Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-18526

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2023
Current Status: Answer expected on 16 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports of the Minister for Transport's concerns about strangers sharing cabins on the Serco NorthLink Ferries, what consideration it has given to obtaining vessels with single occupancy cabins.

Question reference: S6W-18528

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2023
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider making freight rates on Serco NorthLink Ferries available in advance on a rolling basis.

Question reference: S6W-18516

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2023
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many people are currently on the waiting list for a cataract operation within NHS Shetland.

Question reference: S6W-18530

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2023
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-17312 by Kevin Stewart on 25 April 2023, what progress it has made towards confirming fares for Serco NorthLink Ferries, and whether it will provide an update on when bookings will be opened for dates beyond 30 September 2023.

Question reference: S6W-18517

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2023
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what communication it has had with NHS Shetland regarding the reported backlog of ophthalmic surgery, including cataract operations, for patients resident in Shetland, and what steps are being taken to reduce waiting times.

Question reference: S6W-18529

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2023
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has in place to ensure sufficient freight capacity on Serco NorthLink Ferries during the autumn 2023 livestock sales season.

Question reference: S6W-18527

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2023
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when freight rates on Serco NorthLink Ferries, for dates beyond 30 September 2023, will be made available.

Question reference: S6W-18531

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2023
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-17312 by Kevin Stewart on 25 April 2023, whether it will consider opening Serco NorthLink Ferries for rolling bookings beyond 30 September 2023 now, and highlighting to travellers that the fares are not fixed and may increase, with payment taken at a later date.

Question reference: S6W-17944

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 12 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 30 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the investigation by the BBC programme, Panorama, into pregnancy advice centres outside the NHS giving misleading information about abortion, which found that more than a third of these services gave misleading medical information or unethical advice, and sometimes both, what its response is to Stanton Healthcare East of Scotland obtaining charitable status to operate a pregnancy advice centre in Scotland.

The Scottish Government believes all women in Scotland should be able to access timely abortion care without judgment, should they require it. We would encourage all women wanting advice on an abortion or considering options for their pregnancy to contact their NHS Board, who can help offer advice or signpost them to other appropriate services.

The Scottish Government respects the fact that many individuals and organisations do not support abortion and may wish to discuss alternatives with patients, where patients request this. However, we expect all organisations to provide clear information for clients about the nature of the services they provide.

Decisions on the registration of charities in Scotland are a matter for the Scottish Charities Regulator OSCR, which is independent of the Scottish Government. Concerns about the actions of a charity should be raised with the charity trustees in the first instance and then with OSCR. If there is any evidence to suggest that Stanton Healthcare East of Scotland has provided any misleading or unethical advice, the Scottish Government would be happy to discuss this and, if appropriate, share any relevant evidence with OSCR.

Question reference: S6W-17943

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 12 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 25 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what evidence it used in relation to its decision not to reinstate shared cabins on the Aberdeen-Kirkwall-Lerwick NorthLink ferry route following the lifting of all of its COVID-19 restrictions and the statement by the World Health Organization that COVID-19 is no longer a global health emergency.

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