- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 December 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 16 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what research has been undertaken to ascertain whether minimum unit pricing has led to consumers to switch from lower strength, lower volume products to higher strength, higher volume products.
Answer
Evidence from the evaluation of minimum unit pricing (MUP) has shown that consumers have responded to the introduction of MUP in a variety of ways including reduced purchasing of products whose price has increased, switching to smaller pack sizes, to more premium products and to lower strength products.
Public Health Scotland (PHS) are undertaking a comprehensive evaluation of MUP, which includes assessing the impact of MUP on health, crime, public safety and public nuisance in Scotland, and the impact on the alcohol industry. A final evaluation report will be published in 2023.
All published studies are available on the PHS website: https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/
- Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 December 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 16 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure the wellbeing of patients with chronic urinary tract infections.
Answer
The Scottish Government has supported the development of many urinary tract infection (UTI) resources to support people with these conditions and reduce the risk of infection. This includes evidence-based information and support available on the symptoms, treatment and prevention of UTIs on NHS Inform . We have also supported local access to support through the development of Pharmacy First in community pharmacies across Scotland which allows women with less complex UTIs to access free advice or treatment where appropriate.
We expect all healthcare workers in Scotland to follow best practice when providing care for people with UTIs. In support of this, guidelines on management of suspected UTIs were developed by the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) in 2020. These support clinicians to provide advice to patients and carers on appropriate treatment, risks and lifestyle and behaviour issues which can support management and prevention of UTIs. The guideline was accompanied by supporting materials for clinicians and patients to improve dissemination and engagement with the new guidelines including a quick reference guide and patient booklet.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 December 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 16 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what the membership of the (a) Bioenergy Policy Working Group and (b) Bioenergy Expert Panel is, and when it will publish the minutes of the meetings of these two groups.
Answer
a) The Bioenergy Policy Working Group comprises Scottish Government officials from a number of policy areas.
- Agriculture Transformation for Environment and Climate Change
- Bioenergy
- Biodiversity
- Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS)
- Critical Energy Infrastructure & Commercial Projects
- Domestic Climate Change
- Environmental Protection - Air Quality
- Environmental Quality and Circular Economy
- Heat Strategy
- Hydrogen
- Industrial Decarbonisation
- Industrial Strategy and Technologies
- Just Transition
- Land Use Strategy
- Land Use Transformation
- Natural Capital and Land Management
- Office of the Chief Economic Adviser (OCEA)
- Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services (RESAS)
- Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA)
- Scottish Forestry
- Sustainable Aviation
- Transport - Supply Chains and Alternative Fuels
- Whole Energy System
Minutes from the meetings will be published as soon as practical. However the group are still in the process of developing policy and considering options.
b) The Bioenergy Expert Panel has still to be assembled, and we are currently reviewing when and how it will be established.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 December 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 16 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to legislate to end unlimited recovery of hydrocarbons.
Answer
Oil and gas exploration and production, including licensing, remains reserved to the UK Government. The Scottish Government is clear that unlimited extraction of fossil fuels is not consistent with our climate obligations and is not the right solution to the real cost of living crisis families are facing. To reduce energy costs we need to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels. This means investing more in renewable energy and energy efficiency.
We are also supporting the fastest possible just transition for the energy sector and the oil and gas workforce, the communities in which they live and work, and the regional economies that have greatly benefited from oil and gas activities and have much to gain from the transition to net zero.
Our draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan was published for consultation on 10 January 2023.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 December 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 12 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government which suppliers (a) registered for and (b) attended the Single Building Assessment(s) for Fire Safety in Scotland remote suppliers event, which was held on 14 December 2022.
Answer
We are not able to provide this information due to commercial sensitivity however a total of 14 suppliers were in attendance at the meeting.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 December 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Elena Whitham on 10 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-13063 by Elena Whitham on 20 December 2022, which independent contractors it used to carry out this analysis.
Answer
The analysis of responses to the consultation on Review of Part 1 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 and creation of a Family Justice Modernisation Strategy was carried out by KSO Research Limited following a public tendering exercise.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 December 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Patrick Harvie on 10 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government when it expects to set out to the Scottish Parliament its plans in relation to whether it will extend the rent cap in the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022 past 31 March 2023.
Answer
We have reached an agreement with social landlords on below-inflation rent increases for the next financial year.
Organisations representing social landlords have announced their members’ plans for average rent increases for 2023-24, which will keep rents significantly below private market levels.
Under the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) Act 2022, rents are effectively frozen in the social rented sectors until 31 March 2023. Decisions on future plans for the private sector rent freeze, as well as other measures contained in the Act, will be announced in the coming weeks.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 December 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 10 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many individuals have been resettled in each local authority area in Scotland through the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
Answer
The Scottish Government regularly publishes data relating to the number of completed matches, where a displaced person from Ukraine has arrived at their hosted and longer term accommodation in Scotland, under the Homes for Ukraine scheme. The number of completed matches by Local Authority can be found in Table 1 in a supporting document called Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme in Scotland: December statistics tables as follows - Supporting documents - Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme in Scotland: statistics - December 2022 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
An accompanying report is published alongside the tables and can be found at the following link: Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme in Scotland: statistics - December 2022 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
Additionally, the UK Government regularly publishes data relating to visas and arrivals under the Homes for Ukraine scheme: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ukraine-family-scheme-application-data/ukraine-family-scheme-and-ukraine-sponsorship-scheme-homes-for-ukraine-visa-data--2 .
Displaced people with visas are free to enter the country and live and work where they want. Not everyone entering the UK through the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme (including those sponsored by the Scottish Government) will need accommodation provided to them. They may make their own arrangements, including renting their own accommodation or staying with friends and family. Some arrivals may have also self-matched with a volunteer host, assisted by a charity or support network. Those arrivals may never be in contact with a welcome hub or local authority seeking accommodation.
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 December 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 6 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how many children in the (a) Midlothian, (b) East Lothian, (c) Scottish Borders, (d) Dumfries and Galloway, (e) South Ayrshire, (f) East Ayrshire, (g) North Ayrshire and (h) South Lanarkshire Council area are eligible to receive a free laptop or tablet, and, of those, how many (i) have received and (ii) are yet to receive a free laptop or tablet.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all school aged children have access to a device to support their learning by the end of this parliament.
In 2020-21, we provided £25 million of funding to local authorities across Scotland to tackle digital exclusion, resulting in over 72,000 pupils receiving a device to support their learning. The following table shows the number of devices distributed via that funding, as reported by individual local authorities, as well as the number of pupils currently on the school roll in those council areas.
Local Authority | Devices Distributed | Pupils on school roll at September 2021 |
Dumfries and Galloway | 2371 | 18705 |
East Ayrshire | 1837 | 16241 |
East Lothian | 1806 | 15030 |
Midlothian | 1235 | 13830 |
North Ayrshire | 1734 | 17887 |
Scottish Borders | 316 | 14477 |
South Ayrshire | 1512 | 14326 |
South Lanarkshire | 5544 | 45394 |
Many local authorities have also invested in devices from their own budgets. Information from them indicates that up to 280,000 devices have already been distributed to learners across Scotland (including the 72,000 funded by the Scottish Government).
We continue to work closely with local authorities to deliver on the commitment moving forward.
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 December 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 6 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government by what date it estimates that every eligible child in the (a) Midlothian, (b) East Lothian, (c) Scottish Borders, (d) Dumfries and Galloway, (e) South Ayrshire, (f) East Ayrshire, (g) North Ayrshire and (h) South Lanarkshire Council area will have received a free laptop or tablet.
Answer
As noted in the 2022-23 Programme for Government, we are continuing our preparatory work to ensure every school-aged child has access to a digital device by the end of this parliament in 2026.