Douglas Lumsden

23 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that nurses are protected from assault in the workplace.

Answer · Neil Gray: Abuse towards NHS staff is unacceptable, and Health Boards must take appropriate action against anyone who assaults a staff member. It is an employer's duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees.The Scottish Government continues to work…

23 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many assaults on nurses have been reported in each year since 2018, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Neil Gray: This is a matter for NHS boards and Police Scotland. The information requested is not held centrally.

23 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure the timely prosecution of speeding offences, and what improvements have been implemented since 2018.

Answer · Angela Constance: Decisions relating to the investigation and prosecution of crime, including speeding offences, are a matter for Police Scotland and COPFS, who are operationally independent of the Scottish Ministers.Restrictions brought in to reduce the spread of coronavirus …

23 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many prosecutions relating to assaults on nurses have resulted in (a) convictions and (b) other outcomes, in each year since 2018, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Angela Constance: It is not possible to separately identify which prosecutions for assault were specifically for assaults on nurses

23 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of prosecutions for speeding offences on trunk roads have resulted in (a) fines, (b) driving bans and (c) other penalties being imposed in each year since 2018, broken down by trunk road.

Answer · Angela Constance: (a)Number of people receiving fines for speeding offences on trunk roads, where main crime, in Scottish Courts, by court location (LA), 2018-19 to 2022-23. 2018-192022-23TRUNK ROADS (S) TEMP RESTRICT TRAFFIC & OVERTAKING 30,40,50MPH (S) ORDER 1992-1T…

23 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many speeding offences have been recorded on each trunk road, in each year since 2018.

Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government does not hold this data.

23 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has conducted any recent audits or investigations into inappropriate use of its devices or computers, and what the outcomes were of any such work.

Answer · Ivan McKee: Scottish Government has robust controls in place to identify any inappropriate use of devices. Sanctions for device misuse can range from warnings to loss of access and dismissal.

23 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many incidents of accessing or attempting to access pornography on Scottish Government devices or computers have been recorded in each year since 2018, broken down by device type.

Answer · Ivan McKee: The Scottish Government retains logs of internet access by staff connected to the Scottish Government network for a period of 6 months only. There were zero connections made to websites categorised as "pornography" recorded in the last 6 months from any devic…

23 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of trends in road traffic offences on each trunk road, with a particular focus on the A90 and its section north of Dundee.

Answer · Angela Constance: Data on recorded road traffic offences is contained in the annual Scottish Government "Recorded Crime in Scotland" publication. Information on road traffic offences in the 2023-24 publication is at:Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2023-24 - gov.scotThis publicatio…

23 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve the reporting and recording of assaults on nurses across all NHS boards.

Answer · Neil Gray: Health Boards have reporting systems in place to capture data on violence and aggression. At present, Health Boards collect this data locally.We are exploring how we can improve incident reporting systems and investigating proposals for developing standardise…

23 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what penalties have been imposed as a result of successful speeding prosecutions in each year since 2018, broken down by (a) trunk road and (b) penalty type.

Answer · Angela Constance: (a) The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of penalties issued for speeding offences by specific trunk road location or road number. This level of detail is not recorded in the Criminal Proceedings database.(b) The latest available in…

23 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance is issued to staff regarding the acceptable use of its devices and networks, including rules on accessing inappropriate content.

Answer · Ivan McKee: Scottish Government staff sign an agreement to adhere to the IT Code of Conduct. The IT Code of Conduct sets out guidance on the acceptable use of the official platform (SCOTS), in particular email and use of the intranet. The Code also outlines our policy on…

23 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has undertaken of any delays in the prosecution of speeding cases and the factors contributing to these.

Answer · Angela Constance: The average length of time between the date of alleged commission of a criminal offence and the date of a final court verdict increased considerably as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic and restrictions brought in to try to limit the spread of coronav…

23 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what penalties have been imposed following convictions for assaults on nurses in each year since 2018, broken down by the (a) type of penalty and (b) NHS board.

Answer · Angela Constance: It is not possible to separately identify which convictions for assault were specifically for assaults on nurses

23 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what policies and monitoring systems are in place to prevent access to pornography on Scottish Government devices or computers.

Answer · Ivan McKee: Guidance for staff in relation to usage of IT is provided in the IT Code of Conduct, which sets out acceptable usage for Scottish Government devices and networks. It covers:personal use of SCOTS and the internetmisuse of IT misconduct examplesaccidental acces…

23 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the installation cost is for (a) cat’s eyes and (b) emergency telephones on (i) the A90 in the (A) section north of Dundee and (B) other sections and (ii) other trunk roads.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Current installation costs for both cat’s eyes and emergency telephones relate to commercially sensitive information that would be inappropriate to share. It could be argued by incumbent Operating Companies and DBFO Companies that disclosing this inform…

23 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how often cat’s eyes are inspected and tested on (a) the A90 in the (i) section north of Dundee and (ii) other sections and (b) other trunk roads.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Road studs (cat's eyes) are inspected 6 monthly on all Trunk Roads within the North East Unit, including the A90. This is in addition to safety inspections.

23 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many emergency telephones are installed on the A90, broken down by the (a) section north of Dundee and (b) other sections.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: There are seven emergency telephones installed on the A90 north of Dundee and two on other sections of the A90.

23 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the annual cost is of maintaining cat’s eyes on (a) the A90 in the (i) section north of Dundee and (ii) other sections and (b) other trunk roads.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Maintenance/replacement costs for road studs on the A90 from August 2022 can be seen in table A.Table ARoute2022-23 (16th August onwards2023-20242024-25A90 North of Dundee£48,069£85,721£29,746A90 South of Dundee£19,696£14,240&pou…

23 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how often emergency telephones on the A90, including the section north of Dundee, have been used in the past five years. 

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: In the past five years 51 calls have been received on the emergency telephones on the A90 north of Dundee.

23 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many cat’s eyes are installed on the A90, broken down by the (a) section north of Dundee and (b) other sections.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: There are a total of 24,910 cat's eyes (road studs) on the A90. Of these 24, 273 are located north of Dundee and 637 south of Dundee.

23 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how often emergency telephones are inspected and tested on (a) the A90 in the (i) section north of Dundee and (ii) other sections and (b) other trunk roads.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: All emergency telephones on the Scottish Trunk Road Network, including on the A90, are inspected and tested every three months.

23 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the annual cost is of maintaining emergency telephones on (a) the A90 in the (i) section north of Dundee and (ii) other sections and (b) other trunk roads.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Transport Scotland’s Traffic Scotland Infrastructure Contractor, Amey Ltd, is paid a monthly Unitary Charge for the inspection, maintenance and repair of ITS (Intelligent Transport System) roadside infrastructure and individual costs specific to emergen…

23 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on legal advice and representation for current and former ministers in relation to public inquiries in the last 10 years, broken down by inquiry.

Answer · Siobhian Brown: There are at present five ongoing Scottish statutory public inquiries, and a number of UK statutory inquires which could seek evidence from ministers in Scotland. The Edinburgh Trams Inquiry reported in September 2023 following hearings in 2017-2018 and the P…

23 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is monitoring any delays to surgeries caused by the use of surgical wards for so-called medical boarders, and what steps it is taking to address any such issue.

Answer · Neil Gray: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-34124 on 12 February 2025. 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-c…

23 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress was made on securing partnerships to advance Scotland’s green hydrogen capabilities during the Acting Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy’s recent visit to Berlin. 

Answer · Gillian Martin: I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-34080 on 13 February 2025. 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-a…

23 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what policies or procedures are in place to address any situations where patients who are deemed “surgically fit for discharge” refuse to leave hospital.

Answer · Neil Gray: Where a patient deemed ready for discharge refuses to leave hospital, there is a clearly defined procedure in place:Healthcare staff will arrange a meeting with the patient to discuss the reason they are unwilling to be discharged from hospital and discuss a …

23 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on any legal advice sought from external counsel in each year since 2018, broken down by (a) its department and (b) the legal firm or provider.

Answer · Shona Robison: As Scottish Government functions have increased and matured, the volume and complexity of outsourced work has also evolved. This work is procured and we are now utilising the third iteration of a framework providing Legal Services to the Scottish Government a…

23 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how patients who are deemed “surgically fit for discharge” but refuse to leave hospital are (a) recorded and (b) monitored, and whether this is standardised across all NHS boards.

Answer · Neil Gray: Public Health Scotland publishes monthly Official Statistics on the number of people remaining in hospital after being declared ready for discharge, along with the reason for their delay. This information is recorded within each NHS board using a common set o…

23 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance is provided to NHS boards regarding the management of so-called medical boarders in surgical wards to minimise disruption to scheduled surgeries.

Answer · Neil Gray: Scottish Government is committed to minimising disruption to scheduled surgeries and is working in collaboration with the Centre for Sustainable Delivery (CfSD) and NHS Boards to ensure appropriate clinical pathways are in place to meet demand, and ensure pat…