Liam McArthur

25 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-04901 by Mairi McAllan on 24 December 2021, whether it will provide an update on which of the 42 formal flood protection schemes or engineering works are (a) under construction and (b) at the planning or other stage of development, broken down by (i…

Answer · Mairi McAllan: Local authorities are responsible for the development and delivery of flood protection schemes. The 2015-2021 Flood Risk Management Strategies included 42 formal flood protection schemes. Local authorities were expected to start work on development of these s…

25 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-05146 by Mairi McAllan on 12 January 2022, which of the 42 formal flood protection schemes or engineering works have been removed from the list of proposed works since January 2022, broken down by the (a) number of properties that were expected to b…

Answer · Mairi McAllan: No further flood protection schemes or engineering works have been removed from the list of the 42 formal flood protection schemes since the answer to question S6W-05146.

24 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its plans are to progress the introduction of judge-only trials, and what its proposed timescale is for doing this.

Answer · Keith Brown: The proposal for a time-limited pilot of single judge rape trials as recommended by the Lady Dorrian Review continues to be considered. Stakeholders have been engaged through a short life Working Group which brought together partners from across the justice s…

24 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will report the findings of its consultation on improving victims' experiences of the justice system.

Answer · Keith Brown: The independent analysis of responses to the consultation on improving victims' experiences of the justice system was published on 12 December 2022. The report can be accessed at https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781805253235 . Responses to the consultation, wher…

24 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the progress being made by the Lord Justice Clerk's Review Governance Group.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Lady Dorrian Review Governance Group has met on six occasions since it was established in December 2021 facilitating cross justice sector consideration of the Review's recommendations. The Governance Group established four working groups to conduct detail…

24 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-09636 by Keith Brown on 19 July 2022, whether it will provide an update on the findings of the Single Judge Trial Pilot Working Group.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Single Judge Rape Trial Pilot Working Group has concluded its consideration of the recommendation of Lady Dorrian’s Review to give further consideration to a time-limited pilot of single judge rape trials. The Working Group’s findings have now been consid…

24 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its plans are to progress the introduction of a specialist court for hearing sexual offence cases, and what its proposed timescale is for doing this.

Answer · Keith Brown: The proposal to establish a specialist sexual offences court as recommended by the Lady Dorrian Review remains under consideration. In delivering against our commitment to give serious consideration to the Review’s recommendations we have consulted with stake…

24 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will accept recommendation 7 of HM Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland’s report, Inspection of COPFS practice in relation to sections 274 and 275 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Government is currently giving consideration to recommendation 7 of the Inspectorate’s report as part of its work on the planned Criminal Justice Reform Bill and proposals in relation to Independent Legal Representation in respect of section 275 …

23 Nov 2022 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to Age Scotland's report, Keeping the Doors Open.

23 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve reporting of sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) escape incidents.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: We are currently reviewing the F-gas Regulation jointly with the UK and Welsh Governments. We will publish an assessment report on the efficacy of the Regulation in the coming weeks. Following the report, we will jointly consider policy options to ensure our…

23 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many incidents have been recorded of sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) escaping from (a) onshore and (b) offshore power generation sites in each of the last three years.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Scottish Government does not hold recorded information on the number of leakage incidents of sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) from onshore and offshore power generation sites that have been recorded in the last three years. The Scottish Government is aware of …

23 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve the prevention of sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) escape incidents.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-12543 on 13 December 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-commit…

23 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether there is any duty on those operating in Scotland or its waters to report gas escapes, and if this is the case, what the threshold escape volume of CO2-equivalent gas for reporting is, in light of The Guardian article from 8 November 2022, World’s ‘most potent greenhouse gas’ esca…

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Health and Safety Executive is responsible for the regulation of health and safety in the off and onshore wind sector. This regulation includes, where appropriate, the investigation of accidents and incidents. Incident reporting requirements can be found…

18 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Welsh Government regarding their international exchange programme, Taith.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Scottish Government officials meet regularly with their Welsh Government counterparts sharing best practice, including discussing mobility programmes and ways to maximise participation opportunities for those who need it most. In this context, wider discussio…

18 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the European Commission regarding the Scottish Education Exchange Programme.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Scottish Government officials have met with European Commission officials regarding sharing knowledge and expertise on the operational elements of the Erasmus+ programme’s mobility and exchange, pertaining to the development of a Scottish Education Exchange P…

16 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the review of its goose management policies by NatureScot.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: A Steering Group comprising staff from NatureScot and Scottish Government is undertaking the goose management policy review. A six-week stakeholder consultation concluded on 17 October 2022 in which stakeholders were invited to comment on the effectiveness o…

15 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Clyde Catamaran Group regarding its Scottish ferry shipbuilding strategy.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: To date, there have not been any discussions between the Scottish Government and the Clyde Catamaran Group regarding it's Scottish ferry shipbuilding strategy. However, a meeting has been arranged with the Clyde Catamaran Group and I look forward to discussin…

15 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Clyde Catamaran Group regarding the procurement of new vessels for Orkney and Shetland's internal ferry services.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Matters relating to the procurement of new vessels for Orkney and Shetland’s internal ferry services are the responsibility of those councils. Therefore any discussions with the Clyde Catamaran Group on this topic would be for Orkney and Shetland Island Counc…

14 Nov 2022 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Orkney Islands Council regarding the Scottish Budget 2022-23.

10 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many ChargePlace Scotland EV charging stations are currently fully operational along the A9.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Based on charge points available or in use on the ChargePlace Scotland live map there are 137 charge points that are currently operational along the A9.

10 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many ChargePlace Scotland EV charging stations have not been operational in each month of the current contract, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The most robust method for reporting ChargePlace Scotland (CPS) operational performance across the current contract to-date is by presenting the average daily number of non-operational charge point units. The following table provides a monthly breakdown of th…

10 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how ChargePlace Scotland tracks and responds to EV charging station faults, and what the (a) average and (b) longest time is between a fault at a charging station being identified and the station being made operational again.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Overall reliability across the ChargePlace Scotland network is typically very good with the entire network up and running around 95% of the time each month . Most faults on the network are short-lived and in the majority of cases require no physical intervent…

10 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to introduce fees for the use of ChargePlace Scotland rapid-charging EV charging stations.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The responsibility for applying fees for use of the public ChargePlace Scotland network lies with the owners of charge points, which includes public, private and third sector organisations. The Scottish Government’s draft Vision for Scotland’s Public Electric…

9 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out of the net environmental impact of the Deposit Return Scheme in island communities.

Answer · Lorna Slater: The Scottish Government conducted an Island Communities Impact Assessment into the Deposit Return Scheme which was published on 16 March 2020. You can access it here: Deposit return scheme for Scotland: islands communities impact assessment - gov.scot (www.g…

9 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out of the impact of the Deposit Return Scheme on existing recycling services provided by island local authorities.

Answer · Lorna Slater: Zero Waste Scotland has calculated that 29 Scottish Local Authorities, including all Island Local Authorities, will incur a net financial benefit from the implementation of Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS).

9 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out of the impact of the Deposit Return Scheme on delivery of the Carbon Neutral Islands Project.

Answer · Lorna Slater: All impact assessments related to the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) were carried out before the advent of the Carbon Neutral Islands Project. Nevertheless, Scotland’s DRS will have significant environmental benefits, such as cutting almost 4m tonnes of CO2eq em…

9 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what modelling it has undertaken on the carbon footprint of any increased transportation generated by the Deposit Return Scheme in island communities.

Answer · Lorna Slater: The Island Communities Impact Assessment ( Deposit return scheme for Scotland: islands communities impact assessment - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) ) that we published in March 2020 confirms that the introduction of the Deposit Return Scheme will not increase th…

8 Nov 2022 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what priority it attaches to developing relationships with other European countries.

8 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to open the First Home Fund in the future.

Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-12059 on 30 November 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-commit…

8 Nov 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what islands impact assessment has been carried out in connection with the First Home Fund.

Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-12059 on 30 November 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-commit…