- Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 24 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what recent steps it has taken to (a) increase the number of GPs nationwide and (b) improve access to face-to-face GP appointments.
Answer
(a) The Scottish Government remains fully committed to increasing the number of GPs by 800 by 2027.
In November 2024 we published a General Practitioner Recruitment and Retention Action Plan, available online at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/general-practitioner-recruitment-retention-action-plan-2024-2026/documents/
A key action in this plan is to retain newly qualified GPs in Scotland by expanding the current fellowship offer to support early career GPs on completion of their GP training. We have also commissioned NHS Education for Scotland to work with the profession to redesign the current GP Retainer Scheme to make it more flexible to support GPs at times in their career when it is needed. We have created 70 additional GP Speciality Training posts since 2022, with a further 30 to be added in 2025.
(b) The Scottish Government discusses access to general practice with the representatives of the profession. It is important that patients see the right person at the right place at the right time to treat their condition, this may not always need to be a GP. However, where clinically necessary, the option to have a face to face consultation should always be available.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 24 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many complaints it has received regarding the condition of the A90 in each of the last five years, and what actions were taken as a result.
Answer
There have been no official complaints logged regarding the overall condition of the A90 in the last five years. However, there has been a total of 171 individual complaints with resulting reports:
Financial Year | Number of Complaints | Action Taken |
2019-20 | 37 | Cat 1 / Cat 2 repairs completed. Complaints logged and action taken to rectify timeously |
2020-21 | 30 | Road resurfacing carried out All Cat 1/ Cat 2 repairs completed |
2021-22 | 41 | Road resurfacing carried out All Cat 1/ Cat 2 repairs completed |
2022-23 | 34 | Defective road signs removed and route reviewed for further defects All Cat 1/ Cat 2 repairs completed |
2023-24 | 29 | Road resurfacing carried out and ongoing repairs at location of Glencarse Overbridge Cat 1/ Cat 2 repairs completed |
- Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 06 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 24 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the potential impact on passenger numbers in Scotland, what discussions it has had with National Rail regarding its current Railcard terms and conditions, including that tickets must be bought before boarding the train.
Answer
The terms and conditions of all GB-wide railcards are set by National Rail, part of the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) under UK Government rail industry rules. There have been no recent specific discussions concerning changes to railcard terms. ScotRail has confirmed with officials at Transport Scotland that National Railcards can be used to buy tickets online, via the app, or at TVMs. Where ticket purchasing facilities are not available at a station, passengers can use their National Rail card when purchasing a ticket from a member of staff on-board of ScotRail trains.
- Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 23 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to the supplementary questions to S6O-04138 by Gillian Martin on 19 December 2024, how it is addressing the reported issue of safety tickets duplication.
Answer
The Scottish Government is continuing to work in partnership with business and industry to plan for a multi-skilled energy workforce, one that can benefit from opportunities across sectors as the transition to net zero progresses. This includes exploring opportunities for mutual recognition of qualifications between different energy sectors including funding support from the Just Transition Fund to support the industry-led Energy Skills Passport which is now being piloted.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 23 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide multi-annual funding for (a) long COVID and (b) myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) services in NHS boards.
Answer
The draft budget published on 4 December 2024 includes new investment of £4.5 million to deliver new specialist support across the country for long COVID, ME, Chronic Fatigue, and other similar conditions.
The funding commitment is for 2025-26 only at this stage. As the Cabinet Secretary outlined in his letter to the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee on 4 December 2024, “the Scottish Government operates an annual budget due to the single year settlement from the UK Government”. The UK spending review in the spring will provide much needed clarity on future funding levels which will help to inform our budget setting and move spending onto a more sustainable path. We would recommend that the question of a multi-year commitment is revisited after the UK Government spending review.
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 23 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what data it has on what the cost of replacing stolen railway materials has been in each of the last five years.
Answer
This information is not held by the Scottish Government. The member may wish to contact Network Rail.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 03 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 23 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the Travel Demand Management Options Study, prepared for Transport Scotland, was not published before 11 December 2024, in light of being dated and copyrighted March 2023.
Answer
Our draft route map to achieving a 20% reduction in car use, co-developed with COSLA, published in January 2022, committed to exploring equitable options for demand management to discourage car use. A period of engagement and consultation followed publication, and the analysis and consideration of the consultation responses are shaping an updated route map.
The independent research on Travel Demand Management Options Study by AECOM was intended to be published alongside the updated route map. However, the decision was taken to publish the research ahead of this this, adding to the evidence base on how to reduce car use fairly in Scotland, while Transport Scotland continues to engage with local and regional partners to update the route map which we will publish on completion of that engagement. The AECOM research is not Scottish Government policy and was published alongside a policy position statement.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Alasdair Allan on 23 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many jobs in Scotland’s offshore wind sector, and its supply chain, have been created since 1 January 2023.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold this information. Precise job numbers for Scotland’s offshore wind sector and its supply chain are challenging to pinpoint due to the evolving nature of the industry and transferability of skills across the wider energy sector. It is clear that the sector has seen significant growth since 1 January 2023, with increasing opportunities across a wide range of roles as we continue to invest in infrastructure, manufacturing, and skills development. Examples of this growth include the £100m joint credit facility from the Scottish National Investment Bank and National Wealth Fund for Ardersier Port in the Highlands, which is estimated will enable around 3,000 jobs and reskilling opportunities for the community over the next decade, and Sumitomo’s £350m subsea cable manufacturing plant under construction at the Port of Nigg, set to create hundreds of high-quality jobs.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 23 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether developers that construct and maintain pylons are required to pay non-domestic rates on the infrastructure that they install.
Answer
Non-domestic rates are a tax levied on the occupiers of non-domestic properties. All non-domestic properties, including specified plant and machinery such as pylons, are liable for non-domestic rates. As such, the occupier of a non-domestic property with pylon infrastructure will be liable for non-domestic rates.
The valuation of non-domestic property is a matter for the independent Scottish Assessors who follow applicable statute and case law in making their decisions on non-domestic property valuations.
The rating of plant and machinery, including plant and machinery involved in the transmission of electricity, depends on a number of factors, and The Valuation for Rating (Plant and Machinery)(Scotland) Regulations 2000, as amended, specifies the plant and machinery which is to be assumed to be part of lands and heritages for the purposes of non-domestic rating valuation.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 23 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to review its Draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan in light of recent reports that UK natural gas reserves are, as stated by Centrica, “concerningly low”.
Answer
Security of supply for gas and electricity is a reserved matter and is delivered by the National Electricity System Operator (NESO) across the whole of Great Britain, under regulation from Ofgem. The National Grid has also confirmed that Great Britain’s eight main gas storage sites remain healthy. However, we remain engaged to plan for any challenging scenarios that might emerge this winter, and engage regularly with the UK Government on issues of energy security.
