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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-08365

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 12 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what training teachers receive in synthetic phonics.

The General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) accredit all Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes leading to the award of the Standard for Provisional Registration in Scotland. The GTCS will agree content with the relevant ITE provider to ensure that the content will support student teachers to develop their knowledge, understanding and practice. As set out in the Standard for Professional Registration, teachers are expected to employ teaching strategies and resources to meet the needs and abilities of every learner.

Education Scotland offers support to practitioners in a number of areas, including literacy and synthetic phonics, through online platforms such as the Glow based National Literacy Professional Learning Community.

Question reference: S6W-08352

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 12 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support the provision of and access to allotments.

Allotments and their provision are the responsibility of local authorities. That is set out in the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015. However, since 2012, the Scottish Government has allocated more than £1.6 million to directly support and increase the land that is available for community growing.

This funding includes:

The Community Growing Fund, a grant scheme for the years 2019/2020 and 2020/21, providing a total of £80,000 to local community growing groups public bodies and third sector organisations.

For the years 2016 to 2022, nearly £490,000 has been allocated to various growing groups in Scotland, amongst them are Trellis, Social Farms and Gardens and Grow Green.

Funding to the Green Action Trust (previously Central Scotland Green Network (CSGN)) to allocate grants to projects that aim to increase the amount of land for community growing. Since 2012 around £1.04 million has been provided.

Question reference: S6W-08349

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 12 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects jury trials to resume in Dumfries.

Court programming is a matter for the senior judiciary, supported by the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS). SCTS advise that jury trials resumed in Dumfries Sheriff Court in April 2021. Under present arrangements, the jurors for these trials attend the remote jury centre in Ayr . However, from July the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service will begin decommissioning remote jury centres for most purposes. That process is due to be completed by October, and so on current planning assumptions jurors should be cited back to local courts - including Dumfries - by October.

Question reference: S6W-08364

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 12 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the use of synthetic phonics in the teaching of literacy.

Question reference: S6W-08188

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 22 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 12 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how NHS Scotland makes patient records available in the event that patients require NHS treatment elsewhere in the UK.

The exchange of factually accurate patient information is pivotal to the delivery of high quality, safe, patient centred healthcare whether it takes place locally, regionally, nationally in Scotland or elsewhere in the UK. Normal practice would be that where a patient is referred by a specialist team in Scotland to a specialist team in another part of the UK, the clinician responsible for their care would write a formal referral letter which would include details of the patients diagnosis, investigations already undertaken, treatments pursued so far and any proposed treatment plan or specific request of the team to which they are referring. It is also often the case that the referring clinician may provide some further detail as part of a Multidisciplinary Team Discussion, Virtual Consultation or telephone call.

On the occasion that the treatment is unplanned, the NHS facility providing the treatment should contact the individual’s GP Practice, in Scotland, directly to exchange key information from their patient record. NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) are available to support Scottish practices and the NHS in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to facilitate the sharing of records and or important information about the patient.

Systems integration and providing greater access for the public to their health and care data is a priority for Scottish Government and our ambitions are set out in our Digital Health and Care Strategy which was published in October 2022 and available at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/scotlands-digital-health-care-strategy/

Question reference: S6W-08362

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 10 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-08000 by Kate Forbes on 25 April 2022, how many candidates with agricultural experience applied for the recently advertised vacancies.

South of Scotland Enterprise advertised for four new Board members in Autumn 2021. Applicants were asked to demonstrate evidence of their skills, knowledge and experience in one of three areas: land based industries; governance/strategic management; or digital transformation.

The Scottish Government received 47 completed applications for the advertised vacancies. Of these, over a third (16 applicants) set out evidence under the ‘land-based industry’ criterion. However, it is possible that other applicants, who chose to set out evidence against one of the other criteria instead, may also have experience in land based industries.

Question reference: S6W-08196

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 10 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what role NHS boards have in monitoring the performance of dental practices treating NHS patients and the availability of NHS treatment.

Question reference: S6W-08195

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 10 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will grant an extension to businesses that were awarded grants through the COVID-19 Business Ventilation Fund but which did not receive notice from Dumfries and Galloway Council in time to have works carried out.

As stated in the Business Ventilation Fund Guidance published on 23 November 2021, the deadline for works to be completed was 31 March 2022, as the budget for this fund was only available for financial year 2021-22.

The Scottish Government extended the deadline for submitting claims to 15 April 2022 to allow businesses to get works done and provide the paperwork required for claims to be made.

The Scottish Government will evaluate the impact of the Business Ventilation Fund and consider more widely how organisations can be supported to improve ventilation in their premises.

Question reference: S6O-01074

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 May 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what action is being taken to increase subject choice for secondary pupils.

Question reference: S6W-08001

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ash Regan on 4 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address antisocial behaviour, in particular in relation to repeat offenders.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that police and local authorities continue to have the powers and resources needed to address antisocial behaviour in our communities. This includes investing in prevention and early intervention.

No single approach will tackle all antisocial behaviour and that is why we support a range of activities which includes the use of Antisocial Behaviour Orders (ASBO’s) and Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN’s) alongside diversionary and early intervention activities in appropriate circumstances. We encourage agencies to work in partnership to address the issues being faced by communities and work with them to address these issues, including dealing with those who are persistent offenders.