Rhoda Grant

19 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how any funding, which had been set aside for the Community Land Scotland Gaelic Development Officer, will be used to encourage community-based decision making for Gaelic development, in light of reports that the Gaelic Development Officer post has been discontinued.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Community Land Scotland Gaelic Development Officer was a partnership arrangement between Bòrd na Gidhlig and Community Land Scotland and any funding is a matter for their decision-making processes.  

13 Dec 2022 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what it is doing to improve and maintain the road network in Scotland.

13 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many graduates are expected to qualify in the 2022-23 academic year from the Scottish Graduate Entry Medicine (ScotGEM) course.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The number of ScotGEM students expected to graduate in AY 2022-23 cannot be confirmed until the academic year concludes. There are, however, 46 students currently in their final year of the course who will be eligible to graduate in summer 2023.

13 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many students graduated from the Scottish Graduate Entry Medicine (ScotGEM) course in 2022.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: 52 students graduated from the ScotGEM course in June 2022. This is the first cohort of students that have graduated since the course commenced in 2018.

13 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many graduates of the Scottish Graduate Entry Medicine (ScotGEM) four-year graduate-entry degree programme have gone on to fulfil jobs in General Practice in rural areas of Scotland since the course began in 2018.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The first cohort of ScotGEM students graduated from the four-year course in June 2022. These graduates must now undertake two years of Foundation training before they are eligible to apply for specialty training posts. We therefore will not know how many Scot…

12 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the number of any vacancies or shortages of (a) nurses and (b) pharmacists in the delivery of specialist homecare medicines services, and any impact these have on (i) performance and (ii) patient safety.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: There were significant capacity constraints across the medicines homecare market in 2022. A key challenge has been recruitment of staff in a challenging labour market, with some providers more adversely affected than others. The situation is improving but con…

12 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address any delays in the delivery of homecare medications.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: National Procurement (NP), part of NHS National Services Scotland (NSS), with representation from Health Boards, have regular performance management meetings with homecare providers to review key performance metrics and to agree and track progress against rec…

12 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment has been made regarding the safety of specialist homecare medicines services.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: As pharmacies, medicines homecare providers must demonstrate that they can meet the standards for registered pharmacies set by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC). The standards are designed to create and maintain the right environment for the safe and …

7 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether there is a requirement on local authorities to provide a hot meal as part of school meals.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Local authorities and schools are required to ensure that all food and drink served in schools meets the nutritional standards set out in The Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020. Further information about nutriti…

7 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is increasing the budget provisions to local authorities to enable them to provide the required nutritious school meals for children.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The 2023-24 budget has made provision for £185.8 million to be allocated to local authorities for free school meals. All food and drink served in education authority and grant aided schools must meet the standards set out in the 'Nutritional Requirements for…

7 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether there is a legal obligation for local authorities to provide school meals to both those who qualify for free school meals as well as other pupils.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Section 53 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 provides that local authorities must provide, or secure the provision of, a school lunch free of charge to pupils who meet the eligibility criteria set out within that Act. The national eligibility criteria for …

7 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with local authorities regarding the expansion of free school meals provision to universal provision for secondary school pupils.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government is in regular contact with COSLA regarding the expansion of free school meals. As part of our planning with local authorities for free school meal expansion, we will consider the arrangements to pilot universal free school meals in se…

7 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will bring forward the timetable for its planned expansion of free school meals to every primary school-aged child, in light of the cost of living crisis.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: We remain committed to the expansion of universal free school meals in primary schools. In the Scottish budget for 2023-24, we announced additional investment of £16 million in revenue funding and £80 million in capital funding for free school meal expansion.…

7 Dec 2022 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to support off-gas-grid households during the cost of living crisis.

6 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-20998 by Michael Matheson on 1 February 2019, what action it has taken to fulfil the commitment that was made by the then First Minister in August 2008, following a Cabinet meeting in Inverness, to reduce train journey times between Inverness and Ed…

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government’s Infrastructure Investment Plan, published in 2011, stated that the Highland Main Line (HML) Rail Improvement project would be completed in phases between 2014 and 2025. Phase one was delivered as planned in December 2012, increasing…

6 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many active working groups there are that fall under the remit of (a) rural affairs, (b) agriculture and (c) islands, and whether it will provide a list of these groups.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government works with a variety of stakeholders, who support and shape work on rural affairs, agriculture and islands. The input from our stakeholders is invaluable and plays a vital role in helping deliver our ambitions for rural areas and islan…

25 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Includem’s open letter titled "Simply Scran" and its call for three nutritious meals a day, how it will work with local authorities to ensure that, in light of rising costs of living, school meals will continue to be of good nutritional value to children and young people reg…

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: All food and drink served in all education authority and grant aided schools must meet the standards set out in the 'Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020'. The Regulations are based on scientific evidence and diet…

25 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Includem’s open letter titled "Simply Scran", how it will work with local authorities to eradicate school meal debt.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: We recognise that rises in the cost of living are putting a huge strain on some families and they are facing unforeseen challenges. We are working with our partners in local authorities to fully understand the issue of school meal debt. Councils have the pow…

25 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Includem’s open letter titled "Simply Scran", whether there are plans to review the income eligibility thresholds for free school meals in order to reflect the real costs of living for families.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government keeps the income eligibility thresholds for free school meals under review and we will consider the current thresholds ahead of the start of the 2023-24 academic year. The income eligibility thresholds were most recently reviewed and u…

25 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers the proposed R100 programme broadband roll-out timetable for the Uig area of Lewis is compatible with its reported commitment to more peripheral and fragile areas.

Answer · Ivan McKee: The R100 contracts are far surpassing our superfast commitment by delivering gigabit capable infrastructure right across rural Scotland. Delivering this connectivity to rural communities requires the construction of new spine infrastructure, comprising many m…

25 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which of its directorates or agencies decided the R100 programme broadband roll-out timetable, in light of reported recent problems with internet access in the Uig area of the Isle of Lewis.

Answer · Ivan McKee: While the Scottish Government awarded the £600 million R100 contracts to BT plc, the delivery timetable was determined by the successful bidder as part of the procurement process. Openreach, as the R100 contract delivery partner, is delivering the contract bu…

25 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on proposals for extending fibre broadband coverage to the Uig area of the Isle of Lewis under the R100 programme.

Answer · Ivan McKee: According to Scottish Government records, there are a total of 361 properties in the Uig community council area. As of 5 December 2022:234 properties are within R100 North contract build plans, with build expected to be completed no later than 2028.127 proper…

21 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the level of care to be provided at Lochbroom House, Ullapool, in the event that it is taken over by a private provider.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government have made no assessment of the level of care to be provided by Lochbroom House. The statutory duty for the delivery and level of care homes resides with the Local Authority .

21 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with NHS Highland regarding the potential sale of Lochbroom House, Ullapool, to Parklands Care Homes, and when the most recent discussions took place.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: There have been no discussions between Scottish Government and NHS Highland regarding the sale of Lochbroom House, Ullapool. The statutory duty for the delivery of care homes resides with the Local Authority.

21 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the potential sale of Lochbroom House, Ullapool, to Parklands Care Homes.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: There have been no discussions between Scottish Government and NHS Highland regarding the sale of Lochbroom House, Ullapool. The statutory duty for the delivery of care homes resides with the Local Authority.

21 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential long-term impact of the pay, terms and conditions of staff at Lochbroom House, Ullapool, in the event that it is taken over by a private provider.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: There have been no discussions between Scottish Government and NHS Highland regarding the sale of Lochbroom House, Ullapool. The statutory duty for care homes resides with the Local Authority.

14 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that there has been no firefighter cover on multiple dates across large parts of the Highlands and Islands, what plans are being put in place to resolve any personnel shortages.

Answer · Elena Whitham: Recruitment, training and deployment of firefighters are Operational decisions for the SFRS board and chief officer. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) has provided assurance that at no point was there ever no firefighter cover for any area in Scotla…

4 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-11608 by Mairi Gougeon on 1 November 2022, whether it will provide a list of the infrastructure that it is, or is planning to, improve with the £4.45 million funding package.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: 11 projects are being funding through the Islands Programme this financial year. These include a new visitor centre and electric vehicle charging points at Old Man of Storr, nine ‘Island Pit Stops’ at Arran and Cumbrae with better facilities for visitors, a n…

19 Oct 2022 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the steps it is taking to tackle violence against women.

14 Oct 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-10712 by Mairi Gougeon on 26 September 2022, how the Scottish Government plans to allocate the outstanding £4.7 million it previously committed to spending over this parliamentary session on the Islands Bond scheme. 

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Annual budgets continue to be set through the annual parliamentary budget Bill process and the annual budget will be based on the latest fiscal information to support our priorities across Scotland. The Scottish Government remains committed to supporting isl…