Parliamentary questions
Sharon Dowey
756 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
14 Dec 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, of the number of wind farm applications submitted in the last two years, how many have been refused.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Scottish Ministers take decisions on wind farm applications that are made to them under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989. No wind farm applications made to Scottish Ministers, under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989, within the last two years have …
14 Dec 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the three most common reasons were for a wind farm application being refused over the last five years.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Scottish Ministers take decisions on wind farm applications that are made to them under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989. The three most common reasons for refusing consent to a proposed wind farm, made to Scottish Ministers in the last five years, were…
14 Dec 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many sites there are for which two or more wind farm applications have been submitted in the last five years.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Scottish Ministers take decisions on wind farm applications that are made to them under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989. There are two sites for which two or more applications, under section 36 or section 36c of the Electricity Act 1989, have been subm…
13 Dec 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to students studying pharmacy at university, how many (a) places have been available and (b) graduates have there been, in each of the last five years.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: (a)The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of Pharmacy places available at universities in each of the last five years. With the exception of controlled subjects, the Scottish Government does not direct individual universities on the a…
13 Dec 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many stone falls have occurred at Historic Environment Scotland sites in each of the past five years.
Answer · Neil Gray: Questions regarding day-to-day operational matters of Historic Environment Scotland, including the number of stone falls that have occurred at Historic Environment Scotland sites, are best answered by Historic Environment Scotland.
13 Dec 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether there are any plans to re-evaluate the criteria used by Historic Environment Scotland to risk assess its sites, and, if this is the case, what changes are being considered.
Answer · Neil Gray: Historic Environment Scotland responded to the High Level masonry issues at Properties in Care in line with their statutory responsibilities and corporate approach and continue accordingly to manage the properties . The context for the risk management appro…
13 Dec 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much money has been spent by Historic Environment Scotland specifically on the repair of monuments in care in each of the past five years.
Answer · Neil Gray: Questions regarding day-to-day operational matters of Historic Environment Scotland, including how much money has been spent by Historic Environment Scotland on the repair of Properties in Care, are best answered by Historic Environment Scotland.
13 Dec 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to its answer to question S6W-11289 by Neil Gray on 19 October 2022, whether it will provide an update on discussions with Historic Environment Scotland regarding the future potential approaches for Properties in Care.
Answer · Neil Gray: I continue to discuss the Properties in Care, and their management, with Historic Environment Scotland. I can confirm that Historic Environment Scotland has been continuing to focus on managing the national High Level Masonry inspection programme, and underta…
6 Dec 2022 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact on the delivery of its Covid Recovery Strategy of the Auditor General's comments that it underspent its budget by £2 billion in the financial year 2021-22.
23 Nov 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on planned road safety precautions for winter weather, and how much has been allocated for (a) gritter services and (b) emergency road repairs.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The annual Winter Service period began on 1 October 2022 and continues through to 15 May 2023. The publicity launch for Transport Scotland’s Winter Service 2022/2023 took place on 3 November, Winter service launch 22/23 | Transport Scotland . For the 2022-…
23 Nov 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many social homes it has built in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.
Answer · Shona Robison: Housing statistics on new housebuilding and affordable housing supply are published quarterly on the Scottish Government website and can be accessed using the following link: https://www.gov.scot/publications/housing-statistics-for-scotland-new-house-buildin…
23 Nov 2022 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many pharmacists have been recruited into primary care since 2018.
10 Nov 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how the number of people employed in the creative industries sector has changed between 2018, when it was reportedly 87,000, and 2022, and what the employment figures in the sector represent as a percentage of total employment in Scotland.
Answer · Angus Robertson: The information requested is publicly available on the Scottish Government website and can be found here: Growth Sector Statistics Database . The latest figures showing employment in the sector, in 2020, had remained broadly the same at 87,000, representin…
10 Nov 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many foreign trips for its ministers are planned in the next six months; how many air miles in total these trips will cover, and what the total estimated cost of the trips is.
Answer · Angus Robertson: Scottish Government officials make provisional overseas travel plans as part of official government business diary management and planning for Ministers. Until the date of the visit, these are provisional and contingent on Parliamentary Business and other com…
10 Nov 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how the National Partnership for Culture is progressing, and whether it will provide examples of any opportunities that it has identified to date for individuals and organisations.
Answer · Neil Gray: The National Partnership for Culture published its recommendations on 16 March 2022. These 14 recommendations were underpinned by principles for meaningful delivery such as pooling of experience and resources across different fields. In response we are taking…
10 Nov 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made on its Creative Communities programme in the last year.
Answer · Neil Gray: Phase 3 of the Creative Communities programme ran between August 2021- August 2022 and provided funding to 24 organisations across 17 local authorities. Led by Inspiring Scotland, the programme has: engaged with 56 volunteers, employed 112 artists, 22 communi…
10 Nov 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its "work on making the culture and heritage sector part of Scotland as a Fair Work Nation by 2025".
Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government continues to engage with the culture and heritage sectors to build fairer and more inclusive workplaces. As part of the refresh of our Fair Work Action Plan, the Scottish Government has extended Fair Work criteria to public sector gr…
10 Nov 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the current nurse retention rate is, given as a percentage, for nurses who completed a funded degree programme in nursing and midwifery in 2022.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Official completion data for the 2022 nursing and midwifery graduate cohort is not available. As a result, the Scottish Government is unable to provide a retention rate for newly qualified nurses and midwives in 2022.
10 Nov 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the cost for agency nurses has been in the current financial year to date, and what it estimates the cost will be for the whole of the current financial year.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The spend on agency nursing and midwifery staff is published on an annual basis. The cost for agency nurse for the year ending 31 March 2022 is £88.9 million. Spend on agency nursing and midwifery staff is less than 2% of the total staff spend. The cost for t…
2 Nov 2022 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide an update on the steps it is taking to encourage more GPs to work in rural practices.
25 Oct 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what incentives it has introduced to encourage (a) more GPs to work in rural practices and (b) doctors to take up positions in practices and hospitals rather than working as locums.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: We are already taking forward a range of initiatives to support recruitment and retention of workforce in rural General Practice. The Golden Hello scheme offers a one-off bursary of £10,000 to every GP taking up an eligible post in a remote and rural area. Fu…
25 Oct 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what work has been done (a) regarding workforce planning and (b) to increase the number of places for Scottish students to study medicine in response to the reports of a shortage of GPs and other doctors.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: In March 2022, we published The National Workforce Strategy for Health and Social Care in Scotland . This Strategy sets out a new framework to shape Scotland’s health and social care workforce over the next decade and places training, wellbeing, job satisfa…
17 Oct 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) ScotRail and (b) Network Rail regarding Ayr Station and the Station Hotel.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Ayr Station Hotel is owned by an absentee landlord who has remained unresponsive to any approach regarding the future of the Station Hotel building. Network Rail’s sole responsibility, due to the proximity of the railway to the hotel building and the rail inf…
14 Oct 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-11176 by Mairi McAllan on 5 October 2022, what actions are being implemented for the long-term restoration of the Tarbolton Moss landfill site.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Scottish Government is working with wider public partners to consider all possible avenues for the long-term management of the site. This includes the consideration of any private sector interest in the site.
14 Oct 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-11176 by Mairi McAllan on 5 October 2022, what public partners its officials are meeting with regarding the Tarbolton Moss landfill site and on what dates these meetings (a) took place and (b) are due to take place.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: Scottish Government officials are in regular communications with public partners including SEPA, South Ayrshire Council, and The King’s and Lord Treasurer’s Remembrancer. In addition to the regular communication, officials from Scottish Government have met r…
14 Oct 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-11176 by Mairi McAllan on 5 October 2022, whether it is the case that SEPA found no increase associated with the migration of landfill gas or impact to groundwater from leachate at the Tarbolton Moss landfill site.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: SEPA continues to monitor ongoing environmental risks at the site and completed its latest survey in August 2022. This found no significant increasing trends associated with the migration of landfill gas or impact to groundwater from leachate. SEPA publishes…
14 Oct 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-11176 by Mairi McAllan on 5 October 2022, when the work by the environmental consultant will commence at the Tarbolton Moss landfill site.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: With funding from the Scottish Government, in December 2021, SEPA contracted an environmental consultant to manage the construction of a leachate management system at the former landfill site at Tarbolton Moss, to prevent the ongoing discharges of landfill le…
14 Oct 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-11176 by Mairi McAllan on 5 October 2022, when it expects work to commence at the Tarbolton Moss landfill site and what the timeline is for the work to be carried out.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Scottish Government has made funding available to support public partners to implement the first phase of works at Tarbolton. In July, SEPA commissioned work, which was successfully completed, to remove Giant Hogweed from the site. We are working with pub…
28 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-07194 by Neil Gray on 16 March 2022, whether it will provide an update on the progress of protecting the properties in the care of Historic Environment Scotland that are reportedly being left to “gracefully die”.
Answer · Neil Gray: While Historic Environment Scotland is currently undertaking a prioritised inspection programme on each Property in Care affected by High Level Masonry issues, no site is being left without care. Each individual assessment will study the condition and the imp…
28 Sep 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-06933 by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 10 March 2022, whether it will provide updated figures of how many of the (a) laptops and (b) tablets due to be provided to school pupils in (i) South Ayrshire and (ii) East Ayrshire are yet to be delivered.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: I refer the member to answer to question S6W-08832 on 7 June 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-committees/wr…