- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 05 December 2022
-
Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 15 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether Anne’s Law will be included in legislation related to the National Care Service.
Answer
Provisions related to Anne's Law are included within the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2022
-
Current Status:
Answered by Patrick Harvie on 15 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-11868 by Patrick Harvie on 17 November 2022, whether it will define which sources of bioenergy it considers “sustainable” in relation to alternative technologies to air source heat pumps.
Answer
In relation to question S6W-11868, the reference to bioenergy from sustainable sources refers to the sustainability of the biomass feedstock. The technology itself does not indicate sustainability but rather it is the feedstock which needs to meet sustainability criteria. The Scottish Government wishes to continue to align with EU standards and sustainability criteria as set out in the Renewable Energy Directive (RED). Any biomass used for energy should meet both the land and greenhouse gas criteria as a minimum to be considered as sustainable.
Scottish Government officials have formed a Bioenergy Policy Working Group which is considering how to ensure our bioenergy policy continues to be compatible with wider sustainable land use policy including the delivery of environmental goals and recognising public attitudes to land use change.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2022
-
Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 15 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many individuals Police Scotland have administered naloxone to, and how many of these individuals were referred to drug treatment services, in each month since the roll-out of naloxone to Police Scotland officers.
Answer
The national roll out of the Police Scotland Naloxone Programme has been delivered in 2 stages. The first stage was a test of change (pilot), covering the period 01-03-2021 to 31-10-2021. The second stage covers the period from the completion of pilot up to the point where the most recent data is available, 02-12-2022. The number of administrations per month, in each stage of the roll out, is provided below.
Test of Change period (01-03-2021 – 31-10-2021) – Total of 51 administrations
March – 2
April - 5
May - 5
June – 10
July - 8
August - 7
September - 6
October – 8
Start of roll-out (01-11-2021 – 02-12-2022) – Total of 44 administrations
November - 3
December - 2
January - 5
February - 4
March - 1
April - 3
May - 2
June - 4
July - 5
August - 2
September - 4
October - 3
November - 4
December – 2 (up till 2-12-2022)
Casualties at each incident are sign posted to drug and addiction services within their area by officers on scene. The details are recorded on the Vulnerable Persons Database, the details of which can be shared with partner agencies to assist the individual.
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 December 2022
-
Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 15 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what its preferred (a) geographical and (b) membership makeup of care boards in the National Care Service would be.
Answer
The method for the geographical and membership makeup of care boards will be considered as part of the collaborative design work with people who access and deliver health and care support, stakeholders and partners.
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 December 2022
-
Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 15 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to seek external legal advice on the transfer of staff to the National Care Service under Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (TUPE) regulations.
Answer
Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (TUPE) / Cabinet Office Statement of Practice (COSOP) principles will apply if the delivery of services is transferred from local authorities to care boards. If that is the case, the TUPE process would be followed. Decisions on whether any staff transfers take place will depend on decisions taken at a local level. Legal advice will be sought as required and external legal advice commissioned as necessary.
- Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 December 2022
-
Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 15 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether any regional marine plans agreed either prior to, or after, the publication of the next National Marine Plan will include comprehensive marine spatial planning for all economic activities in their area.
Answer
The Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 requires the regional marine plans state policies for and in connection with the sustainable development of the area to which the plan relates. Regional marine plans must also set economic, social and marine ecosystem objectives and relating to the mitigation of, and adaptation to, climate change. All regional marine plans must be developed in accordance with any adopted National Marine Plan ("NMP"), and are subject to the agreement of Scottish Ministers.
Responsibility for regional marine planning is devolved to marine planning partnerships (“MPPs”). The current NMP provides guidance to support the development of regional marine plans, but specifies that the precise approach and coverage of the regional plan, including the level to which certain activities are spatially represented, will be for MPPs to determine based on local priorities and taking account of existing partnerships, methodologies and alignment with other local plans.
We will work with MPPs during the development of our second NMP (NMP2), to ensure policies and objectives within NMP2 provide necessary support and guidance for regional marine planning
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2022
-
Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 15 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether its National Drugs Mission Oversight Group has met since its June 2022 meeting, and, if this is the case, whether it will publish the minutes for any subsequent meetings.
Answer
I refer to the member to the answer to question S6W-12709 15 December 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 .
- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2022
-
Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 15 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of how the £3.9 million it announced on 18 March 2022 to support visitor management and rural tourism (a) has been and (b) will be spent.
Answer
This one off funding was allocated to organisations to help manage visitors in 2022 as we continue to recover from the Covid-19 Pandemic and manage increased domestic visitors to Scotland’s countryside. It has supported the following:
Organisation | Amount | What is it delivering? |
NatureScot | £250k | Approx. 14 seasonal staff on National Nature Reserves |
NatureScot | £1.5m | Another round of the Better Places Fund to support approx. 100 ranger posts. This fund was open to local authorities, community groups, land management ngos and estates. |
Forestry and Land Scotland | £660k | 28 seasonal rangers |
Scottish Water | £150k | 6 seasonal posts |
Cairngorms National Park Authority | £500k | 25 seasonal, trainee and partner rangers |
Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park Authority | £630k | 35 seasonal posts including countryside rangers, environment officers and boat patrols. |
VisitScotland | £100k | Targeted marketing and awareness at key groups aimed at informing and educating countryside users, including wild campers and campervan and motorhome users. |
Police Scotland | £110k | Research and recommendations on management and enforcement options that could better allow key partners to manage certain situations efficiently. |
Summary | £3.9m | ? Circa 200 seasonal ranger posts in rural hot spot areas ? Key activity such as boat and land patrols and close working with Police Scotland on specific rural operations ? Targeted marketing and awareness raising campaigns ? Further research and development to look at how visitors (and in particular those in breach of the Scottish Outdoor Access Code) can be better managed in the future. |
This one off funding was in addition to our £3m contribution to the Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund, which has brought our investment in rural visitor infrastructure to £18m. More information on projects funded in 2022-23 can be found here .
Funding amounts for each organisation were informed by recommendations of the Visitor Management Steering Group established by Scottish Ministers in 2020. For more information, please see here .
Feedback indicates that the majority of elements have been able to progress and have now been delivered. A formal report will be submitted to the Scottish Government in due course.
- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Submitting member has a registered interest.
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 December 2022
-
Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 15 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-02381 by Mairi Gougeon on 2 September 2021, whether it will provide an update on its progress in developing a Crofting Bill during the current parliamentary session.
Answer
The Scottish Government remains committed to reforming crofting law. A decision on the timing of a Bill will be taken by Cabinet in the context of setting the content of future legislative programmes in the normal way.
The Crofting Bill Group was reinstated in May 2022, to consider crofting legislation, including those issues raised by the Crofting Bill Group in 2016-2018. Five meetings have taken place between June and November 2022. The Crofting Bill Group discussions will resume in early 2023.
- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 December 2022
-
Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 15 December 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-12259 by Ivan McKee on 2 December 2022, on what specific dates repayments of the loan should have been made by Liberty Steel Dalzell Ltd; when the last repayment was made, and what its position is regarding the length of time that long debt forbearance would usually be tolerated by a lender.
Answer
The detail requested around loan repayments made by Liberty Steel Dalzell Ltd is commercially sensitive and therefore confidential.
The length of the time that long debt forbearance will be tolerated varies significantly from lender to lender and from case to case. In this instance, it is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise as the lender and therefore a matter for discussion between them and the company.
