- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 January 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 7 February 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the amount of public funding that independent schools potentially save as a result of not receiving funding directly from central government for the services that they provide.
Answer
Scottish Government has not made an assessment of this cost. The independent sector is a well-established part of the Scottish education system that promotes choice for parents. Officials are in regular contact with the Scottish Council of Independent Schools to discuss a range of issues that affect the sector.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 January 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 February 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-13722 by Jenny Gilruth on 23 January 2023, how much budget is allocated to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion roles; how many staff work in the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion team, and whether it will provide a list of the job titles of the people in the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion team.
Answer
ScotRail Trains Ltd. has two full time equivalent roles within its Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Team; an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Manager and an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Advisor. Scottish Rail Holdings also has a dedicated People and Culture role within the organisation.
Transport Scotland is not in a position disclose any individual’s personal salary data other than those that would be published as part of end of year financial statements and accounts.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 23 January 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 6 February 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the (a) number of deaths as a result of the recreational use of nitrous oxide in each year for which data is available, also broken down by age group and (b) cost to the NHS of treating patients as a result of harm or injuries sustained through the recreational use of nitrous oxide, and whether it will provide a breakdown of the types of injuries that have been sustained through the recreational use of nitrous oxide.
Answer
As Nitrous Oxide is not classed as a controlled substance under the reserved Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, it is not routinely screened for in toxicology testing.
The National Records of Scotland do publish ‘Accidental poisoning by and exposure to noxious substances’, but do not provide specific substance breakdowns.
Analysis of hospital admissions in relation to Nitrous Oxide would be limited by use of the ICD-10 diagnostic coding system. Nitrous Oxide use is coded within the ‘inhalant’ or ‘volatile substance’ category (F18), but this also contains other substances such as butane and glue, so it isn’t possible to narrow it down to the admissions specific to nitrous. There is also no mention of intentionality (i.e. recreational use) within these data.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 23 January 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 6 February 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) eBay, (b) Amazon, (c) other retailers and (d) the UK Government regarding the marketing and sale of nitrous oxide for recreational purposes.
Answer
At this time Nitrous Oxide is not covered under the Misuse of Drugs Act, rather it is currently an offence under the reserved Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 to supply nitrous oxide if a person knows, or is reckless as to whether, it will be used for its psychoactive effect. Given the reserved nature of this legislation, the Scottish Government has not had any discussions with eBay, Amazon or any other retailer about the marketing or sale of nitrous oxide for recreational purposes. However, we have engaged heavily with the National Crime Agency and UK Government about the need for tackling the ease through which certain products can be bought online and used for criminal activity and will be responding to their current consultation about developing a new criminal offence around the supply or possession of articles used for serious crime, particularly pill presses. We would plan to engage with retailers about the impact of any new legislation.
The UK Government have requested that the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs conduct an updated assessment of the health and social harms of nitrous oxide and, following that assessment, provide advice on whether nitrous oxide should be controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Scottish Government officials are engaging with the ACMD around this review and have provided information to them in relation to it. The ACMD will explore, amongst other elements of Nitrous Oxide use, whether current regulations are having the desired effect of preventing the marketing and sale of nitrous oxide for recreational purposes and whether or not such an effect might be achieved by listing it under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 19 January 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 February 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the effectiveness of Scottish Coast Guard Rescue Teams and related mental health support for their staff.
Answer
The Scottish Government has had no recent discussions with the UK Government on these issues; I have, however, recently met with the Maritime Coastguard Agency regarding all aspects of their operations in Scotland.
Coastguard operations are matters reserved to the UK Government and the responsibility of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency, reporting to the Secretary of State for Transport, are responsible for providing effective operations and the welfare of its workforce.
The Scottish Government expects the highest shipping safety and other regulatory standards around Scotland’s coasts and that coastguard staff welfare issues are afforded paramount importance in what is a sometimes hazardous line of employment.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 January 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 February 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many potholes were (a) reported to and (b) repaired by Transport Scotland, in each month of (i) 2021 and (ii) 2022.
Answer
The following tables show how many potholes had been reported and repaired by Transport Scotland’s Operating Companies and DBFO Concessionaires per month in 2021 and 2022
2021 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sept | Oct | Nov | Dec |
Potholes reported | 1626 | 2388 | 2271 | 1128 | 1049 | 572 | 359 | 377 | 319 | 559 | 646 | 793 |
Potholes repaired | 1446 | 2325 | 2127 | 1266 | 948 | 773 | 147 | 394 | 314 | 472 | 532 | 845 |
2022 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sept | Oct | Nov | Dec |
Potholes reported | 1238 | 1339 | 1077 | 856 | 675 | 473 | 327 | 276 | 183 | 354 | 500 | 717 |
Potholes repaired | 1023 | 1129 | 1377 | 806 | 761 | 523 | 375 | 245 | 200 | 252 | 428 | 407 |
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 02 February 2023
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 9 February 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what recent assessment it has made of the value of outdoor education to children and young people.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 9 February 2023
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 January 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 2 February 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-13758 by Keith Brown on 19 January 2023, for what reason it does not hold this information; what consideration it has given to doing so, and whether Police Scotland holds this information.
Answer
The data received from Police Scotland for producing the National Statistics on Recorded Crime, is a simple count of the number of crimes and offences, for each local authority, which the police have recorded and cleared up. As such we are unable to separately identify any offences that included the seizure of a 3D printer or 3D printed guns. We also produce Official Statistics on crimes and offences involving the use of firearms in Scotland, but this doesn’t include information on seizures of weapons.
Whilst user needs are kept under review, there are no current plans to collect data on this specific type of activity as Police Scotland can be contacted for further information. In terms of the current position, they have confirmed that as of January 2023, there have been no seizures of 3D printed guns or 3D printers being used for illicit purposes.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 06 January 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 1 February 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how many customer complaints ScotRail has received since it was brought into public ownership.
Answer
ScotRail has provided the below data for its closed customer complaints since 1 April 2022, by four-weekly rail period, with the prior year (2021-22) and final pre-pandemic year (2019-20) included for comparison:
Rail Year Period | Complaints 2022-23 | Complaints 2021-22 | Complaints 2019-20 |
Period 1 | 1,142 | 643 | 2,174 |
Period 2 | 1,867 | 1,079 | 2,218 |
Period 3 | 1,500 | 1,364 | 2,228 |
Period 4 | 1,015 | 1,316 | 2,130 |
Period 5 | 1,136 | 1,543 | 2,013 |
Period 6 | 1,038 | 924 | 2,125 |
Period 7 | 973 | 1,313 | 1,910 |
Period 8 | 1,088 | 1,951 | 1,482 |
Period 9 | 1,491 | 1,079 | 2,115 |
Period 10 | 1,269 | 1,034 | 1,534 |
Period 11 | TBC | 970 | 1,894 |
Period 12 | TBC | 575 | 1,519 |
Period 13 | TBC | 1,059 | 1,447 |
Total | 12,519 | 14,850 | 24,789 |
Complaints as % of total journeys | 0.0265% | 0.0318% | 0.0257% |
ScotRail submits complaints data to the regulator, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), and this data is published quarterly on the ORR website at https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/passenger-experience/passenger-rail-service-complaints/
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 January 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 31 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recommendations in the Inland Waterways Association 2022 report, Waterways for Today.
Answer
The Scottish Government notes the recommendations included in the Waterways for Today report and recognises the importance of the issues raised by the Inland Waterways Association. The report highlights some of the positive work that Scottish Canals has undertaken in recent years, including the groundbreaking Glasgow Smart Canal.
Scottish Canals has benefitted from significant increases in Grant in Aid awards in recent years. Since 2019, the Organisation has received an annual uplift in resource funding from the Scottish Government and substantial increases to the capital grant allocation. This highlights the value that the Scottish Government places on Scotland’s canal network.
