- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 March 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 15 April 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to improve the availability of dental appointments, in light of Public Health Scotland figures showing that more than a third of those registered with an NHS dentist did not have an examination or treatment for three years.
Answer
As of 1 November 2023, we have introduced significant dental payment reform with the aim of encouraging dentists to provide more NHS dentistry. Official statistics from Public Health Scotland published in February 2024 and reflecting system activity following reform show that nearly 400,000 patients were seen by an NHS primary care dentist in November. This is an early indication that the system changes have been received favourably by many NHS dentists. In addition to improving conditions for existing workforce through reform, we are also continuing to work with our counterparts across the UK and devolved governments to expedite process and bolster the number of dental practitioners working in Scotland now and into the future with a view to supporting greater availability of appointments.
The official measure of participation is the number of patients that have been seen in the last 2 years, and official statistics show that before the pandemic, participation was around 70%. Participation provides an indication of patient contacts within the system at a point in time but is not, in itself, an indicator of access noting that there may be many reasons why registered patients do not attend the dentist. We therefore use a range of data to understand the position in NHS dentistry, including regular qualitative discussion with NHS Boards to support local and national interventions to improve patient access.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 28 March 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by George Adam on 15 April 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the UK Secretary of State for Scotland's letter to the First Minister on 21 March 2024, in which he offered "the UK Government's assistance in introducing a recall mechanism for MSPs".
Answer
I replied to the UK Secretary of State on 27 March 2024 to reiterate the Scottish Government position that Scottish Ministers consider that the responsibility for regulation of the Scottish Parliament’s membership should rest primarily with its Members.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 April 2024
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 17 April 2024
To ask the Scottish Government when the health secretary last met with the chief executives of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHS Ayrshire and Arran, and what was discussed.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 17 April 2024
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 March 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 9 April 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to (a) promote the use of British Sign Language (BSL) in public spaces and (b) improve the availability of BSL education, in light of the aims of Sign Language Week, which takes place from 18 to 24 March 2024.
Answer
The Scottish Government recognises the importance of Sign Language Week in promoting British Sign Language (BSL) given its positive impact on both culture and community in Scotland. During this week the First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills reiterated support of BSL and the Scottish Government’s commitments within the BSL National Plan 2023 – 2029.
In response to (a), the Scottish Government published the BSL National Plan 2023 – 2029 in November 2023. This plan sets out our approach to making Scotland the best place in the world for BSL users to live, visit, work, and learn; it sets out 45 commitments across ten priority areas including health, education, and justice. The BSL (Scotland) Act 2015 also requires listed authorities to publish their own Authority Plans; they are our key partners in promoting the use of BSL in public spaces.
In response to (b), the Additional Support for Learning Act places education authorities under duties to identify, provide for and review the additional support needs of their pupils, including those affected by deafness. The level of support required, and input from a specialist teacher of deaf children and young people, will vary depending on a child’s individual needs. To support deaf children and young people the Scottish Government provides funding of £150,000 to The Scottish Sensory Centre to support staff training enabling effective support to deaf pupils. In addition, Education Scotland has developed a professional learning resource which seeks to support practitioners to engage more effectively with British Sign Language users. This can be found on their website at the following link: https://education.gov.scot/resources/good-practice-in-working-with-deaf-learners-their-parents-and-families-bsl-plan/
Education Scotland has published a BSL toolkit setting out the key national legislation and General Teaching Council for Scotland standards which practitioners should be aware of when working with BSL users. Information to help practitioners understand BSL, Deaf culture and identity is provided throughout the Toolkit alongside some of the key definitions and terms used when working with parents and families. You can view the Toolkit here: British Sign Language (BSL) - Toolkit for Practitioners | Resources | Education Scotland . Education Scotland also published resources to help families support their children’s learning, which can be found at: BSL | Parentzone Scotland | Education Scotland
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 March 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 9 April 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent on repairs to the entire CalMac fleet in each calendar year since 2020.
Answer
The information in the following table has been supplied by CalMac. This information is not held by calendar year but has been supplied by Contract Year (CY) which begins in October.
CY05 Oct 2020-Sept 2021 | CY06 Oct 2021-Sept-2022 | CY07 Oct 2022–Sep 2023 | CY08 (to date) Oct 2023–Feb 2024 |
£17.262m | £28.525m | £30.036m | £24,852m |
In addition, the following sums have been given to Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) as part of the SG Ferries Resilience Fund. These figures are not held by calendar year. This is preventative fund, over and above regular maintenance, and is aimed at lowering the risk of vessel breakdown and loss of service.
2019-2020 | 2020-2021 | 2021-2022 | 2022-2023 | 2023-2024 (to date) |
£3.348m | £3.503m | £3.622m | £3.537m | £10.371m |
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 March 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 9 April 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that Strathclyde Partnership for Transport has agreed to begin work on local bus franchising in the west of Scotland.
Answer
We have delivered all the powers within the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019, which enables each local transport authority to determine which of the options they want to use to improve bus provision in their area. While some may opt for a franchising approach, others may choose to progress with a partnership or run their own services. It is for each local transport authority to determine which of these powers they want to use.
In the case of Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, I welcome their decision to explore all available bus powers, including franchising, as part of their Strathclyde Bus Strategy.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 March 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 9 April 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is has any further plans to purchase or hire ferries from other countries, in light of reports of the successful delivery of the MV Isle of Islay from a company in Turkey.
Answer
Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL), as procuring authority, undertakes robust open procurement exercises in line with relevant legislation and guidance for all new vessel projects. In previous procurement exercises CMAL has received interest from shipyards worldwide.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 March 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 5 April 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6O-03226 by Siobhian Brown on 20 March 2024, in relation to the offences under the Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act 2022, how many people have been (a) arrested, (b) charged, (c) prosecuted and (d) convicted, also broken down by the (i) offence and (ii) court disposal.
Answer
Figures on arrests or charges related to particular offences are not held centrally by the Scottish Government, the most recent figures shared by Police Scotland were provided in the answer to question S6W-21328 on 27 September 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 .
Up until the end of February 2024, 40 charges under the Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act 2022 were reported to the Procurator Fiscal. Of those 40 charges, 20 charges have thus far been prosecuted. There have been 4 convictions, 2 charges did not result in a conviction, and the other 14 charges are part of ongoing prosecutions. A breakdown of prosecutions by offence are set out below:
- Section 21 (Prohibition on providing fireworks or pyrotechnic articles to children): T here have been a total of 5 prosecutions. These are all ongoing at present.
- Section 35 (Prohibition of pyrotechnic articles in public places): There have been a total of 7 prosecutions. There has been 1 conviction while the other 6 are ongoing at present.
- Section 36 (Prohibition of pyrotechnic articles at designated venues or events): T here have been a total of 8 prosecutions. There has been 3 convictions and 2 acquittals, while a further 3 are ongoing at present. One of the cases which is still ongoing under this section is also aggravated as per Section 44 of the Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act 2022.
- Section 44 (Aggravation of offences against emergency workers): 77 aggravations have been recorded. Thus far, there have been 8 prosecutions, and 1 conviction.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 March 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 5 April 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to evidence taken at the Scottish Parliament's Public Audit Committee on 21 March 2024 that the former chief executive of the Water Industry Commission for Scotland was paid six months' salary after resigning amidst reports of serious governance and expenses concerns.
Answer
Ministers are aware of the circumstances under which the previous Chief Executive departed and the Water Industry Commission for Scotland is writing to the Public Audit Committee on this very point.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 March 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 26 March 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve mental health support in schools, in light of the Centre for Social Justice report, Drowning not Waving: Discussions with Scottish Small Charities, which states that all of the respondents to its poll "reported significant increases in mental health issues in school age children", and that the situation was described as "an epidemic".
Answer
The Scottish Government takes the findings of the report very seriously. The mental health and wellbeing of children and young people is an absolute priority for the Scottish Government.
We continue to support our local authority partners with £16 million in funding to ensure that every secondary school has access to counselling services. All school pupils aged 10 and above have access to school counselling services.
The Scottish Government has also provided guidance and professional learning for school staff to support the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people in schools.
Finally, we are also providing local authorities with £15 million per annum to provide community-based mental health and wellbeing supports and services for children and young people, with many of these delivered through primary and secondary schools.
