Questions and answers

Chamber and committees

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 ��˿�� 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: S6O-03238

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what support it can provide to any local authorities that are struggling to meet the rising costs associated with providing school transport, so that children and young people can travel to school in a safe, efficient and affordable manner.

Question reference: S6W-25847

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 13 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the processing time for major planning applications in Q1 and Q2 of 2023-24 was 62.1 weeks, in light of the statutory timeframe being 16 weeks.

There can be many reasons for delays in determining applications including requests for and submission of additional information, delays with responses from statutory consultees and the requirement for a legal agreement. The specific reasons for the time taken to determine individual major planning applications would be held by the individual planning authority making the determination.

The average timescale for all major applications determined without a processing agreement was 35.2 weeks in Q1 and Q2 of 2023-24. Due to the low number of applications involved, average determination timescales are volatile and can be affected by one or two lengthy cases. In the same period, 23 of the 57 major applications not subject to processing agreements were determined within the statutory timescale, and 46 of those 57 major applications determined within the same period were determined in a time faster than the national average.

Question reference: S6W-25554

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 12 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with local authorities regarding their obligations under section 42 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 in the last 12 months.

The statutory minimum walking distances set out in legislation are a long-standing feature of our education system and there are no plans to change them. The Scottish Government published guidance for local authorities regarding home to school transport in 2021.

The Scottish Government regularly engages with representative bodies for local government on education related matters. However, no requests have been made to discuss local authorities’ obligations under section 42 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 in the last 12 months. The provision of home to school transport is responsibility of local authorities and decisions about changes to eligibility for free school transport are for local authorities to make, subject to the applicable statutory requirements.

Question reference: S6W-25818

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 12 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to announce or propose any further Council Tax freezes during the current parliamentary session, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

The Council Tax Freeze that was announced by the First Minister, and accepted by almost all Councils, relates only to the 2024-25 financial year. It will provide certainty to households during a time of economic uncertainty and rising prices.

The funding provided in 2024-25 for the purposes of freezing Council Tax will be baselined into the General Revenue Grant in future years for those councils which freeze their Council Tax.

Question reference: S6W-25848

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 12 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when the (a) First Minister and (b) Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills plans to read the recent Educational Institute for Scotland (EIS) report on violence in schools, in light of it highlighting an EIS survey of nearly 800 members in Aberdeen, which found that 42% of respondents reported violent pupil behaviour in school every day, 37% said they had been physically assaulted by a pupil, over 50% felt their school did not have clear strategies to prevent violence and 60% of teachers in Aberdeen were considering leaving the profession.

Question reference: S6W-25877

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 11 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what methods and sources of information it uses to (a) estimate the number of adult and young carers and (b) avoid undercounting in this regard.

a) Estimates of the number of adult and young carers in Scotland are produced using the Scottish Government’s and the National Records of Scotland , as .

The Scottish Health Survey asks respondents whether they provide any regular help or unpaid care for any sick, disabled or frail person. The percentage of respondents who indicate that they provide care is then applied to the relevant mid-year population estimates for Scotland, to provide an estimate of the number of people providing unpaid care. As the Scottish Health Survey samples children aged 4 and over, this provides an estimate for adult carers by using the percentage of people over the age of 18 providing care and for young carers by using the percentage of people under the age of 18 providing care.

b) Different surveys will give different percentages of those providing care. For instance, the Scottish Survey Core Questions (SSCQ), which pools samples from the Scottish Health Survey, the Scottish Household Survey and the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey, tends to give a higher percentage than the Scottish Health Survey alone which in turn, would lead to a higher estimate of unpaid carers aged 16+.

However, the Scottish Health Survey is the only one of these surveys to sample people under the age of 16, which allows us to produce estimates for both adult carers and young carers. It also includes further questions specifically for carers which allows for more detailed analysis.

Question reference: S6W-25817

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent in the current parliamentary session on actions to raise awareness of the (a) symptoms of fibromyalgia and (b) support available for patients and families.

We have invested over £2m within this parliamentary term to deliver the Framework for Pain Management Service Delivery which looks to reduce the impact of chronic pain, including fibromyalgia, on quality of life and wellbeing and improve information, care and services for people in Scotland.

In 2022-23, as part of Section 10 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968, the Scottish Government provided grant funding of £7,920 to Pain Concern and Flippin’ Pain to host an online awareness raising event for people in Scotland living with fibromyalgia. The event was also open to healthcare staff.

Question reference: S6W-25831

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to (a) investigate any reasons for traumatic birth and (b) reduce the rate of birth trauma, in light of reported research stating that approximately 4% to 5% of women develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after giving birth.

The Scottish Government expects all women, at all times, to receive high-quality, person-centred maternity care, tailored to their needs, with quality and safety for mothers and babies central to decision-making. We recognise that every woman’s experience of pregnancy and birth is different and that, for a variety of reasons, some women may require support related to trauma.

We continue to participate in four UK-wide audits and confidential enquiries, including the MBRRACE-UK programme, to highlight quality and safety of maternity and neonatal care and where that can be improved. The Scottish Government considers the findings of all data reports and reviews carefully and expects all NHS Boards to do the same locally. Where areas for improvement are identified, the Scottish Patient Safety Programme (SPSP) Perinatal arm provides support and guidance for NHS Boards to undertake focused quality improvement activity.

We are also committed to supporting the development of perinatal and infant mental health services across Scotland. We are working with NHS Boards to develop specialist Community Perinatal Mental Health services to provide assessment and care for women with moderate to severe mental illness, including psychological impact following the birth of a baby. All pregnant women in Scotland are provided with a copy of Ready, Steady, Baby! , a guide to pregnancy, labour and birth and early parenthood, during their routine antenatal care. This provides information for women on mental health and wellbeing in pregnancy and after birth, including signposting to other resources such as the Birth Trauma Association.

Question reference: S6W-25842

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 11 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-24886 by Michael Matheson on 5 February 2024, whether it will provide details of how exactly frontline staff are supervised and supported to improve their knowledge, in respect of mental health.

Question reference: S6W-25819

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 11 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many age-appropriate inpatient mental health beds for children and young people each NHS board currently has.

There are currently 54 Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) inpatient beds across Scotland for children and adolescents.

Forty eight of these beds are commissioned on a regional basis. These are split across:

North of Scotland Region - Dudhope Young People’s Inpatient Unit - 12 beds;
South and East Region - Melville Young People’s Mental Health Unit - 12 beds;
West Region Skye House Adolescent Inpatient Unit - 24 beds.

These units admit children and young people from Health Boards in that region, with the flexibility to admit from other regions if the unit closest to a child or young person is full.

Additionally, the National Child Psychiatry Inpatient Unit in the Glasgow Royal Hospital for Children has 6 beds for children under 12 years and admits children from across Scotland, based on clinical need. This includes one to two national beds for children with profound learning disabilities and mental health disorders.

The National Adolescent Secure Inpatient Unit, Foxgrove, is due to open later in 2024 and initially will provide 4 beds for young people who require care in an inpatient setting with medium levels of security.