Parliamentary questions
Liam McArthur
3,644 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
24 Jan 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether Police Scotland provides financial support to officers and staff seeking to attend the psychological wellbeing and counselling programmes at the two Police Treatment Centres, in Harrogate and Auchterarder.
Answer · Keith Brown: The information requested is not held centrally. Any financial support provided to the Police Treatment Centres, by Police Scotland, is a matter for the Chief Constable and the Scottish Police Authority.
24 Jan 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what formal support is available to police officers and staff experiencing poor mental health.
Answer · Keith Brown: The provision of Health and Wellbeing services, for the police workforce, is a matter for the Chief Constable. Police officers and staff can access a range of services to care for their physical and mental health through Police Scotland's “Your Wellbeing Mat…
24 Jan 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action Police Scotland is taking to reduce the number of police officer and staff working days lost due to poor mental health.
Answer · Keith Brown: The provision of Health and Wellbeing services, for the police workforce, is a matter for the Chief Constable. Police officers and staff can access a range of services to care for their psychological, physical, social and financial wellbeing through Police S…
24 Jan 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many police working days were lost due to mental ill health in (a) 2019, (b), 2020, and (c) 2021, broken down by region.
Answer · Keith Brown: The information requested is not held centrally. The recording of absences, in relation to Police Scotland’s workforce, is a matter for the Chief Constable.
19 Jan 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many homes have received energy saving help from it in each of the last five years, also broken down by (a) local authority area and (b) the government schemes involved in providing the help or fuel poverty relief.
Answer · Patrick Harvie: The Scottish Government has provided support to households for energy saving measures through a number of support and advice schemes over the last 5 years. Home Energy Scotland, administered on behalf of the Scottish Government through Energy Saving Trust, ac…
12 Jan 2022 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the date by which self-referral for over-70s to the breast screening programme will resume.
11 Jan 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government (a) whether it has provided or (b) when it will provide a full response to the previous parliamentary session's Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee’s Inquiry into Regional Marine Planning, as committed to in the Minister for Rural Affairs and the Natural Environment’s l…
Answer · Mairi McAllan: We welcomed the previous Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform (ECCLR) Committee’s Inquiry report into regional marine planning. This report and its 29 recommendations have been carefully considered to help inform our future approach to regional marine …
20 Dec 2021 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met NHS Orkney and what issues were discussed.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: I met with NHS Board Chairs and Chief Executives this morning, including those from NHS Orkney, and we discussed a range of issues related to the current service pressures.
15 Dec 2021 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what update it can provide on delivering forensic examination services for children and young people in island and rural communities.
15 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether newspaper publishing businesses will be eligible for the business rates relief extension announced by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance on 10 December 2021 and, if not, what financial support will be available to such businesses from March 2022.
Answer · Tom Arthur: Since the start of the pandemic, businesses in Scotland have benefitted from more than £4.4 billion in support. This includes COVID-19 non-domestic rates reliefs which have saved businesses around £1.6 billion in reduced rates bills since 1 April 2020. The S…
10 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much Highlands and Islands Airports Limited's (HIAL) Air Traffic Management System project has cost to date.
Answer · Graeme Dey: The cost of the Air Traffic Management 2030 Strategy project to 30 November 2021 is £9 million.
10 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (HIAL) procurement under the Air Traffic Management System project has been cancelled and, if so, for what reason.
Answer · Graeme Dey: HIAL’s Air Traffic Management 2030 Strategy (ATMS) is a long-term programme consisting of numerous different individual projects. Some of these projects include one or more procurement exercises. Across the programme as a whole some procurement exercises have…
3 Dec 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-04128 by Humza Yousaf on 30 November 2021, whether it will provide a specific date for the expected availability of COVID-19 booster vaccination information on the vaccine passport app, and through the NHS Portal.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Booster information was made available in the international travel section of the NHS Scotland Covid Status App on 9 December, and on paper/pdf certificates from 13 December.
1 Dec 2021 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made on the roll-out of superfast broadband in Orkney.
29 Nov 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress towards delivering road equivalent tariff (RET) on Pentland Firth routes, and what the timeframe for implementing this is.
Answer · Graeme Dey: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-02267 on 13 September 2021. 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-commi…
29 Nov 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government by what date it will add the COVID-19 booster vaccination to (a) the NHS Scotland Covid Status app and (b) vaccination certificates.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: We will include record of booster vaccination in the NHS Scotland Covid Status app from 9 December and on paper certificates from 15 December.
25 Nov 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the publication of its consultation report on the draft licensing order and business and regulatory impact assessment (BRIA) for short-term lets, how many local authorities responded to the consultation exercise and, of those who responded, how many (a) raised no issues with …
Answer · Shona Robison: A total of eleven local authorities responded to the 2021 consultation on the draft Licensing Order and draft Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA). The Scottish Government also received responses from the Society of Local Authority Lawyers & Admin…
24 Nov 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many customers of Bulb Energy there are in Scotland; whether it has had any contact with Bulb Energy; if so, when, and what was discussed, and whether it has any plans to support (a) Bulb Energy customers in Scotland and (b) other customers in Scotland affected by failing energy supp…
Answer · Michael Matheson: Information regarding the number of Bulb customers in Scotland is not held by the Scottish Government. Scottish Government officials are in regular contact with a number of energy suppliers to discuss the ongoing challenges in the energy supply market. Regul…
22 Nov 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will create a support mechanism for the wave and tidal energy industry to work alongside the UK Government’s revenue stabilisation mechanism, as recommended in the Scottish Renewables publication, Beyond COP26: Next steps for Scotland’s clean energy revolution.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government will set out a strengthened framework of support in the forthcoming Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan in 2022, to support the growth of the marine renewables and offshore wind sectors, focused on funding for the infrastructure t…
22 Nov 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will establish an energy skills and services export target, as recommended in the Scottish Renewables publication, Beyond COP26: Next steps for Scotland’s clean energy revolution.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government committed in the Programme for Government to develop an Export Plan for Renewables . This Plan will be developed in partnership with the industry and stakeholders, including Scottish Renewables. Consideration of an energy skills an…
22 Nov 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will set a target of installing 1GW of solar PV capacity on public and commercial buildings by 2030, as recommended in the Scottish Renewables publication, Beyond COP26: Next steps for Scotland’s clean energy revolution.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government recognises the importance of energy generated from solar PV in contributing to the decarbonisation of Scotland’s energy supply and contributing to the just transition to a net zero emissions society by 2045. In support of this, the Sc…
22 Nov 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will set a target of heating 45% of homes and 25% of commercial, industrial and public buildings from renewable sources by 2030, as recommended in the Scottish Renewables publication, Beyond COP26: Next steps for Scotland’s clean energy revolution.
Answer · Patrick Harvie: The Heat in Buildings Strategy sets out that, to meet our emissions reduction targets, by 2030 the vast majority of the 170,000 off-gas homes that currently use fossil fuel heating systems, as well as at least 1 million homes currently using mains gas, must…
22 Nov 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will reform the planning process to deliver at least 12GW of additional onshore wind and 11GW of offshore wind by 2030, as recommended in the Scottish Renewables publication, Beyond COP26: Next steps for Scotland’s clean energy revolution.
Answer · Tom Arthur: The draft National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4), which was laid in the Scottish Parliament on 10 November, sets out how our approach to planning and development will achieve a net zero, sustainable Scotland by 2045. The draft NPF4 proposes a new policy which …
18 Nov 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will announce the members of the new Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Recruitment for the Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel has now been completed and we will announce the successful candidates in due course, once the necessary processes to establish this new Advisory Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB) have been completed.
17 Nov 2021 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with NHS Orkney regarding the COVID-19 booster vaccination programme.
16 Nov 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken to reach a mutual agreement between NHS Scotland, England and Wales regarding COVID-19 vaccine certification.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: We continue to engage on a four nations basis for example to agree the clinical standards that underpin the certification scheme including the types of vaccination that are considered valid, type of testing, period of validity of the results and to reach agre…
16 Nov 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that booster vaccinations are recorded on COVID-19 vaccine certificates.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-04128 on 30 November 2021. 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…
2 Nov 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has taken any action to alert fire safety companies to the requirements on evacuation alert systems contained in British Standard 8629:2019.
Answer · Patrick Harvie: In support of changes to Building Regulations and technical guidance on 1 October 2019, dissemination events were held to provide information to all stakeholders including fire safety companies. These events included information on new requirements for evacua…
2 Nov 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with the UK Government and the National Fire Chiefs Council in relation to the fitting of evacuation alert systems, including any contribution it has made to the evacuation alert systems project, and what outcomes it hopes this will result in.
Answer · Patrick Harvie: The Scottish Government provided support and funding to develop British Standard for evacuation alert systems and engaged with the National Fire Chiefs Council, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and the UK Government in that work. The National Fire Chiefs Co…
2 Nov 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it intends to require the installation of evacuation alert systems in new buildings that are between 11 and 18 metres in height.
Answer · Patrick Harvie: The Scottish Government has no plans to introduce a requirement for evacuation alert systems to be installed in new buildings between 11 and 18 metres in height. See answer to S6W-04133 on 19 November 2021. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are …