18 weeks of referral in NHS Lanarkshire.

The Scottish Government national standard is that 90% of children and young people should start treatment within 18 weeks of referral. The publication for CAMHS waiting times for the quarter ending December 2021 can be found at Publications - Public Health Scotland .

Table 1 shows the total number of patients seen for first treatment following referral to CAMH Services in NHS Lanarkshire and the percentage seen within 18 weeks for the latest published data for quarter ending December 2021.

Table 1 : Total number of patients seen and waiting times from referral to treatment, quarter ending 31 December 2021, NHS Lanarkshire

NHS

Board

Total patients seen by CAMHS quarter ending Dec-21

Percentage seen by CAMHS within 18 weeks quarter ending Dec-21

NHS Lanarkshire

239

69.5%

Source: PHS CAMHS database

We have allocated nearly £40m additional funding in 2021-22 to NHS Boards to improve CAMHS from our £120m Recovery and Renewal fund. £4.25m of that allocation is directly focussed on offering treatment to those already on CAMHS waiting lists, with a view to clearing all backlogs by March 2023.

Question reference: S6W-08356

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 16 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much financial resource has been allocated to reduce waiting times for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in NHS (a) Lanarkshire, (b) Greater Glasgow and Clyde, (c) Forth Valley and (d) Dumfries and Galloway in each year since 2016.

NHS Scotland expenditure on mental health, including children and adolescents, is reported in the Scottish Health Service Costs , published annually by ISD Scotland.

Expenditure in financial years 2016-17 to 2020-21 in NHS Lanarkshire, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, NHS Forth Valley and NHS Dumfries and Galloway, identified as relating to mental health services delivered in hospitals or in the community aimed specifically at children and adolescents, is shown in Table 1. The financial resource allocated to reduce waiting times for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) is not held by Public Health Scotland.

Table 1:

NHS Board

2016-17

2017-18

2018-19

2019-20

2020-21

NHS Lanarkshire

£5,854,011

£5,938,690

£6,120,554

£7,112,038

£7,944,768

NHS Greater Glasgow

£18,953,948

£18,130,708

£17,675,918

£19,908,325

£25,136,4576

NHS Forth Valley

£2,901,349

£3,053,487

£3,319,519

£3,471,551

£3,708,310

NHS Dumfries and Galloway

£1,609,015

£1,579,545

£1,734,545

£1,886,461

£2,166,000

Source: Public Health Scotland (PHS

We also allocated nearly £40m additional funding in 2021-22 to NHS Boards to improve CAMHS from our £120m Recovery and Renewal fund. £4.25m of that allocation is directly focussed on offering treatment to those already on CAMHS waiting lists, with a view to clearing all backlogs by March 2023.