Mark Ruskell

4 Oct 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to research intelligent speed adaption on buses.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Scotland’s Road Safety Framework contains a commitment to promote the voluntary use of Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) – formerly known as Intelligent Speed Adaptation, which the Scottish Government is exploring. Requiring the use of ISA on all vehicle's w…

4 Oct 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it taking to support Playing Out initiatives for children.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government wants more children to be playing more often in outdoor places including green space, parks and streets. We support initiatives that encourage children and parents/carers to find clean, safe and welcoming spaces to play. On 22 October…

4 Oct 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how Police Scotland records "near misses" in road traffic accidents.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. The recording of road traffic accidents is a matter for Police Scotland.

4 Oct 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the results of the annual production survey of fish farms for 2017.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey was published on 15 October 2018.

26 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which rail stations in the Mid Scotland and Fife region have platforms that are only accessible via stairs.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Of the 30 stations in Mid Scotland and Fife, 9 stations are only accessible via stairs to one or more platforms.

26 Sep 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Stirling Council regarding the provision of nursery places.

19 Sep 2018 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it will encourage the sale of rose veal in the Garden Level Restaurant.

Answer · Kezia Dugdale: Currently our catering providers supply chain does not include rose veal, however we will ask them to consider the sale of rose veal in the future. We acknowledge that rose veal production is different from “white veal”. We further note that rose veal is a…

18 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers the sea lice trigger levels in the Code of Good Practice for Scottish Finfish Aquaculture to be effective in safeguarding fish welfare, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Code of Good Practice for Scottish Finfish Aquaculture provides suggested criteria to help guide the treatment of sea lice. These are used and managed by the majority of fish farms in Scotland.

18 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the publication by The Ferret on 3 September 2018 of photographs and videos that reportedly show salmon at an aquaculture site in Loch Roag, Isle of Lewis that are infested with sea lice and display fin and tail damage.    

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Scottish Government received reports directly from a member of the public regarding welfare concerns at a fish farm in Loch Roag and responded as outlined in the answer to S5W-18863 on 1 October 2018. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availa…

18 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) inspectors and (b) veterinary officials in the (i) Fish Health Inspectorate and (ii) Animal and Plant Health Agency have expertise in fish welfare.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Nine of the Scottish Government’s Fish Health Inspectors have received training in fish welfare. Currently four veterinarians from the Animal and Plant Health Agency have received training and are available to conduct fish farm welfare inspections.

18 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many sea lice trigger (a) 3 (notification) and (b) 8 (intervention) enforcement notices have been issued by the Fish Health Inspectorate in each year since 2016.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Steps of enforcement can be viewed here; https://www.gov.scot/Resource/0052/00522428.pdf . Since the introduction of reporting and intervention levels in 2017, one enforcement notice has been issued to an Aquaculture Production Business not having satisfact…

10 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on the number of used vehicle tyres exported in each of the last five years.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The majority of waste tyre exports are carried out under ‘green list’ controls which do not require application to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) but do require paperwork to be sent in which provides details on the waste type, quantity, dat…

10 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what processes are in place for the safe disposal of vehicles tyres.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Within Scotland there are currently two authorised facilities that can use vehicle tyres as part of their feedstock for either energy or cement production. These are Levenseat Renewable Energy Limited by Forth, Lanarkshire and Tarmac Cement and Lime Limited a…

10 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much direct investment it has made in university sports in each year since 2007, also broken down by (a) capital, (b) revenue and (c) institution.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Government routes its funding for sport through sport scotland, the National Agency for Sport. sport scotland has made the following direct investments in university sport since 2007. sport scotland has made the following direct investments in…

5 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the long-term remit is of the Scottish Food Commission, and when it will next meet.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Food Commission held its final meeting on 28 June 2018.

5 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its response to the paper, Recommendations from the Scottish Food Commission for the implementation of, and content for, the Scottish Good Food Nation Bill.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Cabinet Secretary for the Rural Economy met with the Scottish Food Commission at their final meeting on 28 June 2018 and provided verbal feedback on their recommendations for the Good Food Nation Bill. The Commissioners were thanked for their work and deliber…

4 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the Local Rail Development Fund will open for a second round of applications.

Answer · Michael Matheson: It is anticipated that the Local Rail Development Fund will reopen for a second round of applications in the Autumn, giving those previously refused in the first round the opportunity to receive feedback on their applications before considering if they wish t…

4 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will accept re-submissions from unsuccessful applicants to the Local Rail Development Fund in the next round of applications.

Answer · Michael Matheson: We will consider all applications to the Local Rail Development Fund when it reopens for a second round, including any re-submissions from previously unsuccessful applicants. Similar criteria will be applied to the second round of the applications as was app…

4 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to support applicants to the Local Rail Development Fund whose applications were (a) rejected and (b) deemed "not unique".

Answer · Michael Matheson: All unsuccessful applicants to the Local Rail Development Fund have been given written feedback on their applications, and have been offered the opportunity to meet with officials to discuss further.

3 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it has provided to NHS Fife regarding the delivery of out-of-hours GP services in communities.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Since introducing contingency measures in April 2018, officials have had several discussions with the Fife Health and Social Care Partnership and continue to monitor the situation. Sir Lewis Ritchie, author of Pulling together - transforming urgent care for t…

3 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the long-term delivery of the Forth Replacement Crossing Public Transport Strategy.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Forth Replacement Crossing Public Transport Strategy was developed in collaboration with bus operators, City of Edinburgh Council, Fife Council and SEStran. The strategy has helped deliver a number of interventions including bus hard shoulder running on s…

28 Aug 2018 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle overcrowding on rail services between Edinburgh and Dunblane.

28 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support the development of a smart and flexible electricity grid.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: While planning applications for new infrastructure are considered by Scottish Ministers under S37 of the Electricity Act, regulation of electricity infrastructure and electricity markets is a reserved policy area, In line with our Energy Strategy published in…

14 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many meetings its ministers have had with the Secretary of State for International Trade since the EU referendum.

Answer · Michael Russell: Since the EU Referendum there have been two meetings with the Secretary of State for International Trade. Throughout our engagement with the UK Government we continue to highlight the real costs of Brexit to our economy and reiterate Scotland’s clear positio…

14 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many meetings its ministers have had with UK Government ministers to discuss trade matters since the EU referendum.

Answer · Michael Russell: Since the EU Referendum Scottish Ministers have met with UK Government ministers total of ten times specifically discussing trade matters. Throughout our engagement with the UK Government we continue to highlight the real costs of Brexit to our economy and r…

14 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many meetings of the Joint Ministerial Committee there have been to discuss trade matters since the EU referendum.

Answer · Michael Russell: There have been three meetings of the Joint Ministerial Committee in Plenary since the EU referendum. Trade and Investment was on the agenda for the meeting on 30 January 2017, and trade has been discussed in each of these in the context of the future relatio…

14 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many meetings its ministers have had with the Minister of State for Trade and Investment or Minister of State for Trade since the EU referendum.

Answer · Michael Russell: Since the EU Referendum Scottish Ministers have met with the Secretary of State for International Trade, Minister of State for the Department of International Trade and Minister of State for Trade at the Department of International Trade four times. Througho…

10 Jul 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will make a decision on which projects will be awarded funding from the Local Rail Development Fund.

Answer · Michael Matheson: It is anticipated that all applicants to the £2 million Local Rail Development Fund will receive a decision on their funding request in early August.

26 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-16950 by Paul Wheelhouse on 12 June 2018, whether (a) it will use its new powers to withdraw the two existing fracking licences at the earliest opportunity and (b) PEDL 162 will not be renewed when it expires on 30 June 2018.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Scottish Government welcomes the devolution of the powers to issue and manage onshore oil and gas licences to Scotland from 9 February 2018. While Energy Policy remains a reserved matter under the Scotland Act 1998, the licence powers transferred to Scot…

22 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of the impact of Scotland's growing waste incineration capacity on recycling targets.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Along with Zero Waste Scotland and SEPA, we are closely monitoring the impacts of the development of new incineration capacity on Scotland's recycling targets. Regulations are in place to ensure that separately collected recyclable material cannot be inciner…