Parliamentary questions
Meghan Gallacher
343 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
20 Oct 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update following the public consultation on extending the animal licensing framework, particularly regarding the consideration of licensing commercial dog walkers.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The consultation on extending the scope of the 2021 animal licensing regulations closed on 26 September. We are considering all the responses received and will publish a consultation summary report in due course. This report will provide a breakdown of respon…
20 Oct 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether there has been any consideration given to encouraging a minimum level of dog training to promote responsible dog ownership, in light of the reported increase in dog attacks and Dog Control Notices issued.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: The vast majority of dog owners are responsible people who take good care of their animals and enjoy the widespread benefits of dog ownership and companionship. Where a dog owner is issued with a dog control notice (DCN) under the terms of the Control of Do…
20 Oct 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what legal measures it is considering to place greater responsibility on dog owners.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: The two main pieces of legislation in relation to dog control are the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 (“the 1991 Act”) and the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010 (“the 2010 Act”). The 1991 Act provides for criminal law measures for dog owners and persons in charge o…
20 Oct 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the reported increase in the number of dog attacks on (a) other dogs and animals and (b) people, and what plans it has to review and amend the relevant legislation.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: Further to the information provided in S6W-21589 on 5 October 2023, the Scottish Government continues to regularly assess the management information provided by health boards to Public Health Scotland that provides information on dog bites. The Scottish Gove…
17 Oct 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment has been made of the merits of making CCTV mandatory in fish slaughterhouses, in line with the recommendations of the Animal Welfare Committee's updated Opinion on the Welfare of Farmed Fish at the Time of Killing, and the Mandatory Use of Closed Circuit Television in Sla…
Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government is committed to the highest possible welfare standards for animals, including fish. Improving aquaculture health and welfare is an ethical responsibility and is one of the main priorities that is enshrined in our Vision for Sustainable…
17 Oct 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to implement each of the Animal Welfare Committee's recommendations set out in its updated Opinion on the Welfare of Farmed Fish at the Time of Killing.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government will carefully consider the recommendations made by the UK Animal Welfare Committee and will continue to work with stakeholders to ensure the welfare of fish throughout the animals’ life.
4 Oct 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to ban convicted sex offenders from changing their (a) name and (b) gender.
Answer · Angela Constance: The Sex Offender Notification Requirements in Scotland requires convicted sex offenders to provide a range of personal information to the police, including their name, and to inform the police should any of those details subsequently change. Individuals conv…
4 Oct 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the UK Government’s reported plans to consult on stopping transgender people being treated in single-sex hospital wards, what its position is on implementing a similar policy in Scotland.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government expects everybody to be treated fairly and with respect when seeking health care. All health boards have policies in place to fulfil their duties under the Equality Act 2010. The Scottish Government supports the appropriate use of sin…
21 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the financial package that the UK Government announced for its Swimming Pool Support Fund, whether it will provide an update on what measures it has considered to provide additional support to the sector in Scotland.
Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government places great importance on community sports and leisure facilities, such as swimming pools. They are crucial to the wellbeing of all our country and most importantly, for our children and young people to be healthy and active. sportsc…
21 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will ensure the ability for the equal provision of services and facilities across all local authorities through the shared priorities that it hopes to agree in its proposed new deal for local government.
Answer · Tom Arthur: The Verity House Agreement sets out our joint vision with COSLA for a more collaborative approach to delivering our shared priorities for the people of Scotland. We have agreed three shared priorities - tackling poverty, just transition to net zero and sustai…
21 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6O-02470 by Joe FitzPatrick on 6 September 2023, whether it will provide a breakdown of where it has allocated the additional Barnett consequential funding to, including how much has been allocated to (a) local authorities and (b) fund other priorities…
Answer · Tom Arthur: The Scottish Government published its Autumn Budget Revision on 28 September 2023. The Autumn Budget Revision document provides a detailed breakdown of how all additional funding has been allocated, including £265 million of additional funding being provided …
21 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what changes in its budget it is considering to prevent any further closures or reduction of essential community facilities and services.
Answer · Tom Arthur: The Verity House Agreement will better enable local and national government to work together to achieve better outcomes for people and communities across Scotland. The Scottish Government will continue to work in partnership with COSLA to agree a more detaile…
5 Sep 2023 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the greater use of farm-to-fork methods to encourage domestic food production.
22 Aug 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many companies owning (a) onshore wind turbines in Scotland and (b) offshore wind turbines in Scottish waters were registered in (i) Scotland, (ii) England, (iii) Wales, (iv) Northern Ireland and (v) overseas between 2014 and 2022.
Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government does not hold or collate any information relating to the registered address of companies who own wind turbines in Scotland. The UK Government’s Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD) tracks the progress of UK renewable electrici…
22 Aug 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many birds have been killed due to (a) onshore and (b) offshore wind turbine bird strikes between 2014 and 2023, broken down by species.
Answer · Neil Gray: Nature Scot collect data for bird strikes at onshore wind farms via their online reporting tool. The reporting is voluntary, meaning it is likely they only receive reports on a proportion of strikes. Where possible the data is supplemented with information th…
22 Aug 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the total tonnage is of waste resulting from the decommissioning of (a) onshore and (b) offshore wind turbines that has been exported overseas as waste between 2014 and 2022.
Answer · Neil Gray: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-20796 on 12 September 2023. 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-commi…
22 Aug 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the total tonnage is of waste resulting from the decommissioning of (a) onshore and (b) offshore wind turbines that has been sent to landfill sites between 2014 and 2022.
Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government does not hold or collate any information relating to waste from the decommissioning of wind turbines.
22 Aug 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) onshore and (b) offshore wind turbines are due to be decommissioned in the next five years.
Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government does not hold or collate any information relating to the future decommissioning of onshore wind turbines. In respect of offshore wind turbines, none are due to be decommissioned in the next five years. Zero Waste Scotland published …
22 Aug 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) onshore and (b) offshore wind turbines have been decommissioned in each year from 2014 to 2022.
Answer · Neil Gray: While the Scottish Government holds some information in relation to the decommissioning of wind turbines it does not hold or collate an overall dataset for onshore turbines. We are aware that one offshore turbine has been decommissioned at Robin Rigg wind far…
18 Aug 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether a recorded police warning (RPW) is an appropriate disposal for the offence of assault, in light of the reported decision by Police Scotland to issue a RPW to an individual for an alleged assault during an incident in Aberdeen on 23 July 2023.
Answer · Dorothy Bain: The RPW scheme is intended to provide police officers with a timely and proportionate means of dealing with offending which meet the criteria of being lower-level offending in terms of the Lord Advocate’s guidelines. Those guidelines provide general principl…
18 Aug 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6O-02406 by Jenni Minto on 21 June 2023, whether it will provide an update on the work that it is undertaking regarding gender identity services for children and young people, and, in light of this work, whether it (a) will follow the approach of NHS E…
Answer · Jenni Minto: Since December 2022, the Scottish Government has allocated over £896,000 to NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHS GGC) to support work to improve their adult and young people’s gender identity services. NHS GGC is using this funding to recruit to its Young Peop…
18 Aug 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to introduce regulations requiring that new non-domestic buildings provide separate male and female toilet facilities and/or a self-contained, private toilet as a minimum.
Answer · Patrick Harvie: The Scottish Government has not considered introducing changes to building regulations for non domestic toilet provision. The current building standards in Scotland require that new non domestic buildings are designed and constructed in such a way that sanit…
18 Aug 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how much it has spent to date on its challenge of the decision of the UK Secretary of State for Scotland to issue an order under section 35 of the Scotland Act 1998 in respect of the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The costs incurred in this legal challenge are the necessary price of protecting democracy and devolution in Scotland. On 19 April 2023 I undertook to publish the costs of this action once it is completed, and as the member will be aware the substantive heari…
18 Aug 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: There was a debate in Parliament on the 14th September to reconsider the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation)(Scotland) Bill.
18 Aug 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with UK Government ministers since 27 June 2023 regarding the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: I wrote to the Secretary of State for Scotland on 29 June. That letter provided an update on the Scottish Government’s plans for returning a revised UNCRC Bill to the Scottish Parliament; highlighted the loss of coverage for children’s rights that are a conse…
19 Jun 2023 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to Police Scotland’s latest quarterly performance report, which found that there were 1,928 recorded crimes of online child sexual abuse during 2022-23.
14 Jun 2023 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the report by the taskforce to consider whether to extend wildlife crime investigation powers to the Scottish SPCA will be published.
6 Jun 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will implement the recommendation by the Auditor General in the report, Early learning and childcare: Progress on delivery of the 1,140 hours expansion, for it to plan how to gather data on demand for both funded early learning and childcare, and childcare paid for directly by…
Answer · Natalie Don: Local authorities have a statutory duty to consult with parents and carers every two years to ensure that their models of funded early learning and childcare (ELC) meet local needs and demands. The Scottish Government has committed to working with its partner…
6 Jun 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will be able to assess whether the 1,140 hours expansion of funded childcare has led to (a) better outcomes for children and (b) increased opportunities for parents to work, study or train.
Answer · Natalie Don: Working with our Monitoring and Evaluation Working Group, we have set out a multi-year strategy for evaluating the impact of the expansion of funded early learning and childcare to 1,140 hours on outcomes for children, parents and families. The bespoke Scotti…
6 Jun 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the total cost will be of the development of software to improve the management and monitoring of early learning and childcare services.
Answer · Natalie Don: Based on the existing cost estimates, the Scottish Government will have provided £2,104,833 of grant funding to support the development of the new SEEMiS Early Years system. As is standard procedure, a contingency value of £91,043 has been retained by Scottis…