Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-13310

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 20 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what funding will be allocated as part of its new biodiversity strategy in the current parliamentary session.

The Scottish Government has made significant funding commitments to protect and restore our biodiversity and is committed to invest an additional £500 million in our natural economy over the course of this parliament. Our recent funding package of £2.9 million for biodiversity projects comes on top of a £65 million commitment for nature restoration. This additional funding includes £1.3m for Atlantic rainforest restoration to fund the first phase of a rainforest restoration programme; £0.5m for ‘Species on the Edge’; and £200,000 to expand nature networks.

As set out in the new draft Scottish Biodiversity Strategy we are committed to developing a Biodiversity Investment Plan, to mobilise public, private and philanthropic finance, closing the estimated £20 billion finance gap for nature this coming decade.

Question reference: S6W-13398

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 18 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Bill, whether it plans to include specific measures on (a) restraint and (b) the provision of secure transportation services under the heading of "Residential and Secure Care", in light of the recent consultation analysis that cited concerns in these areas.

Following careful consideration of responses to the consultation on the Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Bill, the Scottish Government is content that there is sufficient legislative provision to enable secure transport to be utilised when necessary, and to ensure the safety of the child and others.

An overly prescriptive approach to minimising restraint practices could bring adverse consequences around escalation and criminalisation. Instead, Ministers consider that a blended framework of regulation, guidance, practice support and precise reporting is likely to best serve Scotland’s children.

Work is ongoing with partners to reduce, and where possible eliminate, the use of restraint in respect of children in care. This includes working with the Scottish Physical Restraint Action Group (SPRAG) to explore definitions of restraint, along with the availability of data, training and support.

A national service specification for secure transport is being developed by the joint Scottish Government and COSLA led Secure Care Group. The specification states that any use of restraint must be in line with Scotland’s Holding Safely guidance. This specification aims to bring consistency to the expectations and requirements, wherever secure transport requires to be commissioned. It covers areas such as data gathering and staff training. It also prohibits the use of mechanical restraint, handcuffs or pain-inducing techniques.

Question reference: S6W-13091

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 12 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 16 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6T-00960 by Lorna Slater on 15 November 2022, whether the Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity plans to correct the Official Report, before the 20 working day deadline for doing so passes on 13 December 2022, in relation to the statement that the claim that Scotland has 25% of Europe’s potential offshore wind resource “is now outdated”, in light of the UK Statistics Authority’s reported investigation and letter of 7 December 2022 stating that it was never accurate and that “it is good practice for elected representatives to correct their use of official statistics”.

The Scottish Government accepts that this statistic needs revising and we have already committed to undertake further work to quantify Scotland’s offshore wind potential. In response to the issues raised in the UK Statistics Authority’s letter, dated 7 December 2022, the Scottish Government has engaged directly with the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) setting out the steps that have been taken to ensure the statistic is not used further, and provided an update on the analytical work that is underway to produce a replacement statistic.

Question reference: S6W-13241

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 11 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide an estimate of the cost of delayed discharge for the NHS in (a) 2020-21 and (b) 2021-22.

Question reference: S6W-13242

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 11 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide an estimate of the average daily cost of delayed discharge in (a) 2020-21 and (b) 2021-22.

Question reference: S6W-13109

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 10 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to any concerns raised by the Cross Party Group on Chronic Pain regarding 10 pain patient representatives, elected by other patients, reportedly not endorsing the draft framework for pain management service delivery or its subsequent implementation plan, due to the publications not providing key information such as staffing levels and investment, and independent patient volunteers being involved for just two meetings.

The Scottish Government published the Framework for Pain Management Service Delivery - Implementation Plan in July 2022.

Extensive engagement of people with lived experience was carried out at all stages to develop the Framework including members of the Cross Party Group on Chronic Pain. This includes through representation on the National Advisory Committee for Chronic Pain (NACCP) and a national survey of people with chronic pain and their carers. We also sought input from other stakeholder groups during the development of the Framework including NHS staff, service planners and third-sector partners. This included work to bring together the diverse clinical disciplines involved in pain management in order to inform and support activities to improve chronic pain services.

All members of the NACCP had the opportunity to freely share their views on the priorities for improving pain management support which were used to inform the development of the draft Framework. Committee members were provided with an advanced copy of the Framework and were encouraged to share their feedback on its content via a public consultation which had a high level of responses from people with chronic pain and other stakeholders. We are grateful for the views and ideas shared through the consultation which have been used to inform the Aims and Actions we have set out in the Plan. This includes actions to address issues raised by the Cross Party Group on Chronic Pain to drive delivery of sustainable services and support for people with chronic pain across Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-13107

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 12 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 10 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to any claims by members of the cross party groups on chronic pain, long COVID, and arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions that it did not notify them about its proposed timing of the debate on chronic pain on 16 November 2022, and that this prevented them from informing large numbers of patients with chronic pain about the debate.

Details of Parliamentary business, including motions for debate, are published in the Business Bulletin when the Parliament is in session. This includes details of current and future business of the Parliament and the business motion setting out the date for the debate on ‘Improving care and services for people with chronic pain’ was proposed and agreed by MSPs on Tuesday 8 November 2022. This is available to view on the Scottish Parliament website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/votes-and-motions/S6M-06687

In advance of this, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care met with the convenors of the Cross Party Group on Chronic Pain (CPGCP) on 7 November 2022 to inform them that the debate was imminent and wrote to them on the 11 November 2022 once the date had been confirmed. We will continue to seek to work in a collaborative and constructive manner with the CPGCP and other stakeholders as we implement the Framework for Pain Management Service Delivery.

Question reference: S6W-13108

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 12 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 10 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the reported views expressed by Scotland Versus Arthritis in its briefing on the Scottish Government's implementation plan for chronic pain services that (a) the plan lacks the necessary ambition, (b) the approach to change is too slow and (c) there is no identifiable funding for delivery.

We are grateful to Scotland Versus Arthritis for their support in developing the draft Framework for Pain Management Service Delivery as members of the National Advisory Committee for Chronic Pain.

The Implementation Plan sets out, for the first time, an ambitious national direction for improvement including 18 Actions which reflect the priorities of people with chronic pain to improve the care and services they need.

This includes taking a whole-system approach to address long-standing, complex issues including improving the quality of national resources such as NHS Inform, reviewing referrals and pathways of care, investing in comprehensive national data on chronic pain and its impact, and developing a national knowledge and skills framework to drive recognition, earlier intervention and improve quality of care for people with chronic pain.

We have also redesigned our Governance structure to ensure that we can deliver these Actions at pace. This includes investing in a new Third-Sector Network in direct response to requests from charity organisations including Scotland Versus Arthritis to better support their involvement in implementing the Framework. We will continue to monitor delivery of the Implementation Plan to ensure there is rapid progress and to identify further opportunities to improve pain services.

In addition to our investment in these challenges, we have recognised the impact of arthritis, and are providing £400m to develop a network of National Treatment Centres which will provide additional capacity for hip and knee surgeries which are a significant contributor to chronic musculoskeletal pain.

As stated by Scotland Versus Arthritis in their recent briefing to MSPs, the majority of people with chronic pain are seen in primary care services. That is why we are also providing increased funding of £170 million this year to support primary care services to expand multi-disciplinary teams and provide additional pharmacists, physiotherapists and occupational therapists who can support people to better manage chronic pain and its impact. We welcome the continued input of Scotland Versus Arthritis and other third-sector partners in our shared goal of improving care and services for people with chronic pain.

Question reference: S6W-13092

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 12 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 10 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the point of order by the First Minister on 8 December 2022, whether she plans to correct the Official Report in relation to the statement that the claim that Scotland has 25% of Europe’s potential offshore wind resource is “is no longer appropriate to use because it is out of date”, in light of the UK Statistics Authority’s reported investigation and letter of 7 December 2022 stating that it was never accurate and that “it is good practice for elected representatives to correct their use of official statistics”.

The Scottish Government accepts that this statistic needs revising and we have already committed to undertake further work to quantify Scotland’s offshore wind potential. In response to the issues raised in the UK Statistics Authority’s letter, dated 7 December 2022, the Scottish Government has engaged directly with the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) setting out the steps that have been taken to ensure the statistic is not used further, and provided an update on the analytical work that is underway to produce a replacement statistic.

Question reference: S6F-01684

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 09 January 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 January 2023

To ask the First Minister when the Cabinet will next meet.

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