Parliamentary questions
Richard Lochhead
2,448 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
8 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many registered community-based defibrillators there are; who has responsibility for the registration process, and how the register is maintained and publicised.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) is progressing work to register community based defibrillators onto their call handling system. The Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) has 1,553 public access defibrillators registered and live on the command and control sys…
8 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has for the Scottish Scenic Routes initiative; how many scenic routes have been established so far; what their impact has been, and how many more are planned.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The pilot Scottish Scenic Routes projects have delivered eight permanent installations and one mobile installation. These have been built in the Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park, the Cairngorms National Park and on land managed by Scottish Canals ne…
8 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether cost is an obstacle to encouraging people to arrange a will.
Answer · Annabelle Ewing: The Scottish Government does not have a view on whether cost is an obstacle to encouraging people to arrange a will. The fee charged is a matter for the legal profession or other organisations offering a will making service. It should be noted that a number …
8 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it can take to encourage people to arrange a will.
Answer · Annabelle Ewing: The Scottish Government provides information on line and in hard copy in ‘What to do after a death in Scotland’ http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2016/11/6948/0 on how an individual’s estate will be a distributed if they do not make a will. Those rules on dist…
8 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the estimated percentage of people who have had a will in place in each of the last five years.
Answer · Annabelle Ewing: The Scottish Government does not hold information on the estimated percentage of people who have had a will in place in each of the last five years. In terms of available data, Scottish Consumer Council, Wills and Awareness of Inheritance Rights in Scotland …
8 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many NHS consultants in each of the last five years were classed as (a) generalist and (b) specialist, also expressed as a percentage of the total number of consultants in each year.
Answer · Shona Robison: Information held by ISD does not class consultants as generalists and specialists. The number of consultants in post by specialty can be found on the workforce statistics web site at: https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Workforce/Publications/2017-09-…
8 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the amount of lottery funding allocated to sports facilities in each of the last five years, including the percentage change year-on-year (a) nationally and (b) broken down by local authority.
Answer · Shona Robison: The information is not held by Scottish Government. However, I have asked the Chief Executive of sportscotland, as the relevant National Lottery Fund distributor, to write directly to you and provide a full response.
8 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to placing an obligation on medical school graduates to work in the NHS in Scotland for a period of time.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government is taking a number of actions that will contribute towards a more sustainable medical workforce. One of these, Scotland’s first Graduate Entry Medicine programme (ScotGEM) will commence in autumn 2018 and includes a ‘return of service’…
30 Oct 2017 · Inspired Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the actions it is taking to deliver its target to meet 11% of non-electrical heat demand from renewable sources by 2020.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: I have laid a report in Parliament today, which provides an update on the actions the Scottish Government is taking to help meet our renewable heat target. The report is now available on the Scottish Government web-site, at http://www.gov.scot/ISBN/9781788513…
23 Oct 2017 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister what progress is being made with the Reaching 100% Programme to connect premises that have not received support from the previous programmes for access to superfast broadband.
29 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to ensure that ship-to-ship oil transfers do not proceed in areas where communities have raised ecological concerns.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Powers relating to ship to ship transfers of crude oil are wholly reserved to the UK Government. Given our devolved responsibilities for the environment, including protection of Scotland’s world-renowned marine environment, the Scottish Government takes great…
29 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the UK Government has asked it to be a formal consultation body regarding ship-to-ship licensing applications in Scotland's waters.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-11703 on 29 November 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/parliamentarybusines…
29 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to the Shared Lives model of care, and what its position is on the value of using Shared Lives in providing an alternative to residential care for disabled adults and older people.
Answer · Shona Robison: Scottish Government officials met, in July 2017, with representatives of Shared Lives Plus to discuss the models of care they currently provide in Scotland. The Scottish Government welcomes models of care which help to fulfil the Scottish Government's vision…
25 Sep 2017 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making with the establishment of a publicly-owned national energy company.
Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Presiding Officer, I know this is an issue that Richard Lochhead has a long-standing interest in and I am pleased to update members on progress. As part of the draft Energy Strategy consultation we asked people to consider the potential role and purpose for a…
25 Sep 2017 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister what discussions the Scottish Government has had with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service regarding it attending medical emergencies, in light of reports that trials of this service will end due to a dispute over pay and conditions.
21 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support is available to veterans.
Answer · Keith Brown: This Scottish Government is committed to supporting veterans and ensuring they are not disadvantaged by their service in the Armed Forces. Where it has devolved responsibility, the Scottish Government provides direct support to veterans in a wide number of wa…
21 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the reported proposed closure of Veterans First Point centres.
Answer · Maureen Watt: Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that the Armed Forces, veterans and their families receive the best possible levels of support. We are keen to see the local Veterans First Point (V1P) services succeed and become financially sustainable in the fut…
21 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what other projects, other than those already underway, will be taken forward by the hub North Scotland initiative, and what the process is for selection.
Answer · Derek Mackay: The projects in development, other than those already in construction, which will be taken forward by hub North Scotland Limited are: Lossiemouth Learning Centre, Inverurie Community Campus, Alness Community Campus, Linkwood Primary School (Elgin), St Brend…
21 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how the level of spend with local businesses is measured and monitored for each of the hub North Scotland projects, and whether it will provide a breakdown of expenditure for the Elgin High School project, including how much went to Moray-based businesses.
Answer · Derek Mackay: hub North Scotland has a contractual key performance indicator to monitor spend on projects with SMEs, which is achieved through monitoring the value of work packages placed with tier 2 sub-contractors. For the Elgin High School project, there were 65 Tier …
20 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to promote a more joined-up approach by trunk road companies and local authorities regarding cycle paths and routes.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Transport Scotland, as the trunk roads authority, is a statutory consultee on planning applications which have an impact on the trunk road network. Our existing transport appraisal guidance provides advice to developers, infrastructure promoters and planning …
20 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to carry out a national review of cycling issues.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: As part of the Active Travel Task Force work, which I announced in November last year, a review of barriers to better infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists is underway. The Task Force has received written and oral evidence from many stakeholders and wil…
20 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors the (a) state of disrepair and (b) level of maintenance of cycle paths, and whether it will publish the results of any recent monitoring exercise.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Maintenance of cycle paths is largely the responsibility of local authorities or other bodies. Any audit or monitoring programme would be the responsibility of each of these bodies. The Scottish Government does not collate this data nationally. However, some …
20 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what funding is available specifically for the maintenance of cycle paths.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The maintenance of cycle paths is the responsibility of the body which has adopted the path, for example, local authorities, Forestry Commission Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage, Scottish Canals and in the case of trunk roads, Transport Scotland. Upgrades …
20 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that the additional cost of building and maintaining cycle paths in rural areas is taken into account in the allocation of funding.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: All local authorities are able to bid into the Community Links fund, administered by Sustrans and funded by Transport Scotland, for building cycle paths in both urban and rural areas. Once built, the local authority or other bodies such as The Forestry Commis…
20 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how its forthcoming transport bill will promote cycling.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The forthcoming Transport Bill will support our aspiration to deliver a safe, efficient, cost-effective and sustainable transport system for the benefit of the people of Scotland. Its detailed content is still in development but we anticipate that the Bill w…
20 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will outline the process for redesignating national cycle routes.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The process for re-designating the National Cycle Network (NCN) is the responsibility of Sustrans, the UK Charity which owns the NCN. In re-designating a NCN path, the route manager or responsible party, mainly local authorities, would approach and discuss …
20 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made with the installation of cycling facilities at railway stations (a) nationally and (b) on the Aberdeen to Inverness line.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: My officials at Transport Scotland engage regularly with ScotRail on progress being made to install cycle parking facilities at railway stations. Since the franchise commenced in April 2015 nearly 1,300 additional cycle parking spaces have been rolled out at …
20 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to ensure that (a) ScotRail and (b) other rail operators provide adequate space for cycles.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Day to day operation of train fleets and how they manage passengers on board rests with ScotRail. They are currently finalising the layout and operational aspects of how on-train cycle storage will be managed to maximise the number they can carry when the 26 …
20 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which local authorities have adopted cycling strategies.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The following table lists the local authorities which have adopted a cycling strategy or an active travel strategy. An active travel strategy is a strategy to encourage both walking and cycling, and therefore contains all the elements of a cycling strategy. L…
19 Sep 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to mark the Royal Air Force’s centenary in 2018, and what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding events in relation to the anniversary.
Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government is delighted that the RAF will be celebrating its Centenary in 2018 and recognises the huge contribution RAF personnel and their families make to their communities in Scotland. The RAF 100 team is planning UK-wide events and the lead …