- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Alasdair Allan on 15 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the design criteria for electricity infrastructure projects prioritise cost and visual impact at the expense of agricultural safety, and what representations it has made to regulators or electricity network companies regarding this issue.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-36103 on 15 April 2025. 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: Wednesday, 26 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Alasdair Allan on 15 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what consultation it expects Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks to undertake with farmers and agricultural contractors regarding the safety impacts of overhead power lines, before the design freeze stage of the Tealing to Kintore upgrade project.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-36103 on 15 April 2025. 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: Wednesday, 26 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Alasdair Allan on 15 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is aware of any requests from landowners or farming stakeholders for design changes to the Tealing to Kintore upgrade project on safety grounds, and how any such requests have been addressed.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-36103 on 15 April 2025. 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: Wednesday, 26 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Alasdair Allan on 15 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has undertaken or plans to undertake an independent review of the safety aspects and any agricultural impacts of the route selected for the Tealing to Kintore upgrade project.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-36103 on 15 April 2025. 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: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 15 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent from Pupil Equity Funding (PEF) on mental health in schools in each local authority area in each year since 1999.
Answer
Pupil Equity Funding has been a policy of the Scottish Government since 2017-18.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Dorothy Bain on 15 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, in each of the last 10 years, how many discretionary fatal accident inquiries have been requested but not held, and what the reasons were for its position on each such request.
Answer
COPFS does not record this information. There is no formal process that requires to be followed to request that a Fatal Accident Inquiry is held. The views of nearest relatives will be obtained during the death investigation process and taken into account when the final decision is made.
- Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 28 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 15 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how much was spent by local authority social work departments in (a) 2023-24 and (b) 2024-25 on services to help people recover from addiction to alcohol and/or drugs; what proportion of the budget this represented, and what the estimate is for 2025-26.
Answer
Local Authority Social Work Services provide broad holistic service coverage and support to individuals with a wide range of needs, and it is a matter for local authorities to allocate, and account for the allocation of, Local Authority funds to those services. For this reason, the Scottish Government does not collect the granular detail of Local Authority Social Work spend on services to aid those affected by problematic use of alcohol and drugs.
- Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 28 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 15 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on Professor Dame Carol Black's assessment in her report, Review of drugs part two: prevention, treatment and recovery, that “each £1 spent on [drug] treatment will save £4 from reduced demands on health, prison, law enforcement and emergency services".
Answer
We are supportive of Professor Dame Carol Black's report highlighting the importance of spending on drug treatment. The figures used in her review are sourced from Public Health England, so cannot be directly applied to Scotland.
Public Health Scotland (PHS) have been commissioned to conduct a comprehensive and independent evaluation of the National Mission. As part of the evaluation, PHS have also commissioning an external study of how National Mission funds have been allocated and spent, and the benefits which that expenditure has (or is likely to have) delivered.
The study will have a number of different research objectives including a summary of existing review-level evidence on treatment effectiveness and cost-effectiveness for treatments in scope, as well as an overview of evidence gaps. The economic evaluation report is anticipated to be published in the first half of 2026. The final evaluation report will be published in 2026.
- Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 28 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 15 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact of its
additional investment of £250 million under its National Mission on Drugs,
including any estimated annual savings.
Answer
Public Health Scotland (PHS) has been commissioned to conduct a comprehensive and independent evaluation of the National Mission. As part of the evaluation, PHS has also commissioned an external study of how National Mission funds have been allocated and spent, and the benefits which that expenditure has (or is likely to have) delivered.
The study will have a number of different research objectives including a summary of existing review-level evidence on treatment effectiveness and cost-effectiveness for treatments in scope, as well as an overview of evidence gaps. The economic evaluation report is anticipated to be published in the first half of 2026. The final evaluation report will be published in 2026.
- Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 28 March 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 15 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6O-04204 by Neil Gray on 16 January 2025, how much funding is proposed for alcohol and drug services in 2025-26, including NHS board baseline funding.
Answer
Further to my answer provided on 16 January 2025 the Scottish Government has added a further £2.5 million to the Alcohol and Drugs budget, bringing the total to around £160 million for 2025-26. We are maintaining record levels of funding for drugs and alcohol – including another year of £112.9m for Alcohol and Drugs Partnerships, this figure is inclusive of baselined funding, which has increased by £19 million for 2025-26 giving boards more certainty and stability.