- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 18 September 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 2 October 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-20844 by Paul McLennan on 13 September 2023, whether it will provide a breakdown by local authority of each property in the applications received and approved (a) prior to and (b) since the announcement on 19 July 2023.
Answer
The following table shows the number of applications received and homes formally approved prior to, and since 19 July 2023 by local authority in 2023-24. It should also be noted that discussions have taken place to support additional acquisitions with other providers but formal applications have either not yet been received or are in the process of being approved:
Date Range | Local Authority Area | No. of Applications | No. of Homes Applied for | No. of Homes Approved |
1 April 2023 to 18 July 2023 | Aberdeen City | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| | Angus | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| | Argyll and Bute | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| | Clackmannanshire | 1 | 8 | 8 |
| | Dundee City | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| | Falkirk | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| | Fife | 1 | 25 | 25 |
| | Glasgow City | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| | Highland | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| | Inverclyde | 1 | 6 | 6 |
| | North Lanarkshire | 1 | 50 | 50 |
| | Stirling | 1 | 30 | 30 |
Sub-total | | 17 | 138 | 138 |
| | | | | |
19 July 2023 to 18 September | Dundee City | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| | East Renfrewshire | 1 | 10 | 10 |
| | Fife | 2 | 27 | 27 |
| | Glasgow City | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| | Highland | 23 | 27 | 27 |
| | Inverclyde | 1 | 20 | 20 |
| | Shetland Islands | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| | West Dunbartonshire | 1 | 4 | 4 |
Sub-total | | 34 | 94 | 94 |
Total | | 51 | 232 | 232 |
- Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 18 September 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 2 October 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how the Scottish Prison Service is responding to reported concerns from independent prison monitors that an estate-wide issue regarding the capacity of GEOAmey to transport prisoners, including those at HMP and YOI Grampian, has meant that prisoners have been unable to attend hospital appointments on multiple occasions.
Answer
I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:
It is clear the Geo Amey contract, which SPS leads on behalf of justice partners, is not working as it should and causing disruption. The SPS with justice partners and Scottish Government is working to resolve the issues.
SPS are determined to ensure that the care, welfare, and service delivery on non-court elements of the contract are supported and delivered with equal priority as the management of court operations and the secure escorting of those in custody.
The National Prison Care Network has also written to NHS Board Medical Directors requesting that patients are not removed or reprioritised on waiting lists if failure to attend an appointment has been the result of any transport cancellation.
- Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 18 September 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 2 October 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is considering a Norwegian-style system where vessels would be required to report the coordinates of lost fishing gear when such a loss occurs, if it occurs in the offshore region outwith the 12 nautical mile limit, so that the gear could be recovered during an annual summer “clean up” organised by its Marine Directorate.
Answer
Lorna Slater: The Scottish Government is not considering a Norwegian-style system of funding and running an annual clean-up of fishing gear reported as lost. Scottish vessels are required to carry retrieval equipment aboard unless working exclusively within 12 nautical miles or never more than 24 hours at sea. Vessels must attempt to retrieve lost gear in a timely manner if it is safe to do so. Any gear that remains lost must be reported to the UK Fisheries Monitoring Centre. Fishing licence holders have been reminded of these responsibilities with a fact sheet from fishery offices.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 18 September 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 2 October 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of all school pupils have been provided with a digital device, in line with its commitment to do so, as of the end of the 2022-23 academic year.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that every school aged child has access to a device by the end of this Parliamentary term and we continue to work with COSLA and local authority partners to develop delivery plans. Information provided by local authorities in early 2022, indicated that by that point almost 280,000 devices had been distributed. We will work with local authorities to provide further updates on the rollout in due course.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 18 September 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 2 October 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what strategies are being implemented to support palliative care delivery in rural and remote areas.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-20498 on 28 August 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: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 01 September 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 2 October 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-19780 by
Jenny Gilruth on 31 July 2023, what proportion of the (a) £830 million spend on
additional support for learning in 2021-22 and (b) £15 million per year in
additional funding since 2019-20 was allocated to each local authority.
Answer
The total spend on additional support for learning in 2021-22 is set out in the following table.
Local Authority | Additional Support for Learning - £000s |
Aberdeen City | 29,575 |
Aberdeenshire | 39,957 |
Angus | 11,681 |
Argyll & Bute | 11,830 |
Clackmannanshire | 11,917 |
City of Edinburgh | 81,342 |
Dumfries & Galloway | 21,070 |
Dundee City | 15,835 |
East Ayrshire | 19,100 |
East Dunbartonshire | 17,771 |
East Lothian | 16,244 |
East Renfrewshire | 13,481 |
Falkirk | 25,603 |
Fife | 39,493 |
Glasgow City | 123,924 |
Highland | 40,636 |
Inverclyde | 12,628 |
Midlothian | 20,140 |
Moray | 16,032 |
Eilean Siar | 5,625 |
North Ayrshire | 13,163 |
North Lanarkshire | 50,248 |
Orkney Islands | 4,411 |
Perth & Kinross | 19,589 |
Renfrewshire | 24,570 |
Scottish Borders | 11,765 |
Shetland Islands | 8,423 |
South Ayrshire | 19,861 |
South Lanarkshire | 47,670 |
Stirling | 9,968 |
West Dunbartonshire | 19,046 |
West Lothian | 27,729 |
Scotland | 830,327 |
Source - Scottish Local Government Finance Statistics 2021-22 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
The majority of funding available to local authorities, including the £15 million additional support for learning, is provided by means of a block grant from the Scottish Government and it is for locally elected representatives to manage the allocation of their resources and the level of services that are delivered to their local communities.
- Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 01 September 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 2 October 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has made of any benefits of gene editing for the Scottish agriculture and horticultural sectors in terms of nitrogen efficiency.
Answer
The Scottish Government commissioned a review of gene editing for the benefit of plant health, published in January 2022, from the Plant Health Centre. The review included evidence gathering and participation from a wide range of Scottish academics and research providers, as well as from NFUS, and considered implications for the agricultural, horticultural and forestry sectors. It included impacts on the natural environment, and a variety of other areas, such as disease resistance, yield, inputs and food production.
The Scottish Government also has access to significant expertise in its advisors, including the Chief Scientific Advisor for Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture.
- Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 25 September 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 2 October 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many public sector grants have been awarded since 1 July 2023 without requiring recipients to pay the real Living Wage, broken down by the value of each grant.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-21629 on 2 October 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: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 September 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 2 October 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking with NHS boards to address the reported long waits that women are experiencing for urogynaecology treatments.
Answer
Working Collaboratively with clinical colleagues across NHS Scotland, the Centre for Sustainable Delivery’s (CfSD) National Elective Coordination Unit (NECU) are working to support a nationally coordinated campaign to expedite treatment for patients waiting for specialised urogynaecological procedures: urethral bulking, fascial sling repair and colposuspension.
The initial phase of this work has been completed and patients waiting within these procedure groups have been contacted.
The CfSD is now working to support clinicians within this highly specialist area to both see and treat these patients, with a view to ensure all patients receive treatment as soon as possible. This is expected to focus initially on urethral bulking procedures.
The Chief Operating Officer for NHS Scotland wrote to Health Board Chief Executives in September outlining the Scottish Government’s expectations for the treatment of these patients.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 September 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 2 October 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a full list of NHS Scotland buildings suspected of containing reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, following the desk-based research commissioned by National Services Scotland.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-21462 on 2 October 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 .
