- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 19 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-01240 by Humza Yousaf on 9 August 2021, how many deaths have been attributed to sudden arrhythmic death syndrome in each year since 2019, broken down by (a) age group, (b) gender and (c) ethnicity.
Answer
Further to question S6W-01240 submitted by Monica Lennon answered by Humza Yousaf on 9 August 2021. The Scottish Government does not hold this information. Information on deaths by cause are held by National Records of Scotland (NRS). Data is available at: List of Data Tables | National Records of Scotland (nrscotland.gov.uk) . Detail on how to request further information from NRS can be found at Requesting Information | National Records of Scotland (nrscotland.gov.uk) .
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 19 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Scottish Fire and Rescue Service regarding taking preventative action to protect firefighters and their families from carcinogenic contaminants.
Answer
The Scottish Government moved swiftly to meet with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) after the Members debate on the FBU DECON Campaign on 19 January 2023. In addition to regular discussions with the SFRS Chair and Chief Officer, the former Minister for Community Safety met with the SFRS at their Headquarters on 21 February 2023 to discuss current actions that the SFRS are taking and also future plans to further protect firefighters from contaminants. Officials are also in close contact with the SFRS on an ongoing basis on these issues.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 19 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has appropriate levels of resources to respond to every incident in a safe and timely manner.
Answer
The Scottish Government has continued the commitment to support SFRS service delivery and reform with a further uplift of £10m resource for 2023-24. In recognition of the pay and inflationary pressures faced by SFRS, we have provided SFRS with additional budget cover of up to £4.4m on top of the allocation set in the 2023-24 budget announcement.
The Scottish Government’s Fire and Rescue Framework for Scotland 2022 sets out that SFRS should ensure that the capability of its assets and staff, combined with technological improvements, enable it to respond to incidents with the right resources at the right time across communities in Scotland. The deployment of the appropriate level of resources to deal with an incident is a matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.
- Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 19 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many digital devices were distributed to school pupils through digital inclusion funding in (a) 2021 and (b) 2022.
Answer
The Scottish Government provided £25 million of funding in 2020-21 to local authorities across Scotland to tackle digital exclusion, resulting in over 72,000 pupils receiving a device to support their learning.
Individual local authorities across Scotland have also undertaken their own digital inclusion schemes and have invested in devices from their own budgets. Information from them indicates that up to 280,000 devices have been distributed to learners across Scotland (including the 72,000 funded by the Scottish Government).
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 19 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what salary and any benefits the incoming Chief Executive Officer of Scottish Rail Holdings will receive upon their appointment.
Answer
Remuneration for the incoming Chief Executive Officer, Scottish Rail Holdings will be published, in due course, on the Salary Publication section of the Scottish Rail Holdings website:-
Who we are — Scottish Rail Holdings
- Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 19 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of delays in ferry replacements on island economies.
Answer
The Scottish Government has not undertaken any specific assessment of the impact of delays in ferry replacement on island economies.
The ferries network has seen significant improvements in the last decade a result of the 2013 Ferries Plan. Scottish Government and Transport Scotland are keenly aware of the importance of reliable ferry services upon which our island communities depend. With 6 major vessels currently in construction, and more vessel replacement projects ongoing, the future ferries network will be more reliable and resilient bringing travel to and from the islands communities up to meet their needs.
- Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 19 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-16093 by Jenny Gilruth on 28 March 2023, whether it, Transport Scotland, CalMac or CMAL made the final decision on chartering MV Alfred for the Clyde and Hebrides network.
Answer
The charter, and preceding discussions, for the MV Alfred from Pentland Ferries for use in Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service contract were a matter for the operator CalMac Ferries Limited.
In line with the Contract for the Provision of Ferry Services Between the Scottish Ministers and Calmac Ferries Limited, the confirmation of funding and agreement to proceed were provided by the Scottish Ministers prior to CalMac Ferries Limited deciding to sign the charter.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 03 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 19 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many SEPA employees have been working on water pollution, in each year since 2015.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold this information. The allocation of SEPA staff resource is the responsibility of SEPA’s CEO and Senior Management Team.
SEPA’s Corporate Plan will be renewed in 2024 and Ministers will work with SEPA to agree the Key Performance Indicators and priority areas to be included in that Plan.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 03 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 19 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on whether it
plans to make road improvements to increase road safety at Toll of Birness on
the A90; what the evidence base is that indicates that any such road
improvements will increase safety specifically at that junction, and, if
(a) it has no such road improvement plans and (b) no evidence base exists,
whether it will confirm this.
Answer
Transport Scotland undertakes an annual assessment of the safety performance of the entire trunk road network, including the A90. This assessment considers accident patterns and rates in the form of Route Accident Reduction Plans (RARP), and screens all locations where three or more personal injury accidents have occurred in a three-year period. This ensures that full consideration is given to accidents that may be spread along a specific corridor. Further investigations are then carried out and, where appropriate, mitigation measures are prioritised for delivery.
Two interactive signs were erected in 2017 with a third interactive sign to supplement the northbound signs erected in 2021. These signs alert drivers to vehicles turning at the junction and encourage drivers to drive within the speed limit. Other work involved an additional northbound advance direction sign. There are currently no further road safety improvement plans at A90 Toll of Birness, however, this will be monitored through the Annual Road Safety Review.
- Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 03 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 19 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether all drugs that are approved for prescribing on the NHS are available to be prescribed to people in prison.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-16574 on 19 April 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
