- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 2 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what action it (a) can take and (b) is taking to encourage private firms in Scotland to divest from fossil fuels, either from direct investment in fossil fuel projects or indirect investment through share ownership in corporations that oversee fossil fuel projects, in light of reports that the Edinburgh-headquartered investment firm, Abrdn, owns £50 million worth of shares in the Indian conglomerate, Adani Group, which is reportedly a major global source of coal production, and the owner of several coal-fired power plants across India.
Answer
The Scottish Government can encourage investment in areas aligned with our climate priorities but the decision on which sectors or projects to invest in is for each individual private company to make.
However, in line with our commitments in the National Strategy for Economic Transformation (NSET), the Scottish Government is working to attract and deploy significant domestic and international private investment in Scotland, including net zero sectors. The recently established Investor Panel chaired by the First Minister will bring investor intelligence into policy and regulatory development early in the process and will primarily focus on how we attract capital investment in the physical infrastructure to support our transition to net zero.
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 2 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the outsourcing of mental health services to private companies.
Answer
Patient care and service delivery are the statutory responsibility of local healthcare providers. NHS Boards are responsible for working with their partners to plan and provide health services which meet the needs of their populations. Use of the independent sector has been an option open to all Health Boards to help address short-term capacity issues.
- Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 2 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken regarding the recommendation of the Scottish Mental Health Law Review that the development of support, training and guidance for attorneys should include "consideration of ways in which the cost of a power of attorney can be eased".
Answer
The Scottish Government encourages everyone to arrange power of attorney so that their needs and wishes can be met in the unfortunate event that they cannot make decisions for themselves.
Currently financial help is available, through legal aid for those who qualify, to assist people who might not be able to afford the cost of a solicitor to draw up a power of attorney. A fee exemption is also available for registering the power of attorney with the Office of the Public Guardian for people who qualify.
The Scottish Mental Health Law Review published its final report on 30 September 2022 and set out over 200 proposals for reform. The report recommendations are complex and wide-ranging, and cross-government work is underway to consider them and assess their implications. The Scottish Government intends to set out its initial response to the Review report, including priority actions that will be taken forward, by summer 2023.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 2 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many trees it estimates will need to be removed to make way for onshore windfarm developments that have secured planning permission.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-14793 on 2 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
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 2 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many trees have been cut down or removed in order to make way for onshore windfarm development in the last 10 years, broken down by project and year.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-14793 on 2 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
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 24 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 2 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-14560 by Neil Gray on 21 February 2023, who the members of the group undertaking the Joint Assurance Review are.
Answer
Members of the group come from organisations including; Scottish Government, COSLA, Glasgow City Council, Landry and Kling, and Edinburgh City Council.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Elena Whitham on 2 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that every firefighter has adequate breathing apparatus training.
Answer
The safe use of breathing apparatus is central in the role of every firefighter. Training, the provision and assessment of equipment requirements, and the competence of firefighters is an operational matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.
- Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 2 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to establish a full population estimate of the number of adults living in Scotland with a learning disability, in light of the Fraser of Allander Institute report, Invisible no more, which stated that current data is not fit for purpose.
Answer
Evidence about the number of people with learning disabilities in Scotland is collected through the Learning Disability Statistics Scotland publication. The most recent publication, published in 2019, found there were 23,584 adults with learning disabilities known to local authorities across Scotland.
Officials are in discussions with Public Health Scotland and the Scottish Commission for Learning Disabilities about how Learning Disability Statistics Scotland will be improved to provide the most precise picture of people with learning disabilities across Scotland.
Scottish Government understands the important of reliable evidence about people with learning disabilities and has committed to improving the evidence base through its autism and learning/intellectual disability transformation plan 'Towards Transformation'.
- Asked by: Michael Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 2 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how the personal data of people in Scotland involved in the Homes for Ukraine scheme was accessed and used to send fraudulent letters.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-15106 on 2 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
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 2 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether SEPA has conducted any monitoring and investigations at, or in the area near to, (a) Arecleoch Windfarm and (b) Glenn App Windfarm within the last 12 months, and, if so, whether any environmental concerns were noted.
Answer
SEPA has not conducted any monitoring or investigations at Arecleoch or Glen App wind farms within the last 12 months.
Scottish Power Renewables have advised the Scottish Government that all spills on the sites have been of a minor nature and therefore have not required a notification to be sent to SEPA.