Kevin Stewart

18 Apr 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to ensure that all healthcare assistants employed by public bodies who deliver care within a home setting are required to be registered with the Scottish Social Services Council.

Answer · Natalie Don: The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) are the independent regulator of the social service workforce in Scotland. SSSC protects the public by registering the workforce, setting standards for their practice, conduct, training and education and by supporti…

18 Apr 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the registration record of all NHS staff, irrespective of job title, is checked at employment in regard to (a) Health and Care Professionals Council, (b) Social Work England, (c) Social Care Wales, (d) Northern Ireland Social Care Council, (e) General Teaching Council for Scotlan…

Answer · Neil Gray: Within NHSScotland, professional registration ensures that health practitioners are practising safely. Evidence of registration with a statutory regulatory body must be verified before placement, including confirmation of a medical licence. Health Boards must…

18 Apr 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to ensure that all healthcare assistants employed by the NHS are required to be registered with the Scottish Social Services Council.

Answer · Natalie Don: The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) are the independent regulator of the social service workforce in Scotland. SSSC protects the public by registering the workforce, setting standards for their practice, conduct, training and education and by supporti…

18 Apr 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what measures are in place to prevent healthcare workers with either disciplinary proceedings outstanding with the Scottish Social Services Council or who have been found unfit to practise by the Scottish Social Services Council from being employed by the NHS.

Answer · Natalie Don: The role of ‘healthcare worker’ does not have a standard definition and the term is used for different roles within the health and social care workforce. An individual may work under the title of ‘healthcare worker’, but hold registration with the Scottish So…

18 Mar 2024 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many children in Aberdeen have been lifted out of poverty since the inception of the Scottish Child Payment.

18 Mar 2024 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what analysis of passenger behaviour and numbers has been carried out since the inception of the removal of peak rail fares pilot.

12 Mar 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, as part of any work that it is undertaking to understand and address gambling harms in Scotland, what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding its proposals to introduce stake limits for online slot games.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government has welcomed regular engagement with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport officials in UK Government to discuss a range of gambling policy matters, including its proposals to introduce stake limits for online slot games. The Sco…

12 Mar 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, as part of any work that it is undertaking to understand and address gambling harms in Scotland, whether it has had any discussions with the UK Government regarding the potential disbursement of any funds raised through its proposed statutory levy on gambling operators, in the event tha…

Answer · Jenni Minto: The statutory levy will be applied across Great Britain and will be used to support potential spending on projects and services across all three nations to reduce gambling related harms. We continue to work with the UK Government and the Welsh Government ove…

12 Mar 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, as part of any work that it is undertaking to understand and address gambling harms in Scotland, what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding (a) its proposed statutory levy on gambling operators and (b) the rates that gambling operators should pay in the event that the …

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government have been actively engaging with the UK Government and the Welsh Government on the Levy, including on how funds could be allocated and will continue to do so now that the formal consultation process has concluded, and we await publicat…

12 Mar 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to encourage people who have been diagnosed with HIV but who are no longer considered as attending specialist care to re-engage with these services, in light of reports that there are an estimated 961 such people in Scotland.

Answer · Jenni Minto: he importance of retaining individuals living with HIV in treatment and care is recognised in the UNAIDS/WHO targets and the Scottish HIV Transmission Elimination Proposal as one of the five pillars of interventions (entry into and retention in specialist HIV…

12 Mar 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to monitor the blood borne virus testing pilot that is currently taking place at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary's A&E department.

Answer · Jenni Minto: Local evaluation will be conducted by the team at NHS Grampian and will be followed by an overarching review of the three emergency department opt-out testing projects announced by myself last November.

12 Mar 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to introduce a national HIV testing week.

Answer · Jenni Minto: Following careful consideration by the HIV Transmission Elimination Scoping Group, and the advice of clinical and public health experts, the Scottish Government is not planning to introduce a national HIV testing week at this time. Given Scotland’s relatively…

12 Mar 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to extend blood borne virus testing to other A&E departments across Scotland.

Answer · Jenni Minto: There are no imminent plans to expand emergency department opt-out blood borne virus testing to other areas. It is important that decisions about any further expansion are based on the best available evidence. The Scottish Government will use evaluation data …

12 Mar 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is on track to achieve its aim of ending new cases of HIV by 2030.

Answer · Jenni Minto: As outlined in the Scottish HIV Transmission Elimination Proposal, published on 1 December 2022, our aim is to achieve ‘zero people contracting HIV within Scotland by 2030’. To do so, one of the key interim targets is to achieve 100 or fewer first ever diagno…

12 Mar 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people with undiagnosed HIV it estimates there are in Scotland, and what action it plans to take to encourage people to access HIV testing.

Answer · Jenni Minto: Public Health Scotland estimates that approximately 500 individuals, equivalent to 7% of the cohort living with HIV in Scotland, are undiagnosed. A range of testing initiatives are being implemented to encourage people to access HIV testing. The Scottish Gov…

12 Mar 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many hydrogen vehicle refuelling sites there currently are in Scotland.

Answer · Gillian Martin: As set out in our Hydrogen Action Plan, hydrogen in the transport sector could act as a complementary energy source alongside electrification, providing an option to parts of the transport sector such as heavy duty vehicles, when full electrification is chall…

12 Mar 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage the use of hydrogen-powered boats and ships in Scotland.

Answer · Gillian Martin: As set out in our Hydrogen Action Plan, hydrogen and hydrogen-based fuels could play a significant role in the decarbonisation of the maritime industry. Our long-term goal is to reduce carbon emissions very substantially by 2045 and, ideally, to eliminate th…

12 Mar 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage the use of hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks in Scotland.

Answer · Gillian Martin: As set out in our Hydrogen Action Plan, hydrogen in the transport sector could act as a complementary energy source alongside electrification, providing an option to parts of the transport sector such as heavy duty vehicles, when full electrification is chall…

12 Mar 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the impact in Scotland, what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the modernisation of hydrogen storage and transportation regulations.

Answer · Gillian Martin: Regulations for hydrogen transport through pipelines and storage are reserved to the UK Government and so Scottish Government officials are in regular and close communication with UK Government counterparts on these matters. In December 2023, the UK Governme…

12 Mar 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support green manufacturing in Scotland, including the manufacture of hydrogen electrolysis equipment.

Answer · Gillian Martin: On Green Manufacturing , Scottish Government’s Making Scotland’s Future (MSF) programme includes a £75 million investment in the cutting edge facilities of the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS). NMIS’s mission is to make Scotland a global leade…

12 Mar 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to increase the number of hydrogen refuelling sites in Scotland.

Answer · Gillian Martin: As set out in our Hydrogen Action Plan, hydrogen in the transport sector could act as a complementary energy source alongside electrification, providing an option to parts of the transport sector such as heavy duty vehicles, when full electrification is chall…

12 Mar 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has undertaken to ascertain whether there is any presence of naturally produced "gold hydrogen" in Scotland.

Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government has not undertaken analysis to ascertain whether there is any presence of natural occurring hydrogen (sometimes called 'gold hydrogen') present in Scotland geology.  

12 Mar 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage the use of hydrogen-powered trains in Scotland.

Answer · Gillian Martin: As set out in our Hydrogen Action Plan, hydrogen in the transport sector could act as a complementary energy source alongside electrification, providing an option to parts of the transport sector such as parts of the rail network, when full electrification is…

12 Mar 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what work it or its agencies have undertaken to investigate the potential for using liquid hydrogen to power aircraft.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Hydrogen has been identified by various organisations, including the UK Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), as a key potential means of powering low/ zero emission flight. Ministers recently provided written support for a flagship liquid hydrogen project, ‘…

11 Mar 2024 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it has taken to support the provision of humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza.    

5 Mar 2024 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its progress towards introducing its proposed Land Reform Bill.

20 Feb 2024 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to Aberdeen's festivals.

13 Feb 2024 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review the operations of the Parole Board for Scotland. 

24 Jan 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of any potential disproportionate impact of UK visa restrictions, in relation to family members accompanying students, on students with children, what specific assessment it has conducted to understand any (a) gendered implications of these restrictions for students in Scotland…

Answer · Graeme Dey: Under the UK Government’s latest migration restrictions, as of 1 January 2024, most international students will no longer be able to bring family members with them to the UK. It is too early to assess the specific impact these changes are having, but we know …

24 Jan 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported contribution of international students to Scottish universities and the wider economy in Scotland, what specific assessment it has conducted to understand any potential impact of new UK visa restrictions, in relation to family members accompanying students.

Answer · Graeme Dey: The Scottish Government recognises the significant contribution that international students and their families bring to our economy, communities and culture. UK Government immigration policies fail to address Scotland’s distinct demographic and economic need…