Liam McArthur

2 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to respond to the reported recommendation of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry that building evacuation alert systems should be fitted in new and existing high-rise buildings over 11 metres in height.

Answer · Patrick Harvie: On 1 October 2019, the Scottish Government introduced evacuation alert systems in new high rise domestic buildings with a floor over 18m. The government also published Practical Fire Safety Guidance for Existing High Rise Domestic Buildings. The guidance prom…

26 Oct 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to claims by the British Dental Association Scotland that “plans to return NHS practices to pre-COVID models of work may devastate dental services".

Answer · Humza Yousaf: I have recently written to the profession about our plans for the recovery of NHS dental services. Our commitment as a Government is to build back NHS dentistry, and ensure that NHS dental teams are focused on the need to tackle the backlog in routine dental…

22 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many electric vehicle charging units have been installed in each of the last five years in places where commercial operators had not started to invest, also broken down by local authority area.  

Answer · Graeme Dey: Over the past decade the Scottish Government has invested over £50 million in ChargePlace Scotland, a publicly available network of electric vehicle charging infrastructure which now consists of over 2,000 charge points across Scotland. This has enabled us to…

22 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many trees it has planted in each year since 2016, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: Information on the area of new woodland creation and the approximate number of trees planted in Scotland, in each year since 2016, broken down by Scottish Local Authority can be found at the following link: Publications (forestry.gov.scot)

21 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether, under its proposed short-term let licensing regime, some types of tourist accommodation, such as hotels, serviced accommodation, mobile accommodation and licensed caravans, will be exempt from licensing in respect of health and safety, but with this being mandatory for bed and b…

Answer · Shona Robison: The proposed licensing legislation will establish a licensing scheme: to ensure short-term lets are safe and address issues faced by neighbours; and facilitate local authorities in knowing and understanding what is happening in their area, as well as to assis…

21 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the time taken to complete a fatal accident inquiry into the death in custody of a young person, what is (a) the average time taken and (b) the longest time taken in each of the past five years.

Answer · Dorothy Bain: The following table shows, in relation to deaths in prison where the deceased was aged 25 or younger, the average and longest time taken to conclude an FAI in each of the last five years. Days are calculated from the date of death to the date evidence at the …

21 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6T-00179 by Keith Brown on 21 September 2021 and, specifically, the assertion that “where recommendations are made, the priority is to ensure that they are acted upon”, and based on the understanding that there is no national oversight mechanism or sta…

Answer · Keith Brown: The Inquiries into Fatal Accident and Sudden Deaths Act 2016 places a duty on a person to whom a sheriff’s recommendation is addressed to provide a response to the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service within the period of 8 weeks after the respondent receive…

21 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the findings in the report, Nothing to See Here?, regarding the suggestion that, since the 2016 change in law regarding fatal accident inquiries, the average length of time for completion of such an inquiry has increased by 100 days.

Answer · Dorothy Bain: COPFS has noted the findings of the study. The statistics quoted in that study indicate that the average time taken to complete an FAI in 2017-19 was at its lowest figure since the period 2005-07. That figure – 603 days – was more than one third lower than th…

21 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6T-00179 by Keith Brown on 21 September 2021, how many of the 18 recommendations are being or have been implemented.

Answer · Keith Brown: The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service received a response to 17 of the 18 recommendations (determinations) made by the Sheriff, within 8 weeks of publication of the determination, as per the statutory requirement. The implementation of any recommendation…

21 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6T-00179 by Keith Brown on 21 September 2021, whether it will provide the dataset used to arrive at the assertion about the number of fatal accident inquiry recommendations.

Answer · Keith Brown: The dataset which was used to advise of the number of fatal accident inquiry recommendations is the Fatal Accident Inquiry Report 2020-2021. The statistics that inform the report are compiled by Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service and confirmed with Crown O…

18 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the findings in the report, Nothing To See Here?, regarding disparities between Sheriffdoms in making findings relating to fatal accident inquiries into deaths in custody, and what its position is on what this means for the current system’s ability to s…

Answer · Keith Brown: Determinations by Sheriffs are a matter of judicial independence and it would not be appropriate for Scottish Government to comment on specific determinations or the approach of the judiciary in general. The Sheriff has heard the evidence and is the only one …

18 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its discussions with the UK Government regarding the application of VAT to deposits made under its Deposit Return Scheme; whether it has reached an agreement with the UK Government on this matter, and when it anticipates being able to confirm to busin…

Answer · Lorna Slater: The Scottish Government’s position is that VAT should not be applied to deposits charged under Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) and we have made official and ministerial representations on this issue. It is important that where we can we promote rather …

18 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in the event that the UK Government does not exempt deposits made under its Deposit Return Scheme from VAT, whether it plans to provide support for businesses to manage any costs arising from that decision.

Answer · Lorna Slater: We are engaging HM Treasury and HMRC to ensure that VAT is not applied to deposits charged under Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). Any cost associated with VAT would be part of the operating costs of DRS, and would be borne by drinks producers in line w…

18 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-33434 by Kate Forbes on 7 December 2020, whether it will provide figures for (a) 2020-21 and (b) 2021-22 to date.

Answer · Kate Forbes: The following table details how many vehicles have been in the Government Car Service (GCS) fleet since 2020/21 to date, broken down by Ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEV’s Year Number of ULEV’s on fleet Total number of vehicles on fleet (1) 20-21 31 41 …

18 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-35919 by Humza Yousaf on 24 March 2021, whether it will provide figures for each month from March 2021 to date.

Answer · Keith Brown: I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows: The following tables detail the (a) Average Occupancy (b) Design Capacity and (c) the Occupancy Rate of each prison between Ma…

18 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-36076 by Humza Yousaf on 24 March 2021, whether it will provide figures for each month from March 2021 to date.

Answer · Keith Brown: I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows: SPS is unable provide information on the breakdown of the average monthly occupancy rates as the data is not collected in this…

18 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its announcement that it will end overseas trade support focused on purely fossil fuel goods and services from 1 November 2021, what data it has on the Scottish oil and gas sector’s progress in transitioning towards net zero emissions by 2045.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Emissions data for offshore oil and gas is part of the UK Government’s Greenhouse Gas inventory and is therefore required to decarbonise by 2050. Only refinery and onshore emissions data is part of Scottish Government’s inventory. We recognise that countrie…

18 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its announcement that it will end overseas trade support focused on purely fossil fuel goods and services from 1 November 2021, what measures it will use to assess which goods and services “align with the energy transition” in order to continue receiving support.

Answer · Ivan McKee: From 1 November 2021, the way in which the Scottish Government provides overseas trade support will be aligned with our energy transition, as highlighted in our policy announcement on 15 October 2021. We will also co-design our energy transition with indust…

18 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether its policy announcement on 15 October 2021 regarding trade support and promotion for the fossil fuel sector overseas differs from the UK Government’s strategy on this matter published in March 2021, and what its position is on whether it has sought to present the UK Government's …

Answer · Ivan McKee: The Scottish Government first announced this policy regarding trade support and promotion for fossil fuel goods and services overseas, in January 2021 in Scotland’s Vision for Trade . This was in alignment with the 2019 Program for Government commitment t…

14 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been (a) trained and (b) employed to provide Scottish Prison Service (SPS) Throughcare Support Services in each of the last five years, and whether these services have resumed.

Answer · Keith Brown: I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows: The Throughcare Support Service was introduced in 2015 and until its suspension on 13 September 2019, comprised of 3 Regional …

12 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many grant or reimbursement applications for eBikes through the Low Emission Zone Support Fund’s Travel Better scheme have been (a) received and (b) approved to date.

Answer · Graeme Dey: Through the LEZ support fund, eligible households disposing of a non-LEZ compliant car can claim a cash grant, plus up to £500 per adult in ‘Travel Better’ vouchers towards the cost of a range of travel options such as rail pass, bus pass, bike, car hire, or …

12 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many eBike loans for key workers have been funded through the eBike Grant Fund to date.

Answer · Patrick Harvie: The Scottish Government funds Energy Saving Trust to provide e-bike loans through the E-bike Loan Fund. Data on key worker status is not collected for this fund. The E-bike loan fund is open to all subject to age, credit and affordability checks.

12 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-33522 by Michael Matheson on 4 December 2020, whether it will provide the figure for the year 2021-22 to date.

Answer · Patrick Harvie: The median annual income of successful applicants to the E-bike Loan Fund for the year 2021-22 is £29,429 (as of 14 October 2021).

12 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-33523 by Michael Matheson on 4 December 2020, whether it will provide the (a) updated figure for 2020-21 and (b) figure for 2021-22 to date.

Answer · Patrick Harvie: Funding allocations to the E-bike Loan Fund, and unallocated funds for the financial years 2020-21 and 2021-22 up until mid-October are summarised in the following table. Financial Year Funding Unallocated Notes 2020-21 £3,786,966 £879,833  2021-22 £…

12 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-33521 by Michael Matheson on 4 December 2020, whether it will provide figures for each month since November 2020 to date.

Answer · Patrick Harvie: Successful and unsuccessful applications to Energy Saving Trust’s E-bike Loan Fund, broken down by month since November 2020, are summarised in the following table. Month Successful applications Unsuccessful applications Notes Nov-20 64 2  Dec-20 43 …

7 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to mitigate any impacts on rural businesses due to the deposit return scheme, in light of four of the 12 organisations consulted in its Scottish Firms Impact Test expressing concerns about logistical and/or critical mass issues, including additional costs to retailers in isl…

Answer · Lorna Slater: We engaged closely with islands communities as part of the policy-development process for DRS, culminating in an Islands Communities Impact Assessment ( Deposit return scheme for Scotland: islands communities impact assessment - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) ). …

7 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to mitigate any impacts on small retailers due to the deposit return scheme, in light of eight of the 12 businesses consulted in its Scottish Firms Impact Test raising concerns about space and logistical constraints, reduced sales and cash flow.

Answer · Lorna Slater: We listened closely to small retailers in designing Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). Under the DRS Regulations, return-point operators including small retailers will be able to claim a reasonable handling fee from the DRS scheme administrator for each …

6 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its environmental targets, the reported urgency of the climate and nature emergencies, and the role that Scotland’s peatlands play as a carbon store and habitat, whether it will have a licensing scheme in place for muirburn, including a ban on almost all burning on peat, in …

Answer · Mairi McAllan: As we set out in our recent Programme for Government, we are committed to delivering the recommendations of the independent Grouse Moor Management Group review (the ‘Werritty Review’) as a matter of urgency. This will include tighter regulation, including li…

1 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the average number of hours per week that convicted prisoners spend on purposeful activity (a) across the prison estate and (b) in each penal establishment has been in each year since 2016-17, also broken down by those on (i) short sentences, (ii) long sentences and (iii) remand.

Answer · Keith Brown: I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows: The average number of hours per week that convicted prisoners spend on purposeful activity a) across the prison estate and (b)…

30 Sep 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many electric vehicle charging units have been installed in rural and island communities where commercial operators are not yet starting to invest, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Graeme Dey: The Scottish Government only holds data on chargepoint installation on our ChargePlace Scotland network. Data is available by local authority and not at a community or settlement level. The following table sets out the breakdown of charging by local authority…