Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-25909

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 15 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, as part of its work to tackle online bullying and harassment, what recent discussions it has had with mobile app companies regarding any support that they currently provide to users to report online bullying and harassment.

The regulation of the internet is a reserved matter and falls to the UK Government.

Notwithstanding, the Scottish Government has been very clear that providers also have a responsibility to enforce their own policies on harmful online content. We continue to engage with the UK Government and Ofcom, on the implementation of the Online Safety Act 2023 in Scotland, and to press for stronger protections to keep children and vulnerable adults safe online.

Question reference: S6W-25910

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 15 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, as part of its work to tackle online bullying and harassment, what its position is on (a) the current regulation of mobile app companies and (b) in-app support tools for users to report online bullying and harassment.

We take online safety very seriously and our expectation is that online service providers will act responsibly.

Though regulation of the internet is a reserved matter and falls to the UK Government, the Scottish Government is committed to securing the online safety of our children and young people. That is why the First Minister urged the UK Government to include additional measures in the Online Safety Act 2023 to protect children and vulnerable adults online and go further to encourage tech firms to design out illegal and harmful material.

Question reference: S6W-26181

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 March 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 28 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many homes in each local authority area have currently been identified as containing reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).

Question reference: S6W-26182

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 March 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 28 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many children and young people have been treated in adult mental health services in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board or any treated outside of Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-26184

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 March 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 28 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question (a) S6W-15576 by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 27 March 2023 and (b) S6W-17101 by Jenny Gilruth on 22 May 2023, whether it will provide the same information for 2022-23.

Question reference: S6W-26180

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 March 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 28 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on progressing the reported proposals for three-year core funding for the third sector.

Question reference: S6W-25918

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 14 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that the provisions in the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019, which is due to commence in April 2024, particularly any provisions related to volunteers in care services, are reflected in its plans for the future workforce of the proposed National Care Service.

Question reference: S6W-25908

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 14 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many drug deaths have been recorded in the last three years that have included a reference to fentanyl.

This information is publicly available from the National Records of Scotland, which publishes annual Accredited Official Statistics on drug-related deaths in Scotland (Table 1).

Table 1: Number of drug deaths where fentanyl was implicated in, or potentially contributed to, the cause of death in Scotland, 2018-2022

2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
12	25	7	7	6

Source: National Records of Scotland, 2023

Public Health Scotland also publish relevant data through the Rapid Action Drug Alerts and Response (RADAR) quarterly report. RADAR monitors drug-related harms, service usage and toxicology data to provide an early warning of emerging drug trends and identify actions to reduce and prevent drug harms and deaths. These data are Management Information, and not subject to the same level of quality assurance as the statistics published by NRS.

Rapid Action Drug Alerts and Response (RADAR) quarterly report - January 2024

The presence of fentanyl in drug deaths continues to be relatively low. The latest post-mortem toxicology data from RADAR shows that fentanyl-type opioids were detected in 5% of deaths between July and September 2023 (up from 4% between April and June 2023).

Nitazenes, another type of novel synthetic opioid, are being detected in an increasing number of drug deaths. Based on post-mortem toxicology testing, nitazenes were detected in 25 deaths from January to 30 September 2023. PHS have issued a public health alert regarding nitazene-type opioids ( https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/rapid-action-drug-alerts-and-response-radar-alerts/radar-nitazenes-alert-2023/#section-1 ). Scottish Government is working closely with PHS, national and international partners, to ensure preparedness in case that they may continue to have increasing prevalence in the drug supply.

Question reference: S6W-25911

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 14 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether children’s services will be included in the proposed National Care Service.

The model of shared accountability agreed for the National Care Service means that Scottish Ministers, Local Authorities and NHS Boards will each have their own responsibilities to fulfil within a new national framework.

We will continue working with COSLA and other key partners to consider how NCS benefits and system improvements can be offered to both adults and children consistently across Scotland.

The Scottish Government priority is to ensure the consistent availability and high-quality of joined-up support for those children and families who need it, wherever they live in Scotland.

We will continue working towards improving outcomes for children and families, and the workforces who care for them. There is consensus across The Scottish Government, Local Government and other partners, to collaboratively advance an agenda of improvement beyond any system reform.

Question reference: S6W-25915

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 14 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that volunteers and the third sector are included in plans for the future workforce of the proposed National Care Service.

Scotland’s volunteers and third sector workers are critical to the health and wellbeing of our people, places and communities. We recognise the skills, kindness and commitment of workers and volunteers.

The Scottish Government are undertaking a co-design approach to inform NCS Future Workforce policies. We continue to engage with representatives of the workforce, including those in the third sector, to confirm their position and to ensure policies benefit the workforce.

Our Lived Experience Experts Panel (LEEP) is open to those with lived experience of accessing or delivering social care support, to allow them to be involved in co-design work - including volunteers and those working in the third sector. Registration is via the Scottish Government Website, gov.scot.

Tell us your views

Chamber and committees