- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 6 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether there are any requirements for CCTV in psychiatric hospitals to include sound.
Answer
There are no current or planned future requirements for CCTV in psychiatric hospitals in Scotland to include sound.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 6 June 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what reviews have been undertaken of its menopause policy.
Answer
Menopause care and support is a top priority in our Women’s Health Plan, which was published on 20 August 2021, and runs until 2024. There are no plans to review the Women’s Health Plan or the menopause ambitions within it before this time.
The 10 menopause actions set out in the Plan aim to ensure that women have timely access to menopause support and services; healthcare professionals are aware of the impact of medical or surgical treatments to induce menopause and all women have access to a healthcare professional with an interest in menopause through primary care.
An update on the progress made since the publication of Plan on the menopause actions is outlined in the Women’s Health Plan: A Report on Progress , published on 26 January 2023.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Date lodged: Monday, 15 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 31 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will ensure that its statutory environmental and forestry agencies are sufficiently resourced to deliver and support effective invasive species control programs to help protect Scotland's native biodiversity and commercial forestry sector.
Answer
Invasive non-native species (INNS) are one of the main drivers of biodiversity loss. They require a strong partnership approach over the long term to ensure their effective control.
The draft Scottish Biodiversity Strategy contains a Priority Action to ‘Implement a Scottish Plan for invasive non-native species surveillance, prevention and control’. This Plan will be produced in collaboration with public bodies and other stakeholders, and will identify detailed actions and targets.
Public bodies will continue to produce operational business plans which set out their priorities and plans to address invasive species. The Scottish Government will continue to provide support to tackling invasive species. The Nature restoration Fund recently provided £2 million to the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative . In 2022-23 Forestry and Land Scotland received £1.3 m for rhododendron control. This is targeted at long-term control at landscape scale in collaboration with the Alliance for Scotland’s Rainforest and other land managers.
In the new draft Biodiversity Strategy, we are committed to developing a Biodiversity Investment Plan to mobilise public, private and philanthropic funds to close the estimated £8 billion finance gap over the coming decade identified by the Green Finance Institute as required for biodiversity restoration in Scotland. This is in line with the Global Biodiversity Framework Target 19, which recognises the need for ongoing blended funding to restore biodiversity from a range of sources, including green investment.
- Our Interim Principles for Responsible Investment in Natural Capital set out our aim to develop markets that also deliver benefits for local communities and wider society, in line with Scotland’s Just Transition principles and land reform objectives.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 18 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 31 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding will be provided to the public audit of fracture liaison services in Scotland, and when it will be reported on.
Answer
The Scottish Government recognises the importance of the Fracture Liaison Service audit and, following the completion of a scoping exercise currently being undertaken by Public Health Scotland, will provide funding. The Scottish Government has advised the Royal Osteoporosis Society that the funding we are able to offer may be up to £150,000 for the first year, but the exact level of funding and the timescale of reporting are expected to be finalised soon.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 30 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-17402 by Kevin Stewart on 9 May 2023, how much support has been given to bus operators for the purchase of new buses in the last three years; how many of any such new buses have had sufficient space for bike transport, and what conditionality for bike storage is applied to the purchase of new buses.
Answer
A total of £85.9m has been awarded to bus operators to support the purchase of new battery electric buses through rounds of the Scottish Ultra Low Emission Bus Scheme and the Scottish Zero Emission Challenge Fund, and 26 of these new buses have space for transporting bikes.
Phase 2 of the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund launched on 15 May 2023 notes that our support for the purchase of new buses and coaches will be, where appropriate, conditional on space being available for bike transport.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 11 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 25 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government which ministers granted approval for the four settlement agreement cases that exceeded the £95,000 cap, as referenced in its annual report on the use of settlement agreements, April 2021 to March 2022.
Answer
All four settlement cases were dealt with in accordance with the procedure set out in the Scottish Public Finance Manual. Business cases for the proposed settlements were submitted to the relevant Cabinet Secretary at that time: Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills (Shirley Anne-Somerville) and Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport (Jeanne Freeman). The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Economy (Kate Forbes) was also sighted on all cases.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Date lodged: Monday, 15 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 25 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will help to ensure a future for the red squirrel by resourcing the continued delivery of landscape-wide invasive grey squirrel control following the end of the Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels Transition Project in March 2024.
Answer
As outlined in response to question S6W-14224 on 24 January 2023 it remains a priority for the Scottish Government to ensure the important work undertaken by Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels continues. NatureScot, Scottish Forestry and Forestry and Land Scotland are currently providing core funding for the roles of the Grey Squirrel Officers (GSOs) as part of the Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels partnership project.
The Scottish Government and partners will continue to be involved in discussions on taking forward the work currently being undertaken by Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels.
All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 18 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will confirm whether NHS boards remain responsible for the running of pharmacotherapy and community treatment and care (CTAC) services; whether pharmacotherapy services will continue to be carried out in GP practices, in light of transitionary services arrangements being discontinued, and, if it is the case that pharmacotherapy will no longer be carried out in GP practices, what funding it will provide to NHS boards to ensure that these services are delivered.
Answer
NHS Boards are responsible for providing support to GP practices by providing Community Treatment and Care (CTAC) and Pharmacotherapy services and regulations were amended in 2022 to reflect this change. On account of the variation in the extent of implementation of these services, the Scottish Government is currently taking forward an exercise to collect and analyse data on the recurring workforce requirements, to ensure the financial and legal framework is fair and sustainable.
Local areas should continue to work in collaboration with all partners to ensure that services meet local needs. This may also include flexibility for local transitionary arrangements with practices to be funded as an interim and time-limited measure from within the existing Primary Care Improvement Fund funding envelope.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 May 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 15 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration has been given to updating guidance on exclusion zones around onshore wind turbines, in light of any increase in the size and potential danger of turbines.
Answer
National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) signals a turning point for planning, placing climate and nature at the centre of our planning system and making clear our support for all forms of renewable, low-carbon and zero emission technologies. NPF4 policy 11 makes clear that potential impacts on communities, nature and other receptors remain important considerations in the decision-making process. All applications are already, and will continue to be, subject to site-specific assessments.
Technical requirements for assessing potential wind turbine impacts such as noise, or interactions with aviation or defence interests, are set out in topic specific guidance and more general information on the status of these issues can be found in our Onshore Wind Policy Statement (Dec 2022), Chapters 6&7.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 11 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6O-01991 by Kevin Stewart on 9 March 2023, when it expects to respond in full to the National Autism Implementation Team’s findings that are set out in the March 2023 publication, Adult Neurodevelopmental Pathways: Report on Actions, Outcomes and Recommendations from Pathfinder Sites in Scotland, and whether it plans to publish an initial response before the parliamentary summer recess.
Answer
The former Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing, Kevin Stewart, wrote to the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee on 23 March to inform them that the Scottish Government was happy to accept all 10 of the recommendations made by the National Autism Implementation Team in their report published on adult neurodevelopmental pathways in Scotland.