- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Angus Robertson on 8 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-17500 by Angus Robertson on 12 May 2023, when it plans to update the gov.scot website with "the full costs of my visit, and those of all Ministerial travel costs", in order for MSPs to be able to see the information, in light of its answer encouraging people to "look there for more details"; whether it has now published "details of the meetings, including summaries of each", in light of its answer stating that this would "be published next week under Freedom of Information", and whether it will provide the "range of actions including follow up with specific companies, ongoing diaspora engagements and discussion with the Tartan Week Committee" that "will continue to be monitored in the coming year".
Answer
Ministerial Engagements, travel and gifts are published within 3 months in line with the Scottish Ministerial Code.
The Freedom of Information request referred to, detailing meetings and summaries of each, was published on 19 May 2023 on the Scottish Government Website. Details can be found at this link https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202300352406/ .
Follow up actions from business meetings are contained in the meeting summaries. Actions include, but are not limited to: offering to support links to centres of excellence in technology and data science; continued support of the encouragement of talent access; gathering examples of best practice across industries; supporting development of events; working with our diaspora partners to support improving delivery of Tartan Week results for Scotland; and continuation of support from Scottish Enterprise for development activities.
Specific actions that are sensitive to the future operations of those companies and diaspora groups, have been omitted in order to protect business interests and the strong US Scotland relationship.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 8 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-14121 by Shona Robison on 9 February 2023, and in light of reports that around a quarter of the £375 million Welsh Building Safety Fund has been spent so far, whether it will provide an update on what (a) amount and (b) proportion of the £97.1 million provided by the UK Government to fund cladding remediation work has been spent to date, and what forecasts it holds for expenditure of the money.
Answer
Information on expenditure on the programme is published quarterly and can be found here:
Single Building Assessment programme: spending information - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
The most recently published figures show a spend of £1.8m, this is a seven-fold increase from spend on this programme in 2021-22.
- Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 8 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the status of the standard operating procedure being developed by the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) in relation to transgender prisoners, as referred to by the chief executive of SPS in her evidence to the Criminal Justice Committee on 22 February 2023.
Answer
I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:
The standard operating procedure relating to the admission of transgender people in custody has been developed and is nearing the final stages of the approval process.
- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Angus Robertson on 8 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates it will complete the work to map and engage Scotland’s diaspora, as set out in the Scottish Connections Framework, and how it will publish the results.
Answer
The Scottish Government, in its Scottish Connections Framework, committed to collaborate across our full network – our international offices, including SDI, GlobalScots, Trade and Investment Envoys and public bodies – to map and engage our diaspora.
This will be an ongoing task as we discover more about our international diaspora, rather than a discrete project with a beginning and end date. Progress will be reported in the biennial review of progress towards implementing the Framework.
The Framework also committed to publish a digital directory of diaspora organisations hosted on scotland.org. which will launch in 2023.
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-18236 on 8 June 2023. 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: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Angus Robertson on 8 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government when it will begin its trial launch of Instagram channels in targeted international markets, as set out in the Scottish Connections Framework.
Answer
The Scottish Government, in its Scottish Connections Framework, committed to trial the launch of Instagram channels in targeted international markets. Adding Instagram channel capacity in specific locations will allow the Scottish Government to more closely engage with diaspora members in country and build on the audience base from existing social media channels.
The Scottish Government plans to launch at least one additional Instagram channel in a priority diaspora market by the end of 2023. A final launch date will be confirmed in due course in consultation with officials advising on this location.
- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Angus Robertson on 8 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government on what date it anticipates it will launch a pilot Scottish Connections Fund, as set out in the Scottish Connections Framework, and how much funding it will allocate to this.
Answer
The Scottish Government, in its Scottish Connections Framework, committed to pilot a Scottish Connections Fund to support the aims of the Framework.
The fund will support initiatives that bring together those with a connection to Scotland, promote Scotland’s reputation and interests, and build greater connections back to Scotland itself.
The fund will be open to bids from both individuals and organisations within Scotland’s diaspora networks. We will publish details of the fund in 2023, including the amount available.
- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 8 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding non-domestic rates, whether it will reduce the combined poundage rate for the largest properties, to match the equivalent rate in England, over the course of the current parliamentary session.
Answer
As set out in our 2021 manifesto and confirmed in the Framework for Tax 2021, we are committed to reducing the Higher Property Rate, ensuring that the largest businesses pay the same combined poundage in Scotland as in England by the end of this parliamentary session.
Since the Barclay Review made this recommendation, we have introduced the Intermediate Property Rate on 1 April 2020. On 1 April 2023, we increased the rateable value threshold at which the Higher Property Rate applies, from £95,000 to £100,000. As a result, over 95% of properties are liable for a lower poundage rate in Scotland than in anywhere else in the UK.
Budget decisions are made annually in light of affordability.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 8 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many payments from the Tenant Grant Fund have been used to fully pay off rent arrears, in each month that the fund has been available.
Answer
Local authorities were responsible for the administration of the Tenant Grant Fund given their knowledge of local need. Each local authority provided the Scottish Government with quarterly returns showing spend against their funding allocation. Data on full versus partial mitigation of arrears was not provided routinely by all local authorities.
The quarterly information collected was published on the Scottish Government website here: Tenant Grant Fund monitoring report - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) and is summarised below.
Quarters | Number of grants |
Q4 | 297 |
Q3 | 254 |
Q2 | 403 |
Q1 | 656 |
Until 31 Mar 2022 | 5,015 |
- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Angus Robertson on 8 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the commitment in the Scottish Connections Framework to establish an external advisory group, on what date the group will be launched; how many members it will have, and how often it will report to the Scottish Government.
Answer
The Scottish Government, in its Scottish Connections Framework, committed to establishing an external advisory group drawing on the knowledge and experience of our international diaspora and from expertise in Scotland and beyond. Officials are currently developing the proposals on the advisory group which will be provided to Ministers for decision. As per the framework the Scottish Connections advisory group will be established in 2023 with exact date to be confirmed. The group will be appointed by the Cabinet Secretary for External Affairs on recommendation from officials, in consultation with relevant policy areas and partner agencies to ensure a broad geographical coverage, and diversity of backgrounds and expertise.
The group’s responsibilities, including whether or not it will be asked to report to the Scottish Government, will be determined by its mandate which is currently being developed. The frequency of the meetings will be agreed by ministers and confirmed at the first group meeting but we anticipate the group to meet at least twice yearly.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 8 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the current availability of hormone replacement therapy (HRT), in light of reports of supply issues.
Answer
There are over 70 HRT products available in the UK and supply issues are affecting only a small number of them.
The Scottish Government are aware that there have been continuing shortages across the UK due to a number of factors. The supply of medicines, including HRT products and the associated legislation, is a reserved matter for the UK Government. We continue to engage with the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) to seek a lasting solution.
A series of UK-wide Serious Shortage Protocols (SSPs) have been issued by DHSC, after consultation with the Scottish Government and other UK administrations, allowing community pharmacists to supply specific alternatives without needing to seek agreement from the prescribing doctor. An SSP is an additional tool to manage and mitigate medication shortages. This gives individuals the option to receive substitute products in a safe and effective way to ensure medication continues to be available to all.
