- Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 14 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many people are currently on the waiting list for a cataract operation within NHS Shetland.
Answer
Public Health Scotland (PHS) uses the national waiting times warehouse to collect electronic patient records. This data source can be used routinely to identify the specialty of treatment. However, although the records are designed to collect coded information on the procedure that is planned for the patient, this information is often either incomplete, lacking in essential detail and/or its accuracy cannot be assured. In addition, for patients who have completed their wait the procedure(s) that was planned may not always reflect that performed after they were admitted for treatment. The latter is not captured through the warehouse, and as such we would be unable to report accurately on ongoing waits to this level of detail.
Public Health Scotland publishes quarterly statistics relating to the number of ongoing waits, by specialty and health Board of treatment. The latest statistics for Ophthalmology in NHS Shetland are published up to 31 st March 2023, and for new outpatients, this information can be found under Table 1.1 using the link below:
https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/media/19970/newop_may23.xlsx .
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 14 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether prescriptions for testosterone for women going through menopause should be made available for all women in every NHS board in Scotland.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-17049 on 10 May 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: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 14 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many stakeholders it has met with, to date, to discuss barcodes for products within scope of the Deposit Return Scheme.
Answer
In line with the DRS governance structure, officials meet regularly with a range of stakeholders from multiple sectors to discuss operational issues including barcodes for DRS articles.
There are no barcode requirements with Scotland’s DRS Regulations. Producers must provide SEPA with relevant information that supports the identification of scheme articles, which may include barcodes.
Decisions over barcodes rest with drinks producers and the scheme administrator, and will depend on a range of factors.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 14 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has received legal advice on the position of paying compensation in the event that the Deposit Return Scheme is cancelled.
Answer
The Scottish Government has received legal advice on matters relating to DRS on an ongoing basis as appropriate. The content of any legal advice is confidential. By long-standing convention, successive Scottish and Westminster Governments have not disclosed the source or content of legal advice other than in the most exceptional circumstances.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 14 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government when the First Minister and the Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity last met to discuss the Deposit Return Scheme.
Answer
The First Minister and myself met on 7 June 2023 to discuss the Deposit Return Scheme.
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 14 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has reconsidered or revised any impact assessments as a result of the delay in implementing the Deposit Return Scheme, and, if so, which ones.
Answer
A suite of impact assessments has been updated to reflect the Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland Amendment Regulations 2023, which changed the implementation date of the scheme to 1 March 2024, alongside a number of simplification measures.
Updated versions of the Islands Communities Impact Assessment, Fairer Scotland Impact Assessment and Equalities Impact Assessments will be published shortly, alongside a supplementary analysis to the Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment in light of the amendments laid in May
These changes pre-date my statement to Parliament on 7 June 2023 on the reset of date to 2025 as a result of conditions set by the UK Government very late in the process and I will be setting out detailed proposals for Parliament as appropriate.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 14 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many calls have been received by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency’s 24 Hour Pollution Hotline in each year since 2019, and how many full-time staff members are employed in the Reservoirs Regulatory Unit.
Answer
This is a matter for SEPA. The information requested is not held centrally. SEPA have provided the following information.
Calls to Pollution Hotline in each year since 2019
Year | Number of calls |
2019 | 7793 |
2020 | 6409 |
2021 | 6527 |
2022 | 6617 |
2023 (until 8/6) | 2560 |
60% of inbound enquiries now come via a SEPA online reporting tool:
Eight FTE members of SEPA staff are directly dedicated to work on regulating reservoirs. This resource increases considerably in years when risk designations have to be reviewed. Further resource from across SEPA (legal input, monitoring to underpin models etc.) is provided to fulfil their statutory duties.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 05 June 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 14 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review any of the statutory duties placed on local authorities by the Scottish Ministers.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to working with COSLA to agree a New Deal with Local Government in Scotland that promotes sustainability, empowerment and provides greater fiscal flexibility over local funding with clear accountability for delivery of shared priorities and outcomes.
As part of the New Deal, we are committed to concluding the Local Governance Review in this parliament, ensuring that decisions are taken as close as possible to those they affect the most is at the heart of our approach to public service reform in Scotland.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 June 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 14 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its progress towards implementing the recommendations in the Final Report of the Women in Agriculture Taskforce.
Answer
We are continuing to progress the implementation of the recommendations of the Women in Agriculture Taskforce. As part of this we continue to deliver solutions that deliver positive change for women living and working in Scottish agriculture through the Women in Agriculture Development Programme.
This financial year (2023-24) we are providing £500,000 to support further activity and opportunities for women in agriculture. We also remain committed to increasing our funding to £600,000 per year over the course of this Parliament.
- Asked by: Keith Brown, MSP for Clackmannanshire and Dunblane, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 05 June 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 14 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many businesses in (a) Clackmannanshire and (b) Stirling were eligible for (i) 100%
rates relief and (ii) all other levels of rates relief, through the Small
Business Bonus Scheme, in (A) 2021, (B) 2022 and (C) 2023.
Answer
Tables 1 and 2 present the number of properties receiving SBBS as at 1 June 2021 and 1 July 2022, in Clackmannanshire and Stirling council areas. These figures are based on the billing data provided by councils to the Scottish Government as at those dates.
Equivalent figures for 2023 are not currently available. These are expected to be published in late 2023.
The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of properties eligible for the Small Business Bonus Scheme, as we are unable to reliably identify business chains.
Table 1: Properties receiving SBBS relief in Clackmannanshire.
Year | 100% SBBS | Other SBBS awards |
2021 | 790 | 50 |
2022 | 800 | 50 |
Source: Non-Domestic Rates Relief Statistics 2022 tables 8b and 8c. In 2021 and 2022, ‘Other SBBS awards’ are usually, but not always, 25%.
Table 2: Properties receiving SBBS relief in Stirling.
Year | 100% SBBS | Other SBBS awards |
2021 | 2,940 | 170 |
2022 | 2,940 | 170 |
Source: Non-Domestic Rates Relief Statistics 2022 tables 8b and 8c. In 2021 and 2022, ‘Other SBBS awards’ are usually, but not always, 25%.
Properties which were in receipt of SBBS relief on 31 March 2023, and saw an increase in their net rates liability from the 1 April 2023, may be eligible for the Small Business Transitional Relief. This relief caps the maximum increase in the net rates liability relative to 31 March 2023 at £600 in 2023-24.
