Questions and answers

Question reference: S6O-02087

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 March 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission’s recommendation that no further new greyhound tracks be permitted in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-15544

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 21 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether any recipients of the Network Support Grant Plus have been penalised for not meeting the grant's terms and conditions regarding bus service provision.

To date, no operator has been penalised for not meeting the terms and conditions of the Network Support Grant Plus.

All operators who claim Network Support Grant Plus must sign up to specific conditions and terms set out, or will have no entitlement to the grant. This includes the condition to freeze fares, which took effect from 10 October 2022. My officials gather relevant information, and ensure payment is made on the basis of actual kilometres run by each operator.

Question reference: S6W-15501

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 20 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of how the £126 million budgeted for support for active travel in the Scottish Budget 2022-23 has been spent, and how much of it has been allocated across public bodies.

The Scottish Government’s budget of £126m is available to grant recipients to draw down until the end of March 2023. This means that there is still time for spend to be incurred, including grant funding to our delivery partners which we may need to accrue for if payment hasn’t been made before the 31 March 2023. The final actual spend for the 2022-23 financial year will be known when the Annual Accounts are finalised.

Transport Scotland is working with the grant recipients to ensure as much of the maximum amount of grant funding available is drawn down before the end of the financial year.

Question reference: S6W-15546

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 14 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-13240 by Mairi McAllan on 5 January 2023, what consideration it has given to alternative sewage treatment options to UV treatment, outside of bathing seasons.

Question reference: S6O-00277

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged:
Current Status:

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its discussions with the Danish Government regarding the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance.

Question reference: S6W-15392

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 13 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the announced £170 million for multi-disciplinary teams in NHS Scotland will be dedicated towards supporting people living with myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).

We are providing £170m to support the delivery of extended multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) making it easier for patients to see the right person, at the right time, in GP practices and the community.

Whilst the fund does not have direct provision to support living with myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), the reforms are focused on strengthening the whole general practice team for the benefit of all patients.

We have recruited 3,220 whole time equivalent (WTE) healthcare professionals, such as pharmacists, mental health workers and physiotherapists, into these MDTS. This is helping to refocus the role of the GP on patients with more complex conditions, in turn improving patient outcomes, community health and practice sustainability.

Question reference: S6W-15319

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 10 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many jobs are being created by the Deposit Return Scheme, and where these jobs will be located.

Circularity Scotland is delivering major inward investment to Scotland and protecting and creating jobs in recycling and logistics. Circularity Scotland has recently announced 140 new jobs for the scheme at a recycling plant in Motherwell, 70 jobs have already been announced for Aberdeen and further announcements will follow for sites in other locations including Skye, Inverness, Thurso, Dundee, Grangemouth and Oban, bringing a total of 500 new jobs to Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-15252

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 7 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its independent report on the future prospects for the North Sea, as referenced in the Draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan, including (a) the pathway for oil and gas production projected for the basin, (b) Scotland’s energy requirements, (c) alignment of Scotland's energy activity with its climate change commitments, and (d) the just transition impacts of a declining North Sea basin and rising employment in low carbon and renewable energy industries.

The analysis was published on 3 March and can be found here - https://www.gov.scot/publications/energy-system-transition-independent-analysis/ . This publication is an independent report, reviewed by an independent panel, which provides a significant volume of evidence and analysis and will contribute to our understanding of the opportunities and challenges in energy transition. To allow stakeholders to fully consider this material before responding, the consultation period for the draft ESJTP has been extended by 5 weeks, and will now close on 9 May.

Question reference: S6W-15202

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made towards achieving its commitment to "work with the private sector to deliver £60 million of public and private investment to double the size of the public charging network to at least 6,000 electric vehicle charging points over the next 4 years", as announced in its Programme for Government 2022-23.

The Scottish Government has invested over £65 million in the ChargePlace Scotland Network that now has over 2,400 publicly available electric vehicle charge points, meaning that Scotland already has by far the greatest number of charge points per head of population than any other part of the UK outside of London. Last year the Scottish Government announced the £60 million Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund that aims to draw commercial investment in the public charging network across all parts of Scotland. Transport Scotland has already provided funding to Scotland’s local authorities to help them to work together to establish electric vehicle charging strategies and infrastructure expansion plans. These plans are identifying local and regional charge point needs, the investment requirements, as well as the best approaches to delivering collaborative investments with commercial charge point operators. A series of projects and investments will be announced over the course of this year.

Question reference: S6W-15206

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 6 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made towards delivering the National Dashcam Safety Portal initiative, led by Police Scotland with financial support from the Road Safety Framework Fund.

The Scottish Government recognise the significance of National Dashcam Safety Portal initiative and its potential positive impact on road user behaviour and therefore the road safety outcomes for communities across Scotland.

I met with Police Scotland on 9 February to discuss the importance of delivering the NDSP.Police Scotland is now reviewing the project’s timings as part of their wider planning for 2023/24 and beyond.

All those involved in delivering the NDSP remain committed to implementing this valuable safety initiative.

Chamber and committees