- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 28 March 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 15 April 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with the (a) Keeper of the Registers of Scotland and the (b) King’s and Lord Treasurer’s Remembrancer (KLTR) in relation to the reported application to register a title to the MacLeod Estate, including the Cuillin, in the Land Register, and whether it will consider applying to the KLTR to take ownership of any ownerless land identified in the process of land registration.
Answer
The Scottish Government has had no engagement to date with the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland (RoS) or the King’s and Lord Treasurer’s Remembrancer (KLTR) in relation to any application to register a title to the MacLeod Estate.
If any ownerless land were to be identified then it would be at that point that any consideration of applying to take ownership would be made.
- Asked by: Dr Alasdair Allan, MSP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 March 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 15 April 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what estimated works will be necessary at Lochmaddy pier, in light of the expected arrival of newer CalMac vessels.
Answer
The main construction works at Lochmaddy to accommodate the new Little Minch vessels are complete. Some minor port interface items have still to be progressed, for example changes to navigational aids. The vessels are expected to be delivered in June and October 2025.
Transport Scotland, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, and CalMac continue to review the potential operating parameters of the new vessels alongside options for maximising efficiencies, reliability, and resilience over the longer term. This includes consideration of the potential benefits and costs of bringing forward a linkspan replacement at Lochmaddy, and delivering shore power infrastructure at each of the three ports on the Little Minch routes. Neither of these considerations will impact initial vessel deployment plans.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 March 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 15 April 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to improve the availability of dental appointments, in light of Public Health Scotland figures showing that more than a third of those registered with an NHS dentist did not have an examination or treatment for three years.
Answer
As of 1 November 2023, we have introduced significant dental payment reform with the aim of encouraging dentists to provide more NHS dentistry. Official statistics from Public Health Scotland published in February 2024 and reflecting system activity following reform show that nearly 400,000 patients were seen by an NHS primary care dentist in November. This is an early indication that the system changes have been received favourably by many NHS dentists. In addition to improving conditions for existing workforce through reform, we are also continuing to work with our counterparts across the UK and devolved governments to expedite process and bolster the number of dental practitioners working in Scotland now and into the future with a view to supporting greater availability of appointments.
The official measure of participation is the number of patients that have been seen in the last 2 years, and official statistics show that before the pandemic, participation was around 70%. Participation provides an indication of patient contacts within the system at a point in time but is not, in itself, an indicator of access noting that there may be many reasons why registered patients do not attend the dentist. We therefore use a range of data to understand the position in NHS dentistry, including regular qualitative discussion with NHS Boards to support local and national interventions to improve patient access.
- Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 March 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 15 April 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has provided to epilepsy charities since March 2017.
Answer
The Scottish Government has provided a total of £755,626 to epilepsy charities between March 2017 and March 2024.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 March 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 15 April 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to protect people and properties, in light of SEPA's recently reported warning that around 400,000 homes are at major risk of flooding within 50 years due to climate change, which is an increase of 40%.
Answer
SEPA’s 2018 National Flood Risk Assessment set out the numbers of properties at risk of flooding now and in the future. The numbers have not changed since that assessment, which are that 284,000 properties are at risk of flooding now and by the 2080s this number is expected to increase by 110,000 through climate change.
Improving resilience to flooding is a priority for the Scottish Government and we continue to work with, and support, local authorities to fulfil their obligations to deliver flood risk management. To support flood protection measures, the Scottish Government provides £42 million each year to local authorities. In August 2020, the Programme for Government also committed an additional £150 million over 5 years to support flood risk management actions.
It is clear that climate change must become a core consideration in decision making for our places and communities if they are to achieve a level of flood resilience. We will consult on a Flood Resilience Strategy for Scotland this spring. The Strategy will initiate a transformational change to flood management to adapt our places and set Scotland on a long-term course towards a sustainable level of flood resilience.
- Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 28 March 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 15 April 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how many public sector grants have been awarded since 1 July 2023 without requiring recipients to pay the real Living Wage or provide appropriate channels for effective worker voice, broken down by the value of each grant.
Answer
Monitoring compliance with Fair Work First principles, including the requirements to pay workers at least the real Living Wage and provide appropriate channels for effective voice, is the responsibility of individual grant managers across government and of relevant funders across the wider public sector. It takes place within existing grant assurance and monitoring processes, as with any other condition of grant, such as agreed outcomes.
Where an exception to the real Living Wage requirement is approved, the relevant funder is asked to record these. Officials are in the process of commissioning this information which will be collated and published in due course. There are no exceptions to the effective voice requirement, however funders may apply flexibility to recognise the different forms of voice appropriate for different organisations.
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 28 March 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 15 April 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how many practitioners have been trained to be cervical screening sample takers in each of the last five years.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally as it is a matter for NHS Boards.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 March 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 15 April 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-25727 by Angela Constance on 4 March 2024, whether it will provide details of the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service's work to minimise the cost of producing transcripts of court cases, and what the timescales are for the completion of this work.
Answer
The SCTS is committed to exploring new technologies, including the potential for Artificial Intelligence, to help improve its services. During the 2024-25 financial year the SCTS will assess the potential to use AI-supported natural language processing in support of transcription services.
- Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 March 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 15 April 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors the condition of roads across Scotland.
Answer
Transport Scotland, through its four Trunk Road Operating Companies and five Design Build Finance Operate (DBFO) Concessionaires, is responsible for the management and maintenance of the strategic trunk road network, including motorways. Transport Scotland specify requirements for regular surveys and inspections to ensure that the trunk road network is safe and fit for purpose, and to provide appropriate information to support maintenance decisions. Transport Scotland commission contractors to undertake annual machine-based surveys on trunk roads using specialist vehicles to gather information on the surface integrity of the road; the friction characteristics of the surface; and the structural capacity (strength) of the underlying road construction. This is supplemented with a series of targeted inspections to obtain specific information about the road asset undertaken by Operating Companies under the term maintenance contract. The combined information is used to determine future maintenance programmes and investment requirements.
In addition Operating Companies have a contractual obligation to inspect the trunk road network at 7-day intervals. These inspections are primarily to identify defects that require prompt attention because they present, or could present, an immediate hazard to road users. The Scottish Government fully funds the inspection and repair of all such defects, and the term maintenance contract sets out strict timescales for their repair.
With regard to local roads, local authorities have a duty under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 to manage and maintain local roads in their area and duties under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to secure the expeditious, convenient and safe movement of traffic. Neither the Scottish Ministers nor the Scottish Government would become directly involved in their day-to-day duties.
- Asked by: Michael Matheson, MSP for Falkirk West, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 March 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 15 April 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide specialist planning advice and guidance, in partnership with local authorities and electricity transmission networks, in order to meet its net zero targets through infrastructure projects.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to working with all stakeholders to ensure that the planning system is better equipped to deal with current and future challenges, and supports our net zero ambitions. Work is underway to deliver the commitments from the Onshore Wind Sector Deal relating to the standardisation of relevant templates, such as Environmental Impact Assessment Reports. Similarly, a Transmission Network Short Life Working Group provided recommendations to increase and develop resources to ensure planning authorities and statutory consultees are well equipped to accelerate decisions on grid applications.