Parliamentary questions

Mark Ruskell

1,773 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

21 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to changing the law in relation to the responsibilities landowners have to control (a) giant hogweed and (b) other non-native invasive species.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government made significant changes to the law on non-native species in 2011, introducing a new regime of species control agreements and orders under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. This enables relevant bodies (Scottish Ministers, Scottis…

17 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many fines have been issued to ScotRail for stop-skipping since Abellio took over the franchise.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Franchise Agreement sets contractual benchmarks to minimise instances of cancellations and part cancellations (i.e. skip stopping) to scheduled services. These benchmarks are not enforced via financial penalties, but by contractual measures to incentivise…

17 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many incidents of stop-skipping have occurred in 2017 to date on the ScotRail network, broken down by station affected.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Between 8 January and 19 August, there were 2,903 separate incidences of skip-stopping reported to Transport Scotland. This is 0.6 percent of the total numbers of services planned to be run over this period (474,570 in total). A table providing a detailed lis…

16 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action Scottish Water is taking to reduce marine pollution from plastic clothing fibres.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Scottish Water has no current experience or technologies in place to separate out and treat microplastics, microbeads or micro fibres from the organic content on an operational scale and at reasonable cost.

16 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking to eliminate marine pollution from nurdles.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government published the Marine Litter Strategy in 2014 with over 40 actions to reduce the amount of litter entering our seas, including plastic pellets or 'nurdles'. The Marine Litter Strategy Steering Group is meeting 7 September 2017 and the s…

14 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with NHS Forth Valley regarding its reported difficulty providing medical cover for its primary care out-of-hours service.

Answer · Shona Robison: In common with other Boards across Scotland, NHS Forth Valley has experienced some challenges in providing sufficient GP cover for its out-of-hours service over the summer months. Whilst no formal discussions have taken place with NHS Forth Valley, the Board …

14 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with NHS Tayside regarding its proposal to move emergency surgery from Perth Royal Infirmary.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Shaping Surgical Services Programme for Tayside has been under development by the Board for a number of years. During this time Scottish Government officials have met with Board officials to offer advice and guidance in relation to good practice in carryi…

11 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance there is regarding air pollution arising from ash lagoons.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Ash lagoons on industrial sites such as Longannet are authorised through the Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations 2012. The license for Longannet set conditions requiring the operator to minimise the emission of dust to the atmosphere and t…

9 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many full-time equivalent staff are working on the delivery of its land use strategy.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: It is not possible to identify a specific number of full-time equivalent staff contributing to the delivery of Getting the Best From Our Land: A Land Use Strategy for Scotland 2016-2020. This is a cross-portfolio strategy and a wide range of officials in poli…

9 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on establishing the limited life expert group that it committed to in the document, Getting the best from our land, A Land Use Strategy for Scotland 2016 - 2021, and whether it will report by the end of 2017.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Land Use Strategy Policy 7 encourages the further development of the regional land use partnership approach. It also recognises that further work is required to clarify a range of issues relating to regional partnerships and proposes that a limited life exper…

9 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the development proposal at Coul Links being partly within the Dornoch Firth and Loch Fleet Special Protection Area, what its position is on whether this is counter to Article 4 of the EU birds directive, which states that “In respect of the protection areas referred to in p…

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Article 7 of the EU Habitats Directive makes provision for the application of Article 6 (2), (3) and (4) of that Directive with the effect of superseding the requirements of Article 4(4) of the EU Birds Directive for Special Protection Areas (SPAs). The Conse…

9 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Foveran Links being declassified as a site of special scientific interest (SSSI) because of the damage caused to it by the golf course development within it, what its response is to concerns that a similar proposed development in the Loch Fleet SSSI could lead to the loss of…

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has yet to denotify any part of the Foveran Links Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). SNH will undertake a review of the impact of the golf course on the scientific interest of the SSSI as part of its periodic considera…

9 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the development of a vision for the country's uplands will be linked to any guidance it produces regarding the establishment of regional land use partnerships.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Any guidance produced in relation to regional land use partnerships will take into account all relevant policy.

9 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to commission the development of a vision for the country's uplands as recommended by Scottish Natural Heritage in the report, Scoping a Strategic Vision for the Uplands, and when this will be carried out.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government commissioned Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) to scope the potential to develop a strategic vision for the uplands, which was a proposal in The Land Use Strategy 2016-2021. SNH submitted its report, Scoping a Strategic Vision for the Up…

3 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the issues raised in the BBC documentary, Fife's Child Killings: The Untold Story.

Answer · Mark McDonald: The murders of Liam Fee, Madison Horn and Mikaeel Kular were especially shocking given the individuals who were guilty were the very people who should have loved and protected these children. When a child has died or suffered harm through abuse or neglect, a…

1 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have signed up to the Know & Respond service, which provides alerts on air pollution.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: There are currently 586 registered users for the Know & Respond air pollution alert service (via the Scottish air quality website) and a further 947 through the Know & Respond app. However, the number of individuals making use of the service is likely to be s…

1 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how often the mobile air quality sensors that are loaned to schools are used, and whether there are enough to meet demand.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Air quality sensors were first made available to schools in September 2015 as part of a project to raise awareness of air quality issues. They are not part of the statutory air quality monitoring network. All 10 kits have been loaned continuously during term …

1 Aug 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people use the website, scottishairquality.co.uk.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The number of people using the Scottish air quality website on an annual basis since the website was established in 2007 is shown in the following table. Year Unique Visitors Number of Visits Pages Viewed Hits 2007 11868 21199 60841 159141 2008 71…

28 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress Transport Scotland is making in delivering its committment toward “a customer-focused, multi-modal, multi-operator smart ticketing system across Scotland.”

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Transport Scotland continues to work with Scottish transport operators and other public bodies to deliver the Scottish Government’s vision that all journeys on Scotland’s bus, rail, ferry, subway and tram networks can be made using one type of smart ticket or…

14 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with NHS Tayside regarding the temporary closure of the Minor Injury and Illness Unit at Crieff Community Hospital.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government has had no discussions with NHS Tayside regarding the temporary closure of the Minor Injury and Illness Unit at Crieff Community Hospital. This was an operational decision due to unforeseen staffing issues. The unit re-opened on 17 Jul…

6 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether local or rural growth deals will be introduced, and how it plans to address issues that have been highlighted in responses to the Local Government and Communities Committee's city region deal inquiry, particularly regarding insufficient accountability and transparency.

Answer · Keith Brown: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-10213 on 19 July 2017, on whether the Scottish Government will introduce local or rural growth deals. We welcome The Scottish Parliament Local Government and Communities Committee inquiry on city region deals.…

6 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether local or rural growth deals will be introduced across the whole of Scotland; what the timescale and process will be for agreeing deals, and whether they would be modelled on the existing city region deal agreements.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government is committed to working with all our cities and regions; urban and rural to unlock investment. This could be individually or collectively and could be through a Deal, one of the SG’s devolved initiatives to stimulate growth and deliver…

6 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which local authorities have submitted proposals for local or rural growth deal funding, and with which of these it has discussed the possibility of such funding.

Answer · Keith Brown: Over and above city region deals The Scottish Government is engaged in a number of discussions with regions developing proposals for economic growth. Deals offer the potential for new collaborative regional partnerships, focused on long-term strategic approac…

6 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the aims and objectives of local or rural growth deals would be, and how they would align with existing national and local commitments on sustainable development.

Answer · Keith Brown: Deals whether city, region or rural offer the potential for new collaborative regional partnerships focused on long term strategic approaches to improving economies. The starting point should be a regional strategic vision for economic development. Each deal…

5 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how membership of the National Council of Rural Advisers was decided.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The National Council of Rural Advisers has been established to provide advice and recommendations on future rural policy and support to help create a vibrant, sustainable and productive rural economy. Members have been appointed to the Council on the basis of…

5 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the National Council of Rural Advisers will ensure that the views of (a) the crofting sector, (b) the organic farming sector, (c) rural community organisations, (d) environmental non-governmental organisations and (e) rural local authorities are reflected in its recommendations to th…

Answer · Fergus Ewing: My officials are supporting the independent National Council of Rural Advisers on the development of their workplan and stakeholder strategy over the summer. We would expect the Council to seek the views of a wide variety of stakeholders and representatives a…

5 Jul 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it supports communities in areas identified by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) to access the Climate Challenge Fund.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Keep Scotland Beautiful (KSB), the Climate Challenge Fund (CCF) administrator, has well-established processes in place to promote the fund and support applications from a range of communities across Scotland. This year KSB is running surgeries and events ac…

30 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what additional financial support it expects to provide to NHS Tayside in 2017-18.

Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-10086 on 19 July 2017. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/2…

30 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to address NHS Tayside’s reportedly "inadequate" budgetary control.

30 Jun 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the reported financial issues at NHS Tayside will have on patients, and what assurance it can provide on this matter.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government is absolutely clear that patient safety should not be affected by NHS Tayside’s position. The recently established Transformation Support Team will work with NHS Tayside on the current position and the likely level of brokerage needed …