- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 October 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 4 November 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) High, (b) Sheriff and (c) Justice of the Peace Court trials (i) have been delayed since April 2024 and (ii) were delayed in each year since 2017-18.
Answer
This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who will reply in writing within 20 days.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 October 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 29 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how many GP practices are currently closed to new patient registrations in each NHS board.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold this information. Practices must apply to their Health Boards to close their lists and agree the conditions and timelines for reopening them.
Circumstances will arise where GP practices experience capacity issues and are unable to routinely accept new patients onto their lists. We expect Health Boards to work with practices as constructively and as flexibly as is appropriate to help manage these situations and ensure that all patients have access to GP services.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 October 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 29 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address the reported fall in the number of pupils taking STEM subjects at Higher level.
Answer
The latest SQA data shows that the total number of entries into STEM National Qualifications at Higher have increased every year since 2019, with entries in 2024 being 3.4% higher than 2023.
Work has been ongoing since 2017 to implement the STEM Training and Education Strategy, which is designed to ensure ongoing take up of STEM subjects. This includes providing funding to organisations and programmes such as SSERC and the Raising Aspirations in Science Education (RAiSE) Programme, to equip practitioners with the skills, knowledge and confidence to create inspiring STEM learning experiences.
In addition, the Scottish Government funds the Young STEM Leader Programme which inspires young people to take up STEM subjects, as well as initiatives such as Maths Week Scotland which promotes numeracy as an essential life skill.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 October 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Kate Forbes on 22 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how it will support economic growth in light of The Hunter Foundation's plans to support Scottish businesses through its ScaleUpScotland programme.
Answer
Supporting fair and green economic growth is a core priority for this Government, as highlighted in our recently published Programme for Government. Since 2007, Scotland’s GDP per capita has grown by 10.7%, outpacing the UK’s growth of 5.6%. Productivity in Scotland has also increased at an average of 1.1% per year, well above the UK average of 0.4%.
It is encouraging to see Sir Tom Hunter lending his support and expertise to promising businesses in Scotland. The ScaleUpScotland programme aligns well with the broad range of initiatives we support to help businesses grow, such as the Techscaler programme, Scottish EDGE, and the support from our Enterprise Agencies and the Scottish National Investment Bank. All of these efforts are integrated into our New Deal for Business, creating a strong foundation for economic success.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 October 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 18 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what the main goal is of alcohol minimum unit pricing, and what its position is on whether this goal has been achieved.
Answer
The aim of Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) of alcohol is to reduce health harms caused by alcohol consumption by setting a floor price below which alcohol cannot be sold. In particular, it targets a reduction in consumption of alcohol that is considered cheap, relative to its strength. It aims to reduce both the consumption of alcohol at population level and, in particular, those who drink at hazardous and harmful levels. In doing so, it aims to reduce alcohol related health harms among hazardous and harmful drinkers, and contribute to reducing harm at a whole population level.
Public Health Scotland's independent evaluation of MUP, commended by internationally-renowned public health experts, found that evidence pointed to the policy having a positive impact on health outcomes – during the period study it was estimated to have reduced alcohol specific deaths by 13.4% and likely to have reduced hospital admission wholly attributable to alcohol by 4.1%. There was also a finding that MUP was estimated to have reduced alcohol consumption by 3% when compared to England.
Overall, the evidence supports that MUP has had a positive impact on health outcomes, including alcohol-related health inequalities.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 October 2024
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 24 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its long-term ferry strategy to ensure reliability for communities.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 24 October 2024
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 23 September 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 10 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what further action it can take to support (a) local authorities and (b) other public bodies to ensure that public toilets are maintained and do not face closure, in light of reported concerns regarding their necessity, particularly for children and older and disabled people, and their function in preventing damage and waste in tourist and other public areas.
Answer
The responsibility for public conveniences rests with the owner of the land, which could be a variety of different bodies such as local authorities, community organisations and tourist boards. Local authorities are independent corporate bodies with their own powers and responsibilities and are entirely separate from the Scottish Government.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 26 September 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Angus Robertson on 9 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that its international offices have spent over £430,000 on events such as whisky tastings over the last three years.
Answer
The activities of our external network of international offices deliver tangible benefits to Scotland’s people, businesses and institutions, for example, supporting £1.73 billion in forecast export sales and more than 8,500 jobs in 2022-23. The offices help to ensure that Scotland remains well-connected among our closest friends and partners.
Delivering events and undertaking outreach work is an important part of our international network’s activity. It allows the network to promote Scottish goods and services and to make connections that support investment and knowledge exchange by engaging directly with businesses, governments, universities and other organisations in their respective countries. All events and outreach activities delivered by the international network are in support of business plans aligned to the government’s priorities, and funded within budgets agreed by Parliament.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 26 September 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 8 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported increase in alcohol-related deaths in Scotland, what plans it has to review the effectiveness of minimum unit pricing.
Answer
Every life lost to alcohol is a tragedy and the recent alcohol specific deaths statistics, published by the National Records of Scotland, is a stark reminder of the challenge we face in tackling alcohol harm across Scotland.
The Scottish Government commissioned Public Health Scotland (PHS) to deliver independent evaluation of Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP). That evaluation estimated that MUP had reduced alcohol specific deaths by 13.4%, compared to what would have been the case if MUP wasn’t in place. A letter published in the Lancet authored by a number of internationally renowned public health experts stated that, “policy makers can be confident that there are several hundred people with low income in Scotland who would have died as a result of alcohol, who are alive today as a result of minimum unit pricing.”
The Scottish Government is continuing to develop work on the range of options to consider the uprating of minimum unit pricing in future. As part of that activity the Scottish Government will consider the appropriate way to continue to review the effects and impacts of MUP. Appropriate stakeholder engagement will be undertaken with industry, business and public health stakeholders in advance of any decisions on uprating being taken.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 26 September 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 8 October 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the comment by the Chief Constable when
giving evidence to the Criminal Justice Committee on 11 September 2024 that
"The demands made by the criminal justice system form one of the largest
elements that saps away the capacity of policing in Scotland. Going to court
takes away 500 officers a day; on many occasions, they will not give
evidence", what steps it will take to improve efficiency in the justice
system.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-30024 on 1 October 2024. 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.
