Fiona Hyslop

20 Dec 2022 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how its work on justice system reform will improve the situation for victims in criminal court cases who are simultaneously involved in civil proceedings, in particular in instances where victim support is required.

8 Dec 2022 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to publish its refresh of the Fair Work Action Plan and the new Anti-Racist Employment Strategy.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Fair Work Action Plan : Becoming a Leading Fair Work Nation by 2025 and the new Anti-Racist Employment Strategy – A Fairer Scotland For All , will both be published today. It is this government’s ambition for Scotland to be a place where every person has…

21 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether deliberate non-payment of child maintenance is being recognised within the justice system as financial abuse based on the definition of the statutory offence of domestic abuse set out in the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018; if so, to what extent this is being prosecuted, and, …

Answer · Keith Brown: The Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 provides for an offence of abuse of a partner or ex-partner which criminalises psychological, as well as physical, abuse. The definition of abuse includes a course of behaviour which is abusive and which has as its purpo…

1 Nov 2022 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact on Scotland’s agricultural sector of the UK Government's upcoming new regulations regarding meat exports.

28 Oct 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action is being taken within the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service to ensure that families are always notified of details of trials in which they are personally affected, before any such details are made public.

Answer · Dorothy Bain: The Family Liaison Charter for bereaved families sets out our commitments on access to information and liaison with the Procurator Fiscal and applies to any death reported to COPFS since 1 September 2016. Bereaved families are provided with the assistance o…

26 Oct 2022 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the outcomes of its attendance at the European Hydrogen Week in Brussels.

25 Oct 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to support women affected by the deliberate non-payment of child maintenance payments by non-resident parents, particularly in light of the rising cost of living.

Answer · Shona Robison: The UK Government’s Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is reserved. Only the CMS has the power to take action to enforce payment of sums due under a maintenance assessment arranged through the CMS. The Scottish Government recognises this is an exceptionally cha…

18 Oct 2022 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will amend education support guidance to distinguish between voluntary home education as a matter of choice and involuntary home education as a matter of necessity.

12 Oct 2022 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its participation at New York Climate Week, including the Under2 Coalition General Assembly.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: As co-chair of Under2 Coalition European region, I attended the Under2 General Assembly in New York where it was announced that Scotland will continue its role as co-chair for a second term. The General Assembly took place alongside New York Climate Week, wh…

4 Oct 2022 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its Franchise Agreement with Serco Caledonian Sleepers Limited.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: I can confirm that today Serco Caledonian Sleepers Limited has been advised that its proposal to rebase the Franchise Agreement with Scottish Ministers for the provision of Caledonian Sleeper rail services has been rejected on the grounds of not representing …

20 Sep 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the roll-out of free digital devices for school children in West Lothian.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: £25m digital inclusion funding was made available by Scottish Government in 2020-21 for local authorities to use to support learners, in line with their own local needs. This funding supported the provision of 14,000 internet connections and 72,000 tablets or…

30 Aug 2022 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will respond to the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee’s report on energy price rises.

15 Jul 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action is being taken to connect speech therapists and community support organisations with parents of children in Lothian who were not correctly diagnosed with hearing loss and who have potentially missed out on years of communication with speech therapists and community support gr…

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Following the publication of the review findings in December 2021, NHS Lothian has had extensive interactions with a wide range of professionals who work with children and young people to highlight the key findings in the report and this has included Speech a…

15 Jul 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage proactivity by NHS Lothian in helping to address any urgent needs of children whose hearing issues were not diagnosed or treated, in light of the reported failures in diagnosing and treating hearing loss within NHS Lothian’s Paediatric Audiology Serv…

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government meet regularly with NHS Lothian in relation to their current status on the NHS board performance escalation framework, this involves the Board working through and reporting progress against a formal Recovery Plan that covers all the BA…

15 Jul 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the outcome of its correspondence with NHS board chief executives regarding any systemic failures highlighted in British Academy of Audiology reports, particularly regarding its request that chief executives examine their services, provide it with ass…

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government has always been clear the triangulation of learning from complaints and incidents must be a corner stone of clinical governance and improvement and that is why we wrote to NHS Board Chief Executives about the British Academy of Audiolo…

15 Jul 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress of the work of the National Audiology Review Group on examining hearing services in NHS boards across Scotland and providing recommendations for a national plan for improvement, in light of the publication of the British Academy of Audiology …

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The National Audiology Review Group convened on 3 May 2022 and on 28 June 2022. Review Group members were invited to share their key priorities for development of the Terms of Reference to help shape the future of audiology services in Scotland. The Terms of…

13 Jul 2022 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the next paper in the Building a New Scotland series to inform the debate on Scotland’s future.

Answer · Neil Gray: I am pleased to advise Parliament that the Scottish Government is continuing to deliver on its commitment to give people the information they need to make an informed choice about their future, and is today publishing Renewing Democracy through Independence .…

5 Jul 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the written evidence, including the recommendations, of the Scottish Private Nursery Association submitted to the Education, Children and Young People Committee in connection with its meeting on 25 May 2022.

Answer · Clare Haughey: The Scottish Government provided an evidence paper to the Education, Children and Young People Committee ahead of its meeting on 25 May 2022. This paper covers many of the issues subsequently raised in the written evidence submitted by the Scottish Private …

5 Jul 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Private Nursery Association's reported request for greater oversight and involvement by the Scottish Government in the setting of fees within the early learning and childcare sector.

Answer · Clare Haughey: The Scottish Government’s funding agreement with CoSLA enables local authorities to pay sustainable rates to providers in the private, third and childminding sectors who meet the National Standard, and enter into a contract with a local authority to provide f…

5 Jul 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what regular formal engagement has been established with the private early learning and childcare sector in developing the curriculum for children up to the age of three and other operational matters.

Answer · Clare Haughey: Regular open and constructive engagement with the early learning and childcare sector continues to be a vital part of our approach to policy development. This includes engagement with the sector representative bodies, and through the Childcare Sector Working …

30 Jun 2022 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made by Scotland’s Zero Emission Mobility Industry Advisory Group on innovation, vehicle supply chains and expertise in energy and transport systems.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Scotland’s Zero Emissions Mobility Industry Advisory Group have today published their report on the growth of this important sector for Scotland. Scotland’s Zero Emission Mobility Industry Advisory Group (ZEM IAG) was established in 2019 to bring together in…

20 Jun 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what progress has been made in its discussions with the UK Government regarding taking action to tackle the production and distribution of illicit drugs by regulating the sale of pill presses.

Answer · Angela Constance: As Minister for Drugs Policy I am continuing to push UK Government Ministers to take action to regulate the availability and sale of pill presses. We know that the use of illicit, or 'street', benzodiazepines is a significant factor in the level of drug-rela…

15 Jun 2022 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its Hydrogen Action Plan.

1 Jun 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to identify and remove asbestos from buildings owned by (a) it and (b) its agencies, and how it supports people who have been affected by historic asbestos exposure.

Answer · Ivan McKee: : In way of introduction it may be helpful to provide a general summary of the Scottish Government estate and the approach used in the management of asbestos. For buildings occupied by the core Scottish Government there are 18 owned (Crown) and 47 leased. The…

1 Jun 2022 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the implications of its Resource Spending Review are for the roll-out of Social Security Scotland's planned programme of benefits.

4 May 2022 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what additional action it plans to take to tackle gender-based harassment in schools, in light of its response to the report, Misogyny - A Human Rights Issue.

26 Apr 2022 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to accelerate energy efficiency and other measures in the coming months ahead of a further potential increase in the price cap in October.

13 Apr 2022 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support Ukrainian nationals already studying or who wish to study at college or university in Scotland.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Ukrainians who arrive in Scotland and wish to undertake a course of study in Further or Higher Education will be entitled to home tuition fee status and living cost support for the duration of their studies. The Scottish Government has also established a new…

30 Mar 2022 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the further implementation of No One Left Behind and how transforming employment support may help to tackle poverty.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: As outlined in S6W-03519 answered on 5 October 2021, the Scottish Government will continue to take forward our No One Left Behind approach to employability from 1 April 2022. No One Left Behind is transforming employment support in Scotland to deliver a syst…

28 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting the bids from Glasgow and Edinburgh to be part of the European Union's 100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities mission and NetZeroCities project, and how any lessons learned will be shared among all of Scotland's cities.

Answer · Kate Forbes: The Scottish Government welcomes the EU Mission to deliver 100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030, and in ensuring that these cities act as hubs to enable all European cities to follow suit by 2050. We recognise that involvement in such a Mission presen…