Miles Briggs

7 Aug 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the legislative process is for transferring the powers to the Scottish Parliament that are required to establish a building safety levy.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scotland Act 2012 introduced provisions for the UK Parliament to devolve further tax powers to the Scottish Parliament (now section 80B of the Scotland Act 1998, “Power to add new devolved taxes”).This followed a recommendation from the Calman…

7 Aug 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the single building assessment for housing developments will operate in relation to fire safety.

Answer · Paul McLennan: Single Building Assessment (SBA) is defined by section 32 of the Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Act 2024, with SBAs to be carried out in accordance with the standards to be specified by Scottish Ministers. The SBA Technical Specification was publis…

7 Aug 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made towards sharing a draft contract with housing developers in relation to undertaking cladding remediation works.

Answer · Paul McLennan: Following the signing of the Developer Commitment Letter by nine developers in 2023, work has been ongoing on the development of the Developer Remediation Contract. We are continuing to work at pace on the Contract to ensure alignment with the Housing (Claddi…

31 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to help with the delivery of the school clothing grant in the next financial year, including any measures that it is taking to increase the uptake of the grant among those who are eligible, and how much it is spending on any such measures.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government has worked with partners to develop national guidance on school uniform and clothing in Scotland. This is expected to be published in autumn 2024. The guidance will support schools and education authorities to develop and implement aff…

31 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people it estimates will receive the school clothing grant in the upcoming financial year; what it expects the cost will be, and what percentage of families are eligible.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Funding for local authorities is provided by the Scottish Government through the General Revenue Grant. It is the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, inclu…

31 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the total cost was of the school clothing grant in each of the last five financial years; how many families have received the grant in each of those years, and what percentage of families are currently eligible for the grant.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Information about school clothing grants is recorded centrally through the Scottish Local Government Financial Statistics returns. Information about the number of school clothing grants paid to eligible families as well as expenditure on school clothing grant…

31 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what review it has made of the support being given to develop bespoke services to help disabled people who experience loneliness.

Answer · Kaukab Stewart: We launched a new Social Isolation and Loneliness Fund on 8 March 2023. This funding is helping organisations to create opportunities for people to connect with one another in our communities. 53 projects are currently operational across Scotland, delivering …

31 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what 10-year infrastructure investment plans it has to improve the Scottish cancer centres.

Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government, through the Infrastructure Investment Plan 2021-22 to 2025-26 published in 2021, has enabled the upgrade to the Edinburgh Cancer Centre (ECC) at the Western General Hospital in NHS Lothian, which will complete this financial year. Be…

31 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to develop better access to community facilities to help tackle loneliness in society.

Answer · Kaukab Stewart: The Scottish Government published our social isolation and loneliness strategy, A Connected Scotland’ in 2018 which set out our key priorities for tackling social isolation and loneliness. Our updated delivery plan published in 2023, set out a number of…

31 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans are being developed to help improve access to mobility support.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Scotland’s Accessible Travel Framework and its successive delivery plans set out the means of ensuring that disabled people can travel with the same freedom, choice, dignity and opportunity as other citizens. Specific programmes to support disabled people to…

31 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) individuals and (b) families from each local authority area have had to use secure temporary accommodation outwith their local authority area, also broken down by how many had to travel to England to do so.

Answer · Paul McLennan: The information requested is not held centrally by Scottish Government.The Scottish Government collects information on the types of temporary accommodation provided or arranged by the local authority which a household makes a homelessness application to. Info…

31 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many homes in each local authority area contain reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).

Answer · Paul McLennan: Following the initial data collection exercise in December 2023 on the presence of RAAC in social housing, the Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR) published an update to the original figures at the end of March 2024. This provides information on the number of so…

31 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much NHS Lothian has spent on taxis to transport patients in each year since 1999.

Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. It is for Health Boards to ensure best use of available resources whilst prioritising patient safety and care.

31 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many e-bikes have been reported stolen in each year since 2013, broken down by Police Scotland division.

Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government does not hold information specifically on the number of e-bike thefts as the data we receive from Police Scotland is a general count of the number of crimes and offences recorded by the police, split by local authority.Depending on the…

31 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many patients have been treated in regional treatment centres since these became operational.

Answer · Neil Gray: Public Health Scotland’s (PHS) annual Acute Hospital Activity and NHS Beds information publication will include data on National Treatment Centre (NTC) admissions up to and including 31 March 2024. This publication will be released in September 2024 and will …

31 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate and assessment it has made of the number of additional people who will be registered with (a) GP and (b) dental practices in NHS Lothian over the next decade.

Answer · Neil Gray: Health Boards and Health & Social Care Partnerships are responsible for considering local health needs and taking population growth and infrastructure expansion into account when planning and providing for General Medical and Dental Services. The Scottish Go…

31 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to invest in GP practices in NHS Lothian.

Answer · Neil Gray: Each GP practice’s “Global Sum” allocation is adjusted every quarter to account for changes in their registered patients lists; growing practices should receive a greater share of national funding. The Scottish Government annually uplifts General Medical Ser…

31 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) research it has carried out and (b) discussions it has had regarding pay weighting for public sector workers working in Edinburgh. 

Answer · Shona Robison: Research has focused on the wider challenges and opportunities associated with rapid localised population growth where it is occurring in parts of Scotland. This was discussed at the October 2023 meeting of the Population Taskforce and is a priority within th…

31 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many children and young people have been recorded as going missing after being placed in Adult Mental Health Services in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS facility.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government does not hold, nor collect, data on children and young people who have been recorded as going missing after being placed in Adult Mental Health Services.

31 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been in local authority housing budget reserves in each year since 1999.

Answer · Paul McLennan: A table with the information requested has been placed in SPICE bib number 65255.

31 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many Scotland-based (a) military personnel and (b) veterans send their children to an independent school, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The information sought is not held centrally.However, it may be useful to note that Scotland’s independent school sector includes Queen Victoria School in Dunblane. Queen Victoria School is an independent, mainstream, boarding school funded by the Minis…

31 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many pupils with special educational needs or a disability attend an independent school, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The information sought is not held centrally.However, as at September 2023, around 28,500 children and young people were reported to attend an independent school in Scotland. Of those 28,500 children and young people, around 700 children and young people were…

31 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the findings of the Kidney Care UK publication, Transplant care in the UK: a patient perspective, what steps have been taken to ensure that reimbursement systems for health-related expenses incurred by patients (a) are consistently used across NHS boards, (b) are proactively…

Answer · Jenni Minto: Financial support for travel to hospital appointments is available to patients and authorised escorts, according to eligibility criteria and medical requirements. The Scottish Government provides the overall guidance to NHS Boards on reimbursement of patient …

31 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the findings of the Kidney Care UK publication, Transplant care in the UK: a patient perspective, what assessment it has made of the level of available tailored support and information on the financial issues experienced by people living with long-term conditions, including …

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all people living in Scotland with long-term conditions including chronic kidney disease, are able to access the best possible care and support, and benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effectiv…

31 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to bring forward planning reforms to provide for rural businesses with permitted development rights.

Answer · Ivan McKee: Legislation sets out a wide range of permitted development rights. These allow certain types of development to be carried out without a planning application. In doing so, they help provide certainty and save the time and expense associated with applying for p…

31 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the percentage of the short-term let market that is operating without a licence.

Answer · Paul McLennan: The Scottish Government does not collect specific data on short-term lets who have chosen to stop operating. We have begun to publish regular official statistics on the number of short-term let license applications received, broken down by local authority her…

18 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-19595  by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 28 July 2023, whether Social Security Scotland has been subject to (a) denial of service (DoS) attacks and (b) other forms of cyber attacks since that response was provided and, if so, how many.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Social Security Scotland has not been subject to any denial of service (DoS) attacks during the period between 30 June 2023 and 24 July 2024. During that same period, our security mechanisms protected our environment against 345,027 cyber events, the majority…

12 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Sight Scotland and Sight Scotland Veterans’ report, Enhancing Accessibility: Venues and Visual Impairment, what discussions it has had with entertainment venues and ticket providers regarding the creation of a standardised booking system for accessible seats at venues in …

Answer · Angus Robertson: The Scottish Government is committed to promoting the rights of disabled people and ensuring that they benefit from all that we are doing to improve people’s lives. This includes ensuring that all serving Armed Forces personnel and veterans living in Scotland…

12 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Sight Scotland and Sight Scotland Veterans’ report, Enhancing Accessibility: Venues and Visual Impairment, what discussions it has had with entertainment venues and security staff providers regarding the delivery of visual impairment awareness and sighted guide training for …

Answer · Angus Robertson: Our Culture Strategy sets out our ambition for everyone across Scotland to lead a cultural life of their choice, ensuring that everyone has an equal opportunity to enjoy and contribute to culture, the creative industries and the arts. Creative Scotland’s reg…

12 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Sight Scotland and Sight Scotland Veterans’ report, Enhancing Accessibility: Venues and Visual Impairment, what plans it has to introduce mandatory accessibility standards and requirements that venues must meet.

Answer · Paul McLennan: Scottish building regulations already set requirements for venues, for new buildings and new building work, that are intended to assist people with visual impairment to safely navigate a building. However, building regulations are not applied retrospectively…