Gillian Mackay

9 Nov 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to (a) the Barnardo’s report, The Missing Link: Social Prescribing for Children and Young People, and (b) its recommendations for how social prescribing should be applied in Scotland.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government notes the recommendations of the Barnardo’s report, The Missing Link: Social Prescribing for Children and Young People. Community link workers (CLWs) have a key role for social prescribing in primary care settings. We have not prescri…

8 Nov 2023 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it is giving to its wider approach to tackling domestic abuse, including its work to develop Scotland’s first national multi-agency Domestic Homicide Review model.

6 Nov 2023 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government is supporting renters who are struggling with the cost of living.

1 Nov 2023 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how its agricultural development projects will boost organic produce and improve environmental practice, as part of its work towards achieving its net zero targets.  

13 Sep 2023 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Scottish Prison Service regarding supporting and enabling families of prisoners to have better access to visiting their loved ones while they are in prison.

30 Aug 2023 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the investment announced in the 2023-24 Programme for Government will contribute towards a move to a wellbeing economy in the Central Scotland region.

4 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which buildings in (a) the Falkirk area and (b) Scotland have been identified as having issues with dangerous cladding, and when work on these buildings will be undertaken and any potential danger addressed and/or cladding removed.

Answer · Paul McLennan: Information on the number of buildings in the programme is published and can be found here: Single Building Assessment programme: spending information - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) Information is provided on a regional basis in line with requests from resident…

4 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it received from the UK Government in relation to cladding issues following the Grenfell Tower fire; how much of this has been spent on removing dangerous cladding, and where this was.

Answer · Paul McLennan: Scottish Ministers have set out our public commitment to ensuring that every penny of consequential funding received from the UK Government is invested in assessing buildings and making unsafe buildings safe. Information on expenditure on the programme is pub…

21 Jul 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much (a) it and (b) NHS Scotland has spent on treating nicotine addiction in children and young people in each of the last five years.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government provides funding annually to Health Boards for smoking cessation and prevention services, but this funding isn’t split for adult and child smoking cessation and prevention services. This funding is provided as part of a wider Outcomes…

21 Jul 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many children and young people it estimates currently have a nicotine addiction as a result of using (a) nicotine vapour products and (b) tobacco.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government does not collect data on the number of children and young people who have a nicotine addiction. However, it monitors smoking and vaping prevalence in these groups, drawing on surveys like the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children …

21 Jul 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support is available for children and young people with a nicotine addiction caused by using (a) nicotine vapour products and (b) tobacco.

Answer · Jenni Minto: We urge anyone with a nicotine addiction caused by using tobacco or nicotine vapour products to contact the free NHS Quit Your Way Scotland' helpline on 0800 84 84 84 to speak to an advisor, who will be able to provide advice and support and can direct indi…

11 Jul 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it expects Scotland's Green Freeports to meet the requirement to have positive effects for biodiversity, and what types of measures are expected to be brought forward to this end.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The two Green Freeports are currently preparing business cases for consideration by the Scottish Government and the UK Government. In those business cases, the Green Freeports must report on the environmental impacts of their proposals, and show how they will…

11 Jul 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S6W-15384 and S6W-15385 by John Swinney on 7 March 2023, now that six months have passed since the winning bids were announced for Scotland's Green Freeports, whether it can provide an update on what the timescale is for when maps showing the Green Fr…

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Maps of the Green Freeport areas have been published on the UK Government’s website and can be accessed at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/green-freeports-in-scotland-bidding-prospectus .

27 Jun 2023 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the publication of the Zero Waste Scotland report on the environmental impacts of single-use vapes.

Answer · Lorna Slater: Zero Waste Scotland will publish their report on the environmental impacts of single use vapes on 30 June 2023. The review was commissioned by myself on 20 January 2023 in response to emerging concerns including litter, plastic waste and risk of fires. The r…

30 May 2023 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it can provide to the Forth Bike scheme and its partners, in the light of the scheme ceasing to operate.

10 May 2023 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the UK Government has communicated any intention to provide exemptions to the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 in relation to legislation passed by the Scottish Parliament.

9 May 2023 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government will consider a full ban on disposable vaping products on health and environmental grounds.  

12 Apr 2023 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it anticipates its proposed Agriculture Bill and future payments framework will support progress towards meeting Scotland’s emissions reduction targets.

4 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, following its commitment to increase thrombectomy funding for 2023-24, whether it will provide a breakdown of what that money will be spent on, broken down by NHS board, and how it will ensure equity of access across NHS Scotland.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government remains committed to introducing a high quality and clinically safe thrombectomy service in Scotland. Work is ongoing to establish the most effective means of further expanding the national thrombectomy service, including how funding …

30 Mar 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to confirm its timeline for the introduction of the proposed Public Health (Restriction of Promotions) Bill.

Answer · Jenni Minto: In my statement to Parliament on 30 May 2023, I announced that the Public Health (Restriction of Promotions) Bill will not be introduced. We instead plan to consult on the detail of proposed regulations to restrict promotions of food and drink high in fat, su…

23 Feb 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the status will be of legally protected sites for nature, such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), Special Protection Areas (SPAs) and Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), that fall wholly or partially within the outer 45km boundaries of Scotland’s two Green Freeports,…

Answer · John Swinney: Green Freeports in Scotland will be required to the comply with existing environmental legislation and regulations. The legal protection of sites for nature, such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), Special Protection Areas (SPAs) and Special Are…

23 Feb 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when maps will be made publicly available showing the outer 45km boundaries of Scotland’s two Green Freeports, the Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport and Forth Green Freeport.

Answer · John Swinney: Scottish Government officials are currently in discussion with the UK Government and the Green Freeport consortia about arrangements for publishing maps of the Green Freeport locations.

20 Feb 2023 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government will provide an update on how it is responding to the Climate Change Committee's report on progress in reducing emissions in Scotland.

15 Feb 2023 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the steps that it is taking to improve the management of inshore fisheries, in light of the reported increasing pressures on fishers and fish stocks in Scotland's coastal regions.

17 Jan 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many school pupils have been assessed and/or declared themselves as having a disability in (a) 2018, (b) 2019, (c) 2020 and (d) 2021, and, of those, how many were assessed and/or declared themselves as being (i) deaf or having a hearing impairment, (ii) blind or having a visual impai…

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Statistics on the number of school pupils assessed and/or declared disabled and the number of pupils reported as having additional support needs for hearing impairment, visual impairment and deafblind are published in the pupil census supplementary statistics…

11 Jan 2023 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how many points of order were made in Session 5, broken down by party.

11 Jan 2023 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how many points of order have been made to date in Session 6, excluding those made in relation to the recording of a vote made using the voting app, broken down by MSP.

11 Jan 2023 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what work is underway to assess the impact of vapes on public health.

7 Dec 2022 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the papers on taxation policy recently published by the Scottish Trades Union Congress and Institute for Public Policy Research Scotland.

28 Nov 2022 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to reports that alcohol sport sponsorship can cause harm to vulnerable groups such as young people and those in recovery.