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Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S6W-14701

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much the redevelopment of Troon railway station will cost; by what date the work will be completed, and whether it will retain a staffed ticket office.

Question reference: S6W-14848

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the ability of residents in (a) Dumfries and Galloway and (b) the Scottish Borders to travel to major cities in the UK using public transport.

A detailed analysis of public transport accessibility for the residents of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders was undertaken as part of the South West Transport Study ( swsts-inital-appraisal-case-for-change-including-appendices.pdf (transport.gov.scot) and Borders Transport Corridors Study ( borders-transport-corridors-pre-appraisal-report.pdf ).

The assessment included consideration of public transport accessibility, both by bus and rail, to a range of key employment, health and education destinations within the region and also to major towns and cities in Scotland and the north of England. In both cases, the assessment used a number of metrics, including the outputs from a bespoke analysis tool using Geographic Information System software to assist with the task.

Further details of both these assessments can be found respectively in Sections 5.5 of the South West Scotland Transport Study report and Section 3.5.10 of the Borders Transport Corridors Study report.

The outcomes of this work were then taken forward in to the Second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2), which was published on 8 December 2022. The above projects were designed as advanced studies for each of these STPR2 regions and were, in fact, two of only three regions in Scotland to benefit from this advanced work. The outcomes were subsequently refined and updated to comprise the STPR2 Case for Change reports for each region, potential interventions were then subjected to more detailed assessment during the STPR2 appraisal process.

Question reference: S6W-15310

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 2 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the outsourcing of mental health services to private companies.

Question reference: S6W-15311

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 2 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many NHS boards currently outsource services to the private provider, Healios, and which services are outsourced.

Question reference: S6W-15309

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 1 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether NHS boards moving from paper-based appointment and diagnostic evidence gathering systems to online systems is a helpful and deliverable step towards reducing backlogs in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), particularly in instances where backlogs predate the COVID-19 pandemic.

Question reference: S6O-01921

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 February 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact on its ongoing targets to tackle child poverty of any reduction in local government funding.

Question reference: S6W-13684

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 09 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 23 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what plans are in place to deal with any disruption to transport in the South Scotland region caused by flooding.

Climate change will increase both the intensity and frequency of storms, flooding and high winds. The recent impact of flooding on our roads and railway is a reminder of the need to adapt our transport network to the effects of severe weather.

Action has been taken but Transport Scotland has identified the need for climate change mitigation and adaptation as a central plank in the National Transport Strategy which sets out the vison for the next decades.

Transport Scotland’s Road Operating Companies are required to undertake a series of activities aimed at improving journey time reliability by minimising the risk of unplanned disruption to the operation of the trunk road network. The Transport Scotland Manual for the Management of the Risk of Unplanned Network Disruption provides direction to Operating Companies on managing and mitigating the effects of disruptive events, such as those caused by weather events like flooding. The manual requires Operating Companies to develop and implement disruption risk processes which are informed by the formal recording of all previous events, as they occur. This includes severe weather related events such as high winds, flooding, snow and ice.

Question reference: S6O-01813

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 January 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that some women have been denied transvaginal ultrasounds on the basis of not yet being sexually active.

Question reference: S6W-13686

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 09 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 18 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what support is available for (a) families and (b) businesses in the South Scotland region that are affected by floods.

The Scottish Government funds the Scottish Flood Forum (SFF) to provide help to businesses and families in the event of flooding. They can offer advice, information and support to help those flooded – from advice on managing insurance claims, drying out, finding a builder, to protecting property from flooding.

The Scottish Welfare Fund helps families and people in Scotland who are on low incomes through Crisis Grants and Community Care Grants. Crisis Grants are available to those hit by crisis such as a flood. Applications can be made through local authorities.

Question reference: S6W-13685

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 09 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 18 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to invest in more flood defences in the South Scotland region.

It is the responsibility of local authorities to develop and deliver flood protection schemes in Scotland. Since 2008, the Scottish Government has provided £42million/ yr through the general capital grant to support the delivery of flood risk management actions. The 2020 PfG also committed an additional £150 million over the course of this parliament.

Flood Risk Management Plans have been developed to reduce the devastating and costly impact of flooding in Scotland. The plans coordinate the efforts of all organisations that tackle flooding and concentrate the work to where the risk of flooding and benefits of investment are greatest. The 2015-2021 Plans included a number of flood protection schemes in the South Scotland region including in Hawick and Whitesands.

Flood Risk Management Plans for the period 2022-2028 were approved by Scottish Ministers in December 2021 and published by SEPA in January 2022. A COSLA/ Scottish Government Funding Working Group has been set up to discuss funding arrangements for flood risk management actions including those set out in the
‎ 2022-2028 plans. This group will put recommendations to the joint Scottish Government/COSLA officers’ Settlement Distribution Group. Ministers and Council Leaders’ will subsequently be provided with advice in 2023.