- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 December 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 22 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the reasons for the post of Gaelic Development Officer at Community Land Scotland, which was established to extend the use of Gaelic within vernacular communities, reportedly being discontinued.
Answer
Community Land Scotland Gaelic Development Officer post was a pilot project that was run in partnership between Bòrd na Gidhlig and Community Land Scotland . This project is now being evaluated and the report is expected in February 2023. This evaluation report will help inform future funding initiatives in our Gaidhlig communities.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 December 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 22 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to increase community engagement for strengthening Gaelic in communities, in light of reports that the post of Gaelic Development Officer at Community Land Scotland has been discontinued.
Answer
The Scottish Government has provided additional funding of £200k in 2021-22 and 2022-23 to Bòrd na Gidhlig to support the network of Gaelic Development Officers across Scotland. These officers are supporting the Gaelic communities by providing a range of c ommunity-based activities through a variety of different schemes.
The focus of Bòrd na Gidhlig’s evaluation review of the Community Land Scotland Gaelic Development Officer post is to develop, and put in place, a more comprehensive and sustainable framework for delivering community based developments in Ga elic . At the core of this framework is the move towards a multi year funding arrangement to better support the work of development officers and to strengthen the network of officers to maximise the benefit to their communities. There are currently a total of 58 officer posts that have been supported by the Bòrd in communities this financial year with an investment of over £1.1M.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 09 December 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 21 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether there is a requirement on local authorities to provide a hot meal as part of school meals.
Answer
Local authorities and schools are required to ensure that all food and drink served in schools meets the nutritional standards set out in The Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020. Further information about nutritional standards is available in our Healthy Eating in Schools guidance which is available on the Scottish Government's website through the following web link: Healthy eating in schools: guidance 2020 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).
There is no specific requirement for school meals to be hot although it would be difficult to meet the nutritional standards set out in the Regulations without providing hot options. The Regulations provide flexibility for local authority school caterers to design menus which meet local needs and circumstances. This would allow for example, more hot choices to be offered during the colder winter months and more cold options during warmer months.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 09 December 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 21 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether there is a legal obligation for local authorities to provide school meals to both those who qualify for free school meals as well as other pupils.
Answer
Section 53 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 provides that local authorities must provide, or secure the provision of, a school lunch free of charge to pupils who meet the eligibility criteria set out within that Act. The national eligibility criteria for free school meals is available through the following web link: School meals - mygov.scot.
In addition to this, free school lunches are available to all children in primaries 1 to 5 and in special schools. This applies to all schools either run by a local authority or which are directly funded through a Scottish Government grant. This policy is not set out in legislation and is delivered through a joint agreement between the Scottish Government and local authorities.
Local authorities also have the flexibility to make discretionary offers of free school meals to children and young people from families who do not meet the national eligibility criteria where they are experiencing financial hardship due to exceptional circumstances. There is nothing within legislation to say when such discretionary offers should be made, since we believe that local authorities should be given the maximum flexibility to consider each approach based upon its own individual circumstances.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 December 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 20 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many active working groups there are that fall under the remit of (a) rural affairs, (b) agriculture and (c) islands, and whether it will provide a list of these groups.
Answer
The Scottish Government works with a variety of stakeholders, who support and shape work on rural affairs, agriculture and islands. The input from our stakeholders is invaluable and plays a vital role in helping deliver our ambitions for rural areas and islands, and agriculture.
The number and make-up of these working groups varies in line with government priorities. Examples of current working groups which fall under the remits requested are provided in the following table:
a)Rural Affairs | b)Agriculture | c) Islands |
Potato Cyst Nematode working group Ministerial Horticultural Roundtable National Goose Management Review Group Feral Pig Co-ordination Group Scottish Government Statutory Group on Non-native species Bioenergy Policy Working Group Borders Working Group Plant and Tree Health (PATH) group Scotch Whisky Cereals Group Commission for the Land based Learning Review | Scottish Veterinary Service Programme Strategic Management Board for Veterinary Agriculture Reform Implementation Oversight Board (ARIOB) Tenant Farming Advisory Forum (TFAF) The Monitor Farm Management meetings The Farm Advisory Service Management meetings The Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Fund Project Assessment Committee Farming Opportunities for New Entrants meetings | Islands Strategic Group Senior Officers Group National Islands Plan Delivery Group Convention of the Highlands and Islands Population Working Group Young Islanders Network CNI External Technical Working Group |
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2022
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 22 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what it is doing to improve and maintain the road network in Scotland.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 22 December 2022
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 05 December 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 12 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government which of its directorates or agencies decided the R100 programme broadband roll-out timetable, in light of reported recent problems with internet access in the Uig area of the Isle of Lewis.
Answer
While the Scottish Government awarded the £600 million R100 contracts to BT plc, the delivery timetable was determined by the successful bidder as part of the procurement process. Openreach, as the R100 contract delivery partner, is delivering the contract build in phases that have been designed to maximise efficiency and support wider network configuration.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 05 December 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 12 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers the proposed R100
programme broadband roll-out timetable for the Uig area of Lewis is compatible
with its reported commitment to more peripheral and fragile areas.
Answer
The R100 contracts are far surpassing our superfast commitment by delivering gigabit capable infrastructure right across rural Scotland. Delivering this connectivity to rural communities requires the construction of new spine infrastructure, comprising many miles of new ducts and cables which link back through distribution points and exchanges into a core network.
This is a huge civil engineering undertaking that takes time but will ensure a resilient, future-proofed network for decades to come. Once contract build is completed, we expect over 114,000 premises to be connected with 12,000 of those located in island communities. A number of key areas were mandated as part of the bidding process for the R100 contracts, this included the Uig/Timsgarry area.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 December 2022
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 15 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to support off-gas-grid households during the cost of living crisis.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 15 December 2022
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 November 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 7 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on proposals for extending fibre broadband coverage to the Uig area of the Isle of Lewis under the R100 programme.
Answer
According to Scottish Government records, there are a total of 361 properties in the Uig community council area. As of 5 December 2022:
- 234 properties are within R100 North contract build plans, with build expected to be completed no later than 2028.
- 127 properties are not included within R100 North contract build plans and, therefore, are eligible for a main voucher – worth up to £5,000 – through the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (SBVS).
- The Scottish Government’s address checker ( www.scotlandsuperfast.com ) shows the most recent plans and timescales for residential and commercial properties across Scotland with regards R100 contracts and R100SBVS.
