Parliamentary questions

Craig Hoy

1,298 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

21 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what work has been undertaken to model a sustainable cancer workforce by collecting and improving data on the cancer workforce to support sustainable workforce planning.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: As committed to in the National Workforce Strategy for Health and Social Care, we have been undertaking a data collection exercise to inform future decisions about workforce investment. This work is being led by the Scottish Cancer Network, which is engaging …

21 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it can offer to local authorities whose roads and other infrastructure are being affected by historical mine workings.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The local road network is the responsibility of local authorities and they will allocate resources on the basis of local priorities. The vast majority of funding to local authorities from the Scottish Government is provided via a block grant and we do not sti…

21 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what work has been undertaken by the Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity and the Minister for Public Health, Women's Health and Sport to understand (a) the combined impact that minimum unit pricing and the Deposit Return Scheme could have on consumers habits and …

Answer · Lorna Slater: The deposit will be fully returnable and retailers will be required to display information clearly about returns. Under the Deposit Return Scheme it is expected that most people will use returned deposits to cover future deposits on drinks containers. Furthe…

21 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what research has been undertaken to ascertain whether minimum unit pricing has led to consumers to switch from lower strength, lower volume products to higher strength, higher volume products.

Answer · Maree Todd: Evidence from the evaluation of minimum unit pricing (MUP) has shown that consumers have responded to the introduction of MUP in a variety of ways including reduced purchasing of products whose price has increased, switching to smaller pack sizes, to more pre…

21 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government by what date it estimates that every eligible child in the (a) Midlothian, (b) East Lothian, (c) Scottish Borders, (d) Dumfries and Galloway, (e) South Ayrshire, (f) East Ayrshire, (g) North Ayrshire and (h) South Lanarkshire Council area will have received a free bicycle.

Answer · Patrick Harvie: We do not have the information requested as we are still in the testing and policy development phase of the free bikes programme. In this government’s first 100 days, we established six pilot schemes with a further four running by the end of 2021. Nine of the…

21 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how many children in the (a) Midlothian, (b) East Lothian, (c) Scottish Borders, (d) Dumfries and Galloway, (e) South Ayrshire, (f) East Ayrshire, (g) North Ayrshire and (h) South Lanarkshire Council area are eligible to receive a free laptop or table…

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all school aged children have access to a device to support their learning by the end of this parliament. In 2020-21, we provided £25 million of funding to local authorities across Scotland to tackle digi…

21 Dec 2022 · Written Question

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: As noted in the 2022-23 Programme for Government, we are continuing our preparatory work to ensure every school-aged child has access to a digital device by the end of this parliament in 2026.

21 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many children in the (a) Midlothian, (b) East Lothian, (c) Scottish Borders, (d) Dumfries and Galloway, (e) South Ayrshire, (f) East Ayrshire, (g) North Ayrshire and (h) South Lanarkshire Council area are eligible to receive a free bicycle, and, of those, how many (i) have received a…

14 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many trees it has planted in each year since 2007 in the South Scotland region, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: Within the South Region of Forestry and Land Scotland, since 2007, the following estimated number of trees (based on normal planting densities per hectare), have been planted by Forestry and Land Scotland in each Local Authority Area: Scottish Borders No. o…

14 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have died of sudden cardiac death in each year since 2007.

Answer · Maree Todd: Data on deaths from all causes in Scotland are available from National Records of Scotland: Vital Events - Deaths | National Records of Scotland (nrscotland.gov.uk).

14 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to tackle sudden cardiac death amongst young people.

Answer · Maree Todd: We continue to implement our Heart Disease Action Plan which seeks to ensure that everyone with suspected heart disease has timely and equitable access to diagnosis, treatment and care. The Network for Inherited Cardiac Conditions Scotland (NICCS) is a Nat…

14 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have received heart screening in each year since 2007, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Maree Todd: The information requested is not held centrally.

14 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what ministerial (a) meetings and (b) discussions have been held with East Lothian Health and Social Care Partnership about returning suspended services, including inpatient services, to the Edington Cottage Hospital in North Berwick.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-06593 on 4 March 2022. 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…

14 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many of its staff receive a salary of over £100,000 per annum, broken down by directorate, and what the total cost of those staff salaries is.

Answer · John Swinney: Pay for staff in the Senior Civil Service is reserved and operates within the UK Cabinet Office pay and performance management framework. As at 30 November 2022, a total of 41 staff earning over £100,000 per annum were employed in Core Scottish Government at…

14 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many staff vacancies currently exist in care homes, broken down by Health and Social Care Partnership area.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: This information is not held centrally. The Care Inspectorate and the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) have published related figures on the levels of staff vacancies in Scotland’s care services, in their recent 2021 Staff Vacancies in Care Services r…

14 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many care homes have closed in each of the last five years in the South Scotland region, broken down by Health and Social Care Partnership area.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: This information is not held centrally and is a matter for the Care Inspectorate.

8 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on reported concerns about the future viability of high streets in the South Scotland region, in light of the reported increasing trend of shoppers using out-of-town shopping centres instead of high streets.

Answer · Tom Arthur: Local authorities have responsibility for delivering local economic development and local regeneration and are best placed to develop the right partnerships and identify suitable funding to support town centres and high streets including in the South of Scotl…

8 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has conducted any research on the effect of parking charges on the future viability of high streets.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: It is the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own parking charges on the basis of local needs and priorities. Parking charges and restrictions can have many objectives, including managing both demand for space and the time that spac…

8 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it has given to high streets in the South Scotland region in each year since 2007, broken down by (a) town and (b) local authority.

Answer · Tom Arthur: The primary Scottish Government funds which enable local authorities to support town centre regeneration are the Place Based Investment Programme (PBIP) which includes the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund and the Town Centre Fund which pre-dated the PBIP. I ha…

8 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Advertising Standards Authority regarding its consultation, Restricting alcohol advertising and promotion.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government has had no discussions with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) on the content of our consultation on restricting alcohol advertising and promotion. Officials in the Alcohol Harm Prevention Team have met with the ASA at regular …

8 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact of removing alcohol sponsorship from sport on the finances of (a) elite and (b) grassroots sport.

Answer · Maree Todd: Restricting alcohol advertising and promotion is one of the World Health Organization’s three ‘best buys’ to prevent and reduce alcohol-related harms. That is why we have launched a public consultation setting out potential restrictions on a variety of metho…

8 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what health evidence it used in the creation of its consultation, Restricting alcohol advertising and promotion.

Answer · Maree Todd: A wide range of academic evidence is referenced in the consultation paper, available at: https://consult.gov.scot/alcohol-policy/alcohol-advertising-and-promotion/ . The consultation set out that alcohol advertising and promotion is seen by, and appealing …

1 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been awarded to businesses in the South Scotland region from the Regional Food Fund, in each year since the Fund was established.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Information on funding awarded to projects from the Regional Food Fund in each year since it was established is published on the Scotland Food & Drink website and can be found at the following link: https://foodanddrink.scot/regional-food-growth/regional-foo…

1 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet will next meet in the South Scotland region.

Answer · George Adam: The programme of travelling Cabinets was paused as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Scottish Government is now exploring options for restarting the programme in 2023 and will consider the South Scotland region as part of this work.

1 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it will cost to create the NHS Scotland medical equipment management system.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The NHS Scotland National Medical Equipment Management System (NMEMS), which aims to provide national oversight and visibility of medical equipment in NHS Boards, is being delivered in 2 phases. Phase 1, commenced in October 2022 and has a provisional comple…

1 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it has given to local authorities to install, upgrade and maintain CCTV, in each year since 2017.

Answer · Keith Brown: Funding for CCTV is provided to local authorities through their block grant and, as with most of that funding, is not ring fenced. It is the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resourc…

1 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how often the stonemasonry training working group has met and when its last meeting was.

Answer · Neil Gray: The Stonemasonry Short Life Working Group held its initial meeting in May 2022 and has since met three further times, with the most recent meeting held on 4 November 2022. After the next scheduled meeting in January 2023, the Stonemasonry Short Life Working G…

1 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to launch the NHS Scotland medical equipment management system.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The recent Covid 19 pandemic highlighted the need for a national medical equipment management system in Scotland that provides an NHS Scotland-wide overview and visibility of critical medical equipment. To deliver this requirement, a National Medical Equipmen…

1 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many GPs have taken up the Scottish Targeted Enhanced Recruitment Scheme in NHS boards in the South Scotland parliamentary region, in each of the last five years.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: A total of 254 Target Enhanced Recruitment Scheme (TERS) bursaries have been taken up by GP trainees in the South Scotland parliamentary region since 2018. A full breakdown is included in the following table. 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Total Ayrshire & …

1 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported comments by Donald Macaskill, of Scottish Care, that between 30% and 40% of care homes could be on the verge of closure by spring 2023.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government are aware of the severe pressures that exist in our health and social care system and the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care has established the Ministerial Advisory Group to ensure that we collaborate effectively to meet the…