- Asked by: Jackie Dunbar, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 January 2025
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Current Status:
Initiated by the Scottish Government.
Answered by Neil Gray on 16 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the escalation status of NHS Grampian.
Answer
The NHS Scotland Support and Intervention Framework is one of the key elements of the evidence-based approach to monitoring performance and managing risk across the NHS in Scotland.
All NHS Boards have recently been reviewed against the framework for finance purposes.
Following this review the decision was made for NHS Grampian to be escalated to Stage Three of the Framework for finance. This is based on the deterioration of the Board’s financial position during 2024-25.
Stage Three escalation comes into effect from January 2025 and involves enhanced monitoring and support including increased oversight and coordinated engagement from Scottish Government. This will include monitoring by and meetings with the Scottish Government’s Finance Delivery Unit, as well as further engagement with the NHS Scotland Director of Health and Social Care Finance.
The Scottish Government will continue to work with NHS Grampian to monitor their financial position and assist with longer term financial planning and improvement.
- 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 Ivan McKee on 16 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many bicycles it currently (a) owns and (b) leases, and how they are currently utilised by its staff.
Answer
The Scottish Government owns two bicycles, and we do not lease any bicycles.
Our bicycles are for use in campaign marketing in respect of Net Zero messages, and are not made available to staff for use on official business.
- 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 Ivan McKee on 16 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors and evaluates the performance of Registers of Scotland in delivering public services.
Answer
Registers of Scotland is accountable to the Scottish Parliament and its performance is regularly scrutinised by the Economy and Fair Work Committee. The Scottish Government also receives regular reports on the progress RoS is making in delivery of its Corporate Plan 2022-2027 strategic objectives, which includes updates on the achievement against RoS’s Key Performance Indicators for its service performance (timeliness, quality and customer satisfaction).
- Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 16 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether all school pupils' experience of relationships, sexual health, and parenthood education should include education on the importance of the principle of consent as a mechanism to tackle gender-based violence in schools.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring all children and young people receive high quality relationships, sexual health and parenthood (RSHP) education, which is an integral part of the Health and Wellbeing area of the curriculum.
The current Curriculum for Excellence Experiences and Outcomes for Health and Wellbeing set out specific learning outcomes on respect, boundaries and behaviours and what constitutes a healthy relationship. They also include learning outcomes on consent, gender stereotypes, power dynamics in relationships and where to access support if required. To support learning and teaching of these experiences and outcomes, RSHP lesson plans are available, from Education Scotland's website, that include learning about the importance of the principle of consent.
The Scottish Government has also published a resource for professionals to help them support young people aged 11-18 in their understanding of healthy relationships and consent. The Healthy relationships and consent: key messages for young people resource sets out that relationships should be mutually respectful, consensual, positive, healthy and enjoyable.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 16 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what the budget has been for flood prevention schemes in each financial year from 2007-08 to 2024-25.
Answer
Since 2008, the Scottish Government has made available £42 million per year to local authorities to invest in flood risk management actions – a commitment that is in place until 2026. A further £150million was committed across the course of this parliament.
- Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 16 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider proposing amendments to legislation to extend the right of on-duty healthcare professionals carrying out home visits to park on double yellow lines and in areas with waiting restrictions, while they are tending to patients.
Answer
In Scotland, responsibility for all traffic management on local roads including the provision of parking lies with local authorities. Under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, local authorities have a general duty to secure the expeditious, convenient and safe movement of traffic.
Transport Scotland are aware of parking permit schemes run by some local authorities, such as The City of Edinburgh Council and Glasgow City Council which offer assistance to Health Care professionals whilst they are working in their community.
Given that local authorities already have the powers to introduce such schemes should they see fit, we have no current plans to introduce new Scotland wide legislation.
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 16 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on which stations that are managed by (a) Network Rail in Scotland and (b) ScotRail provide Changing Places toilet facilities, and during which hours these facilities are open to the public.
Answer
Information listing the location and opening hours of all Changing Places facilities, including those within railway stations is available from the Changing Places Toilet website. For Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Central stations, this is available on Network Rail’s website.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 16 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to increase access to NHS dentistry, in light of reported figures from Public Health Scotland stating that 1.8 million adults have not seen a dentist since 2022.
Answer
Public Health Scotland statistics published in November 2024 show that NHS dental services are performing well at a national level, with almost 4 million courses of treatment delivered to patients between November 2023 and September 2024.
There are many reasons why people may choose not to attend the dentist, which is not shown in participation data. This does not necessarily mean that these patients are unable to access an NHS dentist.
The Draft Budget reinforces our commitment to NHS dentistry, with an increase of almost 15% in funding for primary care dental services planned for 2025-26. Within this we will look to continue our work to improve NHS dental workforce and training measures, in line with our Vision for Healthcare Services.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Alasdair Allan on 16 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what licence conditions requiring prior landowner notification are applied in relation to each species under schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
Answer
At present the only existing licence condition applied by NatureScot for Schedule 1 species is for disturbance of any such species where the work is to be undertaken on a National Nature Reserve (NNR). This condition requires prior land owner notification before the work is carried out. No work authorised by this licence may be undertaken on a NNR without the prior permission of the NatureScot NNR Manager.
NatureScot intend to introduce a new condition to schedule 1 disturbance licences that will require prior land owner notification on all land for the forthcoming monitoring season.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 January 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Kate Forbes on 16 January 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether Ferguson Marine is prepared to bid to build two floating docks for the Royal Navy under the Additional Fleet Time Docking Capability (AFTDC) project, which aims to acquire two floating dry docks and associated infrastructure for submarine maintenance at HMNB Clyde (Faslane).
Answer
Ferguson Marine is responsible for its own commercial decision making, including which contract opportunities to pursue. The Scottish Government is working to support the business and secure a sustainable future given the importance of Ferguson Marine to the local economy and commercial shipbuilding on the Clyde.