Alex Rowley

20 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether closing rail ticket offices will increase or decrease rail passenger numbers.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The consultation phase of ScotRail’s review on ticket office opening hours closed on 2 February. Transport Focus, the independent watchdog for transport users, is in the process of collating responses in order to produce a report of the consultation outputs. …

20 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether reducing 300 rail services from pre-pandemic levels will increase or decrease rail passenger numbers.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: ScotRail’s May 2022 timetable, benefiting from careful consideration of the consultation feedback, is significantly better than the May 2021 timetable, with 150 more services per day. The aim is to build weekday passenger capacity to more than 590,000 seats, …

22 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what economic impact assessment it has undertaken on the effect of Brexit on Scottish businesses and jobs.

Answer · Angus Robertson: The Scottish Government continues to closely monitor the impact of Brexit on businesses, jobs and the wider economy. The latest Business Impact and Conditions (BICS) survey for December shows that Brexit is having a visible impact on Scottish businesses, wit…

22 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the reported comments from the Mayor of Tees Valley that investors are choosing regions of England over Scotland for industrial investments due to Scotland not having a freeport policy or freeport status.

Answer · Ivan McKee: The Scottish Government has always been consistent in wanting to deliver a green port model which has a strong focus on a just transition to net zero and fair work. We have been in active discussion with UK Ministers on a joint approach that will deliver thes…

20 Dec 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met the UK Government to discuss the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and what the outcome was.

20 Dec 2021 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address any workforce issues in social care, in light of comments from the Chief Executive of Scottish Care that the social care sector is facing the biggest workforce crisis it has ever experienced.

13 Dec 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage uptake of science subjects by secondary school pupils.

9 Nov 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will undertake a cross-government COVID-19 strategic review into the impact of the pandemic on frontline public services.

2 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that there has been a 44% increase in the number of people paying for private procedures since 2019 and that waiting lists for NHS outpatient appointments have reportedly risen to 400,000 over the first half of 2021, what its position is on whether this represents a …

Answer · Humza Yousaf: During 2020-21 the percentage of total NHS procedures carried out by non NHS-providers was 0.6%. Non-NHS provider figures relate to NHS patients treated in non-NHS locations such as private hospitals, hospices, nursing homes, care homes, etc. The impact of a…

13 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made to date on each of the key actions in the Women's Health Plan.

Answer · Maree Todd: Since the publication of the Women’s Health Plan on 20 th August 2021, there has been progress towards the implementation of some of the short term actions within the Plan. For example, a menopause platform on NHS Inform was launched in October 2021. This is …

6 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what the estimated cost has been of establishing Social Security Scotland, and what the estimated (a) staff and running cost and (b) budget for the provision of social security payments is for (i) the current financial year and (ii) each of the next f…

Answer · Shona Robison: The Programme Business Case, published in February 2020, provides future forecasted operating costs for Social Security Scotland. The link to the Business Case can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.scot/publications/social-security-programme-bu…

28 Sep 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how it supports veterans, and what official statistics it records to monitor this.

1 Sep 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it collects statistics on the destinations of school leavers from private or fee-paying schools; what the reasons are for its position on this matter, and, if it does not collect such statistics, what its position is on the validity of its data on the inequality gap in education.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government does not collect statistics on private or fee-paying schools, including on the destinations of their leavers. Scottish Government statistical collections focus on publicly funded and Grant Aided schools for which it provides funding. …

31 Aug 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that NHS Forth Valley has the lowest figure in Scotland, at below 60%, for the proportion of people attending A&E who are seen within four hours, and what action it will take to investigate the reasons for this.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The COVID pandemic has inevitably affected A&E attendance and the pressure is being felt across the UK. Our NHS staff have faced unprecedented pressures over recent weeks as they work tirelessly and consistently to respond to the pandemic whilst continuing to…

26 Aug 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide support to Fife Health and Social Care Partnership, in light of reports of rising waiting times for the provision of home care packages to people assessed with such a need.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: We are in daily contact with Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs), and are monitoring the situation closely, including in Fife HSCP. Health Boards and HSCPs have provided assurances that people in need of the most urgent care will continue receiving ca…

25 Aug 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is considering a vaccine booster programme for the whole population, in light of findings in a recent study of people who are double-vaccinated, showing a decrease in protection from COVID-19 after six months.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: People who received their vaccination during the early stages of the national COVID-19 vaccination programme started to receive booster injections from 20 September. This follows advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) which adv…

17 Aug 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what additional budget it has made available to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service to meet the costs associated with malicious prosecutions in relation to the sale of Rangers Football Club, in light of reports that settlement payments have reached over £30 million.

Answer · Kate Forbes: Arrangements have been made so that the settlement of these costs will not affect the operational effectiveness of COPFS, and will not require to be met from the COPFS resource budget allocation. Any overall funding changes required to support expenditure co…

16 Aug 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent to date on infrastructure for electric vehicles, and how much it plans to spend in the next five years.

Answer · Graeme Dey: The Scottish Government continues to support investment in electric vehicle charging infrastructure, both for plug-in battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Across a range of programmes, we have invested £90 million in infrastructure related to bat…

13 Aug 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making towards establishing a public inquiry into COVID-19.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government remains committed both to a public inquiry to be set up this year to consider matters in relation to Scotland’s handling of the pandemic, and to placing bereaved families at the heart of our work to establish an inquiry including in th…

11 Aug 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of the 2021 exam grade results, broken down by (a) state and (b) independent schools.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government does not hold information on the 2021 grade results broken down by state and independent school. The SQA plan to publish information on results be centre type - Attainment Statistics for every National Qualification in 2021, tabulated…

11 Aug 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of pupils who sat exams in 2021 received the highest grades, broken down by (a) state and (b) independent schools.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government does not hold information on the 2021 grade results broken down by state and independent school. The SQA plan to publish information on 2021 results broken down by centre type on their website ( Statistics 2021 - SQA ) on 21 Septemb…

11 Aug 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of school leavers have gone to university from (a) state schools and (b) independent schools in each of the last five years.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government publishes information on the initial (3 months after leaving school) and follow-up (9 months after leaving school) destinations of school leavers from publicly funded schools. Initial destination: School education statistics - gov.sc…

3 Aug 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much water is lost due to leakage and what action it is taking to reduce water waste.

Answer · Michael Matheson: At 31 March 2021, Scottish Water reported leakage at 463 Megalitres per day – a reduction of over 55% since 2006. Scottish Water continues to invest to maintain and replace assets to further drive down leakage. Part 7 of the Water Resources (Scotland) Act 20…

2 Aug 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what financial support (a) it and (b) Creative Scotland provides to the independent theatre sector, what its response is to concerns by representatives of independent theatres that there are severe inequalities in the sector and an uneven playing field when it comes to government support…

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Creative Scotland provide a wide variety of support, both regular and project funding, to theatres of all types. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic the Scottish Government distributed emergency funds through two rounds of the Performing Arts Venues Relief …

2 Aug 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to using any relevant powers that it has to issue its own bonds to finance capital investment.

Answer · Kate Forbes: As the member will be aware, capital investment is funded from the Scottish Government’s capital budget and its limited borrowing powers. The annual Medium Term Financial Strategy which was last published alongside the Scottish Budget on 28 January, details …

17 Jun 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the (a) current and (b) future provision of sustainable transport, and what its response is to reports that Sustrans/Places for Everyone has been suspending applications for community projects, including some that were fully prepared for introduction.

Answer · Graeme Dey: The vision of our National Transport Strategy is that we will have a sustainable, inclusive, safe and accessible transport system, helping deliver a healthier, fairer and more prosperous Scotland for communities, businesses and visitors. The Strategy embeds t…

15 Jun 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to an NASUWT Scotland survey, which suggests that 53% of teachers have considered leaving the profession in the last year, feeling demoralised, unsupported and unrecognised.

10 Jun 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken on each of the 65 recommendations in the Salmon Farming in Scotland report published by the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee on the 27 November 2018.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government provided a response to the 65 recommendations included in the Salmon Farming in Scotland Report in January 2019. That response set out a range of actions already underway to support the sustainability of the sector. The response is ava…

24 May 2021 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government plans to take to support teachers with the challenges they face, in light of the reported concerns from teaching unions that there is a culture of "fear and anxiety" across Scottish education.

18 May 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how its policy of providing a bicycle to every child who cannot afford one will be administered.

Answer · Graeme Dey: We are currently considering options to deliver this scheme which will be informed by pilot projects. No decision has been made on how it will be administered.