Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-25601

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many specialist child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) staff have (a) been recruited and (b) left the health service, in each NHS board in each of the last three years.

Question reference: S6W-25597

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 4 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many patients have been referred to child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS); what proportion of patients have waited more than a year on CAMHS waiting lists; what proportion of patients have started treatment within 10 weeks of referral, and how many CAMHS specialists have been available, in each NHS board in each of the last three years.

CAMHS Referrals

Information on patients referred to child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) is as follows. The data is not currently available for quarter October 2023 – December 2023. As such the following figures for 2023 only cover January – September. Information for quarter October – December 2023 is expected to be published on 5 March 2024.

	2021	2022	2023 (Jan - Sep)
NHS Ayrshire & Arran	2131	2620	2241
NHS Borders	696	860	639
NHS Dumfries & Galloway	1261	1591	1185
NHS Fife	3178	2910	2188
NHS Forth Valley	1649	1453	1509
NHS Grampian	3738	3738	2746
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde	8299	8906	6390
NHS Highland	1838	1678	1203
NHS Lanarkshire	3826	3575	2517
NHS Lothian	6989	7880	5636
NHS Orkney	16	114	122
NHS Shetland	134	152	95
NHS Tayside	2076	2404	1719
NHS Western Isles	164	158	95

One-Year Waiting Lists

We have seen transformational improvements in CAMHS waiting lists in the last year, and this has continued during the latest quarter. Children waiting over 52 weeks has decreased by 88% since end September 2022 – a reduction of 1,105 (down from 1,252 to 147).

Waiting list data for CAMHS is taken at the end of each month, and only contains data of the number of patients waiting within specific wait bands at that point. As such it is not possible to identify individual patients journey within the present Public Health Scotland publication PHS CAMHS Waiting Times . This publication provides data on waiting lists at the end of each month and for each health board.

Treatment Within 10-weeks of Referral

Patients starting treatment are divided into 4 wait bands 0-18 weeks, 19-35 weeks, 36-52 weeks and 53 weeks plus. Information therefore on patients starting treatment within 10 weeks is not available. Boards continue to respond to high demand for CAMHS, with statistics showing that 1 in 2 people referred to CAMHS start treatment within 10 weeks. Further data information on CAMHS patients starting treatment is publicly available via Public Health Scotland: PHS CAMHS Waiting Times .

CAMHS Specialists in Each Board

Child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) workforce data is publicly available in NHS Education for Scotland (NES) Turas Data Intelligence at: NHS Scotland Workforce Data . This provides data on staff joining and leaving rates by Health Board.

Question reference: S6O-03176

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 February 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce the number of assaults by pupils in schools.

Question reference: S6W-25445

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 28 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the proposed introduction of a similar ban in Scotland, what meetings (a) it has and (b) its agencies have had with (i) the French government and (ii) other relevant stakeholders in France regarding banning the disposal of unsold goods.

Neither the Scottish Government nor its agencies have had meetings with the French government or other relevant stakeholders in France regarding banning the disposal of unsold goods. Officials have, however, met a representative of the Ellen McArthur Foundation to provide insight into the operation of the ban in France.

We intend to engage with a wide range of stakeholders in developing any regulations.

Question reference: S6W-25337

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 27 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it currently supports to provide those in the heritage restoration sector with opportunities to develop expertise and skills in climate resilience.

One of the key priorities identified in Our Past, Our Future, Scotland’s revised historic environment strategy which was commissioned by Scottish Ministers, is “Delivering the transition to net zero.” Actions identified to deliver this priority include improving the delivery of heritage skills training by revising and expanding the Skills Investment Plan for Scotland’s historic environment to identify the opportunities and actions needed to create a sustainable skills ecosystem. And also improving and enhancing the research and development infrastructure for heritage in Scotland by creating new national centres for skills and innovation.

The Scottish Government delivers support for the historic environment through its sponsorship of Historic Environment Scotland. Historic Environment Scotland, along with key partners, have consulted with 340 individuals and 160 organisations as part of the refresh of the Skills Investment Plan which is due to be published in April this year. As part of this refresh, a net zero roundtable was held on the 26 October 2023 to specifically look at the priority actions needed to support a skilled workforce to deliver the transition to net zero.

On behalf of the Scottish Government, Skills Development Scotland published a new report which has assessed the known investment, the skills demand now and in the future, and current training and learning support for green skills in Scotland. This report is available at https://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/news-events/2023/november/90-billion-of-investment-in-green-industries-signals-need-for-net-zero-skills .

We are also continuing to effectively integrate sustainability and green skills into apprenticeships in Scotland to ensure the system remains flexible and relevant as we transition to net zero.

Question reference: S6W-25286

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 22 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the work that has been carried out to develop circular economy roadmaps for the sectors that are listed in its updated Climate Change Plan, alongside the development of a waste route map.

In the updated Climate Change Plan, we undertook to embed circular economy principles into our wider green recovery, prioritising areas with the biggest opportunities: construction; agriculture/food and drink; energy and renewables; procurement; skills and education; and plastics.

Last year we consulted on our draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan, which sets out the Scottish Government’s vision for Scotland's energy system to 2045 and a route map of ambitions and actions that, coupled with detailed sectoral plans and the forthcoming Climate Change Plan, will guide decision-making and policy support over the course of this decade.

We also published discussion papers on land use and agriculture Just transition in land use and agriculture: a discussion paper - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) , the Grangemouth Industrial Cluster Just Transition: Grangemouth (www.gov.scot) and the built environment and construction sector Delivering a Just Transition for the Built Environment and Construction Sector Delivering a Just Transition for the Built Environment and Construction Sector (www.gov.scot)

We are also consulting on a Circular Economy and Waste Route Map which sets out the clear actions we need to take to deliver sustainable use of our resources and progress a circular economy in Scotland by 2030 Circular economy and waste route map to 2030: consultation - gov.scot (www.gov.scot). This includes a package of measures to embed circular practices in the construction sector.

Question reference: S6W-25287

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 22 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government Office for the Internal Market (OIM) regarding the Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill, and whether it has asked the OIM if the proposals in the Bill for (a) restricting the disposal of unsold goods and (b) charges for single-use items could affect the UK internal market.

In my letter of 18 January 2024 to the Convener of the Net Zero, Energy and Transport committee (see at this link Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity (parliament.scot) ), I confirmed that Scottish Government officials regularly meet with the Office for the Internal Market (OIM) to discuss a range of issues related to its functions, including horizon scanning of potential legislation across the UK. These discussions are open dialogues where either party can raise any issue for discussion. They can involve high level intelligence sharing, as well as more detailed discussions of specific policy areas.

To date, there has not been a specific discussion on the proposed provisions of the Scottish Circular Economy Bill as part of this engagement. Wider circular economy issues such as deposit return schemes and single-use plastics policies across UK nations have been discussed.

Question reference: S6W-25444

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 22 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide the most recent list, broken down by local authority, of projects funded, or confirmed to be funded if not already begun, through the Recycling Improvement Fund.

To date, 37 projects from 25 local authorities have been approved for funding through the Recycling Improvement Fund (RIF) and the Fund’s Small Grant Scheme.

A list of local authorities and projects approved through the RIF is available on the Zero Waste Scotland website: www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/resources/recycling-improvement-fund .

A list of local authorities and projects who have been approved for funding through the RIF Small Grant Scheme is available on the Zero Waste Scotland website: www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/resources/recycling-improvement-fund-small-grant-scheme .

Zero Waste Scotland is in regular contact with local authorities to support new applications.

Question reference: S6W-25341

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 22 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the contribution of the nuclear industry to Scotland's economy.

Independent analysis procured by the Scottish Government for the draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan estimated that in 2021 there were 5,338 jobs (direct and indirect) and £918m GVA (direct and indirect) in the nuclear power electricity generation and decommission sectors. While Hunterston B power station has been retired (as of 7 January 2022), decommissioning jobs are assumed to remain at the level of power generation jobs within the initial six years of the decommissioning phase of de-fuelling.

Question reference: S6W-25241

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 22 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much food waste has been produced in Scotland in each year since 2016.

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