- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 27 January 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 9 February 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on any correspondence that it has had with (a) SEPA, (b) Health and Safety Executive and (c) Fife Council regarding reported ongoing health and safety concerns at Shell’s natural gas liquids plant and ExxonMobil's ethylene plant at Mossmorran.
Answer
It is for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), as independent regulator, to regulate facilities like the Mossmorran Complex in order to provide assurance that operators are managing the risks created during their activities. The HSE liaises regularly with SEPA and Fife Council with regards to management of the site. The Scottish Government, as a matter of course, liaises regularly with SEPA, which is one of the public partners, including also NHS Fife and Public Health Scotland, in relation to the management and regulation of the Mossmorran complex.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 27 January 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Ash Regan on 9 February 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what regulations govern domestic CCTV and Ring doorbell cameras in Scotland; whether any powers to change such regulations are devolved, and, if so, what plans it has to review the regulations that apply in Scotland.
Answer
Domestic CCTV, such as video doorbells, is covered in legislation by the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) and regulated by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Data protection is a matter reserved to the UK Government; the Scottish Government therefore do not have powers to make laws in this area.
- Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 27 January 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 9 February 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what costs will be, or are expected to be, incurred by the contract with Abellio once its ScotRail franchise has concluded.
Answer
Costs of any contracts between ScotRail Trains Ltd. and Abellio will not be fully known until contract negotiations are concluded, and thereafter will depend upon the extent of use of the support services covered by those contracts.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 27 January 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 February 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the flu vaccination programme in (a) general and (b) NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, and what the latest guidance is on when eligible members of the public can book appointments.
Answer
Flu vaccinations were paused in December 2021 to allow the NHS to address the immediate challenge of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. Local health boards are now offering flu vaccinations to those who are eligible, with uptake of flu vaccines among over 65s at 90.1%, which is already higher than the previous year.
Those who are aged 70 years or over will be contacted by their health board about their appointment by letter or telephone call. Those aged 65 to 69 years will be contacted by their health board by letter about their appointment.
Our focus remains on protecting people based on clinical need, medical advice, and evidence. On that basis, other healthy people aged 50 to 64 years generally will no longer receive the flu vaccine this season. Anyone unsure whether they are eligible should check with their local health board, and can find more information about flu vaccination on NHS Inform The flu vaccine (nhsinform.scot) .
Anyone who is eligible and would like to receive a flu vaccine can do so by checking How to get your flu vaccine | The flu vaccine (nhsinform.scot) . If the appointment received is not suitable, individuals can rearrange their appointment at Rearrange your flu vaccine appointment | The flu vaccine (nhsinform.scot) .
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde advise that those eligible can get vaccinated at participating NHS community pharmacies.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 27 January 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 February 2022
To ask the Scottish Government when it will recommence the annual flu vaccination programme.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05961 on 8 February 2022. 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: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 27 January 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 8 February 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many title holders are awaiting copies of their title deeds from Registers of Scotland.
Answer
This is a question for the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland (RoS). She advises me that, as of 02 February 2022, there are 79,831 dispositions undergoing registration. RoS receives and processes over 550,000 applications on average every year, of which 90% are completed in 20 days. In the Land Register the legal effect of registration backdates to the date on which the Keeper entered the application onto the application record (the date of receipt) and properties undergoing registration can still be transacted upon in the usual way.
Performance data is published regularly on ros.gov.uk.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 27 January 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 8 February 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-05226 by Richard Lochhead on 18 January 2022, whether it is the case that the objectives and key deliverables for the Just Transition Fund (a) in year 1 (2022) and (b) for the first tranche of £20 million of funding (i) were not set prior to the announcement of each funding stream, (ii) are yet to be set and (iii) will not be set until the "programme of engagement" has concluded.
Answer
The ten-year £500 million Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray is a single initiative. The initial £20 million announced for the 2022-23 is a mixture of Capital and Financial Transactions, but should not be regarded as distinct ‘funding streams’ with separate objectives and deliverables.
As specified in the draft Shared Policy Programme, and as specified in this year’s draft Budget, the strategic objective of the Fund is to support and accelerate the development of a transformed and decarbonised economy in the North East and Moray and support the role of Aberdeen and the wider north east as one of Scotland’s centres of excellence for the transition to a net zero economy.
Detailed policy design work and implementation planning, informed by a programme of engagement with partners in the region, is underway ahead of the new financial year. This will inform the specific objectives and deliverables of the Just Transition Fund in a) year 1 and b) for the first tranche of £20 million of funding. Further updates will be shared as this engagement develops. We will work collaboratively, continuing to engage and co-design this Fund with partners in region throughout the lifetime of this ten-year £500 million commitment to the North East and Moray.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 27 January 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 8 February 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many probable suicides there were in each year from 2017 to 2021, broken down by local authority and also given as an annual crude rate per 100,000 population.
Answer
National Records of Scotland (NRS) publishes figures on probable deaths by suicide annually. Figures for each year from 2017 to 2020 are provided on the NRS website, and this includes a breakdown by local authority areas at Table 5. The data is found here: https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/files//statistics/probable-suicides/2020/suicides-20-all-tabs.xlsx
NRS plans to publish figures of probable deaths by suicides for 2021 in summer 2022.
NRS does not publish annual crude rates of probable suicides at a population level. Instead, it uses age-standardised rates which provide reliable comparisons across local authority areas by taking account of different demographic profiles. NRS publishes this data on a 5 yearly basis, rather than on an annual basis, to ensure the data does not disclose individual cases. Detailed information is available in figure 6 of the spreadsheet provided in the above link.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 27 January 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 7 February 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on implementing the recommendations of the Scottish Parliamentary Working Group on Tenement Maintenance in relation to owners (a) in tenements forming owners' associations, (b) and building reserve funds and (c) and five-yearly building condition reports, which it committed to support through voluntary and incremental change until legislation is in place.
Answer
The Scottish Law Commission have accepted a reference from the Scottish Government, commissioning project work to review the law of the tenement in Scotland and to make recommendations regarding the establishment of compulsory owners’ associations, building reserve funds and building inspections.
The Scottish Government has commissioned research on repair costs and the viability of owners’ associations, and engaged with stakeholders including tenement owners regarding compulsory factoring.
Separately, the Scottish Government will be publishing a public consultation on a new housing standard for Scotland in the course of 2022 which will inform plans for future legislation. We will also be circulating draft guidance for private landlords on changes to the repairing standard which come into force in 2024.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 27 January 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Current Status:
Answered by Patrick Harvie on 7 February 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the removal of fireplaces in properties in rural communities in order to meet new housing standards, in light of the potential impact that this could have during events such as Storm Arwen, and whether it will consider allowing fireplaces to be kept as a back-up heating source.
Answer
Social landlords are responsible for ensuring their housing stock complies with housing standards including the Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing (EESSH). Decisions on how the energy efficiency ratings required by EESSH are met, is an operational matter for individual social landlords and not something in which the Scottish Government can intervene. EESSH does not require the removal of fireplaces. Any decisions to remove fireplaces in social housing in rural communities lies solely with the social landlord who owns the housing stock.
Compliance with EESSH is reported to the Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR) and social landlords can claim exemptions where there are significant obstacles relating to cost, technology and necessary consent.