Parliamentary questions
Miles Briggs
4,209 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
5 Jan 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review the support available to prevent suicide among students in universities and colleges in Scotland.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Government and COSLA published ‘ Creating Hope Together , Scotland’s ten year suicide prevention strategy’ in September 2022 alongside an initial three year action plan. The development of the strategy and action plan involved engagement with key…
5 Jan 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on the Rural Housing Fund in each year since its introduction.
Answer · Shona Robison: The following table provides a breakdown of the spend from the main Rural and Islands Housing Fund in each year since the funds were launched in 2016-17, broken down by rural (mainland) and Islands. The Rural and Island Housing Fund plays an important role in…
5 Jan 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what recent assessment it has undertaken of the financial viability of Scotland's hospices.
Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government has not carried out recent assessment of the financial viability of independent, third sector Scottish Hospices. As confirmed by the First Minister in the Chamber on 15 December 2022, the Scottish Government will meet with Hospice rep…
5 Jan 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what data is collected on the number of students who die by suicide each year in Scotland.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Death registration data collated by National Records of Scotland contains information on the occupation of the deceased. Public Health Scotland (PHS) include this information in the Scottish Suicide Information Database. In 2021, PHS published a thematic an…
5 Jan 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many registered apprenticeships there have been in each year since 1999.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Modern Apprenticeship (MA) statistics are publicly available on the Skills Development Scotland (SDS) website at Modern Apprenticeships | Skills Development Scotland . Registered starts by year are detailed in the table below . Figures for 2022-23 are avai…
5 Jan 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with universities regarding (a) institutional duty of care for students and (b) risk assessment for students.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Government regularly meets with the university sector, through the Student Mental Health and Wellbeing Working Group and the Equally safe in Colleges and Universities Core Leadership Group on issues relating to student well-being and safety where…
5 Jan 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made, regarding any impact in Scotland, of the Welsh Government publication, Reducing restrictive practices framework.
Answer · Clare Haughey: The Scottish Government is aware of the Welsh publication. Similarly, we are keen to reduce, and where possible eliminate, the use of restraint in respect of children across all settings. We are working with partners to explore definitions of restraint, alon…
5 Jan 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any additional cost of living pressures experienced by residents in Edinburgh.
Answer · John Swinney: There has been no specific assessment by the Scottish Government of the additional cost of living pressures experienced by residents in Edinburgh. However, in November 2022 the Scottish Government published a report: ‘The Cost of Living Crisis in Scotland: An…
22 Dec 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will review the reported decision to not include people receiving treatment for alcohol issues from Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Standard 1.
Answer · Maree Todd: There has been no decision taken around excluding people receiving treatment for alcohol issues from Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Standard 1. The MAT standards set out the standards of care people should expect for accessing treatment for drug proble…
22 Dec 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential economic growth that the Scottish horse racing sector can contribute to the economy.
Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government recognise the benefits of Scottish Racing to the economy and the positive impact it has on employment in communities across Scotland. While we have not undertaken a direct assessment of the potential economic growth that the Scottish…
22 Dec 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what communications strategy it has developed to help charities to share public health messages on government media outlets.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government works closely with relevant third sector organisations at a policy and communication level when developing public health messaging. Charities across Scotland are invited to disseminate vital public health messages via relevant charity …
22 Dec 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will update the Parliament on when a formal national apology for forced adoption will be made.
Answer · Clare Haughey: We are still considering the next steps on how to address the responses to our engagement with people affected by historical adoption practices. In the meantime, we have commissioned a scoping study of the support services available in Scotland for people af…
22 Dec 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many cyber incidents were reported to it by public bodies, under the Scottish public sector notifiable cyber incident procedure and policy, in each month in 2022.
Answer · Keith Brown: In 2022, the Scottish Government was notified of 12 cyber incidents under our Notifiable Scottish Public Sector Cyber Incidents Policy and Procedure. The Scottish Government will not provide further details as this would likely cause substantial harm to the …
22 Dec 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support its agencies are providing to businesses to improve resilience and implement systems to prevent cyber attacks.
Answer · Keith Brown: Under The Strategic Framework for a Cyber Resilient Scotland , the Scottish Government works closely with our delivery partners to improve the cyber resilience of Scottish businesses. Between January 2021 and July 2022, 3,410 businesses that received the Sco…
22 Dec 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to develop a support fund for advocacy services for people with mental health issues.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: Scottish Ministers are committed to ensuring that people with mental health issues have access to independent advocacy. We recognise that advocacy is central to empowering people with mental health issues to have their voices heard and participate fully in de…
21 Dec 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to tackle the issue of homelessness among veterans.
Answer · Shona Robison: Scotland has some of the strongest homelessness legislation in the world and local authorities have a legal duty to provide support to anyone at risk of homelessness, including veterans. Preventing homelessness from happening in the first place is the best a…
21 Dec 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many veterans in Scotland are currently homeless.
Answer · Shona Robison: As at the 31 March 2022, there were 491 live homelessness cases that had been assessed as homeless or threatened with homelessness where it was stated that at least one member of the household was formerly a member of the armed forces. Statistics on former a…
21 Dec 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it expects to set out to the Scottish Parliament its plans in relation to whether it will extend the rent cap in the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022 past 31 March 2023.
Answer · Patrick Harvie: We have reached an agreement with social landlords on below-inflation rent increases for the next financial year. Organisations representing social landlords have announced their members’ plans for average rent increases for 2023-24, which will keep rents si…
21 Dec 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of recent changes to the reducing restrictive practices framework in Wales, what plans it has to include (a) regulations and (b) mandatory data-gathering on the restraint of children during secure transportation in its forthcoming Children (Care and Justice) Bill.
Answer · Clare Haughey: Following careful consideration of responses to the consultation on the Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Bill, the Scottish Government is content that there is sufficient legislative provision to enable secure transport to be utilised when necessary, an…
20 Dec 2022 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what cross-government review it has undertaken of policies supporting children with autism, including any assessment of the links between autism and other conditions, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
20 Dec 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will provide an update to the Parliament regarding whether the rent freeze will be extended beyond 31 March 2023.
Answer · Patrick Harvie: We have reached an agreement with social landlords on below-inflation rent increases for the next financial year. Organisations representing social landlords have announced their members’ plans for average rent increases for 2023-24, which will keep rents si…
15 Dec 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to hold future ScotWind offshore wind leasing rounds.
Answer · Michael Matheson: ScotWind is at the very early stages, with Option Agreements setting out a potential development of 27.6GW. We are also awaiting the results of Crown Estate Scotland’s evaluation of the INTOG applications, which could deliver a further 5.7GW of targeted oil a…
15 Dec 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the Green Heat Finance Taskforce last met and what actions were agreed.
Answer · Patrick Harvie: The Green Heat Finance Taskforce meets on a bi-monthly basis with the last meeting taking place on 2 November 2022. All meeting summaries and action points of the Green Heat Finance Taskforce are published on the Green Heat Finance Taskforce webpage following…
15 Dec 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions have taken place regarding potentially establishing a Rural Homes Just Transition Package.
Answer · Patrick Harvie: Scottish Government officials had discussions with the Existing Homes Alliance during 2022 as part of the Alliance’s work to develop a Rural Homes Just Transition Package . Our own National Just Transition Framework will ensure that those likely to face the …
15 Dec 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans NHS Scotland has to restore thrombectomy services, including reversing any planned service reductions for the current year and lifting the reported thrombectomy recruitment freeze.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government remains committed to introducing a high quality and clinically safe thrombectomy service in Scotland. As a result of the Emergency Budget Review, the thrombectomy service was not reduced, rather the expansion of the service was paused.…
15 Dec 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it will provide to help facilitate the development of a community-based heating scheme.
Answer · Patrick Harvie: Reducing emissions from our homes and buildings is one of the most important things we can do to help end Scotland’s contribution to climate change, and communities have a key role to play within this. The Scottish Government’s £300 million Heat Network Fund…
15 Dec 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many playparks have been modernised and restored through its £5 million funding agreement with COSLA, broken down by the playparks in each local authority area.
Answer · Clare Haughey: Local authorities have reported that in 2021-22 103 play park renewals were completed with a further 82 renewals in progress. The following table shows how many play parks were renewed in each local authority in 2021-22. Local authorities will report at the e…
15 Dec 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel last met and what actions were agreed.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel (“the Panel”) is an independent advisory Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB). The Panel’s secretariat can be contacted by emailing [email protected] for the requested information, as this information is not held…
13 Dec 2022 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the social justice secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding the support available to families experiencing poverty, including as a result of rising energy costs, where a seriously ill child relies on life-sustaining equipment at home.
9 Dec 2022 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what therapeutic support is available for people who have been adopted or fostered and their families.
Answer · Clare Haughey: Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC) commits to providing all children, young people and their families with the right support at the right time, and where extra help is needed this can include a personalised child’s plan, which might contain therapeutic…