Paul Sweeney

2 Sep 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the reported 255 NHS buildings that are suspected to contain reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete have been inspected by structural engineers.

Answer · Michael Matheson: There have been 91 NHS buildings surveyed under the RAAC survey programme (as at 19th September 2023).

2 Sep 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish a list of all hospital buildings that are (a) suspected and (b) have been confirmed to contain reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The list of buildings to be surveyed was included in the answer to question S6W-19366 on 21 July 2023. NHS Scotland Assure published the list of buildings to be surveyed on the 15th September 2023: RAAC -List of Properties v1 Jul 23 (nhs.scot) . In response…

30 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what representations it has made to the (a) UK Government Secretary of State for Transport and (b) Avanti West Coast Train Operating Company regarding the proposed closure of the ticket office at Glasgow Central Station.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: I am pleased to confirm the Scottish Government has no plans to close any ScotRail ticket offices, unlike proposals from UK Government train operators to close ticket offices elsewhere and this includes the Avanti ticket office at Glasgow Central station. I …

30 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle mental health inequalities, in light of the most recent Public Health Scotland statistics on suicide showing that deaths by suicide are almost three times more likely among those living in the most socioeconomically deprived areas.

Answer · Maree Todd: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-20938 on 26 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…

30 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the most recent suicide statistics from Public Health Scotland, including the finding that just under three quarters of those who died by suicide were male.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government welcomes the report from Public Health Scotland as a contribution to the evidence base on probable suicides in Scotland. It is positive that the trends show there has been a reduction in the rate of suicide in Scotland from the posit…

30 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to support suicide prevention initiatives, particularly in the most socioeconomically deprived areas.

Answer · Maree Todd: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-20938 on 26 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…

30 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the Anti-Racism Observatory for Scotland will align with the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which cover colour, nationality, ethnic and national origin.

Answer · Emma Roddick: We are currently developing detailed proposals for the Anti-Racism Observatory for Scotland (AROS). A formal remit will be drawn up (and published) in due course. The work of the Observatory will align closely with our obligations under the Equality Act (201…

26 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the status is of the £9.6 million loan granted by the Scottish Partnership for Regeneration in Urban Centres (SPRUCE) fund in 2012 for the development of 110 Queen Street, Glasgow.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: In December 2012, through the Scottish Partnership for Regeneration in Urban Centres (SPRUCE) a loan of £9.6 million was granted contributing to the development of 110 Queen Street. The loan was fully repaid in September 2014. The completed building provides …

25 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it plans to spend in total on suicide prevention in 2023-24, and whether it will provide a detailed breakdown of this spending.

Answer · Maree Todd: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-20714 on 19 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…

25 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in the context of the commitment in its suicide prevention strategy, Creating Hope Together, to spend £2.8 million annually on suicide prevention, whether suicide prevention funding is part of the core mental health budget, or funded from a separate budget.

Answer · Maree Todd: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-20714 on 19 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-comm…

23 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its assessment is of the Industrial Development Authority of Ireland's performance at capturing inward investment relative to Scottish Development International.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: All Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) have distinct methodology and approaches for the attraction of inward investment, impacting each IPA’s reporting and monitoring of country-level or sub-national inward investment performance and securing of inward inve…

18 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many third sector partners are providing community link worker programmes within Health and Social Care Partnerships across Scotland in the current financial year, and what the names are of any such providers, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government does not hold data on how many third sector partners are providing Community Link Worker programmes within Health and Social Care Partnerships, across Scotland.

18 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will continue any discretionary funding awards made to Health and Social Care Partnerships for community link worker programmes for 2023-24 in the next financial year.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government has not confirmed budgets for 2024-25.

18 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many community link worker posts were funded by the Primary Care Improvement Fund in financial years (a) 2022-23 and (b) 2023-24, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Michael Matheson: As at 31st March 2023 there were 253.5 WTE Community Link Worker posts funded by the Primary Care Improvement Fund. The following publication provides the breakdown of the 2022-23 figure by Local Authority area. Primary Care Improvement Plans: Summary of Imp…

18 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government to which Health and Social Care Partnerships it has awarded discretionary funding in 2023-24 for community link worker provision, and how many posts were covered by any such discretionary funding awards.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government made an additional funding guarantee to Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership, which was in addition to the HSCP’s share of the Primary Care Improvement Fund, which funds the majority of general practice Link Worker posts acr…

17 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-16492 by Maree Todd on 21 April 2023, how it will track its spending commitments under the new Creating Hope Together action plan, and whether it will commit to identifying and recording suicide prevention spending across Scotland.

Answer · Maree Todd: Our ambitious work on suicide prevention is underpinned by a significant funding commitment of £2.5 million in 2023-24. This includes funding of approximately £1.9 million specifically focused on the delivery and implementation of the Creating Hope Together A…

17 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what resources it is providing to support the implementation of recommendations made in the 2022 evaluation of year 1 of the pilot Suicide Bereavement Support Services.

Answer · Maree Todd: We are working with key partners to implement the recommendations of the 2022 evaluation of the first-year of the Suicide Prevention Bereavement Support Services. This showed how well the service meets the needs of family members, whilst also flagging a numbe…

17 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what funding is being provided to support action 5.3 of Creating Hope Together: Scotland’s Suicide Prevention Action Plan 2022-2025 to build new peer support capability.

Answer · Maree Todd: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-20718 on 5 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-commit…

17 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that peer support in relation to suicide prevention is accessible across Scotland.

Answer · Maree Todd: Our new strategy takes a fresh approach to tackling the inequalities that lead to suicide. This is reflected in our key priorities for 2023-24 which include a commitment to support new peer support groups across Scotland; drawing on the extensive feedback a…

17 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on action 5.11 of Creating Hope Together: Scotland’s Suicide Prevention Action Plan 2022-2025 to provide suicide bereavement support across Scotland, including how its implementation will be funded.

Answer · Maree Todd: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-20716 on 5 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-comm…

15 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any corrosive or erosive effect of rock salt used for the treatment of roads and pedestrian areas in cold weather on the built environment, compared with alternative grit products.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: As members of PIARC (World Road Association) and the National Winter Service Research Group (NWSRG), Transport Scotland routinely participates and contributes to research programmes to enable the production of industry best practice. In 2020, Transport Scotl…

14 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on the development or disposal plan for the former Queen Mother's Maternity Hospital building in Glasgow.

Answer · Michael Matheson: This is a matter for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. The information requested is not held centrally.

14 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has a target to operate a minimum 15-minute headway on all suburban railway lines in the Glasgow region.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: There are no plans for a universal 15 minute frequency on all Glasgow region suburban routes. Some key route sections already have a higher frequency of trains. The timetable for each line is developed by ScotRail and Network Rail based on demand, which vari…

8 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the self-sown invasive buddleia (buddleja davidii) shrub on Scotland's forests, natural habitats and riparian areas and reports of its damage to the built environment, especially historic brick and stone buildings with lime mortar joints.

Answer · Christina McKelvie: The Scottish Government has not carried out work to assess the impacts of buddleia on Scotland’s forests, natural habitats and riparian areas. Due to the preference of the species for disturbed open ground, its impact on these areas appears to be low. It is n…

8 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support will be given to the students who were unable to complete their studies due to the reported abrupt liquidation of CodeClan.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Codebase, the operator of Scotland's Techscaler network, has acquired CodeClan’s training materials and other assets. The Scottish Government has agreed to provide financial support to Codebase for the explicit purpose of allowing students who have paid for …

8 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its commitment to grow Scotland’s economy through the tech sector, for what reason it reportedly did not provide CodeClan with support.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Codeclan was a private sector enterprise and its financial stability was the sole responsibility of its management and board of directors. The Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise worked intensively with CodeClan to explore every possible option to se…

7 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will introduce priority bus lanes on the national trunk road network around Greater Glasgow, which was first proposed in its 2019 Programme for Government.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2) was published in December 2022, which marked the completion of over 3 years of detailed technical appraisal. It will inform the Scottish Government’s transport investment programme over the next 20 years …

3 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the current rate of total gross fixed capital formation is as a proportion of gross domestic product in Scotland.

Answer · Neil Gray: Scotland's Gross Fixed Capital Formation in 2022 was £34,384 million. This was 18.4 percent of onshore GDP in that year.

3 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when compulsory sales orders will be introduced in Scotland, in light of the reported announcement by the leader of Glasgow City Council on 3 August 2023.

Answer · Paul McLennan: We are aware of local authority interest in Compulsory Sales Orders and continue to work with them to explore the justification for, and potential practical operation of this tool. In the meantime, Compulsory Purchase Order powers are available, and are being…

3 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made in exploring how Scottish higher education institutions can continue to benefit from Erasmus+ and pre-existing good relations with European higher education institutions following the UK's exit from the European Union.

Answer · Graeme Dey: As autonomous bodies, Scottish universities continue to strengthen pre-existing relationships with European higher education institutions through all available channels. The Scottish Government is committed to addressing one of the most damaging consequences…