- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 19 December 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 14 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how any delays to the decarbonisation of the railway network will affect passenger fares over the next decade.
Answer
There is no direct link between infrastructure upgrades and passenger fares.
- Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 19 December 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 14 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent as part of the Care Experienced Children and Young People Fund, in each year since 2018.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer provided to S6W-31489 on 5 December 2024, which provides the relevant information. 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: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 19 December 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 14 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether the revised railway decarbonisation plan includes specific targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
Answer
Details of decarbonisation of the Scottish rail network will be outlined in the refreshed Decarbonisation Action Plan.
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 December 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 14 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the findings of Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems’ paper, Alcohol (In)justice: Position on people with an alcohol use disorder in the justice system.
Answer
The Scottish Government is currently working on a National Treatment Specification for Alcohol and Drug Treatment in Scotland.
This document will be informed by numerous sources including the forthcoming UK Clinical Guidelines for Alcohol Treatment and the recently published Public Health Scotland review into Alcohol Brief Interventions as well as key independent reports such as Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problem’s (SHAAP) paper on alcohol use disorder in the justice system.
Officials will work closely with colleagues within the Scottish Prison Service to ensure that the National Treatment Specification fully reflects the importance of the justice system including those resident in the prison estate as an integral part of Scotland’s alcohol treatment provision.
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 December 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 14 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support and promote the use of alcohol brief interventions (ABIs) in justice settings.
Answer
The Scottish Government is currently working on a National Treatment Specification for Alcohol and Drug Treatment in Scotland.
This document will be informed by numerous sources including the forthcoming UK Clinical Guidelines for Alcohol Treatment and the recently published Public Health Scotland review into Alcohol Brief Interventions as well as key independent reports such as Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problem’s (SHAAP) paper on alcohol use disorder in the justice system.
Officials will work closely with colleagues within the Scottish Prison Service to ensure that the National Treatment Specification fully reflects the importance of the justice system including those resident in the prison estate as an integral part of Scotland’s alcohol treatment provision.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 14 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many cars it currently (a) owns and (b) leases, and what the current annual cost of operating these vehicles is.
Answer
The Scottish Government fleet is made up of 187 vehicles, all vehicles are outright purchased and we don’t currently lease any vehicles.
The total cost of operating the fleet from 1 April 2024 to 31 December 2024 was £334,706.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 20 December 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 14 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what long-term plans are in place to avoid redevelopment in areas at high flood risk.
Answer
Our fourth National Planning Framework (NEF) is a long-term plan looking to 2045 that guides spatial development, sets out national planning policies, designates national developments and highlights regional spatial priorities.
Planning authorities are preparing new local development plans, which will be to take forward NPF4 in a way which responds to local challenges and opportunities. NPF4 Policy 22, flood risk and water management, sets out the need to strengthen resilience to flood risk by promoting avoidance as a first principle and reducing the vulnerability of existing and future development to flooding. NPF4 Policy 22 exception iv states that redevelopment of previously used sites in built up areas will only be supported where the LDP has identified a need to bring these into positive use and where proposals demonstrate that long-term safety and resilience can be secured in accordance with relevant SEPA advice.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 20 December 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Angus Robertson on 14 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what role its international offices play in supporting Scotland’s export industry, and how this is measured.
Answer
The Scottish Government international network offices complement the work of trade specialists in Scottish Development International (SDI) in supporting Scotland’s export industries, as well as working alongside UK officials in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Department for Business and Trade. This includes supporting introductions to market opportunities through trade missions and exhibitions, advising on and addressing market access barriers including regulatory issues, and undertaking government-to-government and government-to-business engagement to promote Scotland’s interests. This economic diplomacy activity contributes to Scotland’s export performance measured quantitatively in figures produced by SDI. The Scottish Government’s annual report on the international network supplements this with qualitative reporting on the contribution made by these teams to delivering priorities identified in Scotland’s International Strategy.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 20 December 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Angus Robertson on 14 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of the international and European relations budget for 2025-26 is allocated to each of its nine international offices.
Answer
The budget allocated to each of Scottish Government’s nine international offices is published in the Level 4 budget tables for the draft Scottish Budget 2025-26, and these figures are available at the following URL:
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 20 December 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 14 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what role local authorities will play in supporting community flood groups under the Flood Resilience Strategy.
Answer
Under the Flood Risk Management Planning process introduced as part of the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009, SEPA, local authorities, Scottish Water and others to work together to deliver actions to increase our flood resilience.
Scottish Government also supports the Scottish Flood Forum to work with communities and local authorities across Scotland to reduce the impacts of flooding on individuals and communities.