Pam Gosal

12 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Police Scotland regarding increasing the frequency of media campaigns that raise awareness of the tactics that online romance scammers use to exploit their victims and the steps that individuals can take to avoid falling for such scams.

Answer · Tom Arthur: The Scottish Government is deeply concerned about the impact that scams can have on individuals, including those who are vulnerable to the activity of online romance scammers. While we have not held any direct discussions with Police Scotland about romance s…

4 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the reported recommendation that Higher Education widening access targets should take regional context and under-represented areas into account.

Answer · Graeme Dey: We fully recognise that we have more to do, and all institutions have to work hard to ensure students from deprived areas receive opportunities to achieve their potential. The Scottish Government is engaging with the sector to develop a consistent and robust…

4 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to tools other than the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) as a measure for widening access to higher education.

Answer · Graeme Dey: The Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) is currently the national measure of progress on widening access to higher education, as was recommended by the Commission on Widening Access in its final report, A Blueprint for Fairness, in 2016. Higher edu…

4 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its timeline for a permanent solution to the issues on the A83 at the Rest and Be Thankful.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: We are committed to an infrastructure solution to address landslip risks at the A83 Rest and Be Thankful. Delivery of a permanent and resilient solution is a priority and we will continue to seek ways to achieve that as quickly as possible. We continue to pr…

27 Sep 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to accelerate (a) the Single Building Assessment programme and (b) remedial works to ensure that buildings are safe.

Answer · Paul McLennan: The cladding remediation programme has already made good progress in identifying and assessing safety issues and planned legislation through the Cladding Remediation Bill will help also us to address barriers to remediating unsafe cladding that presents a ris…

26 Sep 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address the reported significant challenges in relation to the availability of a skilled and competent workforce that is able to carry out Single Building Assessments at scale.

Answer · Paul McLennan: The safety of homeowners and residents is our absolute upmost priority and Ministers are committed to the assessment of and ensuring remediation of multi residential buildings with potentially unsafe cladding. Work is underway to ensure that the 105 buildings…

25 Sep 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to improve ear wax removal services, and whether it will improve guidance on wax removal services to ensure that any guidance is clear, accurate and up to date.

Answer · Jenni Minto: From May 2022, Health Boards are responsible for providing Community Treatment and Care (CTAC) services, including ear wax removal, to support GPs to do the job they are trained to do and to give patients access to a wider range of expert advice for their car…

25 Sep 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has agreed to undertake a scoping exercise on the feasibility of a fund to provide immediate financial support to women experiencing domestic abuse in order to leave an abusive partner, as recommended by Scottish Women’s Aid on 29 June 2023.

Answer · Paul McLennan: I can confirm that the Scottish Government has undertaken a scoping exercise on the feasibility of a fund to provide financial support to women experiencing domestic abuse in order that they can leave that relationship safely. I refer the member to the answe…

22 Sep 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is promoting the General Practice Armed Forces and Veterans’ Recognition Scheme to GPs ahead of its full launch.

Answer · Graeme Dey: A programme of communications and engagement is planned to promote the launch of the General Practice Armed Forces and Veterans’ Recognition Scheme. This will include working with key stakeholder groups, and through their networks, raising awareness of the sc…

12 Sep 2023 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what steps it is taking to eliminate long waiting times for NHS procedures.

1 Sep 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact of short-term let licensing on the workload of local authorities.

Answer · Paul McLennan: An assessment was made of any potential impact of short term let licensing on the workload of local authorities and this information can be found in the Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) for Short-term lets: licensing scheme and planning contro…

23 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to improve signposting and the referral of females with polycystic ovary syndrome to the appropriate organisations and NHS boards that can provide aftercare, treatment, ultrasounds or advice.

Answer · Jenni Minto: We identified that women need more information about menstrual health symptoms and associated conditions which is why our Women’s Health Platform on NHS Inform helps women to access the information they need on a range of issues relating to their health, in…

23 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce NHS waiting times for services for females with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Answer · Jenni Minto: We published the NHS Recovery Plan in August 2021, which sets out our plans for health and social care over the next 5 years. Backed by over £1 billion of funding, the plan will support an increase in inpatient, day case, and outpatient activity to address …

22 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has undertaken of the impact of the reported housing shortage on housing policies that are aimed at military service leavers and veterans.

Answer · Graeme Dey: Our veterans and armed forces community are an asset to our society and we want to make sure they have a suitable home that meets their needs. Funding can be made available through our Affordable Housing Supply Programme to deliver homes specifically for vete…

22 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it next plans to meet with the Scottish Veterans Commissioner.

Answer · Graeme Dey: I last met with the Scottish Veterans Commissioner on 7 June 2023. Scottish Government officials have regular meetings with the Commissioner and last met with her on 22 August. There is currently no meeting scheduled between the Commissioner and I but it is l…

22 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to ensure the availability of more accessible information regarding housing allocation policies aimed at military service leavers and veterans, to ensure that the key details can be understood and explained easily.

Answer · Paul McLennan: We have published a housing guide which provides information about applying for social housing in Scotland. This sets out how Service leavers and veterans can obtain clear information about the housing allocation policy for the area where they want to live …

22 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the proposed timeline and target date are for the national roll-out of the General Practice Armed Forces and Veterans’ Recognition Scheme.

Answer · Graeme Dey: The General Practice Armed Forces and Veterans’ Recognition Scheme has been developed in conjunction with practices who agreed to be part of an initial pilot. The pilot finished in December 2022 and since then work has been on-going to update the training acc…

21 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has undertaken of any impact of the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022 on the availability of properties for private rent.

Answer · Patrick Harvie: The most recent sector-wide Landlord Registration data shows that in August 2023 there had been no decline in the number of registered properties for rent. While it is an administrative rather than a statistical source, the data shows that there were 342,542 …

21 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with COSLA regarding the needs of older people in developing future local housing strategies, in order to ensure that housing needs are met for everyone in the local community.

Answer · Paul McLennan: Local authorities have statutory responsibility for housing, including assessing and meeting housing needs of their areas, and setting out how requirements for housing will be met in their local housing strategies (LHSs). Guidance published in 2019 to suppo…

21 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve housing research, in order to understand more about any implications of the reported increase in older people living in private rental sector homes, including their awareness of tenant rights and their ability to request adaptations to their homes with …

Answer · Patrick Harvie: The Scottish Government has provided funding to Age Scotland, as a strategic partner, to support a range of housing related work in 2023-24. As part of that work Age Scotland is planning a piece of qualitative research with older people to improve the evidenc…

18 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the proposed timeline and target date are for the establishment of a leavers fund to support victims of domestic abuse to leave abusive relationships.

Answer · Paul McLennan: As indicated in the answer to question S6W-20389 on 15 August 2023 – we remain committed to exploring the options for a fund which aims to provide immediate financial support to women leaving an abusive relationship. The detail of any fund which may result fr…

1 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is exploring the establishment of a dedicated "leavers fund" to support victims of domestic abuse to help them leave abusive relationships.

Answer · Paul McLennan: We know there can be many barriers preventing someone who is experiencing domestic abuse from leaving that relationship and we are firmly committed to looking at what we can do, within our devolved powers, to provide financial support to women so that financi…

1 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it is giving to reconfiguring the Scottish Legal Aid provision to enable access by all victim-survivors of domestic abuse. 

Answer · Siobhian Brown: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-20381 on 17 August 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-committee…

1 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to tackle the reportedly high rates of violence against disabled women and girls, and what plans it has to gather evidence, and support engagement with accessible, gender-competent services.

Answer · Siobhian Brown: We recognises that disabled women and girls are at greater risk of violence than non-disabled women and girls, and women with a learning/ intellectual disability are more likely to experience sexual abuse than other disabled people. Through our Delivering Eq…

25 Jul 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to mitigate the reported impact of the housing crisis on victims of domestic abuse, particularly those with children, who are seeking social housing, and what discussions it has had with the Scottish Housing Regulator about allocation rules for victims of domesti…

Answer · Paul McLennan: Scotland has led the UK in providing affordable housing. We are making £3.5 billion available in this Parliamentary term, towards the delivery of more affordable and social homes. An estimated 3,480 households with children have been helped into affordable ho…

4 Jul 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take in response to the Federation of Small Businesses Big Small Business Survey, which finds that almost two fifths of Scottish SMEs have limited or no understanding of government targets related to net zero and how these will impact their business, and that three fi…

Answer · Patrick Harvie: The Scottish Government is committed to a just transition to net zero, which means working with people, businesses and communities across Scotland to ensure they can access support and advice, and that the costs and benefits of the transition are spread fairl…

4 Jul 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) COSLA and (b) Homes for Scotland regarding any need for the creation of data sets relevant to planning performance and housing need and demand.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The creation of data sets relevant to planning performance and housing need and demand has been discussed recently with COSLA and Homes for Scotland in the context of the following:Housing to 2040 Strategic Board – the role of data in the housing sector was d…

4 Jul 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to address the reported recruitment crisis in construction, in light of reports that the number of all new housebuilding starts fell by 25% from 2020 to 2023.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: We are progressing recommendations from the New Deal for Business Group on labour market participation, with a focus on supporting parents into employment through school age childcare and nurturing the skills which businesses need for a transition to net zero…

30 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on any discussions that it has had with COSLA in relation to support or resources for children with low-functioning autism.

Answer · Maree Todd: Scottish Government works closely with COSLA to ensure children and young people with neurodevelopmental support needs, including those with autism, receive support which meets the standards set out in the National Neurodevelopmental Specification for Childre…

21 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to research carried out on behalf of The Open University in Scotland, which reportedly found that less than a third of businesses have heard of the Scottish Funding Council Upskilling Fund and the Part-time Fee Grant.

Answer · Graeme Dey: The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that people can learn as flexibly as possible fitting in with individuals' life circumstances. That is why SG provide funding through Scottish Funding Council (SFC) for the Upskilling Fund and the Part-Time Fee…