- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 28 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many of its buildings have been retrofitted with energy efficiency improvements in each of the last five years, and what the associated costs were.
Answer
2020 – 2 buildings £4,874,534
2021 – 5 buildings £6,605,939
2022 – 1 building £929,705
2023 – 1 building £290,018
2024 – 0 buildings £0
No energy efficiency projects were implemented in 2024 due to emergency budget controls.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 28 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what the current value of its vehicle fleet is.
Answer
The current value of the fleet, as at 31 December 2024, is £2,381,991.
- Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 28 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to use public deliberation methods, such as citizens' juries, to improve cancer services.
Answer
The Scottish Government continues to use a range of methods to ensure meaningful public input to our work, including focus groups and formal public consultation.
The Scottish Cancer Patient Experience Survey (SCPES) asks people about their experience of cancer care. The survey is jointly funded by the Scottish Government and Macmillan Cancer Support. The most recent findings of the survey were published in September 2024.
Care Opinion is an independent, not-for-profit organisation that gives people a platform to tell their own story about their experience of health and care services. We regularly look to this resource to understand experience of cancer services by all people affected by cancer accessing services across Scotland.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 28 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to divest from buildings with poor energy efficiency ratings and relocate to more energy-efficient premises.
Answer
The Scottish Government estate is always under review to allow us to plan for accessible, modern and secure, energy efficient buildings to meet our changing needs and net zero ambitions, as well as to ensure best value for taxpayers’ money.
Estate decisions are informed by key estate data, for example the condition, usage, carbon emissions, accessibility and capacity. We prioritise funding towards ensuring our buildings are fit-for-purpose, inclusive and accessible for all staff and stakeholders and contribute to our net zero ambitions.
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Fairlie on 28 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported poultry and wild bird avian influenza cases in Scotland and England, whether an assessment has been made of any risk posed by continuing to allow gatherings of poultry and other species of bird, including fairs, shows, markets, sales and other gatherings.
Answer
The Scottish Government gathers evidence regularly from a range of sources including experts and through surveillance such as the avian influenza dead wild bird surveillance scheme to continually monitor the risks presented by bird gatherings. Any changes in risk may result in amendments or the temporary removal of the licence permitting birds to be collected together at any fair, market, show, exhibition or other gathering.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 28 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to renew or change its professional memberships as part of its organisational strategy.
Answer
The Scottish Government has adopted a professions model. All our jobs are now aligned to profession and related job family and job type. We are starting to apply related expectations into how we design jobs and recruit people for jobs. For some professions and job types this will include professional membership and accreditation requirements that either need to be achieved on entry or once in the job - e.g. Finance, Procurement. For a few professions, professional memberships are mandatory to be able to practice - e.g. Law. Our Heads of Profession oversee these expectations and standards.
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Fairlie on 28 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered introducing an avian influenza prevention zone, in light of the reported outbreak of avian influenza in Kingoldrum.
Answer
A Scotland wide Avian Influenza Prevention Zone was introduced covering the whole of Scotland at 12:00 hrs on 25 January 2025. The Scottish Government takes account of information provided though surveillance and the latest advice from a broad range of relevant experts and is ready to respond immediately and appropriately to any change in risk from avian influenza that may impact Scottish bird keepers.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 28 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what plans are in place to improve the availability of post-operative beds at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary to reduce the number of cancelled surgeries.
Answer
Whilst NHS Boards are encouraged to protect planned care, they must ensure that patients who require urgent care, including cancer treatment, are prioritised. In the case of Aberdeen Royal Infirmary patient cancellations have affected orthopaedic elective procedures. Where cancellations do take place, the large majority are routine procedures – although this should not underestimate the impact on the patient involved – and patients are rescheduled as quickly as possible.
To improve the availability of post-operative beds we are developing ‘Once for Scotland’ pathways, harnessing all opportunities to deliver patient care in the right place and closer to home, this includes maximising day case procedures to avoid any unnecessary stays in hospital.
This includes NHS Grampian’s bed base review to increase beds, which will reduce the need to board into planned care beds.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 28 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been allocated to each local authority to upgrade play parks in each year since 2021.
Answer
The Scottish Government is investing £60 million to renew play parks in Scotland, so children have access to free, high-quality outdoor play in their own communities.
Funding to support the Play Parks renewal programme has been allocated as follows:
2021-22 - £5 million
2022-23 - £5 million
2023-24 - £10 million
2024-25 - £15 million
The following table shows how much funding has been allocated to each local authority since 2021.
Local Authority | Allocation for 2021-22 | Allocation for 2022-23 | Allocation for 2023-24 | Allocation for 2024-25 |
Aberdeen City | £188,000 | £185,000 | £373,000 | £559,000 |
Aberdeenshire Council | £296,000 | £308,000 | £616,000 | £924,000 |
Angus Council | £108,000 | £111,000 | £220,000 | £330,000 |
Argyll and Bute Council | £76,000 | £79,000 | £157,000 | £235,000 |
City of Edinburgh Council | £414,000 | £406,000 | £811,000 | £1,216,000 |
Clackmannanshire Council | £47,000 | £46,000 | £93,000 | £139,000 |
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar Council | £29,000 | £32,000 | £62,000 | £93,000 |
Dumfries and Galloway Council | £140,000 | £146,000 | £291,000 | £437,000 |
Dundee City Council | £125,000 | £122,000 | £243,000 | £365,000 |
East Ayrshire Council | £112,000 | £112,000 | £224,000 | £336,000 |
East Dunbartonshire Council | £102,000 | £100,000 | £202,000 | £303,000 |
East Lothian Council | £108,000 | £108,000 | £218,000 | £327,000 |
East Renfrewshire Council | £102,000 | £101,000 | £204,000 | £306,000 |
Falkirk Council | £147,000 | £145,000 | £289,000 | £434,000 |
Fife Council | £344,000 | £342,000 | £681,000 | £1,022,000 |
Glasgow City Council | £525,000 | £514,000 | £1,028,000 | £1,542,000 |
Highland Council | £234,000 | £245,000 | £488,000 | £732,000 |
Inverclyde Council | £65,000 | £63,000 | £126,000 | £189,000 |
Midlothian Council | £98,000 | £97,000 | £197,000 | £295,000 |
Moray Council | £92,000 | £94,000 | £188,000 | £282,000 |
North Ayrshire Council | £118,000 | £117,000 | £231,000 | £347,000 |
North Lanarkshire Council | £324,000 | £319,000 | £635,000 | £952,000 |
Orkney Islands Council | £24,000 | £26,000 | £51,000 | £77,000 |
Perth and Kinross Council | £140,000 | £144,000 | £291,000 | £437,000 |
Renfrewshire Council | £158,000 | £155,000 | £307,000 | £461,000 |
Scottish Borders Council | £113,000 | £117,000 | £234,000 | £352,000 |
Shetland Islands | £28,000 | £31,000 | £61,000 | £91,000 |
South Ayrshire Council | £94,000 | £94,000 | £189,000 | £283,000 |
South Lanarkshire Council | £298,000 | £296,000 | £597,000 | £896,000 |
Stirling Council | £84,000 | £85,000 | £168,000 | £253,000 |
West Dunbartonshire Council | £81,000 | £79,000 | £157,000 | £235,000 |
West Lothian | £186,000 | £184,000 | £369,000 | £553,000 |
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 28 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-32904 by Fiona Hyslop on 14 January 2025, in light of the cabinet secretary's comment that "No full review of this [the Experimental Traffic Order (ETRO)], process has been undertaken since 2021 but officials have had a number of discussions with local authorities to provide further information on the change in process and to assist in putting the new measures in place", whether it will confirm what (a) partial reviews of this process have taken place, broken down by the (i) date and (ii) outcome of each review and (b) discussions have been held with local authorities, broken down by the (1) date, (2) local authorities involved and (3) outcome of each discussion, and for what reason this approach to the ETRO process took place, in light of the comment made by the then Minister for Transport in a letter to the Net Zero and Transport Committee on 16 December 2021 that "I can confirm that my officials will review the use of ETROs put in place by local authorities on a biannual basis for the first two years, then yearly thereafter...This will allow us to monitor not only the number of ETROs being made but also the purpose for which they are being used to assess if any further changes to legislation are required in the future."
Answer
While no formal post-legislative review has yet to be undertaken, my officials have been informally monitoring the use of Experimental Traffic Regulation Orders (ETROs) by local authorities. Given the initial low uptake of ETROs following the legislative changes made it was felt that no formal review was required at that time.
Officials have advised that the scope of a review is currently being considered and that we plan to write to all local authorities to gather their views on the ETRO procedures within the next 4 months. It should be stressed that this review is often undertaken post-legislative change and would look at the numbers of ETROs brought in under the new legislation and any common issues local authorities are facing to help inform any further legislative change in the future. The review will not impact on the operation of existing ETROs or of TROs that are subsequently made under the current legislation.
Officials have also had a number of informal discussions with a number of local authorities who were in the initial stages of considering if an ETRO was suitable for various schemes. No specific record has been made of these conversations given that they are standard discussions between Transport Scotland and local authority officials
