Questions and answers

Question reference: S6O-04048

Asked by: Fiona Hyslop, MSP for Linlithgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 October 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government TEST.

Question reference: S6O-03613

Asked by: Fiona Hyslop, MSP for Linlithgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government TEST

Question reference: S6W-18502

Asked by: Fiona Hyslop, MSP for Linlithgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 13 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with the UK Government in relation to cross-border recognition of powers of attorney arranged in Scotland.

Scottish Government has not had any recent direct engagement with the UK Government regarding cross-border recognition of powers of attorney granted in Scotland.

However, in previous meetings both parties have agreed the existing legislation allows for automatic recognition of powers of attorney in both jurisdictions. Difficulty in recognition is an issue of the training and knowledge of those being presented with a power of attorney from a different jurisdiction.

Question reference: S6W-18504

Asked by: Fiona Hyslop, MSP for Linlithgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 13 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what support and remedies are available in Scotland for people who cannot get their powers of attorneys, that have been arranged in Scotland, recognised in other parts of the UK, and what additional steps the Scottish Government is taking to address this.

In Scotland the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) Scotland is responsible for registering all power of attorney documents. If an individual has experienced any issues involving the recognition of a Scottish power of attorney in other parts of the UK they can contact the OPG for assistance.

There is already legislation in place that provides recognition of Scottish powers of attorney in England and Wales. This is about ensuring that the institutions and organisations have awareness and are educated on the legal status of Scottish powers of attorney.

The Scottish Government will be working with third party organisations to raise awareness and publicity about the validity of Scottish powers of attorney in England and Wales.

Question reference: S6W-18503

Asked by: Fiona Hyslop, MSP for Linlithgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 13 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with financial institutions across the UK to ensure that they recognise powers of attorney arranged in Scotland.

The Scottish Government is working closely with the Office of the Public Guardian (Scotland) (OPG) who have responsibility for registering powers of attorney in Scotland to highlight the concerns about recognition of these with UK financial institutions.

OPG have engaged directly with UK financial organisations when they have been made aware of common or recurring issues that require attention and on a case by case basis when needed.

OPG are planning a series of information based events later in 2023, aimed specifically at staff in UK financial organisations, with the aim of raising awareness of OPG’s role and of the financial provisions of the Adults with Incapacity legislation. The feedback will be raised at a meeting OPG is attending with Scottish banking representatives in August 2023.

OPG is also currently working in collaboration with colleagues from OPG England and similar departments in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, with the intention of delivering or preparing cross border training to highlight key differences in process and terminology across the jurisdictions as well as raising awareness of recognition issues. The aim of these efforts is to lead to a more cohesive and collaborative approach with the banks.

Question reference: S6W-18377

Asked by: Fiona Hyslop, MSP for Linlithgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 7 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what communication it has had with NHS Lothian regarding the proposed closure of the youth navigator service at (a) St John's Hospital in Livingston and (b) the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh.

Scottish Government has contacted NHS Lothian, which has confirmed the Youth Hospital Navigator pilot at both hospitals was funded only for a fixed term of two years which ends this month. The pilot was included in an external evaluation of all youth work provision commissioned by NHS Lothian.

NHS Lothian is considering this evaluation and its next steps over the next 6 months which includes designing a youth work model, based on learning and key findings from the evaluation and developing a business case to support this. Health Inequalities and Children’s Rights Impact Assessments will be commissioned as part of this process.

Question reference: S6O-02227

Asked by: Fiona Hyslop, MSP for Linlithgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 11 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it last spoke with COSLA regarding what action local authorities are taking to improve bus service provision.

The Scottish Government is committed, in conjunction with bus operators and local authorities, to looking at ways of improving services to ensure that everyone has accessible public transport. We have increased the tools available to local authorities to revitalise bus networks, through Transport (Scotland) Act 2019, in addition to their existing powers to subsidise services that are not provided on a commercial basis. Transport Scotland discuss bus matters with COSLA on a monthly basis at regular bus stakeholder meetings. In addition, COSLA are members of the Bus Taskforce.

Question reference: S6F-02098

Asked by: Fiona Hyslop, MSP for Linlithgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 May 2023

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's position is on the view of the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland that NHS Lothian should review its Children’s Rights Impact Assessment of the decision to end the Youth Navigator programme, which operates at St John's Hospital.

Question reference: S6W-17051

Asked by: Fiona Hyslop, MSP for Linlithgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 14 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 5 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates introducing its proposed bill to legislate to reform the regulation of legal services and whether it will include any provisions that would put into regulation any rules and guidance currently set out on a voluntary basis by the Law Society of Scotland.

The Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Bill was introduced to the Scottish Parliament on the 20 April 2023. Information about the Bill can be found on the Scottish Parliament website here .

The powers of the Law Society of Scotland are already well established in legislation, within the Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1980 and the provisions of the Bill are intended to improve and modernise their regulatory function.

The Bill will provide for a modern regulatory framework designed to promote competition and innovation while also improving the transparency and accountability of legal services regulation and the legal complaints system in Scotland.

The Bill introduces a modern set of regulatory objectives and professional principles, while incorporating key aspects of the Better Regulation, the Consumer Principles and the Human Rights (PANEL) Principles, that legal services regulators will require to adhere to. The Bill contains provisions setting out how the independent regulatory committee of the Law Society of Scotland should operate, intended to increase transparency and accountability of legal services regulation. The Bill also introduces provisions about how certain businesses that provide legal services should be regulated, introducing entity regulation and with it stronger protections for consumers, intended to complement existing regulation rather than introduce duplication.

The Bill is designed to take a proportionate approach that seeks to balance and deliver the key priorities of all stakeholders. The Scottish Government has committed to continue to work collaboratively with stakeholders in respect of this reform, and throughout the parliamentary passage of the Bill.

Question reference: S6W-17300

Asked by: Fiona Hyslop, MSP for Linlithgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 28 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to support commercial bus operators in maintaining essential but less commercially viable service routes, in order to ensure that communities have access to public transport and that these bus operators are reaching their net zero obligations.

Transport Scotland provides an annual subsidy through the Network Support Grant (NSG) to the bus industry, the aim of which is to keep fares more affordable and support bus operators to run services that might not otherwise be commercially viable.

Transport Scotland are supporting more services to be commercially viable with extra funding for a marketing campaign from Scottish Government, to encourage people back to bus. Scotland also encourages bus use with the most generous concessionary scheme in the UK, with over 2.3 million people, including everyone under 22 and over 60, and disabled people and companions, eligible for free bus travel. This complements our broad package of long-term investment in bus, including addressing congestion through bus priority infrastructure.

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