- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 October 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 10 November 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take to ensure that local authorities are tackling and reporting on Black and minority ethnic (BME) poverty at a local level, given recent research by the Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights published in its report Black and Minority Ethnic Chid Poverty in Scotland: a review of the Local Child Poverty Action Reports 2020/21, found local authorities are aware of the higher risk of poverty for BME families, but do not take targeted action.
Answer
The Scottish Government is refreshing the non-statutory guidance for Local Child Poverty Action Reports (LCPARs) to support local authorities and health boards to deliver focused reporting on their actions to support priority families. CRER and other stakeholders representing priority families have been consulted in drafting the guidance. This is part of our work with stakeholders to strengthen targeted action for priority groups. We welcome the opportunity to work with CRER to enable a greater focus on BME families in our national and local practice and reporting.
The Scottish Government, in collaboration with other national partners, review LCPARs and engage with local authorities and health boards, offering feedback and sharing learning across areas. This process provides a further opportunity to support local focus on the six priority family groups.
The non-statutory guidance also highlights that the intersectional approach needed to support priority families is best served by person-centred, holistic action. We will continue to support local leads to engage directly with priority families in their areas who have direct experience of poverty to understand, design and deliver the tailored support needed.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 October 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 10 November 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to respond to recent research into Local Child Poverty Action Reports by the Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights published in its report Black and Minority Ethnic Chid Poverty in Scotland: a review of the Local Child Poverty Action Reports 2020/21, which found that issues with ethnicity and poverty data availability at a national level are reflected and exacerbated at the local level, even though Black and minority ethnic people across Scotland are at a higher risk of poverty.
Answer
Evidence and data play an important part in efficient policy delivery. Our commitment to continue to improve on our data and evaluation efforts is highlighted as part of the revised evaluation strategy to tackle child poverty. The Scottish Government publish child poverty estimates by detailed ethnic group and since March 2022, time series for ethnicity breakdowns have also been published, including for child poverty estimates by detailed ethnic group. The Scottish Government is happy to support CRER – and any stakeholders – with finding our published data and producing ad-hoc analysis.
Whilst recognising the important role of detailed statistical data, our tackling child poverty delivery plan is clear that an intersectional approach is needed to support priority families. Beyond statistical analysis, our action to tackle child poverty is based on a strong evidence base identifying the main drivers of poverty, as the CRER report acknowledges. To design policies that specifically help minority ethnic families, further evidence has been published to widen our understanding. This includes a detailed focus report on minority ethnic families, a summary update on drivers of poverty for all priority family types which fed into the development of ‘Best Start, Bright Futures’ and detailed understanding of what works to tackle child poverty.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 October 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 10 November 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to recent research by the Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights published in its report Black and Minority Ethnic Chid Poverty in Scotland: a review of the Local Child Poverty Action Reports 2020/21, which found that most Local Child Poverty Action Reports lack focus on race and poverty, despite 38% of minority ethnic families living in relative poverty, and the Scottish Government designating minority ethnic families as a priority group in its anti-poverty plans.
Answer
This government welcomes CRER’s assessment of Local Child Poverty Action Reports (LCPARs) which recognises the vital role which local authorities, health boards and local partners play in our national mission to tackle child poverty.
Tackling child poverty is a national mission for this government and our Tackling Child Poverty Delivery plan, ‘Best Start, Bright Futures’ focuses on the six priority family types at highest risk of poverty, including minority ethnic families. We know we cannot tackle child poverty without a clear focus on supporting priority families, including minority ethnic families, to increase their income from employment and benefits, and reduce their living costs.
We are refreshing our non-statutory guidance for LCPARs to support local authorities and health boards to deliver focused reporting on their actions to support priority families. CRER and other stakeholders representing priority families have been consulted in drafting the guidance.
This is part of our wider programme of work supporting local action to tackle child poverty. Through our partnership with the Improvement Service and the peer support network for child poverty leads from each Local Authority and Health Board we will continue to encourage and support local action to tackle child poverty amongst priority groups.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 October 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 10 November 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out of any VAT liability for care services that are currently VAT free following the creation of the National Care Service.
Answer
After competitive tender, a contract was awarded to Anderson Anderson & Brown LLP to obtain expert independent advice on the implications of VAT on the NCS and associated Care Boards. This work is ongoing. We will engage with the wider sector and HMT prior to any decision being taken which would have a VAT impact.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 October 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 10 November 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether any additional funding to the £10 million Long COVID Support Fund, announced for 2022-23 to 2024-25, will be made available to NHS boards in the forthcoming budget for the treatment of Long COVID, in light of the reported increase in the number of people with the condition.
Answer
In 2022-23, funding of £18 billion is provided for health and social care. This substantial investment is already benefitting a range of services that are supporting the needs of people living with long COVID.
Health funding for 2023-24 will be confirmed through the forthcoming budget process.
We engage with NHS Boards on a regular basis regarding their capacity needs, and will continue to do so in order to inform the allocation of the long COVID Support Fund.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 31 October 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Elena Whitham on 10 November 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how it reconciles the answer to question S6W-10193 by Shona Robison on 6 September 2022, and the statements regarding "risks associated to electric car charging points in car parks" in the minutes of the meeting of the Cladding Stakeholder Group, on 20 July 2022, that the Scottish Government "explained they did not have a definitive position regarding this issue for now but that they were aware" and "they were not being complacent about this" and that "issues will be addressed", released under FOI/202200313906, and whether it will provide an update on its position on this matter.
Answer
The Scottish Government is working with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) and other stakeholders to look at current and future risks associated with electric car charging points and more widely, lithium batteries. SFRS has also implemented the Lithium-Ion Partnership Group to focus on this subject of which the Scottish Government is part of, and work continues to ensure the safety of our communities in Scotland from any potential emerging risks.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 10 October 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 10 November 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how much money it has spent to date in awarding contracts to private companies to undertake work regarding the establishment of a National Care Service, broken down by company, contract duration, and purpose of contract.
Answer
Please see the details of contracts awarded to private companies to undertake work regarding the establishment of a National Care Service in the following table.
Contract | Supplier Awarded Contract | Contract Duration | Total Contract Value | Contract Purpose |
Financial Controls Review | AAB | 3 months with the option for a 4 month extension which can be used purely for time to complete, not to add monetary value | £45,504 exc. VAT | To provide advice to the NCS finance team on recommendations for improvement where necessary on the financial controls in place, the capacity and capability of the finance team, and the methodology used to provide estimates set-up and running costs for the NCS. |
VAT Advice | AAB | 12 months | £46,749 exc. VAT | To provide advice on necessary VAT preparations for the establishment of a NCS. To provide advice on the VAT impact of different NCS scenarios and recommend any options and/or solutions that could potentially achieve a VAT neutral outcome. |
Operating model and business case production | KPMG | 18 months | £530,000 exc. VAT | To produce a Current Operating Model for the current social care sector, a Target Operating Model for the National Care Service and a Programme Business Case. |
Provision of consultation response analysis | PwC | 3 months | £68,360 exc. VAT | Contract to undertake analysis and the production of a report for the public consultation on A National Care Service for Scotland. Contract now complete. |
National Care Service operating model design | PwC | 2 months | £107,020.80 inc. VAT | Contract for advice and the production of a report on programme governance arrangements and a Design Authority within the National Care Service Programme. Contract now complete. |
Landscape review | Socitim (Society for Innovation, Technology and Modernisation) | 12 months | £412,624.00 exc. VAT | A review of the technology and digital architectural landscape across the public, private and third sector organisations who are involved in the delivery of social care services in Scotland to understand what will and will not work in the system |
User research | Storm ID | 2 months | £47,300.00 exc. VAT | User research to explore how people experience interacting with services in Scotland, and is particularly focussed on what data is important to them. Contract now complete. |
International research | Capgemini Invents | 2 months | £49,000.00 exc. VAT | Research to understand what digital approaches, services and products have enabled similar services outside of Scotland and what lessons can be learned from both successful and unsuccessful digital projects and programmes. This will focus on the technical and practical elements of work rather than the policy drivers. Contract now complete. |
Technical architecture partner | Capgemini Invents | 12 months | £338,730.00 exc. VAT | Research to understand in detail how data is currently flowing in the social care and health system and a technical architecture review of existing national digital assets to make a technical assessment to inform design decisions and inform the re-use of assets where appropriate. |
- Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 28 October 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 10 November 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether a carbon assessment has been undertaken of the policies in the fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4), and if this is the case, whether the assessment will be publicly available.
Answer
In keeping with our statutory and other assessment requirements we published our Integrated Impact Assessments (IIA) alongside Draft NPF4, and invited comment. This included an Environmental Report, setting out the likely significant environmental effects of Draft NPF4 including on climatic factors. Our assessment findings and the comments received have been taken into account in finalising the Revised Draft NPF4 which was laid in Parliament on 8 November. The IIA is available from the Scottish Government’s website: www.gov.scot .
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 28 October 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 10 November 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the results of a recent YouGov survey commissioned by the Royal College of Nursing showing that almost half of Scots have avoided NHS treatment in the last year.
Answer
The Scottish Government wants everyone to receive the best possible care and treatment from our health and care services. We have set out the wider policy within which NHS Scotland is expected to deliver services, and we expect all NHS Boards to continue to provide high quality care that is safe, effective and person-centred. Across our health service, pharmacists, the ambulance service, NHS 24, GPs and hospital staff are working hard to ensure that patients get the care they need.
In common with health services across the UK and globally, NHS Scotland is working under significant pressure as the pandemic continues to affect services, and we expect this winter to be one of the most difficult the NHS has faced. While these challenges persist, people who are unwell should always seek help.
The Scottish Government’s Winter Resilience Overview sets out £600m of investment to support winter resilience across our health and care system. These measures across will help ensure people get the right care they need at the right time and in the most appropriate setting. We will also expand our workforce, particularly registered nurses, to assist with the expected increase in workload.
On 2 November, we launched the Right Care Right Place media campaign as part of the wider Stay Well This Winter messaging. We want the public to better understand the healthcare services available to them so they can make more informed choices about the right care in the right place for their specific health care needs.
- Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 28 October 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 10 November 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what it estimates the uptake of usage for the Young
Scot National Entitlement Card is, based on the latest information available.
Answer
As of the end of the day on 7 November 2022, there had been a total of 31,118,359 journeys made under the Young Persons’ (Under 22s) Free Bus Travel Scheme. 40.6% of these journeys were made by cardholders aged 5-15. 59.4% of these journeys were made by cardholders aged 16-21.
This data is for total journeys made through the scheme and is not split into Young Scot branded and non-Young Scot branded National Entitlement Cards.