- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 22 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government when the responses to the 20% car km reduction route map consultation will be published.
Answer
The public consultation analysis of the responses to the draft route map to achieving a 20% reduction in car km in Scotland by 2030 will be published alongside the final version of the route map in the coming months.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 March 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Current Status:
Answered by Patrick Harvie on 22 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how it is monitoring whether the average housing association rent increase will be around 6.1% on average across the country in 2023-24, as referred to in the Scottish Government and Housing Associations' Statement of Intent on Tackling the Cost of Living Crisis 2023-24.
Answer
We have worked intensively with social landlords to develop an agreement on below-inflation rent increases for the next financial year. The Scottish Housing Regulator has published details of the rent increases which Scottish social landlords will apply in 2023-24 for social housing tenants. The report shows average rent increases by social landlords will be 5%. Rent increases by Scottish social landlords 2023/24 - March 2023 | Scottish Housing Regulator
These increases, based on consultations with tenants, will strike an appropriate balance between protecting tenants and ensuring that landlords can maintain a balance between affordability and sustainable investment in social housing for public good.
- Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 22 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to address the situation whereby the available noise budget at Eskdalemuir Seismic Array is being allocated to Section 36 wind farm projects at scoping stage, while wind farm applications to Dumfries and Galloway Council have to wait until the application is submitted to be allocated a share of any available noise budget.
Answer
Safeguarding the Eskdalemuir Seismic Array is the responsibility of the Ministry of Defence and any decision to amend the seismic noise budget for the array is a decision for the UK Government.
The Scottish Government acknowledges the seismic noise budget for the Eskdalemuir consultation zone has been consumed and that currently the Ministry of Defence will object to all developments within the consultation zone, both Section 36 applications and local planning applications, in order to protect the operation of the array.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 March 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Current Status:
Answered by Patrick Harvie on 22 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government which registered social landlords have consulted on an above-average rent increase, as referred to in the Scottish Government and Housing Associations' Statement of Intent on Tackling the Cost of Living Crisis 2023-24.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not collect information on what rent increase options individual social landlords consulted their tenants on. The Scottish Housing Regulator report on the rent increases social landlords will apply in 2023-24 Rent increases by Scottish social landlords 2023/24 - March 2023 | Scottish Housing Regulator includes details of actual rent increases applied by each landlord.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 March 2023
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Current Status:
Initiated by the Scottish Government.
Answered by John Swinney on 22 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the 2023-24 Public Sector Pay Strategy.
Answer
I am pleased to confirm that we have today published the 2023-24 Public Sector Pay Strategy on the Scottish Government website.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Patrick Harvie on 22 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with SafeDeposits Scotland regarding the increase in its estimated response time, which, according to SafeDeposits Scotland’s automatic reply to website enquiries, is currently up to 5 working days and attributed to the launch of its new system in 2022, and what its position is on whether this elongated response time meets the service standards that SafeDeposits Scotland is expected to provide to (a) tenants and (b) landlords who use the scheme.
Answer
Scottish Government officials have had regular engagement on progress throughout the implementation of the Safe Deposits Scotland (SDS) system upgrade and were made aware of some teething issues with system functions. SDS has since confirmed all priority bugs are now resolved and user journeys should be back to normal.
The role of the Scottish Government, since the three approved schemes began operating in July 2012, is to monitor each scheme for compliance with the Tenancy Deposit Schemes (Scotland) Regulations 2011 . This includes being satisfied that SDS and the other tenancy deposit schemes have clear and substantial processes in place that meet the requirements laid out in the regulations. As part of this monitoring, SDS quarterly performance reports were analysed and measured against the key performance indicators to ensure these were adhered to.
Officials will continue to liaise with SDS on the operation of their new system.
- Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 22 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions ministers have had with electricity distribution network operators regarding any grid upgrades that would be required in the event that Scotland saw a significant increase in the installation of solar panels.
Answer
As regulations governing electricity networks, including connection, are reserved to the UK Government the Scottish Government has no power determine what investments are made by the distribution network operators (DNOs) on their networks.
The Scottish Government has been working with DNOs in Scotland and other stakeholders to ensure that network business plans reflect the scale and pace of deployment necessary to meet Scotland’s net zero and interim climate change targets.
- Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Dorothy Bain on 22 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether any (a) ministers, (b) officials and (c) special advisers were consulted before the offer of immunity from prosecution was made to prison officers charged with the care of Allan Marshall.
Answer
The Crown does not grant immunity from prosecution but makes prosecutorial decisions based on criteria set out in the Scottish Prosecution Code. Decisions on prosecution are taken independently and are matters for professional prosecutors within the system for which the Lord Advocate and Solicitor General are responsible. It is therefore not appropriate for any other minister, or for Scottish Government officials or special advisers to be consulted in relation to any prosecutorial decisions.
I have confirmed to Mr Marshall’s family that some aspects of the investigation fell short of what they were entitled to expect. The previous decision not to prosecute individual prison officers cannot be reversed. I have instructed Police Scotland to investigate possible corporate responsibility by the Scottish Prison Service.
The way in which custody death cases are handled by COPFS has been reviewed and transformed. I am confident that new structures and processes in place will ensure such cases are undertaken rigorously, respectfully and compassionately.
- Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 22 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how it decides to allocate funds for research into specific cancers.
Answer
The Scottish Government’s Chief Scientist Office operates open competitive funding schemes for applied health research projects and fellowships across the wide range of NHS and health challenges in Scotland. These schemes are open to consideration of applications addressing research directed into Cancer. Applications to these schemes are assessed through independent expert peer-review with funding recommendations made by independent expert committees.
- Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 22 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact on the quality of life of people who are unable to access NHS dental care due to the reported lack of available NHS dentists in their NHS board area, and who continue to live with dental problems that can be easily treated, and what steps it plans to take to support anyone in such a position.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-15796 on 22 March 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 .