- Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 May 2023
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 10 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has put in place to support the palliative care sector, in light of reports that the number of people needing these services is estimated to rise by an additional 10,000 by 2040.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 10 May 2023
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 May 2023
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 11 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the delivery of the Scottish Welfare Fund.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 11 May 2023
- Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 May 2023
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 10 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the rural affairs secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding how the Scottish Government analyses the impact on island communities of disruption to ferry services.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 10 May 2023
- Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 May 2023
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 10 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will set out its proposed timetable for implementing the new musculoskeletal pathway, including how it will ensure that the views of third sector organisations are reflected in the process.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 10 May 2023
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 24 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by George Adam on 3 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will appoint a Good Governance Champion.
Answer
The Scottish Government recognises the importance of good governance, and takes this issue seriously. We undertake regular reviews of our corporate governance system and will consider the matter of a Good Governance Champion as part of this work.
- Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 3 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its work on skills alignment, including (a) its strategic intent for skills alignment, (b) the outcomes that it aims to achieve and (c) how it will measure progress.
Answer
The Scottish Government, Skills Development Scotland (SDS) and the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) published the Shared Outcomes Framework (SOF) in March 2022, which set out our intent to develop a skilled workforce for Scotland. It includes a series of projects, including on apprenticeships and wider skills planning to help meet that intent.
The Shared Outcomes Assurance Group meets eight weekly during the Parliamentary year to review progress. Minutes of these meetings can be viewed at this weblink .
My predecessor in role, Mr Hepburn, wrote to the Public Audit Committee on 1 February 2023 to provide a progress update . Since that time, project implementation has continued and projects remain on track as set out in the published SOAG minutes.
In March 2022, the Scottish Government also published our National Strategy for Economic Transformation (NSET ). The work on the SOF aligns with the Skilled Workforce programme in the NSET.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 24 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by George Adam on 3 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will initiate an independent review into the architecture of political integrity and transparency in Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Government recognises the importance of political integrity and transparency, and takes these issues seriously. We review and update guidance when necessary. Since 2016 Scotland has been a member of the Open Government Partnership, a global partnership with civil society that works to make governments more inclusive, responsive, and accountable. As part of this work, we will consider the options for a review of political integrity and transparency in Scotland.
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 3 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether dog trainers will be in scope for the upcoming consultation on the expansion of the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Scotland) Regulations 2021, following the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission’s observation in the Report on the use of handheld remote-controlled training devices (e-collars) in dog training that "professional trainers and behaviourists, are unregulated and are not legally required to have understanding of or training in animal welfare, learning theory or the harm/benefit analysis of e-collar use".
Answer
The Scottish Government welcomes the recent SAWC report on electronic collars and will consider its findings carefully.
We recognise that there may be a case for licensing dog trainers, however more detailed consideration of the issues is needed. SAWC's proposal to consider and report on dog training at some point in the future will helpfully inform our next steps.
- Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 3 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what budget savings the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has budgeted to make in each year since its formation, and whether these have been achieved.
Answer
The resource budget for SFRS is set each year in the Budget Act and the SFRS Board has responsibility for taking decisions on how that budget should be spent. There are no savings targets set out in the annual budget process and the SFRS Accountable Officer is responsible for ensuring that SFRS delivers a balanced budget and does not overspend. SFRS has achieved that each year since it was established in 2013.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 3 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the NatureScot publication, Avian Influenza Report on the H5N1 outbreak in wild birds 2020-2023, published on 11 April 2023.
Answer
We welcome NatureScot’s Avian Influenza Report on the H5N1 outbreak in wild birds and agree that our priority both now and in the future should be on continued disease surveillance, demographic monitoring and research to inform the long-term management of our wild bird populations in light of HPAI and other pressures.
The Scottish Government will continue working with the Scottish Avian Influenza Task Force to monitor and respond to HPAI in wild birds.