Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-33738

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 4 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what data it holds on the frequency and severity of storms that have affected Aberdeenshire over the last five years, and what plans it has to improve infrastructure resilience in the region.

The Scottish Government does not hold data on the frequency and severity of storms. This information is collected and held by Met Office.

We have recently made available £5m per annum capital budget over 4 years to fund the extension of the public water network to enable the removal of Private Water Supplies which should improve resilience to affected water supplies during power outages. Milton of Cushnie in Aberdeenshire has been shortlisted as one of the communities who will benefit from this funding.

The Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2) published in December 2022, provides guidance on long term investment in Scotland’s strategic transport network. STPR2 recommends future investment to ensure that Scotland’s trunk road network remains safe (Recommendation 30), adapted to deal with the impacts of climate change (Recommendation 31) and resilient (Recommendation 32).

Recommendation 31 provides a basis for identifying, prioritising and implementing transport infrastructure improvements. Measures could include but are not limited to strengthening or replacing sea walls, upgrading coastal fences and stabilising embankments, slopes and hillsides.

Scottish Government have also initiated a Significant Local Infrastructure process in which Local Resilience Partnerships are mapping infrastructure within their geographic areas. This will allow better understanding of this local infrastructure and will collate a rich picture to support further work, including identifying dependencies and interdependencies and allow improvements to business continuity and emergency response plans.

We would recommend that, should you require further information on storms and infrastructure in Aberdeenshire, you contact Aberdeenshire Council.

Question reference: S6W-33411

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 4 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-32613 by Angus Robertson on 14 January 2025, what tangible benefits are delivered by its international network, and how these benefits are (a) measured and (b) reported.

The International Network annual report 2023-24, published on 18 November 2024, demonstrates how our network delivers tangible benefits across the three main pillars of work set out in the International Strategy. The International Network annual report is available at the following URL: https://www.gov.scot/publications/scotlands-international-network-annual-report-2023-24/

We are committed to a process that ensures our work is measurable, transparent and available to the public. We will publish the 2024-25 annual report later in the year.

Question reference: S6F-03781

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 February 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 February 2025

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the Court of Session’s decision regarding the Rosebank oil field and the Jackdaw gas field.

Question reference: S6W-33729

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 3 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it remains committed to ensuring that all of the loans that it has made to Glasgow Prestwick Airport are repaid in full by the new owner, should the airport be sold.

I wrote to the Economy and Fair Work Committee on 25 June 2024 to confirm that a market testing exercise for Glasgow Prestwick Airport was underway. Scottish Ministers’ longstanding position is that the airport should be returned to the private sector at the appropriate time and opportunity. This must be to an organisation with the commitment and capability to operate businesses directly relevant to GPA.

Any decision to sell GPA must represent value for money for taxpayers and be informed by what is right for the long-term success of the business and its contribution to the local and Scottish economy.

The process is ongoing and I will update Parliament when a significant development has been made.

Question reference: S6W-33731

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 3 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has for the future of Glasgow Prestwick Airport.

I wrote to the Economy and Fair Work Committee on 25 June 2024 to confirm that a market testing exercise for Glasgow Prestwick Airport was underway. Scottish Ministers’ longstanding position is that the airport should be returned to the private sector at the appropriate time and opportunity. This must be to an organisation with the commitment and capability to operate businesses directly relevant to GPA.

Any decision to sell GPA must represent value for money for taxpayers and be informed by what is right for the long-term success of the business and its contribution to the local and Scottish economy.

The process is ongoing and I will update Parliament when a significant development has been made.

Question reference: S6W-33733

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 3 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what measures are in place to keep people safe and secure at Glasgow Prestwick Airport, and how any such measures compare with those in other airports in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-33711

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 3 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many medical records team leaders there currently are in the NHS, broken down by NHS board.

Question reference: S6W-33742

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 3 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what measures are in place to raise public awareness about storm and wildfire preparedness in rural communities, including Aberdeenshire.

The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 provides the legislative framework for resilience activity in Scotland.

Category 1 responders, including Local Authorities, are obliged under the Act to maintain arrangements to warn the public, and to provide information and advice to the public, if an emergency is likely to occur or has occurred. This includes emergencies such as severe weather and wildfires.

In addition, the Scottish Government has a longstanding commitment to providing the public with advice on preparing for and responding to a range of emergencies through its Ready Scotland channels.

The Ready Scotland website (ready.scot) provides information on how the public can prepare their home, their family and their businesses for severe weather and other emergencies. It also provides information on how to respond, keep safe, and help others in the community when emergencies do occur.

When areas are at risk from severe weather or severe wildfires, the Scottish Government, responder organisations and other resilience partners all work closely to share public safety advice through a variety of channels.

Question reference: S6W-33649

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 3 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what training programmes are in place to support healthcare professionals in delivering culturally-sensitive palliative care.

There is a wide range of education and training programmes for those delivering palliative care suitable to their role. These training programmes encourage those delivering palliative care to be aware of cultural factors and how these can impact on individuals and their families.

Our draft palliative care strategy aims to build on this work and includes a number of recommended actions for the provision of palliative care education and training to support all healthcare professionals delivering palliative care services.

Question reference: S6W-33650

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 3 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what regional variations in satisfaction with end-of-life care services have been identified in the last five years, and what action it has taken to address these.

The Scottish Government does not hold data on satisfaction rates on the provision of palliative care services across Scotland.

However, to inform the development of the draft strategy on palliative care, we carried out surveys mapping palliative care delivery across Scotland. These indicated that ways of working and reporting on general palliative care and specialist palliative care services varied by NHS Board areas.

Further to this, we also looked at research studies exploring lived experiences of palliative care, and we commissioned Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) to gather views from people in Scotland with experience of palliative care or caring for someone who has received palliative care. This included gathering views from people in rural and island communities.

The outcomes of all of these pieces of work are available at www.gov.scot/publications/palliative-care-strategy-palliative-care-matters/

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