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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: S5W-17902

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 July 2018
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 16 August 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recent Shelter Scotland report, which states that, on one day in March 2018, 6,615 children were living in temporary accommodation and that this was the fourth consecutive year in which the figure has risen, and that homeless families with children spend an average of 25% longer living in temporary accommodation than households without children.

The Scottish Government is clear that one person being made homeless is too many, particularly in households which include children.

That is why preventing and ending homelessness and transforming temporary accommodation are key priorities for the Scottish Government. It is also why we established the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group (HARSAG) last year, with Shelter Scotland as a member, to help us identify the solutions to homelessness.

HARSAG published its final set of recommendations in June 2017 and we have accepted all of their 70 recommendations in principle. These call for more focus on preventing the need for temporary accommodation in the first place, reducing demand through effective prevention measures, and improving outflow or move-on by increasing appropriate options for accommodation. This is an important set of proposals which we will explore further with local authorities and other partners to help ensure we reduce the numbers of children going into temporary accommodation.

Scotland’s strong homelessness rights already mean households, including those with children, are placed in temporary accommodation while they wait for appropriate, sustainable permanent accommodation. The vast majority (80%) of households with children or pregnant women are given temporary accommodation in social rented housing, which is generally of good quality and covered by the Scottish Housing Quality Standard. We also continue to work with local authorities to ensure that all temporary accommodation is the same standard as permanent accommodation.

While temporary accommodation provides an important safety net in emergency situations, we want time there to be as short as possible. In October last year, we also reduced the period from 14 to 7 days that families with children and pregnant women are in unsuitable temporary accommodation, except in exceptional circumstances.

To underline our commitment to transforming temporary accommodation, we have allocated £21 million of the £50m Ending Homelessness Together Fund to help local authorities accelerate towards rapid rehousing and Housing First, to minimise the use of temporary accommodation.

Question reference: S5W-17778

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 July 2018
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 6 August 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance is provided as part of teacher-training on how best to support pupils with autism.

All courses of Initial Teacher Education are accredited and approved by the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) as the independent, regulatory body for the teaching profession. The GTCS only grant accreditation if they are satisfied that the content of courses adequately prepare student teachers to meet the requirements of the Standard for Provisional Registration (SPR). The GTCS Standards for both Provisional and Full Registration include a requirement for teachers to demonstrate an awareness of barriers to learning, recognising when to seek further advice in relation to all leaners’ needs.

The Scottish Government has funded the development and publication of an Autism Toolbox. This provides information on the identification, support and planning of learning for children and young people with autism. Through the recently published ‘Scottish Strategy for Autism: Outcomes and Priorities 2018-2021’ the Scottish Government has also committed to deliver on a range of actions to increase awareness and understanding of autism for staff working in education. These include building on the Autism Toolbox to ensure teachers and the education workforce have access to resources to help them better support autistic children; and to work with universities to explore how we can further increase awareness of autism in teacher education.

Question reference: S5W-17408

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 10 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how the NHS ensures that its staff are given adequate equality training, and how it measures the effectiveness of this.

NHS Scotland’s national Partnership Information Network (PIN) policy: “Embracing Equality, Diversity and Human Rights in NHSScotland, accessible at: http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0044/00441232.pdf explicitly requires that all staff are provided with equality training and outlines a number of the common and core principles that should inform the content of that training. The PIN policy further includes specific guidance on monitoring the impact of local activity against health boards' legislative responsibilities flowing from the Public Sector Equality Duty.

To ensure that local equality training is relevant and effective, health board human resources and equality leads are required to develop and deliver training in partnership with professional organisation representatives, trade unions and staff. Boards are also able to consult with the professional organisations with which we retain national membership arrangements, including Stonewall Scotland and the Business Disability Forum.

Question reference: S5W-17409

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 10 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many times NHS staff have faced (a) gender-based, (b) racial and (c) other forms of discrimination in each of the last five years, also broken down by how many times the alleged perpetrator was another NHS employee.

This information is not held centrally, the formal recording of any incident of discrimination is a matter for NHS Scotland health boards. The welfare of NHS Staff is absolutely paramount and we expect all health boards to take any reported incidents seriously.

The Scottish Government has taken a number of steps to embed a healthy organisational culture across NHS Scotland, in which staff can bring their whole selves to work. The NHS Scotland Staff Governance Standard commits all boards to ensuring that staff are treated fairly and consistently, with dignity and respect, in an environment where diversity is valued; NHS Scotland Boards report annually on local activity supporting the implementation of the Staff Governance Standard. Additionally, national staff experience measures, which all NHS Scotland staff are invited to participate in, allow staff to anonymously indicate whether they are routinely treated with fairness, consistency, dignity and respect in the workplace.

Question reference: S5W-17375

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 29 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-17080 by John Swinney on 14 June 2018, how it will publicise its plan to allow COSLA, local authorities, third sector organisations and children and young people the opportunity to hear about the main findings of the review, identify gaps and inform further refinement of the recommendations; how these bodies will take part in this process, and whether it will consider this to be part of the formal consultation.

An engagement session with COSLA, the Association of Directors in Scotland (ADES) and local authority representatives took place on the 25 June 2018.

A workshop with key third sector organisations has been arranged for 9 August and a dedicated seminar on the PSE Review has also been set up for this year’s Scottish Learning Festival taking place on the 19 September. A dedicated workshop with young people will take place in the Autumn.

The aim of these engagement sessions is to share the main findings from the PSE review and to enable key stakeholders to inform the final set of recommendations. These will be published towards the end of 2018.

Question reference: S5O-02277

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 June 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle hate crime.

Question reference: S5W-17074

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 19 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-02066 by Maureen Watt on 9 May 2018 (Official Report, c. 29), whether the annual report on the mental health strategy’s actions will be presented to the Parliament prior to the summer recess and, if not, by what date it will be.

Question reference: S5W-17081

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 14 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to the third supplementary to question S5F-02355 by Nicola Sturgeon on 17 May 2018 (Official Report, c.22), whether it will provide the information that was requested regarding whether it will roll out a national programme of mental health teacher training and improved counselling services for secondary school pupils.

We take child and adolescent mental health very seriously. We know that prevention and early intervention make a big difference in reducing the risk of developing mental health problems. Since 2014, Education Scotland has been delivering Scotland’s Mental Health First Aid Training for Children and Young People to secondary school staff across 18 local authorities.

In 2017-18 this training was delivered to 67 secondary schools across Scotland and Education Scotland will continue to offer the training to schools, to complement the range of mental health strategies that are already in place within schools and local authorities.

In addition, the PSE review is currently underway and includes consideration of counselling services available for children and young people in schools. The review will be completed by the end of 2018.

Question reference: S5W-17088

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 14 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the findings of its review into personal and social education and school counselling.

Question reference: S5W-17080

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 14 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will include an open evidence stage as part of the review into personal and social education and school counselling so that schools that have not been selected to take part in the review can contribute.

Prior to the commencement of the PSE Review, an engagement session was held in conjunction with Education Scotland and COSLA, to help shape the scope of the PSE review. There was wide representation from local authorities at this session. This ensured that local authority colleagues had an opportunity to help develop the scope of the review. As a result, the review will take into account the experiences of the delivery of personal and social education in 55 schools including primary, secondary, special and early learning and child care centres across Scotland.

Prior to finalising the outcomes of the review, COSLA, Local Authorities, third sector organisations and children and young people will have an opportunity to hear about the main findings and identify gaps and inform further refinement of the recommendations.

Further information on the scope of the review is available on the Scottish Government website at https://beta.gov.scot/publications/schools-personal-and-social-education-review/ .