- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 14 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 4 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide a breakdown of the number of
CalMac scheduled sailings that were defined as (a) on time, (b) Level 1
Lateness and (c) Level 2 Lateness for each month since March 2022.
Answer
The breakdown of CalMac scheduled sailings defined as (a) on time, (b) Level 1 Lateness and (c) Level 2 Lateness for each month since March 2022 are provided in the following table.
| | On Time / Early | Level 1 Lateness | Level 2 Lateness |
Mar-22 | 10,858 | 292 | 312 |
Apr-22 | 14,225 | 270 | 174 |
May-22 | 15,752 | 300 | 101 |
Jun-22 | 15,019 | 415 | 206 |
Jul-22 | 16,492 | 415 | 216 |
Aug-22 | 15,744 | 619 | 304 |
Sep-22 | 14,627 | 289 | 175 |
Oct-22 | 13,332 | 278 | 246 |
Nov-22 | 10,000 | 144 | 144 |
Dec-22 | 11,272 | 135 | 114 |
Jan-23 | 10,283 | 211 | 197 |
Feb-23 | 10,134 | 144 | 198 |
Mar-23 | 11,372 | 191 | 292 |
Not all occurrences of a sailing being late will result in a performance deduction, as this is dependant on the cause of that sailing being late.
Any performance deduction that CalMac Ferries may incur as a result of (a) Level 1 Lateness and (b) Level 2 Lateness is established by Banding, or journey length, of the sailing. It is also determined on the how long delay of arrival is when compared to the timetabled journey time.
Banding | Journey Time (minutes) | Lateness Level 1 | Lateness Level 2 |
A | Less than 30 minutes | £99.97 | £199.93 |
B | Between 30 minutes and 90 minutes | £315.18 | £630.35 |
C | More than 90 minutes | £1,036.83 | £2,073.65 |
- Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 4 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to implement the 14 recommendations from the report, Impact of Scotland’s Developing Young Workforce Strategy on Employer Engagement, and, if so, whether it will provide a timescale for the implementation.
Answer
In response to the recommendations from ‘Impact of Scotland’s Developing Young Workforce Strategy on Employer Engagement’ we are working with partners, including the employer led DYW network, to develop a delivery plan. The plan will build on the progress that we are making in supporting a record number of school leavers into an initial positive destination. We will provide further information during summer 2023.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 06 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 4 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what support it will offer to Epilepsy Scotland’s welfare rights service.
Answer
The Scottish Government recognises the critical role of advice services, often delivered by our diverse third sector and providing lifeline services to the most vulnerable communities, especially during the cost crisis. In 2022-23, we directly invested around £12.5 million in free income maximisation, welfare and debt advice services delivered by third sector partners.
We recognise the impact that rising operating costs are having across society, including on charities and voluntary organisations including Epilepsy Scotland, and we are committed to doing everything within our powers to support the third sector to help the people who are struggling the most. Officials are engaging with Epilepsy Scotland to understand any financial challenges they are facing.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 06 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 4 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what action it plans to take regarding regulating the sale of disposable vape cartridges.
Answer
The Scottish Government is considering the health and environmental impacts of disposable vape cartridges. Zero Waste Scotland is undertaking an urgent review into the environmental impacts of disposable vapes and we expect the review report to be received in May. We have also recently published our consultation analysis on proposed restrictions on vaping products and are considering next steps. The findings from the consultation are being used to inform the refreshed Tobacco Action Plan, which is due to be published in 2023.
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 06 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 4 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that English craft beer is being labelled as “not for sale in Scotland” due to concerns over the Deposit Return Scheme.
Answer
It is for individual businesses to determine whether or not they wish to sell products in Scotland following the launch of Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS).
The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that businesses of all sizes can participate in our DRS. As part of this I announced on Thursday 20 April 2023 in Parliament that changes are to be made to the DRS Regulations so that any product which sells less than 5,000 articles a year in Scotland will no longer have to place a deposit on the product. This change was asked for by business and will apply to producers of all sizes. However, it will particularly help small producers and hospitality businesses.
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 06 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 4 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) ministers, (b) civil servants and (c) Special Advisers travelled overseas to learn more about how deposit return schemes operate in other countries; how much this cost for each of the individuals who travelled, broken down by (i) flights, (ii) accommodation and (iii) other costs, and how any knowledge gathered was disseminated more broadly to support the implementation of its Deposit Return Scheme.
Answer
In May 2018 a group of civil servants visited Norway to learn more about the country’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). Total costs for this trip were £862.33.
The learning acquired on this trip helped to inform the early work undertaken to develop Scotland’s DRS.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 April 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Current Status:
Answered by Elena Whitham on 4 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that the First Minister would be “minded to withdraw” the consultation on an alcohol advertising ban, whether it will provide an update on its position on the future of the policy.
Answer
As the First Minister said on Tuesday, he has asked officials to go back to the drawing board on potential proposals to restrict alcohol advertising and promotion.
It is crucial that we prevent and reduce alcohol-related harms, particularly to young people, but that aim has to be balanced with careful consideration of the impact restrictions may have on business.
We will be reflecting on the feedback we received from stakeholders during the recent Ministerial roundtables and will analyse the public consultation responses to understand the views and perspectives of those that responded. Further consultation and engagement with public health stakeholders and businesses will take place as our work progresses.
- Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 4 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to tackle any stigma associated with receiving welfare benefits.
Answer
We are committed to challenging stigmatising narratives in everything we do – taking a rights-based approach to social security, and embedding this in all of our communications. By embracing person-centred approaches to service design and delivery, and by collaborating with organisations working directly with people, we aim to tackle stigma and increase the take-up of Scottish benefits.
We continue to carry out user research to better understand and tackle stigma, and to ensure that Scotland’s social security system is designed with input from the people who will use it. Their experiences are central to tackling stigma through the design of the application process, from communication material (including factsheets, posters, flyers, social media and marketing campaigns), web content on mygov.scot, application forms, decision letters as well as operational guidance for staff.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 03 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 4 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any potential impact of reintroducing wildcats to the Cairngorms.
Answer
Since wildcats are already present in the Cairngorms, any proposal to release wildcats in this area would be a translocation project to reinforce the existing population, rather than a reintroduction.
The ‘Saving Wildcats’ project submitted a licence application to NatureScot in September 2022 to permit the translocation of wildcats to sites in the Cairngorms Connect Project area from conservation breeding facilities.
In considering the licence application, NatureScot assessed the extent to which the application followed the best practice guidelines set out in the Scottish Code for Conservation Translocations. These guidelines involve a range of biological and socio-economic considerations. Also, as part of this process a full ‘Habitats Regulations Appraisal’ was undertaken to assess impacts of the project on European protected sites within the release area.
NatureScot has recently approved the licence application, and has published a licensing decision document at https://www.nature.scot/doc/decision-document-license-application-220947-licence-release-captive-breed-wildcats-felis-silvestris
- Asked by: Edward Mountain, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 May 2023
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 11 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, prior to the signing by the Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity of the Memorandum of Understanding between NatureScot and financial partners, how much financing it had identified would be required to meet its net zero targets for tree planting.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 11 May 2023
