Questions and answers

Question reference: S6F-00103

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 14 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 June 2021

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-00104

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 14 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 June 2021

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-00102

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 14 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 June 2021

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6T-00085

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 14 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the disturbing events at Euro 2020 with a player experiencing a cardiac arrest on the pitch, whether it will consider subsidising automated external defibrillator purchases for amateur sports grounds.

Question reference: S6T-00075

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 14 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to a recent survey, which records that more than 2,000 incidents of racism have been reported in schools over the last three years.

Question reference: S6T-00069

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Monday, 14 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the allegation made by Jim McColl in The Herald on Sunday that £25 million of public money was wasted on the "forced" nationalisation of Ferguson Marine Engineering Ltd.

Question reference: S6W-00308

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 14 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many social care providers have access to PPE distribution hubs, and how this will change following its review of eligibility.

The PPE Hubs provide top up and emergency PPE to social care providers across Scotland if their existing supply routes fail. Those eligible to access the Hubs include staff in care homes, care home visitors, care at home providers, unpaid carers, personal assistants, day services, sheltered housing services, supported housing and housing support, children’s homes and hospices across all sectors (public, voluntary and private).

Work is currently being taken forward with Health and Social Care Partnerships and representatives from the adult social care sector to examine whether providers would benefit from expanding the eligibility criteria further and what impact this might have on the broader operation of the Hubs and for PPE support to the sector as a whole.

Question reference: S6W-00309

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 14 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many claims have been made to the Social Care Staff Support Fund, and what the total spend of the fund has been, broken down by month.

The Scottish Government launched the Social Care Staff Support Fund on 25 June 2020 to ensure that social care workers receive their expected income should they be off ill or self-isolating due to coronavirus.

Following detailed review of the financial position, £1.7 billion of additional funding was provided in 2020-21 to support the Health and Social Care Sector in the response to the pandemic.

A total of £561 million was allocated to Integration Authorities for 2020-21, including funding for sustainability payments, in addition to wider social care support, for example for reducing delayed discharges, for loss of income and for other staff costs.

Staffing costs claimed through sustainability payments encompass the Social Care Staff Support Fund, the staff movement policy and other additional staffing arrangements therefore, we do not have data broken down to the level asked for. The guidance for the financial support for social care providers recommends a light touch approach to gathering evidence, recognising the administrative burden of claiming additional costs on both commissioners and providers alike, whilst they respond to the pandemic.

All of these additional costs are recorded through the Local Mobilisation Plans and form an audit record of how funds have been spent.

There is a robust process in place to ensure that public funds are spent appropriately, this consists of a requirement to ensure clear audit trails are in place to record how funding has been spent. Local Authority and Health and Social Care Partnerships will also have their own internal and governance processes in place and Section 95 officers must adhere to their duties in relation to accounting for public funds. This includes ensuring that payments for additional costs are made in line with the guidance.

Feedback from stakeholders confirms that the Social Care Staff Support Fund has been - and continues to be – utilised to prevent financial hardship for eligible social care workers.

Question reference: S6W-00449

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 14 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many apprenticeships schemes have (a) been started and (b) completed in the Central Scotland parliamentary region in each year since 2019.

Skills Development Scotland does not report apprenticeship starts by parliamentary constituency or region, but by Local Authority. Published apprenticeship starts from 2019 in the local authorities within the Central Scotland Parliamentary Region are:

Local Authority	2019-20 Q4 (year end) Modern Apprenticeships	2020-21 Q4 (year end) Modern Apprenticeships
Falkirk	1,068	613
North Lanarkshire	2,402	1,484
South Lanarkshire	1,926	1,250

Local Authority	Foundation Apprenticeships Cohort 4 (2019-2021)
Falkirk	199
North Lanarkshire	457
South Lanarkshire	256

Figures for Foundation Apprenticeship Cohort 5 (2020-22) are due to be published by Skills Development Scotland in June 2021.

Local Authority	2019-20 Graduate Apprenticeships
Falkirk	37
North Lanarkshire	83
South Lanarkshire	63

Published apprenticeship achievers from 2019 in the local authorities within the Central Scotland Parliamentary Region are:

Local Authority	2019-20 Q4 (year end) Modern Apprenticeships	2020-21 Q4 (year end) Modern Apprenticeships
Falkirk	823	542
North Lanarkshire	1,850	1,329
South Lanarkshire	1,517	1,074

Skills Development Scotland does not publish Foundation or Graduate Apprenticeship achievers by local authority. The total achievers for Foundation Apprenticeships can be found here and for Graduate Apprenticeship achievers here .

*It should be noted that starts and achievers are based on the apprentice’s home address.

Question reference: S6W-00262

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 14 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care will meet with student paramedics from the Pay Student Paramedics campaign in order to discuss the implementation of the student paramedic bursary.

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