- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 20 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 28 February 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to attract investment from the Lockheed Martin Corporation, in light of reports that Lockheed Martin is seeking to develop a satellite manufacturing facility in the UK.
Answer
The Scottish Government has identified space as a priority in our Inward Investment Plan and the National Strategy for Economic Transformation.
We are committed to delivering the joint Scottish Space Strategy, developed in partnership with industry and academia, which sets out our ambition to grow the space sector in Scotland by capturing £4 billion of the global space market and 20,000 jobs by 2030.
We actively engage with the industry, both directly with individual companies and through our economic development agencies and collectively through Space Scotland as the industry body.
The SDI Inward Investment team is engaging with Lockheed Martin to learn more about the company’s plans to develop a satellite manufacturing facility in the UK and illustrate the advantages of locating a manufacturing site into Scotland.
- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 28 February 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any provisional plans as to where any new Changing Places toilets may be located, and, if so, whether it will publish that information.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to investing in Changing Places Toilets over this parliamentary term, in order to increase the number of these facilities across the country and to support mobile Changing Places Toilets to allow people easier access to events and outdoor venues.
Our Scottish approach to delivering Changing Places Toilets will respond to local needs in communities across the country. Our Changing Places Toilets: Planning Guide makes clear that anywhere the public has access should be considering the requirement of installing a CPT.
We are committed to designing a funding programme that ensures that the Changing Places Toilets which are built are fit for purpose and are installed in appropriate locations to meet the needs of those that will use them.
This investment will be delivered in phases over the course of this parliamentary term.
- Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 28 February 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the research carried out by the Labour Research Department for the TUC, STUC and the UK All-party Parliamentary Group on Occupational Safety and Health, which found that (a) 695 premises owned by NHS Scotland and (b) 100% of premises for which NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde is the duty holder, contain asbestos.
Answer
Surveys have shown us the extent of asbestos in the NHS estate. The Health and Safety Executive’s guidance states that it is safe for asbestos to remain in place if it is in good condition, well-protected and unlikely to be disturbed. Health boards carry out annual asbestos monitoring surveys and asbestos management plans are in place across the NHS estate. Ideally, all asbestos would be removed from NHS buildings immediately. However, the removal of asbestos is disruptive and can increase the risk of exposure to disturbed fibres. It is therefore not sensible or proportionate to remove asbestos in an active clinical setting if it does not pose a risk to staff and patients. The Scottish Government is doubling its health infrastructure maintenance budget. That money can be used by health boards to remove asbestos where necessary or when the opportunity to do so arises.
- Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 28 February 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to remove any asbestos from NHS Scotland premises.
Answer
We recognise the hazard of asbestos and the risks to health it poses. However, asbestos is only dangerous when it is disturbed or in poor condition. The Health and Safety Executive’s guidance states that it is safe for asbestos to remain in place if it is in good condition, well-protected and unlikely to be disturbed. Health boards carry out annual asbestos monitoring surveys and asbestos management plans are in place across the NHS estate. The Scottish Government will double its NHS estate maintenance budget and health boards can use that money to remove asbestos as and when it is appropriate to do so.
- Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 28 February 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has carried out its own analysis of the
potential environmental impact of a new semi-closed salmon farm in Loch Long,
and whether this analysis includes (a) energy use, (b) percentage of solid
and aqueous waste that will be captured, (c) chemical effluent, (d) stocking
density and any implications for animal welfare and disease transmission, (e) any risks to wild salmon from potential escape events and (f) reliability
of the technology, in light of it not having been tested in Scotland.
Answer
An appeal has been lodged with Scottish Ministers on behalf of Loch Long Salmon Limited against the decision by Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority to refuse planning permission for a marine fish farm and associated development at Beinn Reithe, Loch Long. A reporter has been appointed to consider this appeal and is currently assessing what if any further information is required to fully consider this appeal. The planning authority has been asked to submit its response to the appeal, which will include copies of all information submitted on the application. This will include any consultation responses, including those from Marine Scotland, submitted on the planning application. Given this is a live appeal it would not be appropriate to comment on the merits or otherwise of the proposal.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 28 February 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have had legal action taken against them in relation to non-payment of social care charges in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.
Answer
This information is not held centrally. Local authorities and integrated health & social care partnerships are responsible for commissioning services for people in their area.
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 28 February 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-08832 by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 7 June 2022, whether it will provide updated figures on how many of the (a) laptops and (b) tablets due to be provided to school pupils in (i) South Ayrshire and (ii) East Ayrshire are yet to be distributed.
Answer
I refer the member to answer to question S6W-08832 on 7 June 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at - https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
These devices were funded in 2020/21 to tackle digital exclusion as a result of school closures caused by the pandemic. Individual local authorities across Scotland have also undertaken their own digital inclusion schemes and have invested in devices from their own budgets.
We continue to work with local authorities on plans to ensure every school-aged child has access to a device and connectivity by the end of this parliamentary term in 2026.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 28 February 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many people have defaulted on payment of social care charges in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.
Answer
This information is not held centrally. Local authorities and integrated health & social care partnerships are responsible for commissioning services for people in their area.
It is the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, including any public funding for care homes, on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 28 February 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many reports of upskirting were received by Police Scotland in the most recent year for which data is available, broken down by the number that (a) were investigated, (b) resulted in prosecution and (c) resulted in conviction.
Answer
The amendment to Section 9 of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 provided for offences of 'upskirting' to be prosecuted under subsections (4A) and (4B). The Scottish Government does not hold information on investigations (question (a)). The answer to questions (b) and (c) is provided in the following table.
Please note that the latest available data is for the financial year 2020-21. Data for 2021-22 are expected in Summer 2023 following publication of the 'Criminal Proceedings in Scotland 2021-22' statistical bulletin.
Table 1. People prosecuted and convicted in Scottish courts under Section 9(4A) and (4B) of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009, where main charge, 2011-12 to 2020-21.
Financial year | People prosecuted | People convicted |
2011-12 | 2 | 2 |
2012-13 | 2 | 2 |
2013-14 | 4 | 4 |
2014-15 | 1 | 1 |
2015-16 | 4 | 4 |
2016-17 | 3 | 3 |
2017-18 | 3 | 3 |
2018-19 | 4 | 4 |
2019-20 | 4 | 4 |
2020-21 | 5 | 4 |
Data for 2020-21 are affected by the pandemic and subsequent court closures and may not be reflective of long term trend.
Source: Criminal Proceedings database
- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Angus Robertson on 28 February 2023
To ask the Scottish Government on what date it (a) will publish the results of its survey into an International Culture Strategy, launched on 2 February 2023, and (b) plans to launch the finalised International Culture Strategy.
Answer
We will aim to publish a report on the analysis of consultation responses, along with responses that responders have given their consent to share, within 12 weeks of the survey’s closing date. The survey is due to close on 26 April.
A final publication date for the strategy will be determined by the level of returns we receive to the survey, the analytical requirements of processing them and the drafting process.