- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 December 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 16 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how expert parties and interested stakeholders can inform the work of its Bioenergy Expert Panel.
Answer
The Bioenergy Expert Panel is still to be assembled. However, in the meantime, interested stakeholders and expert parties can engage with policy officials. Stakeholders can get in touch via email: [email protected]
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 05 January 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 16 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been diagnosed with kidney failure and in need of a transplant in (a) the NHS Ayrshire and Arran area and (b) Inverclyde in each year since 2016, and what the average waiting time to receive a transplant has been in each year since 2016.
Answer
The number of patients that have been or are on the active kidney transplant waiting list as of 31 March each year since 2016 in the NHS Ayrshire and Arran and the Inverclyde local authority postcode areas is as follows:
Postcode Area | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
NHS Ayrshire & Arran | 37 | 27 | 20 | 26 | 33 | 15 | 20 |
Inverclyde | 7 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 11 |
Some patients who receive a living donor transplant may never be registered on the waiting list for a deceased donor transplant so those patients would not be included in the table above.
The risk-adjusted median waiting times for kidney only transplants for adults in the various UK transplant centres are published annually by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT). In Scotland, kidney transplants are undertaken at the Edinburgh and West of Scotland (Glasgow) Transplant Units; patients living in either Ayrshire and Arran or Inverclyde would receive their transplant at the Glasgow Unit. The figures for those adults registered at the Glasgow transplant unit from 2016 were published in the 2019-2022 NHSBT annual reports as follows:
Year published | Patient Registered | Waiting time (days) | | | Unadjusted median | 95% Confidence Interval | Risk-adjusted median | 2022 | 01-04-16-31-03-19 | 622 | 566-678 | 626 | 2021 | 01-04-15-31-03-18 | 644 | 579-709 | 689 | 2020 | 01-04-14-31-03-17 | 622 | 558-686 | 689 | 2019 | 01-04-13-31-03-16 | 699 | 622-776 | 721 |
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Please note that there are significant differences in waiting times depending on a number of factors, such as the patient’s blood group and also antibodies they have from previous pregnancies, transplants or blood transfusions.
- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 05 January 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 16 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its response to the Freedom of Information request, FOI/202200330247, for what reason 32,200 properties in the Highlands and Islands region are still to be connected through R100 contracts.
Answer
The 32,200 figure quoted in response to FOI/202200330247 is the number of premises in the Highlands and Islands Region currently planned to be connected upon completion of the Scottish Government Reaching 100% (R100) North contract. As of the 30th November 2022, a total of 2,056 premises in the Highlands and Islands Region have already been delivered through the R100 North contract build.
The £600 million R100 contract build is a huge civil engineering undertaking which is delivering gigabit-capable broadband infrastructure across some of the most challenging terrain in Scotland, with over 114,000 premises currently expected to be connected upon completion. The contracts are delivered in phases that have been designed to maximise efficiency and support wider network configuration.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 December 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 16 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Scottish Water regarding the reported 150% increase in burst water pipes in December 2022.
Answer
The Scottish Government and Scottish Water are in regular dialogue about a number of issues, including the potential for burst water pipes.
I was briefed in person by Scottish Water on the expectations that the recent thaw would bring a substantial increase in the number of bursts across Scottish Water’s network and I was reassured that additional response teams were ready to tackle that anticipated situation.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 19 December 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Patrick Harvie on 16 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what support it will provide to help facilitate the development of a community-based heating scheme.
Answer
Reducing emissions from our homes and buildings is one of the most important things we can do to help end Scotland’s contribution to climate change, and communities have a key role to play within this.
The Scottish Government’s £300 million Heat Network Fund offers capital grant funding for the rollout of new zero emission heat networks and communal heating systems, as well as the expansion and decarbonisation of existing heat networks across Scotland.
At the start of December, our Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) launched the Community Heat Development Programme. This programme will work with eligible community organisations and groups of householders to help develop their ideas for locally-generated, low and zero carbon heat project ideas.
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 19 December 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 16 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to (a) protect the jobs of retail workers and (b) assist retail workers who have lost their jobs due to shop closures.
Answer
The UK currently faces a rapidly escalating cost crisis, an emergency on a similar scale to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is essential that the response from government at every level is commensurate, in scale and speed, to the nature and magnitude of the emergency.
We are using the powers we currently have and our finite resources to support businesses through the cost crisis, whilst also building a more resilient, sustainable, fair and prosperous economy. The Scottish Government will do everything in its power to help those affected by any forthcoming redundancies through our initiative for responding to redundancy situations, Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE).
The recently established Retail Industry Leadership Group (ILG) comprises senior business representatives, trades unions and industry groups. The ILG will deliver an increasingly sustainable retail sector, promote the delivery of all aspects of fair work across the sector and ensure those working in retail have the skills necessary to be successful.
- Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 19 December 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 16 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the publication, Neurological Conditions: estimating the prevalence in Scotland of selected conditions using General Practice and Hospital Admissions datasets, of those with a diagnosis of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and in the GP practice dataset, what proportion were (a) female and (b) male.
Answer
This publication’s Supporting Documents include a spreadsheet file titled ‘General Practice recorded diagnoses’. Table 4 in this spreadsheet shows GP recorded diagnoses of neurological conditions, by sex and age, for each neurological condition shown . In some cases small numbers have been suppressed to help maintain patient confidentiality. Taking into account the suppression of small numbers, the approximate split of diagnoses for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is as follows: (a) Female – 69% (b) Male – 31%.
Please note that that this percentage breakdown draws on figures which do not cover the whole of Scotland. The general practices whose data are included represented 72.7% of registered patients at the time of the data extract.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 19 December 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Patrick Harvie on 16 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many households it estimates will be impacted by the proposed ban on building new homes with gas boilers from 2024.
Answer
All households occupying a new home warranted after 1 April 2024 will be impacted by the proposed prohibition on the installation of Direct Emissions Heating Systems, including gas boilers, from that date. We will publish details on the projected number of new build homes and conversions impacted by the Standard as part of our Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) which will be made available alongside the regulations in spring 2023.
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 16 December 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 16 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, of the wind farm applications submitted in the last five years that were refused, how many have been granted approval following a "material change" within the two years following the initial application.
Answer
Scottish Ministers take decisions on wind farm applications that are made to them under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989. None of the eleven wind farm applications refused by Scottish Ministers over the last 5 years have been consented following a material change.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 16 December 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 16 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether the IMAX Theatre at Glasgow Science Centre is within the scope of the £5.5 million roof repair works currently being undertaken to replace the defective external cladding system at the facility.
Answer
The Glasgow Science Centre (GSC) is owned by the GSC Charitable Trust, a wholly owned subsidiary of Scottish Enterprise (SE). The Scottish Government is providing £5.5 million to SE to cover refurbishment work to GSC’s main buildings. A further £800,000 has been allocated to the work from SE’s budget. The work includes replacement of the titanium roof covering, installation of a new building management system and partial renewal of external glazing. The work does not include the IMAX Theatre.