Parliamentary questions
Sharon Dowey
756 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
30 Oct 2024 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what steps it is taking to eliminate long waits in A&E departments across Scotland.
15 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide (a) a breakdown of the cost to partners to kennel XL Bully dogs and (b) the total cost to the public to kennel XL Bully dogs since the ban was announced in January 2024.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: The information requested is not held by the Scottish Government. These are operational matters for Police Scotland and local authorities.The Scottish Government has ongoing dialogue with a range of partners regarding implementation of the new safeguards on X…
10 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the implementation of the recommendations of the Independent Review of the Skills Delivery Landscape.
Answer · Graeme Dey: Post-School Education and Skills Reform is a 10-year transformation programme developed in light of James Withers’ Independent Review of the Skills Delivery Landscape, and which will help us to achieve the ambitions set out in the Post-school education,…
7 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-29929 by Mairi Gougeon on 24 September 2024, how a Scottish Forestry scheme allowing applicants to access a reduced public grant alongside the Woodland Carbon Code will comply with (a) its additionality investment test and (b) international definiti…
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The new category under the Forestry Grant Scheme for projects to receive lower levels of grant intervention is designed specifically to help projects meet the requirements of the Woodland Carbon Code investment test for additionality. By reducing the amount o…
2 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-30096 by Siobhian Brown on 1 October 2024, whether it is giving consideration to implementing a scalable fee structure, particularly in relation to events such as the 152nd Open Golf Championship.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: As noted in the answer to PQ S6W-30096, planned engagement with stakeholders will commence in the next few months. This will include assessing the various views offered in the responses received to the previous Scottish Government consultation on occasional l…
2 Oct 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-30096 by Siobhian Brown on 1 October 2024, when it expects to complete the engagement with stakeholders to review the occasional licence fee.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: As set out in the Scottish Government’s response to question S6W-30400 on 18 October 2024, planned engagement with stakeholders will commence in the next few months. No timescale has been set for concluding this work, but this would be agreed in discuss…
2 Oct 2024 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to address the reported reduction in the number of legal aid solicitors.
30 Sep 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it anticipates the cost of a formal impact assessment regarding any potential reduction in funding for the Timberlink coastal shipping service will be, and whether this cost would exceed the contribution that users of the service are reportedly being asked to make towards Timberlink.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Discussions are ongoing so no formal impact assessment has been undertaken.
30 Sep 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it anticipates the potential impact of any reduction in grant funding to the Timberlink coastal shipping service will be on Scotland's journey towards achieving net zero.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Discussions are ongoing so no formal impact assessment has been undertaken.
30 Sep 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider continuing to fund the Timberlink shipping service at its current rate of approximately £945,000 per annum, rather than potentially passing on the cost of 30% to the businesses that use the service.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Whilst the inherent environmental and social benefits of the TimberLINK service are recognised, increasing budgetary pressure has meant it is also important to explore opportunities to maximise benefits of public funding for all communities.My officials are c…
30 Sep 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to limit free bus travel for any young people who abuse it for the purposes of engaging in shoplifting and other forms of antisocial behaviour.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The vast majority of passengers travelling under the National Concessionary Travel Schemes behave appropriately. However, there is a minority of people, of all ages, who abuse their entitlement, including to commit offences, and which can result in serious ha…
30 Sep 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when a decision is expected to be made regarding any potential changes to the free bus travel policy for young people who misuse it.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The vast majority of passengers travelling under the National Concessionary Travel Schemes behave appropriately. However, there is a minority of people, of all ages, who abuse their entitlement, including to commit offences, which can result in serious harm. …
30 Sep 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether any consultations have been held with local transport operators or law enforcement to address the reported issue of young people using free bus travel for disruptive or illegal activities.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Transport Scotland is working with the Confederation of Passenger Transport to facilitate the sharing of best practice between bus operators, to ensure that the legal protections which allow drivers to refuse travel to passengers who breach conditions of carr…
30 Sep 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has engaged with community organisations, schools or youth groups to gather feedback on any misuse of free bus travel and how to address it.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Our one year evaluation of the Young Persons Free Bus Travel Scheme, included the views of over 10,000 young people, their parents and input from children’s and families’ organisations. This evidence is being used to inform our work to ensure that…
30 Sep 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether there are any ongoing reviews or evaluations assessing the impact of antisocial behaviour by young people entitled to free bus travel.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: A one year evaluation of the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel scheme was published in December 2023.The findings of the review were generally very positive, indicating that it is beginning to deliver progress towards its longer-term objectives. While pers…
25 Sep 2024 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what compensation is available for any families that are paying for private urgent dental treatment due to delays in accessing NHS treatment.
25 Sep 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support the long-term future of the independent hospice sector.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government is committed, through our draft palliative care strategy, to work with Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs) and adult independent hospice organisations to develop a national guidance framework to support and improve consistency …
25 Sep 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to increase funding for hospices in order to support staff wage increases.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government is keen to support independent hospice organisations where possible. I recently met with the chair of the Scottish Hospice Leadership Group, and Hospice UK to discuss this matter. I have agreed that officials will work with the sector …
25 Sep 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government by what date the palliative and end-of-life care strategy will be published.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government published our draft strategy Palliative Care Matters for All on 2nd October 2024. The draft strategy builds on extensive work with stakeholders to date and the consultation is open until 10 January 2025. We look forward to receiving an…
20 Sep 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review the £10 occasional licence fee, in light of reported concerns by South Ayrshire Council's Licensing Board regarding the fee's inadequacy in covering the administrative costs of larger events.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-30096 on 1 October 2024. 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…
20 Sep 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has received any representations from local authorities, other than South Ayrshire Council's Licensing Board, requesting a review of the occasional licence fee, and what its response has been to any such requests or concerns.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: The administration of the alcohol licensing regime in Scotland, as set out in the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 is devolved to independent Licensing Boards. This is, in effect, the 32 Scottish local authorities. They undertake their day-to-day duties within t…
20 Sep 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has assessed the impact of the current £10 occasional licence fee on local authorities' ability to cover any direct and indirect costs of administering licences, and, if so, what conclusions were drawn.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-30096 on 1 October 2024. 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…
20 Sep 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the £10 occasional licence fee was last reviewed, and what factors were considered in determining the current fee level.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: The purpose of the occasional licence is to cater for events which take place on premises which are not 'fully' licensed but feature the sale of alcohol. These include events arranged for the benefit of local communities such as local community fetes, wedding…
17 Sep 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of any potential reduction in grant funding for the Timberlink shipping service.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: My officials are in exploratory discussions with the service provider and users of the Timberlink ferry service to explore the future of the contract. As part of this officials are engaging with Timberlink users to assess the feasibility of introducing a new …
16 Sep 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the forestry sector regarding any potential future reduction in the maximum threshold for planting of a single species to below 65%.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government has not had discussions with the forestry sector regarding any potential future reduction in the maximum threshold for planting of a single species below 65%. The fifth edition of the UK Forestry Standard sets the maximum threshold of …
16 Sep 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans are in place to ensure that forestry planting rates will rise to 18,000 hectares, as per the woodland creation target.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government remains committed to maximising the important contribution forestry makes in tackling the climate and biodiversity crises, despite the most challenging budget settlement from the UK Government since devolution.As announced in the Progr…
16 Sep 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the work of the Practitioner Advisory Group to reform and modernise the compulsory purchase process.
Answer · Ivan McKee: The Practitioner Advisory Group was set up in March 2024, and has met three times since, and is due to meet again in November 2024.The Group acts as a sounding board for the Scottish Government in developing its proposals for changes to the compulsory purchas…
11 Sep 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is considering the introduction of a centralised and up-to-date data collection system for school absences.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The legal responsibility for ongoing data collection on attendance and absence from schools rests with education authorities. This information is collected on behalf of education authorities by the SEEMiS system, managed by the SEEMiS Group.The Scottish Gover…
11 Sep 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many full-time equivalent doctors have been employed in each of the past five years.
Answer · Neil Gray: The information requested on how many full-time equivalent doctors have been employed in each of the past five years can be found on the TURAS NHS Education for Scotland workforce statistics site at: NHS Scotland workforce | Turas Data Intelligence.
11 Sep 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports from a General Medical Council survey that one in three doctors felt unable to cope with their workload, what assessment is being undertaken to identify the satisfaction rates of NHS staff in Scotland.
Answer · Neil Gray: The NHSScotland iMatter Staff Experience Survey provides an annual assessment of staff experience. All NHSScotland staff and local authority staff from participating Health and Social Care Partnerships, are invited to respond.All Boards receive local reports,…