- Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 6 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on any plans to (a) implement the scheme for funding for alternative dispute resolution and (b) establish a pilot of mandatory meetings on alternatives to court under the Children (Scotland) Act 2020.
Answer
Sections 23(7) and 24(4) of the Children (Scotland) Act 2020 place a duty on the Scottish Ministers to lay six-monthly reports before Parliament setting out why the duties to (a) implement the scheme for funding for alternative dispute resolution and (b) establish a pilot of mandatory meetings on alternatives to court are not yet fulfilled, and stating when implementation is expected.
To date the Scottish Ministers have laid four such reports before Parliament and these have been published on the Scottish Government website. The latest report is available here:
Children (Scotland) Act 2020 - section 23(1) and section 24(1): fourth report on the Scottish Ministers' duties - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 6 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many radiotherapy staff have received appropriate national radiotherapy data-set training, and whether all radiotherapy staff are now trained.
Answer
The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.
The UK-wide radiotherapy dataset, Cancerstats, is hosted by NHS England. Clinicians who have access to the data have the opportunity to participate in associated training.
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 6 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with the Scottish Committee of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, and what was discussed.
Answer
Scottish Government Ministers and officials meet regularly with a wide range of stakeholders, including the Scottish Committee of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, to discuss areas of mutual interest.
- Asked by: Stephanie Callaghan, MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 6 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many Adult Disability Payment Change of Circumstances forms have been submitted in each month since January 2023, and, of these, what the (a) longest, (b) average and (c) median processing time was for these unscheduled reviews of Adult Disability Payment.
Answer
Social Security Scotland does not currently produce information relating to Change of Circumstances but we do routinely publish information about Adult Disability Payment, including processing times of new applications.
These statistics were most recently published in March 2023, covering up to end January 2023, and are available at:
Social Security Scotland - Social Security Scotland statistics: publications
The next publication, covering up to end April 2023, will be published on 13 June.
Social Security Scotland is committed to giving clients timely decisions, while allowing sufficient time to ensure the necessary information is in place to get decisions right the first time. Clients can advise us of a change of circumstance for a number of reasons, and if the change is relevant to their entitlement, a review would be carried out. Every case is individual and processing times will vary.
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 6 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with the Faculty of Occupational Medicine and what was discussed.
Answer
Scottish Government Ministers and officials meet regularly with a wide range of health professional stakeholder organisations, including the Scottish Academy of which the Faculty of Occupational Medicine are members.
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 6 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, and what was discussed.
Answer
Scottish Government Ministers and officials meet regularly with a wide range of stakeholders, including the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, to discuss areas of mutual interest.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 6 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many of the recommendations in the report of the Short-life Food Security and Supply Taskforce, published on 23 June 2022, have been implemented to date, and how many staff will be employed in the new dedicated Food Security Unit announced on 18 May 2023.
Answer
The Short-Life Food Security and Supply Taskforce set out a number of short and long-term recommendations in its report and all of the immediate actions are either complete or substantially complete, including the establishment of a Food Security Unit, with other actions becoming legacy activity for it.
As the Food Security Unit becomes more established, the number of staff involved directly will vary depending on business needs. The Food Security Unit will work collaboratively with the wide range of teams across the Scottish Government that work on aspects of food security.
- Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 6 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what its timescale is for reviewing the recommendations contained in the Animal Welfare Committee's updated Opinion on the Welfare of Farmed Fish at the Time of Killing, and whether it will provide an update on when it anticipates the recommendations will be made publicly available.
Answer
The Scottish Government is aware of the importance of protecting the welfare of fish at the time of slaughter and takes this very seriously.
We will carefully consider any recommendations made by the Animal Welfare Committee concerning the welfare of fish at the time of slaughter. However, due to a lack of clear communication from the UK Government, we do not yet have a timescale for when the report will be published.
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 6 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, and what was discussed.
Answer
Scottish Government Ministers and officials meet regularly with a wide range of stakeholders, including the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, to discuss areas of mutual interest.
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 6 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, and what was discussed.
Answer
Scottish Government Ministers and officials meet regularly with a wide range of stakeholders, including the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, to discuss areas of mutual interest.