- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 1 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many times the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government has met the leader of Stirling Council since May 2021; what was discussed at each meeting, and what the agreed outcomes were.
Answer
I regularly meet representatives of all Scottish local authorities, and their national body COSLA, to discuss a wide range of issues as part of our commitment to working in partnership with local government to improve outcomes for the people of Scotland.
Information about Ministerial engagements is proactively released on the Scottish Government website. The spreadsheets include a wide-range of information including details of the organisation / individual I met along with the subject discussed.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 1 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many times the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government has met the leader of East Renfrewshire Council since May 2021; what was discussed at each meeting, and what the agreed outcomes were.
Answer
I regularly meet representatives of all Scottish local authorities, and their national body COSLA, to discuss a wide range of issues as part of our commitment to working in partnership with local government to improve outcomes for the people of Scotland.
Information about Ministerial engagements is proactively released on the Scottish Government website. The spreadsheets include a wide-range of information including details of the organisation / individual I met along with the subject discussed.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 1 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many times the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government has met the leader of Perth and Kinross Council since May 2021; what was discussed at each meeting, and what the agreed outcomes were.
Answer
I regularly meet representatives of all Scottish local authorities, and their national body COSLA, to discuss a wide range of issues as part of our commitment to working in partnership with local government to improve outcomes for the people of Scotland.
Information about Ministerial engagements is proactively released on the Scottish Government website. The spreadsheets include a wide-range of information including details of the organisation / individual I met along with the subject discussed.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 1 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many times the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government has met the leader of East Lothian Council since May 2021; what was discussed at each meeting, and what the agreed outcomes were.
Answer
I regularly meet representatives of all Scottish local authorities, and their national body COSLA, to discuss a wide range of issues as part of our commitment to working in partnership with local government to improve outcomes for the people of Scotland.
Information about Ministerial engagements is proactively released on the Scottish Government website. The spreadsheets include a wide-range of information including details of the organisation / individual I met along with the subject discussed.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 1 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many times the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government has met the leader of Falkirk Council since May 2021; what was discussed at each meeting, and what the agreed outcomes were.
Answer
I regularly meet representatives of all Scottish local authorities, and their national body COSLA, to discuss a wide range of issues as part of our commitment to working in partnership with local government to improve outcomes for the people of Scotland.
Information about Ministerial engagements is proactively released on the Scottish Government website. The spreadsheets include a wide-range of information including details of the organisation / individual I met along with the subject discussed.
- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 1 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-03100 by Graeme Dey on 30 September 2021, for what reasons its Strategic Transport Projects Review 2 did not recommend a new rail connection to/from Kintyre linking to Cowal, including fixed link or ferry crossing.
Answer
STPR2 did not recommend further work on the business case development for this proposed fixed link after the preliminary appraisal stage.
This was on the basis that the assessment work had highlighted significant issues in relation to topography and infrastructure requirements needed for this option.
As a result the option was assessed as not offering “value for money” and consequently was not considered further in the appraisal process.
The Access to Argyll and Bute (A83) project announced a recommended preferred route corridor through Glen Croe in March 2021. This will help address the strategic need to improve connectivity to the Argyll and Bute region.
- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 1 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-03100 by Graeme Dey on 30 September 2021, for what reasons its Strategic Transport Projects Review 2 did not recommend a tunnel between Benbecula and Skye.
Answer
STPR2 did not recommend further work on the business case development of this proposed fixed link after being considered at the detailed appraisal stage.
An engineering assessment of the shortest possible road tunnel and alternate bridge option, which measured 32kms and 24kms respectively, concluded that both options were currently impractical to construct. The tunnel on the grounds of fire safety and the bridge due to the potential length of span required over the deepest section of water.
Furthermore, while the STPR2 Case for Change for the Highlands and Islands Region highlighted issues relating to the resilience of island connections, no analysis undertaken through the STPR2 process supported a conclusion that a fixed link connection between the Outer Hebrides (Benbecula) and Skye would address this strategic problem. Instead, STPR2 recommendation 24, recommends the renewal and replacement of the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services and Northern Isles Ferry Services vessels including progressive decarbonisation by 2045.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 1 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on how its proposed electrical vehicle charging ownership model advances the objective of community wealth building.
Answer
On 26th January the Scottish Government published its draft vision for Scotland’s future public electric vehicle charging network and announced its plans for a new £60m public electric vehicle infrastructure funding programme. This recognises that to grow Scotland’s public charging network we will need to attract commercial investment which can potentially secure significant opportunities to anchor well-paid, high-quality jobs across Scotland.
The vision acknowledges that the public sector will have a critical role in attracting investment in public electric vehicle charging infrastructure through partnership working with the private sector. Local authorities will continue to plan outcomes for local areas including development of public charge point strategies and community engagement around these. This new approach to growing Scotland’s public electric vehicle charging network potentially enables a variety of charge point ownership and operator models, which could include community initiatives, particularly in rural areas. There is also potential to deliver community wealth building opportunities through local public procurement exercises and targeting socially inclusive investment to support local jobs.
- Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 1 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the number of asthma annual review appointments offered to patients since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answer
Details of the number of asthma annual review appointments is not collected centrally. However, the Scottish Government recognises that annual asthma reviews are an important element in enabling people with asthma to self-manage their condition. That is why asthma reviews form an important priority in our Respiratory Care Action Plan for Scotland and are already a key recommendation in national clinical guidelines.
Since the start of the pandemic, the NHS in Scotland has been dealing with the unprecedented impact of COVID-19 which meant that some procedures and appointments were postponed to ensure the safety of patients and staff. This has resulted in many appointments being delivered differently or being delayed due to the additional challenges in delivering services.
However, we fully expect that patients be treated in line with their clinical priority and in these circumstances, we expect GP Practices to schedule appointments or advise of alternative arrangements as soon as clinically appropriate.
We advise anyone who has any concerns regarding their asthma to contact their GP practice. They will be best placed to provide specific advice and support based on individual circumstances.
- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 1 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-03100 by Graeme Dey on 30 September 2021, for what reasons its Strategic Transport Projects Review 2 did not recommend a new rail connection to and from Cowal linking to the West Highland Line or rail network in Inverclyde or North Ayrshire.
Answer
STPR2 did not recommend further work on the business case development for this proposed fixed link after the preliminary appraisal stage.
This was on the basis that the assessment work had highlighted significant issues in relation to topography and infrastructure requirements needed for this option.
As a result the option was assessed as not offering “value for money” and consequently was not considered further in the appraisal process. However, there remains a path for regional or local rail projects to come forward, subject to a strong business case being developed and suitable funding being available.
The Access to Argyll and Bute (A83) project announced a recommended preferred route corridor through Glen Croe in March 2021. This will help address the strategic need to improve connectivity to the Argyll and Bute region.
