- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by George Adam on 19 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-15827 by George Adam on 23 March 2023, whether it will provide an update on progress towards the objectives outlined in the FOI Improvement Plan, including the 95% target on compliance with timescales.
Answer
Work on the FOI Improvement plan continues to be a priority for the Scottish Government. Progress has been made in a number of areas contained in the Improvement Plan to strengthen internal processes and delivery of this statutory function. In his evidence to the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee on 23 March the Scottish Information Commissioner noted that unlike most other Scottish public authorities, the Scottish Government has seen a sustained increase in FOI request volumes since the pandemic. The Scottish Government is continuing to see persistent yearly increases in numbers of FOI requests. Efforts are therefore also underway to establish a sustainable case-handling model for the Scottish Government.
Revised guidance for case handlers is now live and this is complimented by increased case handler training, as well as a push on the mandatory FOI awareness training for all staff. Officials are also undertaking internal audits on cases ensuring that responses comply with our internal control and assurance procedures as agreed with the Commissioner. Lessons learned are being shared widely and several directorates are undertaking local improvement activity with advice and assistance from trained Quality Improvement practitioners.
FOI performance figures are published on a monthly basis on the Scottish Government website: https://www.gov.scot/publications/freedom-of-information-foi-reporting/ . The Scottish Government remains committed to the principles of open and transparent government.
- 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
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 19 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with Deloitte since May 2021, and what the agreed outcomes were of any such meetings.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold a central record of meetings held with suppliers so is therefore unable to confirm what meetings have been held with Deloitte LLP since May 2021.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 19 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many GP practices have been taken over by NHS (a) Lanarkshire and (b) Forth Valley in each year since 2016.
Answer
Public Health Scotland publish figures on how many 2C, 17C and 17J practices there are in each Health Board. The following information has been gathered from the GP Workforce and Practice List Sizes publication available at: General Practice - GP Workforce and practice list sizes 2012 - 2022 - General Practice - GP workforce and practice list sizes - Publications - Public Health Scotland .
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 19 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will undertake a review of the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy to 2045: Tackling the Nature Emergency in Scotland, in light of the new assessment report by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and, if so, when it anticipates any such work will take place.
Answer
The draft Scottish Biodiversity Strategy reflects the interdependence of climate, biodiversity and the close linkages between climate change adaptation, mitigation, ecosystem health, human well-being and sustainable development in the same way as the IPCC’s 6 th Synthesis Report. We are currently reviewing the draft Strategy in light of the outcomes of COP15 and in doing so, we will take into account other significant developments such as the IPCC’s assessment report. A consultation on the Strategic Framework for Biodiversity in Scotland, comprising the Strategy and its first Delivery Plan, will take place in summer 2023, followed by publication of the final Strategy later in 2023.
- Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 24 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 19 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the publication of its Public Sector Pay Strategy 2023-24, whether Skills Development Scotland guidance is now to be updated to reflect that all employers should pay the real Living Wage, including in relation to apprentices (a) aged 19 and under and (b) in their first year.
Answer
The Public Sector Pay Strategy 2023-24 applies to staff in the Scottish Government and its associated departments, agencies, non-departmental public bodies and public corporations.
All organisations covered by our Pay Strategy are required to pay at least the real Living Wage rate to all their staff, including apprentices. Apprentices are employees and as such benefit from the same rights and protections offered to other employees through their employment. Skills Development Scotland will continue to encourage all employers outside our Public Sector Pay Strategy to pay apprentices at least the real Living Wage rate, including those aged 19 and under and those in their first year.
- Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 24 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 19 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to develop a commissioning policy for magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) treatment for essential tremor.
Answer
The commissioning of NHS national services is the responsibility of NHS National Services Division (NSD), a sub division of NHS Services Scotland (NSS).Eligible patients for magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) for essential tremor can be referred to NHS Tayside in conjunction with the University of Dundee.
At present, no new application has been received to designate MRgFUS as a national specialist service to NHS Tayside. NSD will continue to work with the MRgFUS team in NHS Tayside in the meantime.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 19 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to make an announcement on future funding allocations for regional Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) groups.
Answer
As set out in the Future Skills Action plan, the Scottish Government is committed to the important work that the DYW Groups do to improve the relationship between young people and employers. To support this commitment, allocations and grant letters were issued on 31 March to the DYW regional groups for the first 6 months of the financial year 2023-2024.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 19 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure that colleges receive parity of esteem with universities.
Answer
The Scottish Government values the tertiary education sector, with each part making a crucial and unique contribution to Scotland. The 2023-24 budget allocates nearly £2 billion to colleges and universities, which continues the trend of a year-on-year increase of that budget in cash terms.
The Scottish Government recognises the essential role that colleges play across all learner pathways including their role in further and higher education provision and will further clarify that in the forthcoming Purpose and Principles. The Scottish Government is actively engaging with stakeholders on the interim Purpose and Principles that were published last December. The Scottish Government is focussing on developing the implementation plan, system level outcomes and metrics, evidence and insight papers and impact assessments to support a final publication in late Spring.
The Scottish Government recognises and celebrates the fact that everyone’s learner pathway is different and it is important that everyone has the opportunity to undertake the learner pathway that best matches their abilities and aspirations. The employer led DYW network and DYW School Coordinator role, currently operates in every secondary school. The programme has a key part to play in enabling the recommendations within the Ken Muir review by helping to create employer led experiences and parity of esteem between academic and vocational learning. The SCQF School Ambassador programme also offers schools the opportunity to learn more about the benefits of the SCQF levels and the wider ways in which it supports learners, including in demonstrating the diversity of provision on offer and the parity of these pathways.
- 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.
