Craig Hoy

23 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with the Faculty of Occupational Medicine and what was discussed.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Scottish Government Ministers and officials meet regularly with a wide range of health professional stakeholder organisations, including the Scottish Academy of which the Faculty of Occupational Medicine are members.

23 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, and what was discussed.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Scottish Government Ministers and officials meet regularly with a wide range of stakeholders, including the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, to discuss areas of mutual interest.

23 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, and what was discussed.

Answer · Jenni Minto: Scottish Government Ministers and officials meet regularly with a wide range of stakeholders, including the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, to discuss areas of mutual interest.

23 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, and what was discussed.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Scottish Government Ministers and officials meet regularly with a wide range of stakeholders, including the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, to discuss areas of mutual interest.

23 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with the Royal College of Pathologists, and what was discussed.

Answer · Jenni Minto: Scottish Government Ministers and officials meet regularly with a wide range of stakeholders, including the Royal College of Pathologists, to discuss areas of mutual interest.

23 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with the Faculty of Dental Surgery, and what was discussed.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government last met with the Faculty of Dental Surgery on 6 May 2022 to discuss the Licence in Dental Surgery.  

23 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, and what was discussed.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Scottish Government Ministers and officials meet regularly with a wide range of stakeholders, including the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, to discuss areas of mutual interest.

23 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding the Scottish AI Alliance has received, broken down by (a) public and (b) any non-public funding.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish AI Alliance is a partnership between The Data Lab and the Scottish Government and is led by a Minister-appointed Chair and overseen by Senior Responsible Officers from The Data Lab (CEO) and the Scottish Government (CDO). The team consists of 4 …

23 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is measuring the impact of the Scottish AI Playbook.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish AI Playbook is a “one stop shop” for anyone in Scotland embarking on a journey involving AI whether it’s learning, using, developing, deploying or just exploring. It is a shared and living asset, embodying Scotland’s AI Strategy ethos of openness…

23 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what work it has undertaken with its partners to align Scotland's Artificial Intelligence Strategy with other national technology initiatives and programmes.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: During the creation of the Scottish AI Strategy, the Scottish Government worked closely with colleagues across the SG and further afield, to ensure that we move forward in a joined up manner. We have continued to offer input to the development of related stra…

23 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what collaboration it has undertaken with Research Data Scotland.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-16495 on 14 April 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…

23 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on the Scottish AI Playbook.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The cost for the Scottish AI Playbook build to date has been £17,820 including VAT.  

23 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it has done to expand on its AI CivTech Challenge on ethical and explainable AI in the public sector.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The CivTech challenge on ethical and explainable AI has directly lead to the recent launch of the Scottish AI Register. The AI Register, developed in collaboration with Finnish start-up Saidot, as part of the challenge was launched in March 2023. It makes tr…

23 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the Scottish AI Alliance, who the board members are, and how they were selected.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The current Leadership group of the Scottish AI Alliance is made up as follows – Chair: Catriona Campbell, Client Technology & Innovation Officer, EY UK&I (appointed as Chair - March 2023, appointed as Leadership Group member May 2021) Senior Responsible O…

23 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it has done to refresh the AI and Data Technologies Capability Directory to drive engagement between AI consumers and AI creators.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The action was carried out and completed as part of the first 100 Days of the AI Strategy. As reported in the 2021-22 State of AI Report we shared the following – Capability Directory The Scottish AI Alliance connected with ScotlandIS regarding their exist…

23 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is ensuring wider strategic alignment between the Scottish AI Alliance and its (a) Digital Strategy and (b) Scottish Technology Ecosystem Review.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish AI Alliance continue to align their work with the delivery of Scotland’s Digital Strategy and the Scottish Technology Ecosystem Review (STER) programme, to realise potential synergies in areas such as infrastructure, skills, and investment. In pa…

23 May 2023 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what additional support it plans to provide to tourism, hospitality and leisure operators in the South Scotland region.

23 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the total cost of civil servants working on the National Care Service has been to date.

Answer · Maree Todd: Monthly Cost Aug-21 £102,000 Sep-21 £106,000 Oct-21 £116,000 Nov-21 £140,000 Dec-21 £153,000 Jan-22 £184,000 Feb-22 £207,000 Mar-22 £222,000 Apr-22 £319,000 May-22 £354,000 Jun-22 £383,000 Jul-22 £399,000 Aug-22 £468,000 Sep-22 £…

23 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many civil servants are currently working on the National Care Service, given as a (a) headcount and (b) FTE staff figure.

Answer · Maree Todd: There are currently 170 Civil Servants working within the National Care Service Programme. Due to the matrix style approach to delivery of the Social Care business area, staff may not be working on the National Care Service Programme objectives 100 percent of…

23 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the number of hospitals fitted with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, and what funding has been made available to fix any such buildings.

Answer · Michael Matheson: NHS Scotland Assure and partners are actively assessing NHS Scotland properties suspected to contain reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC). A scope of works has been developed with a RAAC specialist and a survey partner has completed a desktop review…

23 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) individual local authorities and (b) COSLA regarding reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete in public buildings.

Answer · Patrick Harvie: The Scottish Government has recently engaged with Councils regarding Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete, including through the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland and Scottish Heads of Property Services networks. The Scottish Government has …

23 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the number of office buildings that it owns that are fitted with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, and what funding has been made available to fix any such buildings.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government (SG) has not identified any reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in the Core SG Estate. As such no funding has been requested or made available. The SG Core Estate is defined as those sites/buildings where SG Directorates oper…

23 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the number of prisons fitted with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, and what funding has been made available to fix any such buildings.

Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) has confirmed that they are not aware of any reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete within the SPS estate.  

23 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the number of police stations fitted with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, and what funding has been made available to fix any such buildings.

Answer · Angela Constance: Following a recent review of its estate, Police Scotland identified reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in three of its buildings. Police Scotland took immediate action to ensure that there was no risk to officers, staff or the public, and continue…

23 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the cost of fixing any public buildings that it owns that are fitted with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government (SG) has not identified any reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in its owned core SG Estate, as such no estimate for fixing have been made. The SG Core Estate is defined as those sites/buildings where SG Directorates operate …

23 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the number of nursing homes or social care settings fitted with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, and what funding has been made available to fix any such buildings.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government does not hold this information. Local authorities have responsibility for provision of social care services, and therefore the contracts with relevant providers. Building safety is a matter for the owner of the building. Additionally…

23 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the number of schools fitted with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, and what funding has been made available to fix any such buildings.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Health and Safety legislation is not devolved to the Scottish Government. The HSE are carrying out research currently across the UK focused on buildings which contain reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC). Building safety is a matter for the owner of…

23 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many public buildings it has inspected since the start of 2021 to determine whether they were constructed with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), broken down by building type, and how many of these were confirmed to have been constructed with RAAC.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government has not undertaken an inspection for reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in the Core SG Estate since 2021. A specialist has been appointed to develop a scope for inspection surveys. The Core Estate is defined as those sites/b…

23 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the number of courts fitted with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, and what funding has been made available to fix any such buildings.

Answer · Angela Constance: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who reply in writing within 20 days.

16 May 2023 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on what rules and incentives are central to a wellbeing economy.