- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 March 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-15621 by Maree Todd on 21 March 2023, for what reasons the percentage of children participating in the General Dental Service fell from 97% in September 2007 to the pre-COVID-19 pandemic level of 84.2% in September 2019.
Answer
The total number of children who have participated in NHS GDS has increased by 17.6%, from 693,307 in 2007 to 815,317 in 2019.
However, the participation rate is the proportion of the registered population who have seen a dentist in the last two years. The participation rate is therefore also influenced by the number of people who are registered for NHS dental services. The number of children that were registered for NHS dental services between 2007 and 2019 has increased by 35.4%
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 March 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 11 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many instances of cuckooing have been (a) reported to and (b) identified by Police Scotland in each year since 2017 and what steps it is taking to tackle this activity.
Answer
The Scottish Government is fully committed to tackling serious and organised crime and strongly condemns the illegal practice of ‘cuckooing’ and the subsequent misery it causes victims.
The Scottish Government does not hold information on the operational intelligence on incidents involving cuckooing. This information should be requested from Police Scotland directly.
The Scottish Government is working with partners on the Serious Organised Crime Taskforce to disrupt cuckooing and County Lines networks.
- Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 March 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Christina McKelvie on 11 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-15236 by Neil Gray on 1 March 2023, what support it will provide to Aberdeen City Council, in light of the announcement that it proposes to close six libraries by the end of March 2023.
Answer
We are aware of Aberdeen Council’s decision and acknowledge how difficult this is for the libraries, their staff and the communities they serve. The Scottish Government places great importance on public libraries and we believe everyone should have access to library services. As set out in response to S6W-16124 , l ibrary policy is devolved to local authorities, who have a statutory duty to ensure there is adequate provision of library services for their residents.
We recognise the financial challenges that local government are facing and the difficult choices they had to make to balance their budgets. In the most challenging budget settlement since devolution the Scottish Government is providing nearly £13.5 billion in the 2023-24 Local Government Settlement. Following the flat-cash position set out in the Resource Spending Review, we have listened to councils and are now increasing the resources available to Local Government next year by over £793 million.
In 2023-24, Aberdeen City Council will receive £436.9 million to fund local services, which equates to an extra £27.1 million to support vital day to day services or an additional 6.6 per cent compared to 2022-23.
- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 March 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-15622 by Maree Todd on 21 March 2023, for what reasons the percentage of adults participating in the General Dental Service fell from 98.6% in September 2007 to the pre-COVID-19 pandemic level of 66.2% in September 2019.
Answer
The total number of adults who have participated in NHS GDS has increased by 45.6%, from 1,902,885 in 2007 to 2,788,692 in 2019.
However, the participation rate is the proportion of the registered population who have seen a dentist in the last two years. The participation rate is therefore also influenced by the number of people who are registered for NHS dental services. The number of adults that were registered for NHS dental services between 2007 and 2019 has increased by 118.4%
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 March 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 11 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to introduce compulsory microchipping of pet cats in Scotland, in light of the UK Government regulations proposing compulsory microchipping of cats in England, which were laid in the UK Parliament on 13 March 2023.
Answer
I refer the member to my response to question S6W-15928 on 20 March 2023. 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: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Christina McKelvie on 11 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it provided to (a) Historic Scotland and (b) Historic Environment Scotland in each year since 2007.
Answer
Details of Scottish Government funding for Historic Scotland, from 2007-08 until it became part of Historic Environment Scotland, can be found in the following table. These figures come from the annual Scottish Budget publication.
Year | Historic Scotland Funding £m |
2007-08 | 47.7 |
2008-09 | 51.7 |
2009-10 | 49.3 |
2010-11 | 49.8 |
2011-12 | 47.0 |
2012-13 | 45.3 |
2013-14 | 43.6 |
2014-15 | 37.8 |
2015-16 | 40.1 |
Details of the Scottish Government funding for provided Historic Environment Scotland since 2016-17, the first full year of its accounts, can be found in the following table. These figures come from the annual Scottish Budget publication with the exception of the revised budget in 2020-21 which took account of the effect of pandemic closures on its commercial income.
Year | Historic Environment Scotland Funding £m |
2016-17 | 45.0 |
2017-18 | 45.5 |
2018-19 | 41.1 |
2019-20 | 39.8 |
2020-21 (pre-pandemic) | 42.8 |
2020-21 (revised) | 80.4 |
2021-22 | 75.9 (including £20m in COVID consequentials) |
2022-23 | 70.1 |
2023-24 | 72.7 |
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 11 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it has provided to Forestry and Land Scotland for the financial year 2023-24.
Answer
There is regular engagement at all levels between Scottish Government and Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) and this will continue for the remainder of the financial year 2023-24. This includes regular dialogue between Ministers and the FLS CEO. FLS’s second Corporate Plan (2022 – 2025) was published on the 01 April 2022, this sets out the direction of travel for the organisation and priorities for the three-year period, including 2023-24.
Corporate Plan - Forestry and Land Scotland
The FLS Business Plan sets out the main actions that the organisation we will take over the period 1 April 2023 - 31 March 2024 to deliver the commitments and outcomes identified in their Corporate Plan. Ministers approved that plan in March 2023.
Business Plan - Forestry and Land Scotland
Like all Scottish public bodies, FLS receive relevant guidance documents from the Scottish Government. For example, FLS have received a copy of the Public Sector Pay Strategy 2023-24 and a copy of the Fair Work First Guidance.
- Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what the average number of private patients per dentist has been in NHS (a) Highland, (b) Orkney, (c) Shetland and (d) Western Isles, in each of the last 10 years.
Answer
This information is not held by the Scottish Government.
Any information on the number of patients registered privately with a dentist will be held by the individual dentist and is not collected or held centrally.
- Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 27 March 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 11 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many sea bass licences have been granted in each of the last five years, broken down by location.
Answer
Marine Scotland has issued five commercial sea bass licences in total during the past 5 years (one each year to the same vessel (2019-2023)). The vessel is registered with our Fishery Office in Ayr.
- Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 27 March 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 11 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many times Police Scotland has recorded substandard road conditions as a contributory factor in road traffic accidents in the Highlands and Islands in each of the last 10 years, also broken down by command area.
Answer
The following table shows the number of contributory factors in injury road accidents where road surface was poor or defective in Highlands and Islands police division, broken down by council area. In addition to the Highlands and Islands, the North command area also covers Grampian and Tayside. These areas have therefore not been included.
Contributory factors in injury road accidents where road surface was poor or defective in Highlands and Islands police division by council area |
| | | | | | |
| | Eilean Siar | Highland | Orkney Islands | Shetland Islands | Total |
2012 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 17 |
2013 | 2 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 17 |
2014 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
2015 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 15 |
2016 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
2017 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
2018 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
2019 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
2020 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
2021 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
