- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 14 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of cases handled by justices of the peace in each of the last five years resulted in convictions.
Answer
This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who reply in writing within 20 days.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 14 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what its policy is on the purchase or use of personalised number plates for its official vehicles.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not have a specific policy, however we don’t currently own or use personalised number plates on official vehicles and have no future plans to do so.
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 06 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 14 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how it is monitoring the Softer Landing, Safer Care programme to assess how often it is being used across hospital workforces.
Answer
NHS Education for Scotland (NES) has developed the Softer Landing, Safer Care programme. When it was introduced health boards agreed with NES to implement the programme for International Medical graduates (IMGs) starting their first hospital placement in NHS Scotland. The programme is part of a coordinated offer that sits alongside the training pathway and is devolved for local implementation at local board level. IMGs, like other trainees, feedback their experience through established quality assurance processes such as the Scottish Training Survey. As such, the Scottish Government does not formally monitor the initiative and it has not yet been formally evaluated.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 23 December 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 14 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether expressions of interest will be invioted to develop the air rights above (a) Charing Cross and (ii) High Street railway station in Glasgow to assess the potential for funding improvement of the (a) station infrastructure and (b) wider cityscape.
Answer
This is a matter for Network Rail as the landowner. Transport Scotland would be engaged by Network Rail as a mandatory consultee under its license condition 17 obligations, when considering the disposal of railway land and/or rights in railway land.
- Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 20 December 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Angus Robertson on 14 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its commitment to establish a Peace
Institute in Scotland and its ongoing work funded through its international
development fund, whether it (a) has supported and (b) plans to support
peacebuilding initiatives in Colombia.
Answer
In May 2024, the Scottish Government issued a request for proposals for a supplier to support the delivery of the Scottish Peace Programme, including establishment of a Scottish Peace Platform and the 1325 Women in Conflict Fellowships. In developing a Peace platform the Scottish Government will be able to better assess the potential for further investment in a Peace institute, in line with the full recommendations of the research report on establishing a Peace Institute. More information is published on the Scottish Government website.
There are no plans at this time for the Scottish Peace Platform to focus on peacebuilding initiatives in Columbia specifically. However we have hosted nine peacebuilders from Colombia on the Women in Conflict Fellowship and the Scottish Human Rights Defenders programmes.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 19 December 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 14 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how any delays to the decarbonisation of the railway network will affect passenger fares over the next decade.
Answer
There is no direct link between infrastructure upgrades and passenger fares.
- Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 19 December 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 14 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent as part of the Care Experienced Children and Young People Fund, in each year since 2018.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer provided to S6W-31489 on 5 December 2024, which provides the relevant information. 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: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 19 December 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 14 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether the revised railway decarbonisation plan includes specific targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
Answer
Details of decarbonisation of the Scottish rail network will be outlined in the refreshed Decarbonisation Action Plan.
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 December 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 14 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the findings of Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems’ paper, Alcohol (In)justice: Position on people with an alcohol use disorder in the justice system.
Answer
The Scottish Government is currently working on a National Treatment Specification for Alcohol and Drug Treatment in Scotland.
This document will be informed by numerous sources including the forthcoming UK Clinical Guidelines for Alcohol Treatment and the recently published Public Health Scotland review into Alcohol Brief Interventions as well as key independent reports such as Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problem’s (SHAAP) paper on alcohol use disorder in the justice system.
Officials will work closely with colleagues within the Scottish Prison Service to ensure that the National Treatment Specification fully reflects the importance of the justice system including those resident in the prison estate as an integral part of Scotland’s alcohol treatment provision.
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 December 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 14 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support and promote the use of alcohol brief interventions (ABIs) in justice settings.
Answer
The Scottish Government is currently working on a National Treatment Specification for Alcohol and Drug Treatment in Scotland.
This document will be informed by numerous sources including the forthcoming UK Clinical Guidelines for Alcohol Treatment and the recently published Public Health Scotland review into Alcohol Brief Interventions as well as key independent reports such as Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problem’s (SHAAP) paper on alcohol use disorder in the justice system.
Officials will work closely with colleagues within the Scottish Prison Service to ensure that the National Treatment Specification fully reflects the importance of the justice system including those resident in the prison estate as an integral part of Scotland’s alcohol treatment provision.