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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-09492

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 27 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve working conditions for social workers, in light of the report Setting the Bar for Social Work in Scotland finding that 51% of social workers who responded said that they might leave the profession due to a lack of work-life balance.

The Scottish Government welcomes the Setting the Bar for Social Work in Scotland report and will consider and discuss the findings with its partners to inform and develop future social work workforce policy. Social workers make a highly skilled, unique and valuable contribution to supporting individuals and families across Scotland. We recognise the significant pressures faced by frontline social workers due to increasing workloads and staff shortages.

Social workers are primarily employed by local authorities and supporting a work-life balance is principally a matter for employers through local terms and conditions.

The Scottish Government have invested in the wellbeing of social workers including the National Wellbeing Hub, backed by £5m, and the Social Work Professional Support Service, backed by £200k, to provide a peer support service covering a range of issues: career development, promote wellbeing, and the development of a stronger professional identity.

The Scottish Government’s investment of £25m, announced as part of the 2022-23 Budget, was additional funding to relieve pressure on the adult social care sector to ensure care can be delivered safely to those who need it. £22m of funding was distributed, as agreed by COSLA Leaders, and will be used to employ additional social workers or associated social work assistants or support staff – with the clear purpose of adding to the capacity of the social work workforce to respond to the current pressures.

The recently published National Care Service (Scotland) Bill will establish a new National Social Work Agency, which will support and invest in the social work profession by providing national leadership, and overseeing and supporting social work in a range of areas, including: workforce planning, improvement and social work terms and conditions.

The Scottish Government will continue to work with COSLA and stakeholders to look at how social workers can be supported while they undertake their vital work across our communities.

Question reference: S6W-09194

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 28 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce deaths from liver disease in areas of social deprivation.

We know people living in poverty have poorer health outcomes and this is why we are committed to addressing the underlying causes of health inequalities and increasing healthy life expectancy. There is a stark social gradient to alcohol harms and outcomes linked to poor diet with those in the most deprived areas being the most affected

Population-wide measures to transform the food environment are more likely to be effective in reducing health inequalities than measures aimed only at encouraging individuals to change their behaviours. That is why we will introduce a Bill in this Parliament that includes powers to restrict promotions of foods high in fat, sugar or salt and introduced Minimum Unit Pricing for alcohol. The Scottish Government’s Alcohol Framework 2018 sets out our priorities for preventing alcohol-related harm, including our world-leading minimum unit pricing policy.

A recent study by Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems has highlighted the effectiveness of alcohol nurses in Deep End practices in Glasgow, in supporting people with alcohol problems who have complex needs. The Scottish Government will carefully consider the findings of the report which highlight the need for more research into the effectiveness of these services.

Question reference: S6W-09127

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 27 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to make accessible toilets only for use by disabled people, and not for general use by non-disabled people as a gender-neutral toilet.

The Scottish Government is developing a new Disability Equality Strategy, working in collaboration with Disabled People’s Organisations. The development process provides the opportunity to consider the priority issues affecting disabled people in Scotland, including accessibility.

Everyone should have access to the toilet facilities they need. Under the Equality Act 2010, individual businesses and organisations are responsible for ensuring that they make reasonable adjustments to meet the needs of disabled people. Responsibility for oversight of compliance with the 2010 Act rests with the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

In 2019 we revised Scottish building standards and introduced a requirement for Changing Places Toilets (CPTs) to be installed in certain types of large new non-domestic buildings (for example large retail buildings; secondary schools providing community facilities; hospitals; and passenger stations for air, rail, road, or sea travel). CPTs are facilities suitable for use by people whose care needs are more complex. In addition to standard facilities, they provide additional space for assistants, an adult-sized changing bench, and a hoist.

The Scottish Government committed in our 2021-2022 Programme for Government to invest £10 million in Changing Places Toilets over this parliamentary term. This will increase the number of Changing Places Toilets across the country, and support mobile changing places to allow people easier access to events and outdoor venues around the country.

These facilities will make a real difference to disabled people and their families. The first phase of this work is underway to establish the application and assessment criteria, to ensure the Changing Places Toilets which are delivered are fit for purpose.

Question reference: S6O-01257

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 June 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on police pay negotiations.

Question reference: S6O-01223

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 June 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what action is being taken to promote the creation of mid-market rental accommodation in the Lothians.

Question reference: S6O-01129

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 May 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its assessment is of Social Security Scotland’s efficiency in delivering benefits.

Question reference: S6W-08470

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 17 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, how many (a) emergency calls and (b) ambulance call-outs recorded in the Scottish Ambulance Service call log have included the field search "abortion", in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S6W-08035

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 13 May 2022

To ask the Government how it plans to mitigate fuel poverty among social housing tenants, in light of the recent energy price cap increase and the data from the Zero Emissions Social Housing Taskforce showing that over one third of social tenants already experience fuel poverty.

We recognise the importance of upgrading the energy efficiency of homes in order to make them more affordable to heat. Regulation of energy efficiency in the social housing sector has already ensured that it has the most energy efficient housing stock of any tenure, and this will continue to improve as the sector works to comply with EESSH2. This requires that all social housing meets, or can be treated as meeting, EPC Band B (Energy Efficiency rating), or is as energy efficient as practically possible, by the end of December 2032, within the limits of cost, technology and necessary consent.

In addition our Social Housing Net Zero Head Fund is making at least £200 million available to registered social landlords to help install zero emission heating systems and improve energy efficiency in social housing during this parliamentary session.

We also recognise that social housing tenants are more likely to experience fuel poverty than the general population. That is why we have been working in partnership with the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations to ensure a proportion of our Fuel Insecurity Fund can be distributed through social landlords directly to their tenants who are struggling with their energy bills. £4.4 million has been delivered in this way since 2020-21 and we have recently allocated a further £10 million to the Fuel Insecurity Fund to allow it to continue during the current financial year.

Question reference: S6O-01106

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 May 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to remote and rural communities in the Lothian region.

Question reference: S6W-08038

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 22 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 10 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what involvement SQA psychologists had in the development of the pre-COVID-19 pandemic advice and guidance that the SQA provided to schools regarding the examinations diet.

Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) is an executive Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB), established under the Education (Scotland) Act 1996. It operates at arm’s length to Ministers and is responsible for making its own evidentially based operational decisions.

I have asked the SQA to reply.

SQA has advised that it does not employ psychologists and their guidance draws on a range of teams and specialisms.