- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 June 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Ash Regan on 19 July 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to the supplementary question by Jamie Greene to question S6O-00660, by Ash Regan on 26 January 2022, what progress has been made on addressing the backlog of repairs to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service estate; what urgent action has been taken to address the concerns raised regarding the 14 fire stations where flat roofs were identified as being at risk of collapse, and what detailed plan the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has for all the fire stations that have been identified as being in a poor, or worse, condition.
Answer
Decisions on the allocation of its capital budget including fleet, equipment and buildings is a matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) Board. SFRS has a 10 year capital programme based on risk and decisions on fire station investment forms part of a wider review that the SFRS is carrying out on the assets it needs to protect communities from risk.
The safety of Scottish Fire and Rescue Service staff is paramount and SFRS continues to monitor the remedial measures which were immediately put in place to rectify the potentially defective roofs found in 14 fire stations. All 14 stations have had an options appraisal to identify the best option to rebuild or refurbish.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 30 June 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 19 July 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what work it has undertaken to assess the viability of a buy-out scheme for homeowners in high-rise blocks with combustible cladding who are in severe financial hardship.
Answer
There is preliminary work underway to create a feasible Scottish scheme that works for Scottish homeowners and the Scottish tenure system.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 30 June 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 19 July 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Welsh Government regarding its buy-out scheme for homeowners in high-rise blocks with combustible cladding who are in severe financial hardship.
Answer
We have regular ongoing discussion with the Welsh Government on matters relating to cladding remediation, including the recently launched buy-out scheme.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 30 June 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 19 July 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what representations it has made to the UK Government to advocate for a comprehensive monitoring and review system for asylum seeker deaths in temporary hotel accommodation in Scotland.
Answer
Asylum is a matter reserved to the UK Parliament. The Scottish Government has raised a variety of issues impacting people seeking asylum with the UK Government, including on asylum accommodation and the use of hotels to accommodate people seeking asylum.
Scottish Ministers have repeatedly requested detail of any investigation undertaken by the Home Office following deaths in asylum accommodation in Glasgow during the Covid-19 pandemic. We have also requested an update on the status of recommendations in an internal Home Office report on asylum accommodation during the pandemic, which appeared in the media in April but has not yet been made public.
- Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 June 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 18 July 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that patients across Scotland have access to NHS dental services and regular check-ups.
Answer
It is a priority to ensure that patients are able to access NHS dental care. To support patient care and access, we have recently announced revised payment arrangements for dentists from 1 April that will more closely link payments to the number of patients seen and treatments provided. Additionally, from 1st February we also introduced an enhanced examination fee for both adults and children.
We have also committed to abolishing dental charges in the lifetime of this Parliament and that will help to remove at least one of the barriers to accessing high-quality NHS dental services.
- Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 June 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 18 July 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what support is being provided to NHS Shetland to help reduce the reported current backlog of treatments for dental patients.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-09235 on 18 July 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: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 June 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 18 July 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken to ensure that all children in Scotland are receiving regular dental check-ups in order to promote good oral health and identify any areas of concern.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-09235 on 18 July 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: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 June 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 18 July 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what the current waiting time is for a patient in Shetland to register with an NHS dentist and to receive their initial check-up.
Answer
This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. NHS dental services are provided by independent contractors/high street dentists and any management information on waiting times will be held by each practice. There is no central consolidation of this information, nor definition of waits in dentistry.
- Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 July 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 18 July 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many prisoners on remand there were in 2021-22, broken down by the number of days they were held on remand for, also broken down by those who were awaiting (a) trial and (b) sentencing.
Answer
The Scottish Government publish official statistics on the prison population on an annual basis. The most recent annual statistics were published on the 23 June 2022 covering the financial year 2020-21 [1]. The official statistics provide information on the average daily remand population, and the number of individuals held on remand over the course of the financial year. A summary of time held by legal status (untried, convicted awaiting sentence, and sentenced) is also provided.
The annual statistics are a compilation of data collected over the full financial year from the Scottish Prison Service prisoner records system. To produce the statistics, the data needs to be processed into a longitudinal analytical dataset. This process has not yet commenced for 2021-22, so the Scottish Government does not currently hold the data requested.
[1] Justice Analytical Services, Scottish Prison Population Statistics 2020-21
https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-prison-population-statistics-2020-21/ .
- Asked by: Paul McLennan, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 01 July 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 18 July 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is, regarding the potential impact on Scotland, to the Ofgem consultation on RIIO-ED2 Draft Determinations, which sets out a five-year vision to "transform local energy grids to support the transition to a cleaner, affordable, home-grown low-carbon energy system, as part of its draft plans for the next electricity distribution price control (known as RIIO-ED2)".
Answer
The generation, transportation and supply of electricity is reserved to the UK Government with regulatory functions carried out by the independent energy regulator for GB, Ofgem.
My officials are engaging closely with network companies and Ofgem to gather further information on the detail of the determinations which are draft at this stage.
We are dedicated to ensuring value for money for consumers which is a key objective. Our consultation response will consider the risks and impact the Draft Determinations have on achieving net-zero targets.
The Draft Determinations are subject to an eight-week consultation with networks and wider stakeholders and will close on the 25 th of August, after which Ofgem will consider all provided evidence. Ofgem’s Final Determinations are expected to be finalised in December 2022.