- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Christina McKelvie on 3 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has met with Hourglass Scotland and, if this is not the case, whether it plans to do so, and, if it does, when this meeting will take place.
Answer
The Minister for Equalities and Older People has agreed to meet with the Chief Executive of Hourglass Scotland in the coming weeks. Officials are arranging a suitable date and time.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 11 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 3 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support the (a) growth and (b) retention of medical research spin-out companies in Scotland.
Answer
(a) The National Strategy for Economic Transformation puts a clear focus on growing new companies. Scotland aims to be a nation of entrepreneurs and innovators, with resilient supply chains and competitive advantages in the new industries generated by technological change and scientific advances. This is the epitome of medical research companies in Scotland.
(b) Life science company growth is being supported by a breadth of policies across government to support growth investment, skills development, R&D and innovation as well as business planning and support. The Scottish Government recognises that the commercialisation of university research is an important generator of new and innovative businesses, products and services, for societal and economic good. Scottish Enterprise has long been a key contributor to investment in the industry and participated in half of the life science start-up funding here. In addition, Scottish Government set up the Scottish Growth Scheme in 2019 to provide loans and equity investment to start-ups and high growth businesses, including those in life sciences. During 2022-23 we expect the Growth Scheme to invest approximately £28m in total to start-ups and high growth businesses.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 11 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 3 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how it is working with medical research charities and researchers they fund in Scotland to support the creation of spin-out companies from their research.
Answer
Charities are a major funder of medical research and development in Scotland, with investment estimated to be worth £122m in 2018 (Fraser of Allander report 2022). Scotland is a global centre of excellence for clinical research and there are a number of organisations in Scotland supporting those charities and their researchers.
The Association of Medical Research Charities works to maximise the potential for research and innovation in the NHS to ensure the investment from medical research charities has the greatest impact for patients. Medical Research Scotland supports individuals through the award of doctoral studentships and through other training initiatives to companies. Scottish Health Innovation Ltd also support clinical research and work closely with NHS Research Scotland, in partnership of Scottish NHS Boards and the Chief Scientist Office (CSO), to innovate and commercialise products and services. The Scottish Funding Council offer a number of funding programmes, which are administered by Interface, to offset the cost for collaborations to support innovation and research.
To further support research and development the Programme for Government has committed £100m to R&D over the next 5 years.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 08 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 3 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to tackle health inequalities, and whether it has an overarching strategy to address both health inequalities and their underlying causes.
Answer
The Scottish Government’s approach to tackling health inequalities focusses on three key aspects of health inequality: mitigating against the socio-economic drivers of inequalities; ensuring fair opportunities for health improvement for all individuals; and ensuring health services are accessible to all.
Our COVID-19 Recovery Strategy sets out our vision for how we will address the systemic inequalities that lead to health inequalities. This includes making progress towards a wellbeing economy and accelerating inclusive person-centred public services. We are committing £4 billion in social security and welfare payments over the next financial year, including £197 million to double the Scottish Child Payment and extend it to under 16s.
Equity and inclusivity will be at the heart of our place-based approach to health, where we are looking at what more we can do to create the right conditions for health and wellbeing within local communities. In addition to community-led initiatives we’re committed to providing £9 million a year for smoking cessation services and £5.7 million for weight management services.
Additionally, the Scottish Government is taking robust action to address racialised health inequalities. We have published the Race Equality Immediate Priorities (IPP), which includes a range of commitments focused on pursuing health equity for minority ethnic people.
- Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 3 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the new capital budget of £12 million over four years for coastal change adaptation, and how it will be distributed.
Answer
We announced the new capital budget of £11.7 million for coastal change adaptation in the 2020 Programme for Government. Scottish Ministers and COSLA agreed a methodology to distribute the new budget to coastal local authorities based on evidence from Dynamic Coast which identifies assets most at risk from erosion ( https://www.dynamiccoast.com/ ). The budget covers the four-year period from 2022-23 until 2025-26, split as follows:
2022-23 - £1.6 million
2023-24 - £2.6 million
2024-25 - £2.7 million
2025-26 - £5.0 million
Total - £11.7 million
The distribution for 2022-23 and intended distribution for 2023-24 are as follows:
Council | 2022-23 | 2023-24 |
Argyll & Bute | £160,000 | |
Dumfries & Galloway | £160,000 | |
East Lothian | £160,000 | |
Fife | £160,000 | |
Highland | £160,000 | |
Moray | £160,000 | |
North Ayrshire | £160,000 | |
Orkney Islands | £160,000 | |
Shetland Islands | £160,000 | |
South Ayrshire | £160,000 | |
Aberdeen City | | £150,000 |
Aberdeenshire | | £150,000 |
Angus | | £150,000 |
City of Edinburgh | | £150,000 |
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar | | £150,000 |
Dundee City | | £150,000 |
Falkirk | | £150,000 |
Inverclyde | | £150,000 |
Scottish Borders | | £150,000 |
Clackmannan | | £100,000 |
Perth & Kinross | | £100,000 |
Renfrewshire | | £100,000 |
West Dunbartonshire | | £100,000 |
West Lothian | | £100,000 |
Emergency works and case studies – to be allocated | | £550,000 |
Total | £1.6 million | £2.4 million |
Local authorities were informed by letter of their allocation in February and they will receive the funds in their general capital grant settlement.
We continue to work with councils and COSLA to agree a distribution methodology for the £550,000 unallocated from the 2023-24 budget and the 2024-25 and 2025-26 budgets.
- Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 3 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what measures SEPA has taken to manage flood risk on the River Teviot, between its headwaters and Hawick.
Answer
The independent Scottish Environmental Protection Agency lead and coordinate strategic flood risk management planning, provide advice and guidance to planning authorities, and are the flood forecasting and warning authority for Scotland.
SEPA monitors water levels and rainfall in two of the headwaters above Hawick (Slitrig and Teviot) to provide the community with a Flood Warning Service.This information is available for everyone on SEPA’s website.
SEPA work closely with the local planning authority to provide advice on flood risk and respond to flood events at all stages prior to, during and after flooding.
SEPA Water Levels
Scottish Rainfall Data - provided by Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA)
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 14 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 3 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government when a (a) Women's Health Champion and (b) Women’s Health Lead in every NHS board will be appointed, as stated in its Women's Health Plan.
Answer
We published the Women’s Health Plan in August 2021. The actions in the Plan are divided into short term (one year), medium term (one to three years) and long term (three years or more) timescales.
As set out in the Plan we will be appointing a national Women’s Health Champion. In addition, a Women's Health Lead will be established in every NHS board to drive change and share best practice and innovation. These are medium term actions but scoping work is underway and further announcements will be made in due course.
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 14 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 3 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made towards the SNP manifesto commitment to create a fund for public artwork, and when it anticipates that this will be in place.
Answer
This Government is committed to broadening the range of people represented in Scotland’s public places, reflecting in particular the contribution of women and ethnic minorities. A specific fund is being considered in the context of the Scottish Government’s longer term spending plans and we will discuss how such a fund might be best deployed with Creative Scotland, whose remit includes public art.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 3 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many outstanding rail passenger compensation claims it is responsible for, as a result of Abellio no longer being responsible for them, broken down by the year in which they were made, and what the total amount of live compensation claims is.
Answer
Up until and including the 31 March 2022 Abellio ScotRail had 2,019 outstanding rail passenger compensation claims, representing a claim value of £9,550. Abellio ScotRail will settle all of these claims.
From 1 April 2022, ScotRail Trains Limited is responsible for considering and settling all new compensation claims.
- Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 3 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to seed potato farmers to control rising aphid levels, which are key vectors of viruses that affect these crops.
Answer
The SASA website hosts a number of pages dedicated to viruses of importance to potatoes, including information on aphid monitoring of seed potato crops, virus epidemiology and varietal propensity to virus infection.
Scottish Government staff participate in the National Potato Virus Forum that was initiated in 2019 in response to the increase in virus pressure. SASA chair the Scottish Aphid- Borne Virus Working Group; the group recently published guidance outlining 6 Steps to Effective Virus Management in Certified or Home Saved Seed. The document was sent to all growers in advance of the 2021 season.
SASA operate a national network of suction traps collecting information about aphid abundance and movement and provide advice on the risk of virus transmission and the need for aphid control. This information is published on the SASA website and can be used as an early warning system for growers.
