- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 14 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many people are receiving funding from the Independent Living Fund (ILF) Scotland 2015 Fund as of February 2023.
Answer
There were 2,014 people in receipt of an Independent Living Fund award at the end of February 2023.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 14 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many female veterans are currently serving a custodial sentence.
Answer
I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:
Our records indicate that there are currently less than five female individuals in our care who have identified themselves as having served in the armed forces.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 03 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 14 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the number of people resident in Scotland who have undergone forced marriages abroad in each year for which data is available.
Answer
The Scottish Government has not made any estimates of number of people resident in Scotland who have undergone forced marriages abroad in each year. Whilst we do have data on forced marriages, this data does not identify where the marriage itself took place. This is as the locus of the offence is where the violence, threats, coercion or deception took place and not the locus of the marriage itself, which could potentially be outside of Scotland.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 03 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 14 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will update its guidance on noise limits and amplitude modulation, as recommended in the WSP publication, A Review of Noise Guidance for Onshore Wind Turbines: Project Report, published in October 2022 on behalf of the UK Government Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
Answer
We welcome the research conducted by WSP on behalf of the UK Government.
The Scottish Government contributed financially to the research project and will continue to work with the UK Government on next steps following the publication of the report.
Until such time as new guidance is produced, ETSU-R-97 should continue to be followed by applicants and used to assess and rate noise from wind energy developments.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 03 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 14 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how it (a) measures and (b) tracks expenditure from its mental health budget.
Answer
The Scottish Government’s mental health budget is delegated to the Directorate for Mental Health within DG Health and Social Care. The Directorate manages the budget in line with the scheme of delegation as set out in the Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM).
In line with the SPFM, the Directorate monitor the propriety, regularity and accuracy of financial transactions to ensure they are effective and efficient on a monthly basis via the DG Health and Social Care budget monitoring process. Progress is assessed on a regular basis and there is regular engagement with stakeholders in receipt of funding.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 03 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 14 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how it tracks the efficiency of mental health spending in its NHS budget.
Answer
It is the responsibility of NHS Scotland to track mental health expenditure and ensure local budget decisions and use of the overall resources made available by the Scottish Government are used efficiently; effectively and deliver fit for purpose services in line with national and local priorities and the requirements of the Scottish Public Finance Manual.
Mental Health Directorate engages regularly with NHS Boards to discuss performance on key priorities.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 02 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 14 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when its ministers last met with UK ministers to discuss the proposed Rosebank oil field development.
Answer
Scottish Government is clear that unlimited extraction of fossil fuels is not consistent with our climate obligations and is not the right solution to the real cost of living crisis families are facing.
The First Minister called on the UK Government for a four nations’ discussion to agree on a final Climate Compatibility Checkpoint process – a call which was ignored. It is disappointing that the Climate Compatibility Test proposed by the UK Government is limited to new exploration, and that the bar has been set so low in terms of the Test itself. It is a lightweight version of the Test consulted upon earlier this year.
That is why we are consulting on what factors should be considered in assessing the impact of new oil and gas production and if this test should be applied to fields that are already consented but not yet in production as well as new exploration (if exploration continues) in the context of the global goals of the Paris Agreement.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 14 March 2023
To ask Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when all developments identified under its Cladding Remediation programme will be surveyed.
Answer
The Single Building assessment process has started for the 27 buildings in the original pilot. The pilot has been extended to 105 building. As the programme continues we expect further buildings to be identified and assessed. As we survey and undertake these further assessments we will have clearer information on the time-frame for the completion of all surveys on buildings with potentially unsafe cladding.
- Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 March 2023
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 14 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that Circularity Scotland expects to make £57 million a year by the public failing to return containers, and that this is part of the company's business model.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 14 March 2023
- Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 March 2023
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 14 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many children and young people it estimates have not taken up the free bus pass.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 14 March 2023