- Asked by: Paul McLennan, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 May 2022
-
Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 26 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what its analysis is of the latest transmission charging forecasts from National Grid ESO, in light of Transmission Network Use of System charges reportedly increasing in Scotland by between 39% and 73% while charges are decreasing in the majority of zones in England.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 26 May 2022
- Asked by: Paul McLennan, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 May 2022
-
Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 18 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what role a COVID-19 booster vaccination programme this winter will play in its Covid Recovery Strategy.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 18 May 2022
- Asked by: Paul McLennan, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 April 2022
-
Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 10 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how it is ensuring that harms from drugs and alcohol, which were cited in the Budget 2022-23 as "twin public health emergencies", are being addressed with equal urgency and importance.
Answer
Alcohol and drug-related harms are important public health issues in Scotland, which is why we established a national mission to improve and save lives. At the core of which is ensuring that every individual is able to access the treatment and recovery they choose.
We are working to ensure people with alcohol use disorder continue to receive the same quality of care as those with drugs misuse. The forthcoming Alcohol Treatment Guidelines will provide support for alcohol treatment, similar to the Medication-Assisted Treatment Standards for drugs. We are also developing alcohol treatment targets alongside Stage Two of the Drugs Targets Implementation in 2024.
We announced £100 million of additional investment to increase the availability of residential rehabilitation, that will benefit people experiencing alcohol and/or drug addiction.
On 06 December 2021, we launched a campaign to address stigma experienced by people with problematic alcohol and drug use. The campaign ran across multiple media platforms.
- Asked by: Paul McLennan, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 01 April 2022
-
Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 29 April 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the impact on households in Scotland, particularly in rural areas, what (a) action it is taking to mitigate the effects of increases in the price of kerosene heating oil and (b) discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding any consideration of a potential price cap for heating oil, similar to the electricity price cap.
Answer
I know that many rural households, living in off gas grid areas and reliant on heating oil, are likely to be facing difficulties as the price of kerosene has soared in recent months. We are doing all we can within our powers to assist those worst affected and have recently allocated a further £10 million to our Fuel Insecurity Fund (FIF). The FIF is delivered through trusted third sector partners including the Fuel Bank Foundation and Advice Direct Scotland, who administer our Home Heating Support Fund. Both these organisations are able to provide direct assistance to households who rely upon solid, or liquid fuels such as kerosene, for their heating.
Following on from recent discussions with the heating oil trade body, UKIFDA, my officials have engaged with the UK Government to raise concerns about the recent unprecedented rises in heating fuel costs for off-gas-grid customers in parts of Scotland. However the UK Government has indicated that there are no plans to regulate the sector.
- Asked by: Paul McLennan, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 April 2022
-
Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 28 April 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking to support the pig farming industry in response to reported rises in the cost of feed, electricity, diesel, labour and haulage.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 28 April 2022
- Asked by: Paul McLennan, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 March 2022
-
Current Status:
Answered by Kate Forbes on 19 April 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the most recent levels of average Council Tax Band D in Scotland, and how that compares with (a) England and (b) Wales.
Answer
For 2022-23, the average Band D Council Tax bill in Scotland is £1,347 compared to £1,966 in England and £1,777 in Wales.
- Asked by: Paul McLennan, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 March 2022
-
Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 31 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what consultation will be undertaken in preparing the Wellbeing Economy Monitor and the Wellbeing Economy Framework, recently highlighted in Scotland's National Strategy for Economic Transformation.
Answer
The Wellbeing Economy Monitor and Framework are being developed as tools to help realise the Scottish Government’s vision to build a wellbeing economy in Scotland.
The development of these tools has been informed by the consultations we conducted on the National Strategy for Economic Transformation, as well as previous consultations including the Citizens’ Assembly of Scotland, the Social Renewal Advisory Board, and that which informed the Advisory Group on Economic Recovery.
These tools are also being informed by engagement with key stakeholders and the Wellbeing Economy Governments group, as well as our Wellbeing Economy Pilot Project with Clackmannanshire Council.
We will continue to welcome views on these tools as they develop.
- Asked by: Paul McLennan, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 March 2022
-
Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 31 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the most recent data for the number of affordable homes per head of the population in Scotland, and how this compares with (a) England and (b) Wales.
Answer
Across the 4 year period to 2020-21, Scotland has seen an annual average of 15.6 affordable homes delivered per 10,000 population. This is 62% more than the 9.6 homes per 10,000 in England, and 71% more than the 9.1 homes per 10,000 in Wales. Over the same time frame the annual supply of social rented housing per head of population in Scotland has averaged 10.8 homes per 10,000 population, over nine times the 1.1 homes per 10,000 population in England.
Comparator figures for the current financial year 2021-22 are not available yet. The Scottish figures for 2021-22 will be published in June this year but the other UK financial year figures might not be published until later in the year, and as some of these are financial year rather than quarterly, it is not possible to calculate within-year comparisons.
- Asked by: Paul McLennan, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 March 2022
-
Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 31 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the progress that has been made on implementing the recommendations of the report Improving housing outcomes for women and children experiencing domestic abuse.
Answer
We have convened a Scottish Government-led implementation and monitoring group to oversee the delivery of the recommendations within the report . This group will have its third meeting in May 2022. Members have agreed a work plan covering a two year period and identified where responsibilities for recommendations lie.
Progress has been made against a number of the 27 recommendations:
- We established a governance and engagement advisory board in September 2021 to support the development and implementation of the new Human Rights Bill and included a representative with gender expertise.
- To help ensure our homelessness strategy meets the needs of diverse groups of women, we refreshed the membership of our Homelessness Prevention and Strategy Group in 2020/21 to include members with gender expertise and have provided gender competency training to policy makers in the Scottish Government’s homelessness unit.
- A number of local authorities, including East Lothian and Dundee, are developing Housing First for women experiencing domestic abuse in partnership with women’s organisations.
- We are preparing draft statutory guidance for landlords on the new provisions in the Domestic Abuse (Protection) (Scotland) Act and we intend to invite input from stakeholders with gender expertise.
- The temporary accommodation standards working group is currently developing recommendations that are gender responsive and will take account of the different needs and priorities of all those who require temporary accommodation.
- We published guidance on the application of the Unsuitable Accommodation Order in January 2021 to help guide local authorities in their duties to assist people who are threatened with or who are experiencing homelessness, including victims-survivors of domestic abuse.
- We aim to have a proposal for Universal Credit split payments policy implementation by early summer 2022, which will be sent to the Department for Work and Pensions to action.
- Asked by: Paul McLennan, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 18 March 2022
-
Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 29 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether there are any plans to include multiple sclerosis (MS) in NHS Scotland’s, NHS Recovery Plan 2021-2026, given reports of the high demand for services in Scotland where MS prevalence rates are higher than the rest of the UK.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all people living in Scotland with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) are able to access the best possible care and support, and benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and person-centred.
While the NHS Recovery Plan is not condition specific, the aim is to effect whole system recovery and support prioritisation and planning. In that respect we would expect this to directly affect neurology services and the experience and outcomes for people with neurological condition, including MS.
There is a commitment to update on the progress of the plan on an annual basis and to review the strategic plan. Work on the first annual review will commence shortly and is expected to be published in the summer of 2022.
In 2019, we published a Neurological Care and Support – National Framework for Action . The aims include improving the provision of co-ordinated health and social care services, developing sustainable workforce models and ensuring high standards of person-centred care for people with neurological conditions.
Through implementation of the framework, we have awarded £1.4m since October 2020 to fund innovative projects working to achieve better outcomes for people living with neurological conditions. Over £300,000 of this has been committed to projects which improve the health and wellbeing of people with MS in Scotland.
