- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 19 November 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 3 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what the timeline is for the Ending Homelessness Together updated plan, and by what date all of the outcomes will be achieved.
Answer
Our Ending Homelessness Together action plan sets out actions we are taking in the short to medium term to end homelessness. Some actions have timescales associated with them while others involve system-wide reforms. There are timescales for the funding that supports the action plan, however. The £50 million Ending Homelessness Together Fund announced in 2017 is for five years (2018-23) and the new £50 million announced in Programme for Government 2021 to end homelessness is for this parliamentary term (2021-26).
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 19 November 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 3 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government when it will announce the members of the new Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel.
Answer
Recruitment for the Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel has now been completed and we will announce the successful candidates in due course, once the necessary processes to establish this new Advisory Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB) have been completed.
- Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 19 November 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 3 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether it collates the complaints about low-frequency noise that are made to local authorities.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not collate the number of complaints about low-frequency noise made to local authorities.
- Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 18 November 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 3 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-03267 by Michael Matheson on 11 October 2021, while decarbonisation projects of any size can progress through the Marine Scotland Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) decarbonisation plan, whether innovation projects in Scotland that are not part of the oil and gas decarbonisation programme are subject to a 100MW cap; if so, what its position is on whether this curtails such projects in Scottish waters; what specific consideration it will give to raising the cap for these Scottish innovation projects through INTOG from 100MW to 300MW, to enable such projects in Scottish waters to compete with any similar pre-commercial projects in the English and Welsh waters of the Celtic Sea that are up to 300MW in size, and what its position is on whether this would provide an opportunity for innovative Scottish stepping-stone projects to be brought forward.
Answer
As per the previous answer to question S6W-03267 highlighted, a consultation has taken place on the Planning Specification and Context Report for the Sectoral Marine Plan for Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas Decarbonisation (INTOG). That consultation closed on 20 October 2021 and the Scottish Government is aiming to publish the results of that consultation alongside the Initial Plan Framework, which sets out all parameters and spatial components, shortly. This document will include definitions for both Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas components. It is, of course, the intention to ensure that projects delivered under INTOG are competitive.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 18 November 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 3 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish data on waiting times for return appointments for chronic pain patients on a similar basis to data published for new treatment referrals; whether the 18-week Referral to Treatment Standard applies to (a) new treatment referrals for chronic patients and (b) return appointments for chronic pain patients, and what consideration it has given to ending the practice of no maximum time limit on waits for return appointments for chronic pain patients.
Answer
Chronic Pain services in Scotland are currently unable to gather electronic data on return appointments in a consistent manner and one that could support routine national data collection by Public Health Scotland (PHS).
The 18 Weeks Referral To Treatment (RTT) standard applies to the entire patient journey from the initial referral to the start of treatment and so repeat appointments after the start of treatment would not be included in this metric. Achieving the target depends on waiting times for diagnostic tests, new outpatient appointments, inpatient and day case treatment.
- Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 18 November 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 3 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is, regarding any action it will take on the matter, to the reported vote in the UK Parliament in favour of a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics on human rights grounds.
Answer
The Scottish Government continues to be deeply concerned by reports of serious, widespread and systemic human rights abuses committed against members of the Uyghur and other minority ethnic communities in Xinjiang, as well as by China’s overall record of human rights violations, including in Tibet and in Hong Kong.
Neither Scottish Ministers nor Scottish Government officials have any plans to attend the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 18 November 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 3 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government how many of the approximately 9,100 chronic pain patients in Scotland, who reportedly depend on injections for pain relief, have been waiting six months or longer for treatment, broken down by NHS board.
Answer
Waiting times statistics for patients requiring injections for pain relief are not held centrally by Public Health Scotland (PHS).
Waiting time statistics on the waits experienced by patients for first chronic pain appointments can be found on the PHS website at the following link: https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/chronic-pain-waiting-times/chronic-pain-waiting-times-quarter-ending-30-june-2021/.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 November 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 3 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the advice it has issued to local authorities regarding the distribution of the Tenant Hardship Loan Fund.
Answer
The Tenant Hardship Loan Fund has not been administered by local authorities so I have assumed that you are referring to the £10m Tenant Grant Fund announced in June and have responded to your question on that basis.
Local authorities were issued with non-statutory guidance to support them in their administration of the Tenant Grant Fund on 17 September 2021. A copy of this guidance can be found at: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Tenant Grant Fund: guidance for local authorities - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 November 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Kate Forbes on 3 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government how much it expects to spend on reserved policy areas in 2021-22, with itemised details for each expenditure line.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not spend in reserved policy areas however, it is having to spend in areas such as welfare and telecoms in order to mitigate the decisions taken by the UK Government.
- Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 November 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 3 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to introduce a domestic replacement for the EU school milk subsidy scheme, in light of the rollover of funding expiring at the end of the current academic year, and what plans it has to consult with stakeholders on the details of any new scheme.
Answer
Prior to October 2020, Scottish local authorities could claim for subsidy from the EU School Milk Scheme to put towards their local school milk schemes. Following the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union, the Scottish Government committed to providing funding to allow Scottish local authorities to continue offering subsidised milk in their schools.
This funding arrangement will continue for the remainder of the 2021-22 school year during which time we will be working with our local authority partners to develop a free school milk scheme which provides for children’s dietary needs. Stakeholder engagement will take place appropriately during that process.