- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 12 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Patrick Harvie on 30 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-16779 by Patrick Harvie on 27 April 2023, where there are any specific anticipated functions for local authorities to deliver elements of the Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy (LHEES) delivery plans, such as communication, coordination, monitoring and complaints, what funding will be made available for the fulfilment of any such functions that is commensurate with the cost.
Answer
Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies (LHEES) are at the heart of a place based, locally-led and tailored approach to the heat transition in Scotland. These local strategies will underpin an area-based approach to heat and energy efficiency planning and delivery. LHEES will set out the long-term plan for decarbonising heat in buildings and improving their energy efficiency across an entire local authority area.
LHEES guidance is framed around what can be delivered now given the existing policy and funding landscape, and sets out requirements for the first iteration of LHEES published by the end of 2023. LHEES will evolve as the Scottish Government introduces future standards and regulation, as well as new delivery and funding programmes.
The Scottish Government is providing multi-year funding of £75,000 to each local authority to support the development and delivery of their LHEES. Local authorities are able to decide how they allocate this funding including for related functions beyond the development of the Strategy and Delivery Plan.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 30 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many quasi-governmental agencies, also known as quangos, it has funded in each year since 1999, and how much it spent on each.
Answer
Quasi-government agencies (quangos) are referred to as devolved national public bodies. There is no requirement to maintaining financial records of devolved national public bodies as far back as 1999, therefore, this information is not held centrally.
The national directory of all devolved national public bodies is in the public domain, and may be accessed in the following link. It provides information on Scottish Government funding for the current year, where applicable. It also provides links to the webpages containing published accounts for the various bodies.
https://www.gov.scot/publications/national-public-bodies-directory/pages/introduction/
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 12 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 30 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Coeliac Awareness Week, which runs from 15 to 21 May 2023, what steps it is taking to reduce the time that it takes to receive a diagnosis for coeliac disease, in light of reports that it can currently take 13 years.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-17929 on 30 May 2023. 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/questions-and-answers .
- Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 12 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 30 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that everyone diagnosed with ovarian cancer has access to the best possible support.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-17800 on 18 May 2023. 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: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 12 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 30 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many outstanding cases of human trafficking
have yet to lead to a prosecution due to court backlogs.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold the requested information.
Any form of human trafficking is completely unacceptable. Through the Victim Centred Approach Fund, we are providing record funding of more than £9 million over the period 1 April 2022 – 31 March 2025 to organisations supporting victims of human trafficking.
We have a strong track record on court investment, and continue to prioritise supporting justice partners to address the backlog.
The 2023-24 budget allocates £42.2 million for justice recovery, which includes over £26 million for the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) to maintain enhanced court capacity. We have also increased SCTS’s resource funding by £5 million, and provided record resource funding for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 30 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many patients have been referred by NHS Scotland for private surgery in other parts of UK in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold this information and it is not collected by Public Health Scotland.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 30 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what recent representations ministers have made to public bodies regarding the pausing of public debt collection.
Answer
Scottish Ministers continue to encourage public bodies to share good practice on debt assistance and collection and to show empathy and dignity when working with people struggling with debt. At a recent meeting of the ‘Joint Working Group on Sourcing of Local Government Funding and Council Tax Reform’ ministers raised the issue of Council Tax Debt and Recovery with the COSLA President, Vice President and Resources Spokesperson.
Scottish Government has also taken considerable action to help people struggling with the impacts of the cost of living crisis. This year we will provide funding to local government in excess of £350 million to deliver the Council Tax Reduction Scheme, ensuring over 450,000 households receive some level of Council Tax Reduction and on average recipients save over £750 a year. More widely, in 2023-24 we are tripling the Fuel Insecurity Fund and maintaining our investment in the Scottish Welfare Fund at £41 million to support those most in need.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 30 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the current levels of public debt in the public sector.
Answer
Every Public Body publishes an Annual Report and Accounts which will include details of amounts owed to them. These annual accounts will normally be available online on the website of the individual organisation.
The Scottish Government continues to support struggling households, which is why both last year and this, we have allocated almost £3 billion to support policies which tackle poverty and protect people as far as possible during the ongoing cost of living crisis. We will also allocate at least £11 million in 2023-24 to support free debt, welfare and income maximisation advice.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 12 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 30 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to encourage NHS boards to adopt the coeliac disease clinical pathway, in line with the Once for Scotland approach.
Answer
In 2018, a new national evidence-based pathway for coeliac disease was launched across four health boards (NHS Lothian, NHS Lanarkshire, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHS Tayside). It was funded by Scottish Government’s Modernising Patient Pathways Programme (MPPP) and co-produced in partnership with key stakeholders including Coeliac UK, and people living with coeliac disease and clinicians.
We recognise that more needs to be done and we expect all Health Boards to fully implement the pathway in order to improve services and ensure that, with dietetic person-centred support, people with coeliac disease take control of their condition and manage its impact on their health and quality of life.
We continue to support NHS Boards on the adoption of the pathway through our representation on the Endoscopy and Urology Diagnostic Elective Care Group (EUDECG) which includes representation from all key stakeholders to support delivery, including NHS Boards and Endoscopy units across the country, in line with our Once for Scotland approach.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 12 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 30 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with (a) Coeliac UK and (b) other patient representatives regarding any challenges in relation to the under-diagnosis of coeliac disease.
Answer
In 2018, a new national evidence-based pathway for coeliac disease was launched across four health boards (NHS Lothian, NHS Lanarkshire, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHS Tayside). It was funded by Scottish Government’s Modernising Patient Pathways Programme (MPPP) and co-produced in partnership with key stakeholders including Coeliac UK, and people living with coeliac disease and clinicians.
Recently, Maree Todd MSP, the then Minister for Public Health, Women’s Health & Sport attended ‘Coeliac Disease: The Challenge of Underdiagnosis’ in the Scottish Parliament on Thursday 9 March 2023. The event was supported by Coeliac UK and included a presentation from a patient representative.