Parliamentary questions
Sharon Dowey
756 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
14 Jun 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it will offer to the theatre, cultural and night-time industries in the event that the proposed industrial action by the RMT and ASLEF unions continues throughout the summer.
Answer · Neil Gray: I recognise that the industrial action by the RMT and ASLEF unions is having an impact on the culture sector at a time when it has been seeking to recover from the Covid19 pandemic. The Scottish Government has provided financial support to the culture sector…
14 Jun 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of planned industrial action by the RMT and ASLEF unions, what mitigation measures it is putting in place to reduce any impact on the theatre sector and the wider night-time economy.
Answer · Neil Gray: I recognise that the industrial action by the RMT and ASLEF unions is having an impact on the culture sector at a time when it has been seeking to recover from the Covid19 pandemic. Scottish Ministers and officials from the Scottish Government and Transport …
14 Jun 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the potential impact of industrial action by the RMT and ASLEF unions, what recent discussions it has had with representatives from the theatre and cultural sector.
Answer · Neil Gray: Scottish Ministers and officials from the Scottish Government and Transport Scotland have been engaging closely with stakeholders in the hospitality, cultural and events sectors on the impact of the reduced Scotrail timetable. This has included discussions th…
9 Jun 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-08830 by Keith Brown on 8 June 2022, how (a) many expert researchers were hired to help inform thinking on Scotland’s future Peace Institute and (b) much the Scottish Government has spent on these contracts to date.
Answer · Keith Brown: Four authors, who are subject matter experts in peace processes and international law, are undertaking the necessary research to inform the thinking on Scotland’s Peace Institute. The research commission was put out to competitive tender at the start of the y…
7 Jun 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason, following registration not to be a donor on the Organ Donation Scotland website, confirmation correspondence indicates that the individual should let family and next of kin know of their decision not to donate.
Answer · Maree Todd: Family and friends will always be involved in discussions about organ or tissue donation. If a person is in hospital and dies in circumstances where donation may be possible, a Specialist Nurse would check if the person has registered a decision on the NHS Or…
1 Jun 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many Ukrainian refugees have been refused a place through its Super Sponsor scheme due to (a) unspent convictions, (b) spent convictions, (c) unspent cautions and (d) sex offender notifications.
Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government do not hold this information. Immigration is fully reserved to the UK Government and decisions relating to visa applications are solely for the Home Office, and they do not routinely share information about individual applications wi…
1 Jun 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government by what date it will publish its response to the recommendations of the National Partnership for Culture.
Answer · Neil Gray: As referred to in response to PQs S6W-08593 and S6W-08594 on 1 June 2022, we were pleased to receive the report and recommendations from the National Partnership for Culture on 28 February 2022. Scottish Government officials are working together across portfo…
31 May 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on the (a) Women's Scholarship and (b) Children's Scholarship programmes in Pakistan, in each year since 2017.
Answer · Neil Gray: Women and Girls face the largest barriers to accessing secondary and undergraduate education in Pakistan. Since the scholarships were first launched in 2013, over 1,400 young women have been supported to study at University through the Scotland Pakistan Schol…
26 May 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address the issue of bus cancellations across South and East Ayrshire due to reported driver shortages.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: There is currently a shortage of drivers for bus and lorries due to the COVID pandemic, creating a backlog in processing applications and testing which is being compounded by the consequences of BREXIT, as it prevents people from the EU coming here to work fr…
26 May 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it has supported asylum seekers from Hong Kong who have resettled in Scotland.
Answer · Shona Robison: Asylum and immigration are matters reserved to the UK Parliament and handled by the Home Office. This includes decisions relating to refugee resettlement programmes, UK visa routes and the operation of the UK asylum system. The Scottish Government has no cont…
26 May 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-07763 by Jamie Hepburn on 28 April 2022, what action it can take in response to reports of Chinese state influence and interference at (a) the University of Edinburgh and (b) other universities in Scotland.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Our universities are autonomous institutions and the alliances they forge across global academic networks are a matter for them and their governing bodies. We expect all our universities to understand and manage the reputational, ethical and security risks a…
26 May 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-07560 by Shona Robison on 19 April 2022, whether it will provide further details of the steps that it has taken to meet with former Hong Kong residents who have resettled in Scotland who (a) are asylum seekers and (b) hold British National (Overseas…
Answer · Shona Robison: Scottish Government officials have spoken with people seeking asylum as part of ongoing engagement and our work to deliver the New Scots refugee integration strategy. However, this is not done on the basis of people’s nationality but their experience living i…
25 May 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what work is taking place to reduce the cultural attendance gap between adults in the highest Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) quartile and the lowest.
Answer · Neil Gray: A Culture Strategy for Scotland highlights the Scottish Government commitment to ensuring everyone has an equal opportunity to experience culture’s empowering and transformative potential. We want to ensure that everyone in Scotland can take part in culture t…
25 May 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans to create a Peace Institute by 2022, and what the (a) location, (b) cost and (c) remit of this body will be.
Answer · Keith Brown: Following an open tender process in January, we have contracted a consortium of expert researchers to help inform our thinking on Scotland’s future peace offer. This will enable us to consider next steps in establishing the Peace Institute. The researchers wi…
25 May 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-03585 by Jenny Gilruth on 26 October 2021, how much of the £250,000 provided to the Humanitarian Emergency Fund in relation to the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan has been spent.
Answer · Neil Gray: In September 2021, the Scottish Government announced £250,000 from the Humanitarian Emergency Fund (HEF) for Afghanistan. However, given the acute need and deteriorating conditions, this was subsequently increased to £360,000. £120,000 was awarded to Tearfund…
25 May 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-05262 by Humza Yousaf on 5 January 2022, whether it has met with the Blood Cancer Alliance to explore how further improved outcomes for people diagnosed with blood cancers can be achieved, and, if so, what the outcome was.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Scottish Government Officials met with the Blood Cancer Alliance on 18 January. The Blood Cancer Alliance agreed to provide officials with details on how data collection on blood cancers would be useful for patients and to support the review and redesign of t…
25 May 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government by what date it will provide a substantive answer to question S6W-04695, which received a holding response on 13 December 2021.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: This question was answered on 20 December 2021.
25 May 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 an update on how many (a) laptops and (b) tablets (i) have been and (ii) are yet to be distributed to pupils in (A) South Ayrshire and (B) East Ayrshire.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Local authorities across Scotland have a range of approaches to the provision of technology in schools, including some councils who have undertaken to provide cohorts of their school population with devices using their own budgets. The latest information we …
25 May 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much additional funding it assigned to NHS Ayrshire and Arran to help prevent drug-related deaths in 2021-22.
Answer · Angela Constance: Please find the requested information in the following tables. Table 1: NHS Board Baseline funding for Alcohol and Drug Services ; Ayrshire and Arran. NHS Board 2021-22 Allocation Ayrshire & Arran £3,715,311 Additional Funding In 2021-22 NHS Ayrshire &…
25 May 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) fatal and (b) non-fatal accidents involving (i) HGVs and (ii) other vehicles on the A77 there (A) were in 2021 and (B) have been in 2022, also broken down by section of the road that passes through South Ayrshire.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The following tables provide the provisional number of injury road accidents on the A77 in 2021 broken down by severity. Final figures for 2021 will be published in October 2022. Figures for 2022 are still being collected and verified and are therefore not cu…
23 May 2022 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's position is on whether burning waste is good for the environment.
17 May 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Scotland to date, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Neil Gray: The UK Government regularly publishes data relating to visas and arrivals under the Homes for Ukraine scheme: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ukraine-family-scheme-application-data/ukraine-family-scheme-and-ukraine-sponsorship-scheme-homes-for-ukr…
17 May 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people resident in Scotland have offered to take in Ukrainian refugees under its Super Sponsor scheme to date, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Neil Gray: The support shown by the people of Scotland to those fleeing the illegal war in Ukraine has been heart-warming and we appreciate those who have registered their interest in welcoming displaced people under the UK’s Homes for Ukraine scheme. All 32 of our loc…
17 May 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to recent research into poverty at the end of life by Marie Curie and Loughborough University, which estimates that, in 2019, 218 people in East Ayrshire experienced poverty while in the last year of life.
Answer · Ben Macpherson: The Scottish Government is committed to developing a national strategy for palliative and end of life care in partnership with key stakeholders including Marie Curie. It is envisioned that this will be a whole system, public health approach to help ensure tha…
17 May 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether people arriving from Ukraine under its Super Sponsor scheme, who have expressed a preference for a particular area of Scotland, are being actively matched with households in that area who have offered to host.
Answer · Neil Gray: The Super Sponsor scheme is designed to provide a quick and safe route for displaced people from Ukraine to come to a place of sanctuary by removing the need for applicants to be matched to an individual sponsor prior to being given permission to travel to th…
17 May 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether people arriving in Scotland from Ukraine under its Super Sponsor scheme are consulted on their preference for which part of the country they are to be resettled, and, if so, how their wishes are taken into account.
Answer · Neil Gray: The Super Sponsor scheme is designed to provide a quick and safe route for displaced people from Ukraine to come to a place of sanctuary by removing the need for applicants to be matched to an individual sponsor prior to being given permission to travel to th…
17 May 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what dialogue it has with organisations representing families who have offered to host Ukrainian refugees.
Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government recognises and supports the generous offers from the people of Scotland to privately sponsor Ukrainians through the UK Government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme, as well as the work of the many charities and groups across the country who a…
17 May 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what procedures are in place to determine where people arriving in Scotland from Ukraine, under its Super Sponsor scheme, are located.
Answer · Neil Gray: The Super Sponsor scheme is designed to provide a quick and safe route for displaced people from Ukraine to come to a place of sanctuary by removing the need for applicants to be matched to an individual sponsor prior to being given permission to travel to th…
12 May 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recommendation in the Independent Report from the National Partnership for Culture, published in March 2022, that a dedicated cultural referral system, which relates to the cultural funding stream, should be included in the health portfolio.
Answer · Neil Gray: As referred to in response to S6W-08593 on 1 July 2022, we were pleased to receive the report and recommendations from the National Partnership for Culture, and recognise that the broad themes in the report align with our priorities across Scottish Government…
12 May 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recommendation in the Independent Report from the National Partnership for Culture, published in March 2022, that a dedicated funding stream for culture initiatives should be developed within the health portfolio.
Answer · Neil Gray: We were pleased to receive the report and recommendations from the National Partnership for Culture, and recognise that the broad themes in the report align with our priorities across Scottish Government. Scottish Government officials are working together acr…