- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 June 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 27 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with SEPA regarding the flaring, which is causing night-time noise and light disruption for local residents, at Grangemouth Refinery.
Answer
The Scottish Government is in regular contact with SEPA, the independent regulator, concerning SEPA’s regulatory role in relation to industrial sites in Scotland, including the Grangemouth complex. Whilst we understand the concerns around flaring, it is an essential safety mechanism. Improvements driven by SEPA have reduced the overall frequency and duration of flaring at the Grangemouth complex, and the planned installation of totally enclosed ground flares will further reduce the noise and light disturbance experienced by communities.
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 June 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 27 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-08830 by Keith Brown on 8 June 2022, how (a) many expert researchers were hired to help inform thinking on Scotland’s future Peace Institute and (b) much the Scottish Government has spent on these contracts to date.
Answer
Four authors, who are subject matter experts in peace processes and international law, are undertaking the necessary research to inform the thinking on Scotland’s Peace Institute. The research commission was put out to competitive tender at the start of the year and following assessment of the bids received we awarded the contract to the successful consortium of researchers. The total cost of the contract is £30,000.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 June 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 24 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-06256 by Shona Robison on 24 February 2022, whether discussions on the proposed distribution of the Financial Transactions available for 2022-23 have concluded and allocations for the full use of these funds have been agreed.
Answer
The Affordable Housing Supply Programme was allocated £134 million in Financial Transactions in 2022-23 and we have recently agreed that £60 million will be made available for the Open Market Shared Equity Scheme and £74 million for the Charitable Bond demand led programmes in 2022-23. A further £92 million in Financial Transactions was allocated to the wider housing budget for 2022-23, with £12 million of this earmarked for historic carry forward commitments. All options are being actively considered to maximise the use of the remaining Financial Transactions to support the delivery of homes.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 June 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 24 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how much it estimates will be raised from the rationalisation of the public sector estate, as set out in the Resource Spending Review.
Answer
It is clear that the changes in working practices and budgets will offer opportunities to right-size the portfolio and improve efficient delivery of services to the public. There are no details of any savings available yet as the multi-year programme has not started. The first phase of the programme will begin this year and will look to gather and validate existing estate information and to plan for a place-based approach across the public sector. Subsequent phases will identify opportunities to work towards an optimal, greener and interoperable public sector estate.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 June 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 24 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Royal College of Nursing Scotland survey, which recorded that 86% of nursing staff who responded said that the staffing levels on their last shift were not sufficient to meet the needs of patients safely and effectively.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring the sustainability of the NHS and in March 2022 we published, in partnership with CoSLA, the National Workforce Strategy for Health and Social Care . The Strategy outlines our shared vision: a sustainable, skilled workforce with attractive career choices where all are respected and valued for the work they do. To ensure all Health Boards have sufficient capacity, planning guidance has been issued to support the production of new Three Year Workforce Plans, supported by local systems’ workforce data.
Staffing across NHS Scotland is at record levels, having increased by 23.5% under this Government. There are also record high numbers of nursing and midwifery staff, up by 14.8% since September 2006, and numbers of student nurses entering Scottish Government funded degree programmes will increase by 9% in 2022-2023, the 10 th successive increase in recommended student numbers.
We are investing £11 million over the next five years in new national and international recruitment campaigns and have established a national Centre for Workforce Supply to support the development and implementation of resource strategies and services across the system. We are also carrying out work to promote service innovation and redesign, such as utilisation of Associate Physicians, Advanced Nurse Practitioners and Health Care Support Workers; all of which will support maintaining appropriate staffing levels.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 June 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 24 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to address widening health inequalities in light of reports that an increasing number of people are using private healthcare in order to receive elective and orthopaedic surgery.
Answer
The National Treatment Centre (NTC) Programme will deliver the single biggest increase in protected planned care capacity ever created in NHSScotland. The network of 10 NTCs will deliver capacity for over 40,000 additional planned procedures and diagnostic care across 12 specialties.
Within the next 18 months, NTCs will open in NHS Fife, NHS Forth Valley, NHS Highland and at NHS Golden Jubilee specialising in orthopaedic surgery. On 13 April, we also announced £1.8m of funding to purchase a private hospital in Ayrshire (Carrick Glen) to be developed into a new National Treatment Centre specialising in orthopaedics.
As well as significant investment in new infrastructure, the new NHSScotland Centre for Sustainable Delivery is also leading work to explore new and innovative ideas to reduce In Patient / Day Case and Outpatient waiting times. Examples include:
- The rollout of Active Clinical Referral Triage, to provide patients with information about non-surgical interventions and self-management options;
- Patient Initiated Reviews, enabling patients to be escalated if their condition deteriorates and reduces routine appointments while supporting patients in a safe and clinically appropriate manner; and
- Enhanced Recovery after Surgery pathways, designed to support patients achieve faster recovery after surgery.
- Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 June 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 24 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6O-01181 by Mairi McAllan on 1 June 2022, what its response is to reports that the Clyde Marine Planning Partnership declined the proposal put forward by a coalition of coastal community councils that a community representative be appointed to the partnership.
Answer
Scottish Ministers are committed to empowering our communities and engagement in regional marine planning partnerships. It is for each regional marine planning partnership to determine its own governance arrangements. Section 12 of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 requires Scottish Ministers to ensure that the group of persons (to whom regional marine planning functions are delegated) comprises, so far as it reasonably practicable, representatives of persons who have an interest in the protection and enhancement of that marine region and the use of that region for recreational and commercial purposes. Decisions on applications for membership are a matter to be determined by each regional marine planning partnership. Should membership be declined, marine planning partnerships are required to provide reasons for the decision and the applicant is free to reapply if they wish to do so.
In the case of the Clyde Marine Planning Partnership (“CMPP”), they put on hold the consideration of all membership applications, which included the Clyde Coastal Community Councils’ application considered at the 17 th June 2021 CMPP member’s meeting, because the CMPP was undergoing a full-scale review of its governance structure and was, therefore, unable to consider new applications at that time. Clyde Coastal Community Councils were informed of this decision along with the reasoning behind it and that membership applications would be welcomed and fully considered once the governance review was complete. The review’s recommendations were informed by workshops which the Clyde Coastal Community Councils participated in during January 2022.
The governance review concluded that there is a need for increased community representation on the CMPP and proposes that community council/group representatives, such as from the Clyde Coastal Community Councils, be included in the Steering Group of the new proposed governance structure. Scottish Ministers welcome these proposals to address concerns regarding community representation. The proposed governance structure from this review was discussed and agreed in principle by the CMPP on 7 June 2022 and will be implemented in due course.
- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 June 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 24 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of businesses reporting increasing overheads, what its position is on extending 50% rates relief.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-07994 on 6 May 2022. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 June 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 24 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding in total was allocated to it in Barnett consequentials between March 2020 and June 2022 for COVID-19-related spending, and how much of this funding it has allocated, or plans to allocate, to the NHS.
Answer
The Scottish Government has received £14.564 billion in Covid-19 related funding from the UK Government. Amounts received for 2020-21 were £9.752 billion and for 2021-22 are £4.812 billion. No Covid-19 funding has been received to date for 2022-23 and based on dialogue with the UK Government none is expected.
Details of the timing and split of funding received are included in the following table:
UK Government Covid Allocations to SG (£m) | Resource | Capital and FTs | Total |
2020-21 Funding allocated by UK Government - Barnett Guarantee | 8,600 | | 8,600 |
2020-21 Funding allocated by UK Government - Supplementary Estimates | 874 | 278 | 1,152 |
2021-22 Funding allocated by UK Government - UK Spending Review 2020 | 1,328 | | 1,328 |
2021-22 Funding allocated by UK Government - Budget | 1,206 | | 1,206 |
2021-22 Funding allocated by UK Government - Main Estimates | 1,000 | | 1,000 |
2021-22 Funding allocated by UK Government - UK Spending Review 2021 | 516 | | 516 |
2021-22 Funding allocated by UK Government - Supplementary Estimates | 707 | 55 | 762 |
Total | 14,231 | 333 | 14,564 |
To date the Scottish Government has allocated £5.5bn of Covid-19 funding to the Health and Social Care portfolio, £2.9bn in 2020-21 and £2.6bn in 2021-22. This amounts to approximately 38% of all Covid-19 funding received from the UK Government.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 June 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 24 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many public sector bodies it considers are required for good governance and regulation of the country.
Answer
Good governance and regulation is not captured by a single number. We will work with public bodies leaders and other stakeholders in the coming months, to agree the optimal public body landscape for achieving improved outcomes, good governance and regulation. The spending review provides a platform for engagement ahead of the next budget. We do not intend to take the same approach as set out by the UK Government, but we do need to reshape and refocus. We will work together across the public sector to look creatively at reform in order to become more efficient and deliver better outcomes.