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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: S5O-00447

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 7 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how its public information campaign to maximise incomes and benefit take-up will target the estimated 53,000 carers who do not claim carer's allowance.

We want to see incomes maximised for people to receive all the benefits to which they are entitled. There are many benefits reserved to the UK Government, including Carer’s Allowance, where take up could be improved. We plan to run a take-up campaign in 2017-18 to encourage all those entitled to benefits to access them. In the meantime we will continue to run public information activity to ensure people know what benefits are being devolved and when, and are carrying out work to understand what the barriers to take-up are, including user experience panels.

Question reference: S5W-05002

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 5 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-03842 by Maureen Watt on 2 November 2016, whether it will provide (a) a breakdown of how the £54.1 million over four years to reduce waiting times in mental health services will be spent and (b) details of how each area of investment will be evaluated.

The First Minister announced £54.1 million of funding over 4 years from 2016-17 to improve access to mental health services on 12 January, 2016. Following that announcement this letter provides further information on that package of support and the allocations to NHS Boards.

This package of funding represents the initial announcement of support from within the £150 million awarded to mental health by the Scottish Government to 2015-20. It comprises three specific elements which total £54.1 million over four years and is intended to support the delivery of the LDP access standards for both CAMHS and psychological therapies. The package includes:

An allocation to NHS Boards to increase capacity to deliver services (24.7m);
Support for the development of the mental health workforce to enhance supply and training of workforce to deliver evidence-based therapies, delivered by NHS Education for Scotland (£24.6m);
The delivery of a Mental Health Access Improvement Support Programme, delivered by Healthcare Improvement Scotland (£4.8m).

This package of support has been structured to focus on improving access to mental health services and support for NHS Boards to:

Deliver reductions in waiting times and the achievement of the LDP standard for CAMHS and Psychological Therapies.
Improve access to mental health services in response to the local need identified within the LDP.
Deliver a workforce development plan for mental health workforce.

National published data on access to service and workforce will be used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the investment.

A summary of the funding can be seen in the following table:

Initiative	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	Total
Building Capacity	4,300,000	6,800,000	6,800,000	6,800,000	24,700,000
Workforce Development (CAMHS/PT)	4,500,000	6,100,000	7,000,000	7,000,000	24,600,000
Improvement Support (MHAIST)	1,200,000	1,200,000	1,200,000	1,200,000	4,800,000
Total	10,000,000	14,100,000	15,000,000	15,000,000	54,100,000

Question reference: S5W-04857

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 5 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-03581 by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 4 November 2016, whether it will provide an update on what progress it is making to appoint a commissioner for fair access, and what the deadline for this is.

Question reference: S5W-05095

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S5T-00232

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 28 November 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Children's Services Coalition warning that Scotland faces a "lost generation" of children with additional support needs.

Question reference: S5W-04597

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 22 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-03843 by John Swinney on 1 November 2016, what analysis it has carried out to ascertain the reason for the reduction in the average payment made to (a) male and (b) female recipients of Education Maintenance Allowance over this period.

Since piloting the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) programme in 2005 there has been a number of changes to the EMA eligibility criteria. These include the removal, following the consultation into ‘16-Plus Learning Choices – First Step Activity and Financial Support (2008)’, of the bonus payment and tiered payment structure in 2009 and the revised household income thresholds in 2016.

These changes mean that it is difficult to make any accurate comparisons and draw conclusions about average EMA payments across different years.

Question reference: S5W-04596

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 22 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-03843 by John Swinney on 1 November 2016, what analysis it has carried out to ascertain the reason for the reduction in the number of (a) male and (b) female recipients of Education Maintenance Allowance over this period.

The Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) is an entitlement and a demand led programme. Any young person who has reached the age of 16 can apply and if they satisfy the eligibility criteria they will receive the award. We do not collect data on the number of school pupils or college students who could be eligible for EMA. The recent edition of the EMA statistical publication shows fluctuations in the number of EMA recipients over the years. There is likely to be several reasons why the number are fluctuating, including the numbers of young people at college and school. Changes to the number of recipients does not necessarily indicate the rate of uptake has decreased. Since piloting the programme in 2005 there has been changes to the EMA eligibility criteria. This has had an impact on the numbers of young people who are eligible to apply for the support, which makes it difficult to draw a direct comparison between each year of the programme.

Question reference: S5W-04595

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 22 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-03844 by John Swinney on 1 November 2016, for what reason the Education Maintenance Allowance budget has reduced from £42.6 million in 2007-08 to £39.6 million.

Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) is an entitlement in Scotland which means that any applicant who meets the eligibility criteria will receive EMA support. The budget level is set in line with recent spending trends. We increased the EMA budget to £39.6 million for 2016-17 from its previous year’s budget of £29.6 million to accommodate any increase in the number of EMA recipients resulting from the amended eligibility criteria introduced in January 2016. We have also provided additional support to Local Authorities to promote the EMA funding and to inform parents and student about the changes to the eligibility criteria.

Question reference: S5W-03841

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 17 October 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 10 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-01444 by Mark McDonald on 5 August 2016, whether it will provide details of the funding for third sector organisations involved in supporting children and young people affected by bereavement, broken down by award to each organisation.

Currently, much of the funding awarded to third sector organisations providing support services for people affected by grief or bereavement is not focused specifically on children and young people; rather, it is intended to support services for anyone affected by grief or bereavement. Many third sector organisations provide grief or bereavement support as part of a range of services.

The specific funding mentioned in the answer to S5W-01444 for Richmond’s Hope (to help establish their new Glasgow Govan centre) amounted to £90,000 over the financial years 2014-15, 2015-16, and 2016-17; and for Cruse Bereavement Care Scotland (to assist their work to reintegrate children and young people into society after a loss) the award was for £43,000 in 2016-17. Additionally, in 2016-17, a grant of £100,000 was awarded to Child Bereavement UK to build the capacity of professionals and organisations to support bereaved children, young people, parents and families, and to operate a helpline and website accessible to bereaved families in Scotland.

Also, while not targeted at bereavement specifically, in December 2015 the Scottish Government announced that 118 third sector organisations supporting children, families, and adult learning had been awarded £14 million from the Children, Young People and Families Early Intervention and Adult Learning and Empowering Communities Fund. This will benefit thousands of children, families and communities across Scotland, including children and young people who may have been affected by bereavement.

Question reference: S5W-03840

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 17 October 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 10 November 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-01444 by Mark MacDonald on 5 August 2016, whether it has made, or plans to make, any assessment of the number of children and young people affected by bereavement.