S6W-37317

Asked by: Rennie, Willie (Scottish Liberal Democrats - North East Fife)

Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it reportedly does not publish waiting time data for children and young people waiting for neurodevelopmental assessments and support, and what plans it has to publish routine waiting time data in the future.

Answered by Todd, Maree - Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport

The Public Health Scotland CAMHS statistics capture children and young people who meet the CAMHS criteria. Children and Young People and their families who have requested support for their neurodevelopmental needs but do not meet the CAMHS criteria are not reported in these statistics.

However, the statistics do capture those children and young people who are on the waiting list and have mental health concerns comorbid with neurodevelopmental issues.

Data relating to the number of children waiting for a neurodevelopmental diagnosis is not currently nationally reported or published. However Health Boards should hold their own data on who is waiting for a neurodevelopmental diagnosis.

It is also important to recognise that not all children seeking a diagnosis will meet diagnostic criteria but may still have support needs. That is why our National Neurodevelopmental Specification makes clear that support should be put in place to meet the child or young person’s requirements when they need it and should not be dependent on a formal diagnosis.

We acknowledge that work is needed to improve the quality of data that we have on neurodevelopmental support and services, including a better understanding of current levels of need and the level of support children and young people currently receive.

We are working with Health Boards and local authorities to improve our understanding of what data is available, and how this could be used to support improvements for children and families.

S6W-37315

Asked by: Rennie, Willie (Scottish Liberal Democrats - North East Fife)

Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information and signposting to alternative support is provided to people who are not admitted to child and adolescent mental health services, broken down by NHS board.

Answered by Todd, Maree - Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport

The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally as this is the responsibility of NHS Boards. However, the Scottish Governments expects NHS Boards to follow the National Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) specification, which includes a clear expectation that children and young people whose referral is not accepted for CAMHS are sensitively and appropriately signposted to a more suitable service, such as our community-based supports.

We have provided local authorities with over £65 million since 2020 to fund community-based mental health and wellbeing supports and services for children, young people and their families. This £15 million per year funding will continue through the local government finance settlement from 2025-26. Examples include mentoring services, art-based therapies, digital services, whole-family supports, counselling services and supports involving sport or physical activity.

Individual local authorities decide which supports and services to put in place in their area based on the needs of their communities.

S6W-37408

Asked by: Hoy, Craig (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - South Scotland)

Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) state and (b) grant-funded schools offer Economics at (i) National 4, (ii) National 5, (iii) Higher and (iv) Advanced Higher level.

Answered by Gilruth, Jenny - Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills

This information is not held centrally. Under the Education (Scotland) Act 1980, education is the responsibility of local authorities.

The Scottish Government does hold information on entries to courses and qualifications. This is not necessarily the same as the number of schools offering these courses as a school may offer a course, but no learners choose to take it.

The following table shows the number of (a) publicly funded and (b) grant-funded schools with entries to Economics courses at (i) National 4, (ii) National 5, (iii) Higher and (iv) Advanced Higher level in 2024.

S6W-37320

Asked by: Rennie, Willie (Scottish Liberal Democrats - North East Fife)

Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on any progress made in implementing the National Neurodevelopmental Specification for Children and Young People, including progress made against standard 1: 1.2.

Answered by Todd, Maree - Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport

Standard 1.2 of the National Neurodevelopmental Specification relates to the offer of a first appointment. As set out in the Specification, Neurodevelopmental Services that are delivered locally are the responsibility of Children Services providers. A first appointment could be provided by a number of professionals within a range of agencies, including education, health and voluntary organisations.

The Scottish Government does not collect data on length of waits for neurodevelopmental services centrally. Our focus is on improving support. Our Neurodevelopmental Specification places an expectation on NHS and Children's Services to work together to implement standards, in line with GIRFEC. Crucially, local authorities have a statutory duty to identify and provide support for pupils with additional support needs, regardless of diagnosis.

S6W-37503

Asked by: Duncan-Glancy, Pam (Scottish Labour - Glasgow)

Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to involve parents in the design and delivery of the national campaign on school attendance, as announced in its Programme for Government 2025-26.

Answered by Gilruth, Jenny - Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills

The Scottish Government is committed to meaningful parental involvement in the national attendance campaign announced in our Programme for Government 2025-26.

As part of the development of the campaign, qualitative research was undertaken in 2024 with parents, pupils and stakeholders to build a clear picture of lived experience and needs. Insight from this research will be used to inform the development of the campaign, including the core creative idea, messages and channel selection. A second stage of qualitative research with parents and carers of pupils with lower levels of attendance will then be used to test different creative approaches for effectiveness. We will also engage with stakeholders, parent councils and other representative groups as part of this process to gather diverse perspectives.

S6W-37324

Asked by: Rennie, Willie (Scottish Liberal Democrats - North East Fife)

Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the most common reasons that are currently being given by NHS boards for not accepting referrals to child and adolescent mental health services.

Answered by Todd, Maree - Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport

I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-37322 on 19 May 2025. 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

S6W-37316

Asked by: Rennie, Willie (Scottish Liberal Democrats - North East Fife)

Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many children and young people are waiting for a neurodevelopmental assessment, broken down by NHS board.

Answered by Todd, Maree - Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport

I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-34345 on 28 February 2025. 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

S6W-37403

Asked by: Hoy, Craig (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - South Scotland)

Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the total value was of illegal vapes confiscated by Police Scotland or trading standard officers in each of the last five years.

Answered by Minto, Jenni - Minister for Public Health and Women's Health

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

S6W-37430

Asked by: Kerr, Stephen (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Central Scotland)

Question

To ask the Scottish Government, whether it will provide the (a) office seating capacity and (b) annual running cost of each building (i) 4 Atlantic Quay (Glasgow), (ii) 5 Atlantic Quay (Glasgow), (iii) Bothwell House (Hamilton), (iv) Cadzow Court (Hamilton), (v) Compass House (Dundee), (vi) Denholm House (Livingston), (vii) Alexander Fleming House (Elgin), (viii) Hadrian House (Falkirk), (ix) Tankerness Lane (Kirkwall), (x) Longman House (Inverness) (xi) Marine Scotland (Eyemouth), (xii) Marine Scotland (Peterhead) and (xiii) St Andrews House (Edinburgh).

Answered by McKee, Ivan - Minister for Public Finance

The information requested is set out in the following table:

S6W-37466

Asked by: Burnett, Alexander (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Aberdeenshire West)

Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to ensure that the year 2023-24 is dealt with as a transitional year for licensed self-catering operators when supplying annual data to the assessor.

Answered by McKee, Ivan - Minister for Public Finance

The requirement to provide evidence of letting to assessors to ensure compliance with the thresholds for self-catering holiday accommodation to be included in the valuation roll was introduced from April 2022 to counter a known tax avoidance tactic for second homes.

Assessors undertake annual audits to ensure that self-catering accommodation entered on the valuation roll meets the statutory requirements to be classed as non-domestic property. To provide clarity to self-catering accommodation providers on these requirements, and to provide greater certainty regarding the consequences of failure to meet the requirements, a statutory deadline to respond to requests for evidence was introduced from 1 April 2024. If evidence is not provided to the Assessor by the deadline, or if it is insufficient to establish if the requirements have been met, the Assessor must remove the property from the valuation roll under the current statutory framework.

The Scottish Government has no immediate plans to alter the rules for self-catering properties, however we do keep all policies under review and routinely engage with stakeholders on any issues with the operation of the system and associated legislation.