- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 February 2025
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) North Lanarkshire, (b) South Lanarkshire and (c) Falkirk Council regarding underage vaping, including the sale of vapes to these young people.
Answer
The Scottish Government has not had specific discussions with North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire or Falkirk Council about underage vaping, including the sale of vapes to young people.
We work closely with the Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in Scotland (SCOTSS) on underage sales of vapes. SCOTSS provides an overview of the action taken at a local level on underage sales of vapes and provides an opportunity for concerns to be raised.
As members of the COSLA Trading Standards Policy and Co-ordination Group we are able to work with a range of stakeholders at national and local level on the topic of youth vaping.
- Asked by: Nicola Sturgeon, MSP for Glasgow Southside, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 February 2025
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 11 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it is having with Glasgow City Council to secure the future of the Glasgow School of Sport.
Answer
Officials spoke with Glasgow City Council on 27 February 2025 following the decision to retract the proposal to close the Glasgow School of Sport. The Scottish Government understands that the proposal is no longer under active consideration.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 February 2025
-
Current Status:
Answered by Alasdair Allan on 11 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether community councils are statutory consultees regarding applications under sections 36 and 37 of the Electricity Act 1989, where the development concerned requires an environmental impact assessment, and, if not, whether it plans to include them.
Answer
Statutory consultees are those set out in legislation as requiring to be consulted on submission of an application.
Community councils are not referred to as statutory consultees of applications for energy consents under sections 36 and 37 of the Electricity Act 1989. However, consultation responses from non-statutory consultees such as community councils and public bodies are important considerations during the determination process.
The Scottish Government is committed to further strengthening engagement for communities by making pre-application consultation a statutory requirement as part of the UK Government’s proposed reforms to electricity infrastructure consenting in Scotland.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 February 2025
-
Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 11 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it reportedly blocked the development of a Rolls-Royce small modular reactor at Grangemouth refinery in November 2022, in light of claims that this would have delivered much cheaper off-grid electricity to the country's most energy-intensive heavy industrial cluster and the refinery's owner Ineos stating that a “huge disadvantage” in energy costs had driven the decision to close refining operations there.
Answer
Representatives from INEOS Grangemouth have confirmed that Small Modular Reactors do not form part of of the INEOS Grangemouth net zero roadmap for Grangemouth. The Scottish Government’s Consent Unit has not received any requests from either INEOS or Rolls Royce to consider the development of a Small Modular Reactor at Grangemouth.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 February 2025
-
Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 11 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government on what dates since 2011 was the timescale for the completion of HMP Highland communicated to it, and what the estimated timescale was at each update.
Answer
There has been regular communication between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Prison Service on HMP Highland, including time-scales for completion, since 2011, in line with updates to the Infrastructure Investment Plan.
- In December 2011 the Scottish Government was updated that completion dates for HMP Highland were uncertain.
- In October 2015 the Scottish Government was updated that estimated operational date was 2019.
- In September 2016 the Scottish Government was updated that estimated operational date was 2020.
- In July 2018 the Scottish Government was updated that estimated operational date was 2021.
- In April 2019 the Scottish Government was updated that estimated operational date was 2023.
- In September 2020 the Scottish Government was updated that estimated operational date was 2024.
- In September 2022 the Scottish Government was updated that estimated operational date was 2025.
- In February 2024 the Scottish Government was updated that the most likely time-scale for construction completion was 2026.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 February 2025
-
Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 11 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what additional resources it will provide to prison officers working in overcrowded conditions at HMP Inverness until the new replacement prison is completed.
Answer
I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:
I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-35129 on 4 March 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
- Asked by: Gillian Mackay, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Green Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 February 2025
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to fund an extension of emergency department opt-out HIV testing.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-34901 on 3 March 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.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 February 2025
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 11 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many bursaries have been provided to students attending independent schools in each year since 1999.
Answer
Bursaries for independent schools are a matter for the proprietors of each institution. Scottish Government does not collect this information.
- Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 February 2025
-
Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 11 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its guidance on applying the waste hierarchy, what discussions it has had with (a) SEPA and (b) affected communities regarding new energy-from-waste incineration sites that have already received approval, including what consideration has been made for community (i) consent and (ii) engagement regarding these sites.
Answer
There are currently three Energy from Waste (EfW) sites currently in construction and commissioning and SEPA keeps the Scottish Government updated about their development.
With respect to community consent, these facilities require planning consent from the relevant local authority and a permit from SEPA. Both the planning process and SEPA permitting process include formal consultation processes.
For EfW permits, SEPA consults the public twice: firstly at an early stage of the application and again on SEPA’s draft determination and draft decision document. This process has been followed for all EfW permits to date. Some EfW facilities also have regular liaison meetings with their local community and SEPA attends when invited.
Permits plus compliance and monitoring data are published by SEPA on its public register and EfW operators are also required, via the permit, to publish their monitoring data on their own website. There is also a 24 hour pollution hotline which members of the public can use to inform SEPA of any issues associated with an EfW facility.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 February 2025
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 March 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken to (a) monitor and (b) tackle the illegal availability online of injections of the type 2 diabetes treatment, Ozempic.
Answer
The Scottish Government encourages anyone to contact their GP or diabetes clinical team to discuss the use of Ozempic or any other medication as part of their treatment for type 2 diabetes. They will be best placed to recommend any medicines or treatments based on their own individual circumstances.
The Chief Pharmaceutical Officer is taking the issue of illegal online medicines seriously. She has met with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS), Police Scotland and the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) to discuss this.
The GPhC published updated guidance on 4 February 2025 regarding buying medicines safely online and Healthcare Improvement Scotland is considering how to improve the general awareness of these medicines, as well as establishing clear expectations for their safe and appropriate use within the independent healthcare sector.
The Chief Pharmaceutical Officer is also considering communications for healthcare professionals in Scotland on how to report known or suspected illicit prescribing of Ozempic.