Questions and answers

Question reference: S6O-03576

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 June 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Communication Workers Union's call for housing standards to be updated to ensure that letterboxes are positioned at a suitably accessible height.

Question reference: S6W-27961

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 May 2024
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 30 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans for the award of the next Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services contract.

While good progress has been made on the due diligence related to a Teckal compliant direct award to CalMac and we have clarity on the remaining issues to be finalised, it is clear that we cannot conclude these by 30 September 2024, which is the end date of the current contract. We therefore propose to implement a contract extension of up to 12 months to enable this work and the assurance processes, to be concluded prior to a final decision. I will provide a further update to Parliament later this year.

Question reference: S6O-03532

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with senior management of West College Scotland to discuss the college's Greenock campus.

Question reference: S6W-27909

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 May 2024
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by John Swinney on 28 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has received the pre-election propriety advice from the permanent secretary, which was referred to during First Minister’s Questions on 23 May 2024.

Pre-election guidance, informed by UK general election guidance and consistent with the devolved administrations, was published on the Scottish Government Website on 24 May: UK General Election 2024: guidance for civil servants - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

In addition, the Permanent Secretary wrote to me on 27 May outlining the impact of this guidance on the Scottish Government’s planned business: https://www.gov.scot/publications/pre-election-period-advice-letter-to-the-first-minister

This advice means that during the restricted period which extends until 4 July, strategic policies due for publication, including the Programme for Government, the Medium Term Financial Strategy, the Scottish Government’s draft tax strategy and the Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan, should be deferred.

Question reference: S6O-03416

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how it is working to increase the number of rapid charge EV points.

Question reference: S6W-27180

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 May 2024
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answer expected on 16 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the evaluation of the operation of the UEFA European Championship (Scotland) Act 2020 in practice.

Question reference: S6W-26864

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 25 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to adding aplastic anaemia to the list of conditions and illnesses featured on the NHS Inform website.

The Scottish Government's approach to rare conditions and diseases is not condition-specific. As there are over 7,000 rare conditions it is unfortunately not feasible for NHS Inform to host and maintain individual pages for each condition.

We are absolutely committed to ensuring that people living with a rare condition like Aplastic Anaemia will benefit from our approach. Our Action Plan for Rare Disease (published December 2022) set out our wider priorities and actions, including raising awareness of rare conditions among healthcare professionals.

The current NHS Inform page for rare conditions, developed to improve awareness of rare conditions and signpost to sources of support, is by no means final. We will continue to listen to rare disease community feedback and shape our web content around the needs of all rare condition communities.

Question reference: S6O-03378

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 April 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the procurement process for the Small Vessel Replacement Programme.

Question reference: S6T-01937

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 April 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reported statistics indicating that wet wipes contribute to up to 94% of sewer blockages, what assessment it has made of the potential impact on Scottish Water of the planned ban on wet wipes containing plastic, including whether water and sewerage charges will be reduced in the future as a result of the ban.

Question reference: S6W-26203

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 15 March 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to developing qualifications for those wishing to train as pet groomers, in light of reports that three new dog grooming qualifications, which have been developed in collaboration with providers in the animal care sector, have been introduced in England.

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