Douglas Lumsden

16 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many compulsory purchase orders it anticipates will be required to meet its net zero targets by 2045, broken down by sector, for example, housing, transport or energy.

Answer · Ivan McKee: A wide range of public bodies and infrastructure providers have compulsory purchase powers, which can be used to support the delivery of projects in the public interest. Bodies with compulsory purchase powers are known as ‘acquiring authorities’. …

16 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many compulsory purchase orders it has issued in each of the last five years, broken down by purpose.

Answer · Ivan McKee: A wide range of public bodies and infrastructure providers have compulsory purchase powers, which can be used to support the delivery of projects in the public interest. Bodies with compulsory purchase order (CPO) powers are known as ‘acquiring authorit…

16 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many surgical procedures have been cancelled at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary in each of the last five years due to a lack of (a) post-operative beds, (b) available staff, (c) surgical screws or equipment and (d) surgical kits.

Answer · Neil Gray: The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government the member may wish to contact NHS Grampian directly for information.

16 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has reviewed the supply chain for surgical screws, kits, and other equipment at NHS Grampian, and what actions have been taken to ensure more consistent availability.

Answer · Neil Gray: The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government the member may wish to contact NHS Grampian directly for information.

16 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether additional funding has been allocated to NHS Grampian to address surgical cancellations caused by infrastructure or resource limitations.

Answer · Neil Gray: The 2025-26 draft budget provides over £16.2 billion funding for NHS Boards, supporting services and including £1.34 billion funding for NHS Grampian - a real terms uplift.In addition, increased capital investment of £139 million provides a …

16 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on energy bills for its buildings in each of the last five years, broken down by building type.

Answer · Ivan McKee: The total cost of gas and electric for Core Scottish Government buildings broken down by building type is:-Building Type2019-202020-212021-222022-232023-24TotalOffice£1,996,909£1,774,575£2,327,619£3,547,125£4,458,429£14,104…

16 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans are in place to improve the availability of post-operative beds at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary to reduce the number of cancelled surgeries.

Answer · Neil Gray: Whilst NHS Boards are encouraged to protect planned care, they must ensure that patients who require urgent care, including cancer treatment, are prioritised. In the case of Aberdeen Royal Infirmary patient cancellations have affected orthopaedic elective pro…

16 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to divest from buildings with poor energy efficiency ratings and relocate to more energy-efficient premises.

Answer · Ivan McKee: The Scottish Government estate is always under review to allow us to plan for accessible, modern and secure, energy efficient buildings to meet our changing needs and net zero ambitions, as well as to ensure best value for taxpayers’ money.Estate decisi…

16 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many visits (a) the First Minister, (b) each cabinet secretary, (c) each minister and (d) each law officer has carried out in each parliamentary region in each year since 2021-22, broken down by the purpose of the visit.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Information on Ministerial engagements is routinely published on the Scottish Government website and can be found at: Ministerial engagements, travel and gifts - gov.scotVisits are not recorded by parliamentary region.

16 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when (a) the First Minister, (b) each cabinet secretary, (c) each minister and (d) each law officer last met their counterpart in the (i) UK Government, (ii) Welsh Government, (iii) Northern Ireland Executive and (iv) Government of Ireland; what was discussed; who attended, and what…

Answer · Kate Forbes: Ministers regularly meet with their counterparts in the UK Government, other devolved governments, and the Government of Ireland on a bilateral and multilateral basis to discuss matters of common interest.The focus of our engagement is to work together to del…

16 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-32613 by Angus Robertson on 14 January 2025, what tangible benefits are delivered by its international network, and how these benefits are (a) measured and (b) reported.

Answer · Angus Robertson: The International Network annual report 2023-24, published on 18 November 2024, demonstrates how our network delivers tangible benefits across the three main pillars of work set out in the International Strategy. The International Network annual report is ava…

16 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-32702 by Neil Gray on 9 January 2025, whether it will review its coding practices to allow for the identification and recording of incidents involving e-bikes, and, if so, what the timeframe is for implementing this change.

Answer · Neil Gray: Scotland uses the ICD-10 classification for coding diagnoses. Public Health Scotland understand that no changes or updates for any codes in ICD-10 are planned, as work is currently focused on implementation of ICD-11, which in Scotland is likely to be around …

16 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the usage of electric and hybrid vehicles in its fleet aligns with its emissions reduction targets.

Answer · Ivan McKee: The Scottish Government is working towards our commitment to phase out petrol and diesel cars from our fleet and phase out the need for any new petrol and diesel light commercial vehicles.The adoption of electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles to replac…

16 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many vehicles have been added to its fleet in each of the last five years, broken down by (a) vehicle type and (b) fuel type.

Answer · Ivan McKee: A breakdown of fleet additions and disposals since 2019-20, broken down by vehicle and fuel type, is provided in the following tables.2019-20Vehicle typeFuel typeNumber of vehicles addedNumber of vehicles disposedCarDiesel034CarHybrid03CarPlug-in hybrid elect…

16 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-33091 by Ivan McKee on 14 January 2025, whether there are any plans to replace the (a) heavy goods lorries and (b) light commercial vehicles in its fleet with electric vehicle models, and, if so, what the anticipated timeline is for doing so.

Answer · Ivan McKee: We do not have any current plans to replace these vehicles, however when the vehicles approach the end of their operational life, a vigorous assessment will be conducted by our fleet management team to identify suitable fit for purpose replacements available …

16 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the carbon emissions associated with journeys taken by the cars in its fleet in each of the last five years.

Answer · Ivan McKee: Fleet carbon emissions are published in our Public Bodies Climate Change report which is available on the Scottish Sustainability Network site. Additionally, SG holds the Carbon Trust to Net Zero Standard for year on year carbon reduction, with carbon emissio…

16 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the total purchase cost of its current vehicle fleet was, broken down by model.

Answer · Ivan McKee: A breakdown of the fleet by total purchase cost by model is provided in the following table.Make and modelNumber on fleetTotal costFord Transit REV3£87,703.50Iveco Eurocargo1£66,010.80Kia Ceed PHEV3£71,580.98Kia EV6 EV4£182,194Kia e-Ni…

16 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-32592 by Fiona Hyslop on 9 January 2025, whether it will detail what specific fuel options it considers are sensible.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: An individual business case, including socio-economic analysis, is prepared for each route being considered for decarbonisation. These business cases include technical and economic examinations of the case for of different types of rail traction including ele…

16 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the current value of its vehicle fleet is.

Answer · Ivan McKee: The current value of the fleet, as at 31 December 2024, is £2,381,991.

16 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-33091 by Ivan McKee on 14 January 2025, what the primary purposes are for which the cars in its fleet are used.

Answer · Ivan McKee: Pool cars are allocated to specific areas who have a business need for their use which cannot be met by public transport or other sustainable methods of travel. This includes conducting legislative and compliance inspections, animal and horticulture inspectio…

16 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many journeys have been undertaken by the cars in its fleet in each of the last five years, broken down by fuel type.

Answer · Ivan McKee: We do not hold this information.

16 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the current average journey distance is for the cars in its fleet, broken down by fuel type.

Answer · Ivan McKee: We do not hold this information.

16 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many journeys undertaken by the cars in its fleet in each of the last five years were longer than 50 miles, broken down by fuel type.

Answer · Ivan McKee: We do not hold this information.

16 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many hospital admissions there have been in Aberdeen in each of the last five years of pedestrians injured in collisions with (a) pedal cycles and (b) two- or three-wheeled motor vehicles.

Answer · Neil Gray: From April 2019 to March 2024, the total number of hospital admissions in Aberdeen Royal Infirmary hospital for pedestrians injured in collisions involving pedal cycles, is 9.During the same period, less than 5 hospital admissions were recorded for pedestrian…

16 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many hospital admissions there have been in each of the last five years of pedestrians injured in collisions with (a) pedal cycles and (b) two- or three-wheeled motor vehicles.

Answer · Neil Gray: Number of hospital admissions of pedestrians injured is shown in the following table. The source is SMR01, Public Health Scotland, extract: January 2025. Pedestrians injured in collision withFinancial yearPedal CyclesTwo - or three wheeled motor vehicles…

16 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-33091 by Ivan McKee on 14 January 2025, for what purposes the (a) heavy goods lorries and (b) light commercial vehicles in its fleet are used.

Answer · Ivan McKee: All heavy goods and light commercial vehicles are used by our Marine and Agriculture and Rural Economy directorates to support their business needs. This includes transportation of supplies and equipment to our marine research and compliances vessels, conduct…

16 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the use of the cars in its fleet aligns with its environmental and sustainability targets.

Answer · Ivan McKee: The Scottish Government's use of official cars aligns with its environmental and sustainability targets through a focus on reducing emissions and promoting low-carbon transportation solutions. This includes key initiatives including the transition to low-emis…

16 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its policy is regarding the procurement of vehicles for its fleet, including any considerations of environmental impact.

Answer · Ivan McKee: As part of our commitment for the decarbonisation of the Scottish Government vehicle fleet, our replacement policy since 2015 has been to consider the overall environmental impact of the fleet and actively reduce the emissions produced by replacing end of lif…

16 Jan 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it records the purpose of each journey taken by the cars in its fleet, and, if so, whether it will provide the most recent breakdown of such journeys by purpose, including business travel and any other categories.

Answer · Ivan McKee: We do not hold this information.

16 Jan 2025 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, further to the answer to question S6W-32347 by Claire Baker on 14 January 2025, how it verifies that the beeswax used for the Great Seal of Scotland comes from the Parliament’s bees and whether it provides any payment for the wax to the beekeepers.

Answer · Claire Baker (on behalf of the SPCB): Our current bee keeping supplier uses the wax from their hives, including the Scottish Parliament, to supply the beeswax used for the Great Seal of Scotland.  We do not receive or make any payment in relation to this.