Pauline McNeill

4 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-02843 by Michael Matheson on 31 January 2019 (Official Report, c. 7), what the decision-making process is for choosing the project for the Glasgow Airport link; who is involved with this, and what costings have been made for each option.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The projects within the Glasgow City Region Deal are for the relevant local partners to develop and deliver. The Glasgow Airport Access Project is being taken forward by Glasgow and Renfrewshire Councils. The identification of projects within the Deal and dec…

4 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-02843 by Michael Matheson on 31 January 2019 (Official Report, c. 7), what consideration was given to (a) population growth and (b) traffic congestion prior to it rejecting the plans for the rail link.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The projects within the Glasgow City Region Deal are for the relevant local partners to develop and deliver. The Glasgow Airport Access Project is being taken forward by Glasgow and Renfrewshire Councils. The latest advice from the Airport Access project team…

21 Jan 2019 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what assistance the Scottish Government is giving EU nationals to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme.

16 Jan 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to allow young people access to cheaper transport, and what its position is on the discounts that are currently offered by the bus and train operators.

14 Jan 2019 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support the reported increasing number of people who are struggling to pay their rent or mortgage.

14 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to assess any implications arising from restarting the Hunterston B power station.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Whilst the safety of nuclear installations is a reserved matter to the UK Government, public safety is the Scottish Government’s absolute priority and it therefore takes all safety issues relating to the entire Scottish civil nuclear estate very seriously ind…

14 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the (a) UK Government and (b) Office Nuclear Regulator regarding safety issues concerning the proposed restart of Hunterston B power station.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Scottish Government officials are and will continue to be in regular contact with both UK Government officials in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the nuclear safety and security regulator, the Office for Nuclear Regulati…

11 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of whether the Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland is delivering equality for (a) women and (b) BME people.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland (JABS) provides statistical information on diversity, including gender and ethnicity, in its annual report. The Scottish Government does not carry out separate analysis as JABS undertakes its own analysis of these …

11 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of serving QCs are female, and what action it plans to increase this.

Answer · Ash Denham: The Scottish Government does not hold statistical information on what proportion of serving QCs are female. The process of selection for appointment of QCs is a matter for the Rt Hon Lord Carloway, Lord President and Lord Justice General. The Scottish Governm…

11 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what monitoring it has been carrying out of the prescription of medical cannabis by GPs since the guidelines on this were issued.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The prescription of cannabis based products for medicinal use is limited in law to doctors on the GMC’s specialist register. Patients are not able to obtain cannabis based products from their General Practitioner. Therefore, no monitoring of the prescription …

11 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will list the medical cannabis products that are available for prescribing.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: As explained within the supplementary information issued on 21 November 2018 ( https://www.sehd.scot.nhs.uk/cmo/CMO(2018)16.pdf ) there is no list of approved products or suppliers. These are unlicensed special medicines and only a supplier that has the app…

11 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether medical cannabis will be made available for people with arthritis.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The law does not restrict the type of condition for which cannabis based products for medicinal use can be prescribed. However, the expectation is that they should only be prescribed for indications where there is clear published evidence of benefit or UK gui…

10 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to protect trans people from prejudice in (a) the NHS and (b) other public services.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government is taking steps to tackle inequalities for LGBTI people across all areas of Scottish life, including in public service delivery. Funding of over £1m has been provided to organisations working to promote LGBTI equality in 2018-19, inclu…

9 Jan 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact that the transition to low-carbon emissions will have on lower-income families.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: A combined Equality Impact Assessment, Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment and Fairer Scotland assessment on socio-economic inequalities was produced for the Climate Change Bill. Poor and deprived communities were one of the main groups identifi…

21 Dec 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to review legislation on building warrants.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government has no plans to review the legislative process for the requirement of a building warrant. Following the outcomes of the public consultation on “Building Standards Compliance and Fire Safety – a consultation on making Scotland’s buildi…

21 Dec 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish what its position in on building companies signing off their own building warrants.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: Kevin Stewart : The Building (Scotland) Act 2003 sets out that the verifier is responsible for granting a building warrant. The thirty two local authorities in Scotland are appointed by Scottish Ministers as the verifiers of the building standards system for …

18 Dec 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that everyone engaging in the bowel screening programme receives an appropriate diagnosis following an initial positive test result.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Healthcare Improvement Scotland sets clinical standards for the Scottish Bowel Screening Programme to ensure the delivery of a quality-assured, safe and effective service. This includes a specific standard for diagnostics to ensure that safe and effective inv…

18 Dec 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the average waiting time is for treatment following a positive result from a bowel screen test.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Cancer waiting times statistics for the period July to September 2018 were published on 18 December 2018 by Information Services Division. https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Waiting-Times/Publications/index.asp For this period, the median wait from a…

27 Nov 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many high court trials in each year since 2008 have been subject to an extension of (a) at least 140 days to 12 months and (b) over 12 months due to a lack of court accommodation.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who reply in writing within 20 days.

19 Nov 2018 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister whether the same funding that was provided last year to tackle rough sleeping, as part of the recommendations of the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group, will be provided this year.

14 Nov 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information sheriffs are given regarding the availability of secure unit places when disposing of a case involving a young offender.

28 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many households in each local authority area have (a) applied for and (b) received support for (i) a new boiler or heating replacement system, (ii) solar panels, (iii) air source heat pumps and (iv) biomass energy systems in each of the last 10 years.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The detailed information requested is currently being collated. The information has to be drawn from a number of different sources from various schemes over the ten-year period, including from data held by the Scottish Government’s contracted scheme administr…

28 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many households in each local authority area have (a) applied for and (b) received support for (i) loft, (ii) cavity wall, (iii) room in roof, (iv) solid wall and (v) other forms of insulation from area-based energy-efficiency schemes in each of the last 10 years.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Scottish Government only holds information about the area-based energy efficiency schemes that it has funded since 2008. Copies of the detailed information requested for the HEEPS Area Based scheme and Warmer Homes Scotland have been lodged with the Scot…

28 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many households in each local authority area have (a) applied for and (b) received support from the Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland (HEEPS) in each of the last 10 years.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-19127 on 9 November 2018. This summarises the information that is available for the Home Energy Efficiency Programmes for Scotland (HEEPS) at local authority level. All answers to written parliamentary questio…

17 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) median and (b) mean total household income has been of applicants to the Help to Buy (Scotland) scheme in each quarter since 2016.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: Information on the incomes of households purchasing homes through the Help to Buy (Scotland) Scheme is based on sales ‘log form’ information returned by participating households. Data on the median and mean household incomes is published in the latest Help to…

13 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on using the top-up powers to add a supplement to child benefit for people in receipt of the child element of universal credit.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan , published in March 2018, commits the Scottish Government to work towards introducing a new income supplement by 2022 to provide additional financial support to low income families. In developing the income supplem…

13 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it would cost to top-up child benefit by £5.00 per week for people in receipt of the child element of universal credit.  

Answer · Aileen Campbell: As the Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan states, the Scottish Government will consider a range of options to ensure that the income supplement lifts the maximum number of children out of poverty. In developing the income supplement we will take forward an…

11 Sep 2018 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to a recent Unison report, which states that owning a home has become "virtually impossible" for many public sector workers.

10 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many high court trials in each year since 2008 started in excess of the 140-day target from full committal, broken down by the average length of delay.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who reply in writing within 20 days.

10 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many high court trials in each year since 2008 started no later than the 140-day target date from full committal.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who reply in writing within 20 days.