Parliamentary questions
Miles Briggs
4,209 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
6 Oct 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it has provided for town centre regeneration in each year since 1999.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Government has a long history of providing support for town centre regeneration and continues to provide a strong policy framework, with clear priorities and actions to help facilitate and deliver change. This includes our world leading Town Cent…
6 Oct 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many councillors have been reported for a breach of the Code of Conduct for Councillors in each local authority in each year since 1999.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Breaches of the Councillors’ Code of Conduct are a matter for the independent Ethical Standards Commissioner. The member can obtain this information by contacting the Commissioner directly.
6 Oct 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what range of benefits or grants are available to assist people with sight loss to live independently at home, including aids, equipment and adaptations.
Answer · Maree Todd: An individual with sight loss may receive Child and Adult Disability Payment to help mitigate the costs they incur as a result of a disability or long term condition. This means individuals can use it to pay for things such as care, access to community resour…
6 Oct 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people it estimates are not currently registered with a GP, broken down by NHS board area.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government does not hold estimates of how many people are not currently registered with a GP. Health Boards make arrangements for patients who are unable to find a practice which will register them.
6 Oct 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review the eligibility criteria for the Young Patients Family Fund.
Answer · Jenni Minto: We continue to monitor the impact and effectiveness of the Young Patients Family Fund (YPFF) and keep this under review.
6 Oct 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many hospital pharmacists have been employed in each NHS board area in each year since 1999.
Answer · Jenni Minto: Information on how many hospital pharmacists have been employed in each NHS board area in each year since 2012, can be found on the TURAS NHS Education for Scotland workforce statistics site at https://turasdata.nes.nhs.scot . Data is not held from before …
6 Oct 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what work is being undertaken to increase laboratory blood testing capacity.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Diagnostic laboratories are located within all 14 NHS territorial health boards and in one special health board - NHS Golden Jubilee. National Services Scotland also host the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) which carries out testing on all…
6 Oct 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many families have accessed support through the Young Patients Family Fund since it was established.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Young Patients Family Fund (YPFF) has been available since July 2021. We ask NHS Boards to report on the number of young inpatients (and therefore families) who benefit from the Fund. I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-16109 on 3 April 2023…
3 Oct 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it anticipates any workforce pressures in relation to skilled stonemasons in the next 10 years.
Answer · Christina McKelvie: The Scottish Government has been exploring the workforce demand for skilled stonemasons through engagement with the stonemasonry short life working group led by Historic Environment Scotland. The working group was set up to look at stonemasonry and traditiona…
28 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to its correspondence of 28 September 2023 with Miles Briggs, what measures it is taking to ensure that an applicant's given name is not displayed on a short-term let licence outwith their home.
Answer · Paul McLennan: There is no requirement to display the short term let licence at or on the premises. There is, however, a requirement to display a site notice at or near the premises for a period of 21 days from the submission of the application. There is a right for member…
26 Sep 2023 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what additional resources are being allocated to help support Edinburgh City Council to address housing shortages, including the number of families in temporary accommodation, in light of figures showing that over a quarter of all children in temporary accommodation are in Edinburgh.
19 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what review will be undertaken into the delivery of the Edinburgh Tram Inquiry.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: The Scottish Government will reflect carefully on the recommendations made the Trams Public Inquiry and consider if improvements can be made in the process and procedures surrounding Public Inquiries. The Scottish Government already has work in hand to produc…
19 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of recommendation 4 in the report, Fit for the Future: developing a post-school learning system to fuel economic transformation, which states that the Scottish Government should “establish a clear template for regional skills planning”, including the need to “recognise the cent…
Answer · Graeme Dey: The Scottish Government is developing the approach for implementing the priorities set out in the Purpose and Principles for Post-School Education, Research and Skills, which addresses some of the recommendations by James Withers, including on national and re…
19 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-21181 by Tom Arthur on 19 September 2023, what information it holds on how much remains to be paid by local authorities in relation to any equal pay settlement claims, broken down by local authority.
Answer · Tom Arthur: As advised in the previous answer, the information requested is not routinely gathered or held centrally by the Scottish Government. Any outstanding liabilities to settle equal pay claims will be reflected in a local authority's annual accounts. Information o…
19 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions have taken place with Edinburgh Trams Ltd, following the hearing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in which the company reportedly admitted a breach of health and safety legislation.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: My thoughts are with the family and friends of the individual, who tragically died in September 2018 at Saughton Mains and it is regrettable that Edinburgh Trams Ltd have been found to have breached health and safety legislation through failures to properly a…
19 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-20160 by Natalie Don on 24 July 2023, whether it will provide an update on when it will publish (a) its research regarding the unmet needs of those people affected by forced adoption, including on access to adoption records and (b) the outcomes of t…
Answer · Natalie Don: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-21565 on 4 October 2023. 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-committe…
19 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported figures showing that the number of affordable home approvals has reached its lowest level in 10 years.
Answer · Paul McLennan: We are aware of the global issues affecting construction, which are impacting the pace of affordable housing approvals and starts. We are working closely with the construction industry and housing partners to mitigate these issues where possible. We continue…
19 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to figures showing that the number of social sector new build home starts has fallen by 36% in the past year.
Answer · Paul McLennan: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-21579 on 5 October 2023. 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-committe…
19 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have received training through the Mobile Heat Pump Training Centre to date.
Answer · Patrick Harvie: The Mobile Heat Pump Training Van was launched on 2 August 2023, is accessible to any college in Scotland and is capable of delivering on site training across Scotland, including rural areas. The facility was at Energy Skills Partnership (ESP) offices in Sti…
19 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how much has been paid in developer contributions to each local authority in each year since 1999.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-18660 on 13 June 2023. 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-committees…
19 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to recent research from Zoopla showing that rents in Scotland have been rising faster than rents in London.
Answer · Patrick Harvie: Zoopla published a report titled “ The Cheapest Places to Rent a Home in 2023 ” on 14 September 2023. This report is based on newly advertised rental data and does not include trends in rents for existing tenancies and does not therefore cover trends in ren…
19 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many construction courses have been oversubscribed in each year since 1999, broken down by college.
Answer · Graeme Dey: The Scottish Government does not hold this information.
19 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many heating and plumbing apprentices have been funded through the Low Carbon Skills Grant to undertake heat pump training since the introduction of the scheme.
Answer · Patrick Harvie: Since the introduction of the Low Carbon Skills Grant in 2021 the fund has supported a total of 293 heating and plumbing apprentices to be trained in heat pump installation. The fund has continued to grow in popularity and this is shown by the increase in yea…
19 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what improvements it plans to make to the A720.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government is committed to delivering the grade separation of Sheriffhall roundabout as part of its £300 million commitment to the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal. Following publication of the draft Orders and Environmental St…
19 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many peer support groups have been established to support mothers affected by forced adoption.
Answer · Natalie Don: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-21563 on 5 October 2023. 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-committe…
19 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government on how many occasions its ministers have met with the Institution of Structural Engineers in the past year, and what issues were discussed.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-21436 on 9 October 2023. 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-committe…
19 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will provide an update to the Parliament on forced adoption, further to the First Minister's statement to the Parliament on historic forced adoption on 22 March 2023.
Answer · Natalie Don: We have commissioned The Lines Between to conduct research on the unmet needs of those people affected by historic forced adoption practices. The research will be published later this year and we will provide an update to Parliament at that time. The research…
19 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported figures showing that the number of all-sector new housebuilding starts has reached its lowest level since 2016.
Answer · Paul McLennan: There were 17,425 all-sector new housebuilding starts during the 12 months to June 2023. We are aware of the global issues affecting construction which are impacting the pace of housing delivery and are working closely with the construction industry and housi…
19 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many peer support groups have been established to support adult adoptees affected by forced adoption.
Answer · Natalie Don: In response to feedback from those with lived experience, we have funded the charity, Health in Mind, to establish specialist peer support groups for those affected by historic forced adoption. The service launched for enquiries in August 2023 and is ready …
19 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what work is being undertaken to develop a graduate apprenticeship scheme for social care.
Answer · Maree Todd: Officials are working with social care employers and partners to consider what support the Scottish Government can provide to expand graduate apprenticeship options and career pathways in social care.