Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-17793

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 16 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what recent assessment it has made of expanding the use of non-invasive liver scans in community settings to improve earlier detection of liver disease and liver cancer.

Question reference: S6W-17789

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 16 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how many people under 22 in South Ayrshire have registered for a free bus pass through the Young Persons' (Under 22s) Free Bus Travel scheme, and what this is as a percentage of eligible under-22s in that area.

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how many people under 22 in South Ayrshire have registered for a free bus pass through the Young Persons' (Under 22s) Free Bus Travel scheme, and what this is as a percentage of eligible under-22s in that area.As at the end of the day 30 April 2023, there were 10,069 cardholders under the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme in South Ayrshire. This represents 56.4% of the estimated eligible population in the local authority area.

Cardholder data is supplied by the National Entitlement Card Programme Office (NECPO). NECPO supports the 32 local authorities by assisting with the integration of various national and local public services on the National Entitlement Card (NEC) and are the joint controller with local authorities of this data. The figure includes travel products collected from the Transport Scot Pass Collect mobile app.

Question reference: S6W-17749

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 05 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 16 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that road works are carried out in a manner that (a) is minimally intrusive to local communities and (b) does not have a significant environmental impact.

Transport Scotland on behalf of Scottish Ministers is responsible for managing, maintaining and improving Scotland’s trunk road and motorway network. The statutory responsibility for local roads improvement, maintenance and repair lies with local road authorities.

Trunk road works are developed and planned to minimise disruption to businesses, local communities and the travelling public. For major capital projects or maintenance works, road closures and operations at peak times are avoided where possible, with works often planned overnight. Other key matters that are balanced in scheduling works include the safety of the public and operatives, environmental issues, impacts on the surrounding transport networks and local stakeholder feedback.

Depending on the size, duration, traffic management proposals or expected disruption from a project or scheme, formal consultation is undertaken with affected groups and feedback incorporated where safe to do so. Advance notice of road works is conveyed through press releases, local/national radio, social media and road signage to enable road users to plan their journeys accordingly during times of disruption. Disruption is then monitored by Traffic Scotland and works contractors, with information being passed to the public via radio and website updates and on variable message signs. Traffic management arrangements are reviewed and amended where possible to mitigate significant delays.

This commitment to our customer-focussed approach is key to safely and effectively operating the trunk network during periods of essential works.

For environmental impacts, all projects and maintenance works on the trunk road network are robustly assessed for their potential effects. Proposals are screened by environmental specialists and a record of the assessment is prepared, which includes the mitigations that will be implemented in order to avoid or minimise any environmental impact. The assessment process ensures that legislative requirements are met and best practices are implemented to minimise any environmental effects.

All of our major trunk road projects are subject to detailed review and assessment work to ensure we keep impacts on the environment to the absolute minimum. Compliance with environmental commitments is monitored as construction work progresses.

Question reference: S6W-17757

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 05 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 16 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of food procured for free school meals currently comes from farms practising organic or regenerative agriculture in Scotland.

All food and drink served in local authority and grant aided schools must meet the standards set out within The Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020. These Regulations are supported by statutory guidance on ‘Healthy Eating in Schools’, which is available on the Scottish Government’s website through the following link: Healthy eating in schools: guidance 2020 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

Whilst local authorities and schools are required to meet the standards set out within the school food and drink Regulations, any decisions about the type produce used, and where it is sourced from, are for individual local authorities, who should take into account local needs, priorities and circumstances as well as their duty to consider sustainable development as they procure food and drink for their school menus.

Since these Regulations were first introduced, we have expanded the availability of universal free school lunches during school term-time to include all children in primaries 1 to 5 at publicly-funded schools. We remain committed to the expansion of free school meals in primary and special schools as described in our programme for government.

Question reference: S6W-17740

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 05 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 16 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to promote Scottish Bus Week 2023.

Transport Scotland has engaged with representatives from the Love My Bus campaign at Transform Scotland and will be promoting Scottish Bus Week as agreed in these discussions, including through social media engagement.

Transport Scotland has also undertaken close engagement with the bus industry to launch the Choose the Bus marketing campaign. The campaign seeks to promote the benefits of bus and encourage people to travel by bus more often. The campaign will be live across a range of advertising channels during Scottish Bus Week, including TV, digital, radio and outdoor.

Question reference: S6W-17709

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 05 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 16 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the provisions in the Heritage Railways and Tramways (Voluntary Work) Bill, introduced in the UK Parliament, if passed, will have an effect in Scotland, and, if they will not, whether it will consider introducing equivalent legislation in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-17746

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 05 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 16 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what data it holds on how many GPs are able to send patients directly to diagnostic tests, such as MRI and CT scans, to detect brain tumours.

Question reference: S6W-17033

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 14 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 16 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the headcount of the Cladding Remediation Unit has been in each month since January 2022.

Question reference: S6W-16914

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 16 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether waste collection companies should be investing in electric vehicles, in light of reports that a competitor, Biffa, has procured 198 petrol and diesel vehicles to provide collection services for the Deposit Return Scheme.

The Scottish Government has provided significant investment to accelerate the shift to zero emission transport and continues to provide a range of support to help businesses and individuals make the switch to electric vehicles. However, Biffa is a private company, and investment decisions in vehicles is a matter for them. It would not be appropriate for the Scottish Government to intervene in such commercial arrangements or provide them with financial advice on its procurement of operating vehicles.

Question reference: S6T-01384

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to reduce violence in schools, in light of reports that three teachers and a 14-year-old pupil have been injured in a disturbance at a Renfrewshire school.

Month	Staff
Jan-22	10
Feb-22	11
Mar-22	13
Apr-22	15
May-22	16
Jun-22	17
Jul-22	16
Aug-22	16
Sep-22	16
Oct-22	17
Nov-22	18
Dec-22	18
Jan-23	20
Feb-23	22
Mar-23	22

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