Parliamentary questions

Monica Lennon

3,484 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

10 Sep 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the reported drop in the number of individuals accessing alcohol treatment services can be attributed to comprehensive and effective treatment not being readily available.

Answer · Jenni Minto: We have asked Public Health Scotland (PHS) to investigate the reasons behind the apparent 40% reduction in the number of people accessing specialist alcohol treatment services. We will use this information to better understand the reasons for treatment number…

10 Sep 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the forthcoming UK Alcohol Treatment Guidelines will (a) influence the national specification for alcohol treatment in Scotland and (b) ensure consistency across both alcohol and drug treatment services.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The UK clinical guidelines for alcohol treatment (UKCGAT) will help to influence the national specification and subsequent overarching guidance for alcohol treatment in Scotland through looking to introduce new approaches to treatment and will apply to a broa…

10 Sep 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take to ensure that the definition and delivery of rehabilitation services meet the comprehensive, long-term care needs of those seeking recovery.

Answer · Jenni Minto: Residential rehabilitation services in Scotland are regulated by appropriate governing bodies independent of the Scottish Government; namely the Care Inspectorate, Healthcare Improvement Scotland or the NHS.It is the responsibility of these bodies to monitor …

10 Sep 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-28615 by Christina McKelvie on 9 August 2024, how any insights gained from the core minimum dataset, which is expected to be published in December, will be utilised to improve residential rehabilitation services.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government will carefully consider the key insights from the experimental core minimum dataset when the first batch of information is published by Public Health Scotland in December 2024.It should be noted that this first publication is likely to…

10 Sep 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the definition of "rehabilitation" has been altered to include any form of "residential placement", in light of reported concerns that this potentially dilutes the understanding of what constitutes true rehabilitation.

Answer · Jenni Minto: No - we have set out a clear definition of what counts as residential rehabilitation and used it consistently since its publication in 2021.The Scottish Government uses the Residential Rehabilitation Development Working Group definition of residential rehab a…

10 Sep 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what specific metrics will be included in the monitoring and evaluation of residential rehabilitation through the core minimum dataset.

Answer · Jenni Minto: Public Health Scotland’s experimental core minimum dataset for the residential rehabilitation programme will include information on three core elements: client characteristics, client outcomes and the residential rehabilitation service pathways (includi…

10 Sep 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that the core minimum dataset is transparent and accessible to the public and stakeholders, in order to foster accountability and continuous improvement in rehabilitation services.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government responded to calls for more transparency and accountability by working with Public Health Scotland, who were commissioned to carry out an evaluation of the residential rehabilitation programme, including the establishment of an experim…

10 Sep 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what changes have been made to the National Drugs Mission plan to reflect the extension of the mission to alcohol, and how this has been communicated to (a) NHS boards, (b) local authorities and (c) local Alcohol and Drug Partnerships. 

Answer · Jenni Minto: No changes have been made to the National Mission.The National Mission was established to improve and save lives of people impacted by drugs. However, many service improvements supported by the Mission, such as residential rehabilitation, addressing stigma an…

10 Sep 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether its current actions in relation to alcohol are sufficient to address the scale of alcohol harm in Scotland, particularly in light of the latest alcohol-specific death statistics.

Answer · Jenni Minto: Every life lost to alcohol is a tragedy and the recent alcohol specific deaths statistics published by the National Records of Scotland is a stark reminder of the challenge we continue to face in tackling alcohol harm across Scotland.The Scottish Government c…

10 Sep 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether a letter was issued to local Alcohol and Drugs Partnerships in 2020, asking them to undertake local reviews of alcohol deaths every three years, and, if so, what the content was of that letter. 

Answer · Jenni Minto: The then Minister for Public Health, Sport and Wellbeing issued a letter to Alcohol and Drug Partnerships (ADPs) supporting the release of Alcohol Focus Scotland’s guidance on undertaking alcohol death reviews on 24 September 2020. The letter asked that…

10 Sep 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the National Mission on Drugs was extended to include alcohol.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The National Mission was established to improve and save lives of people impacted by drugs. However, given that many of the improvements to services, such as residential rehabilitation, included as part of the Mission are integrated for both alcohol and drugs…

10 Sep 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will remind local Alcohol and Drugs Partnerships (ADPs) of the expectation that they will undertake local alcohol death reviews every three years, and whether this expectation will be included in ADP funding letters in the future.

10 Sep 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many Alcohol and Drugs Partnerships have conducted local alcohol death reviews since 2020. 

Answer · Jenni Minto: We are aware of two alcohol death reviews that have been conducted since 2020. These were completed by the Borders Alcohol and Drug Partnership and NHS Fife.

10 Sep 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the value of local alcohol deaths reviews to enable improvements to be made in the provision and practice of local services that can reduce the risk of future deaths. 

Answer · Jenni Minto: Alcohol death reviews are a valuable practice for Alcohol and Drug Partnerships to undertake in order to gain a deeper and more detailed understanding of the circumstances surrounding alcohol-specific deaths. To assess to what extent the people who have died …

10 Sep 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will utilise the powers under the Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations 2012 to direct SEPA to temporarily or permanently refuse incineration permits.

Answer · Gillian Martin: As Scotland moves towards a circular economy, we must treat residual waste responsibly. This is why the Scottish Government commissioned the independent review of the role of incineration in the waste hierarchy (the Review), published in 2022.The Review under…

4 Sep 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that environmental impact assessments take into account seasonal variations in the surveyed environment.

Answer · Ivan McKee: Where an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is required, this must include a description of the relevant aspects of the current state of the environment and an outline of the likely evolution thereof without implementation of the project, as far as natural…

3 Sep 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-23975 by Mairi McAllan on 18 January 2024, whether the Acting Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy will commit to meeting with representatives of (a) the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance (BOGA), (b) core member nations of BOGA and (c) the Fossil Fue…

Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government will continue to engage with the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance, Fossil Fuel Non Proliferation Treaty and other international climate change initiatives as part of a wider ongoing programme of analysis and engagement with a range of organ…

3 Sep 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its engagement with the Under2 Coalition.

Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government is proud to have played a leading role in the Under2 Coalition for the past four years. The Coalition is made up of 260 governments representing over 1.75 billion people and 50% of the global economy and has been named one of the inter…

3 Sep 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-26809 by Mairi McAllan on 25 April 2024, whether it will detail any work that it has undertaken in relation to exploring joining the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance (BOGA) as a core member.

Answer · Gillian Martin: Alongside finalising the Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan (ESJTP), the Scottish Government continues to engage with the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance as part of a wider programme of analysis and engagement with a range of organisations and stakeholders.…

3 Sep 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will detail how its International Strategy aligns with its commitment to reducing carbon emissions.

Answer · Angus Robertson: Scotland's International Strategy - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) was launched in January 2024, building on the work of the Scottish Government’s Scotland's Global Affairs Framework - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).The International Strategy demonstrates the outcome…

2 Sep 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-29077 by Gillian Martin on 2 September 2024, whether, in principle, it is opposed to deep sea mining, and whether it will prohibit deep sea mining in a similar way to unconventional oil and gas extraction.

Answer · Gillian Martin: Deep sea mining refers to the exploration for - or extraction of - minerals from the seabed at depths greater than 200 metres. Most of Scotland’s waters of this depth or greater fall within existing Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Current Joint Nature Co…

30 Aug 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last reviewed its policy on the issuing of fishing quotas under the Fisheries Act 2020.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: All Scottish quota is issued in line with the requirements of the UK Fisheries Act 2020.On 7 June 2024, the Scottish Government published the outcome of its consultation on the allocation of Additional Quota. Additional Quota is the extra quota the UK receive…

30 Aug 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to tackle any modern slavery and human rights abuses in the fishing sector.

Answer · Siobhian Brown: Any form of human trafficking or exploitation is completely unacceptable. Police Scotland’s National Human Trafficking Unit (NHTU) continues to work closely with partners to monitor the threat, risk and harm posed by those exploiting vulnerable workers …

30 Aug 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Home Office regarding any human trafficking in the fishing sector.

Answer · Siobhian Brown: Any form of human trafficking or exploitation is completely unacceptable. Police Scotland’s specialist National Human Trafficking Unit continues to work closely with partners across the UK and internationally to tackle human trafficking. This includes t…

30 Aug 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the allocation of fishing quotas, whether it considers whether an operator aligns with its fair work framework as part of the Scottish Ministers' obligations under section 25 of the Fisheries Act 2020.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Section 25 of the UK Fisheries Act 2020 obliges the Scottish Government (and other UK national fisheries authorities) to utilise objective and transparent criteria related to social, environmental and economic factors when allocating quota. It also requires t…

30 Aug 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many fines it has issued in relation to fishing in restricted areas within Marine Protected Areas since 2020.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Since 2020 Marine Directorate have issued thirty Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) totalling £95,000 in relation to suspected fishing in restricted areas where the fishing method involved was prohibited. Of those thirty incidents, four were specifically with…

28 Aug 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the prevention of monkeypox.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government meets regularly with UK Government and UK Health Security Agency in response to Mpox.

28 Aug 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with NHS Lanarkshire regarding the prevention of monkeypox.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government have not met with NHS Lanarkshire to discuss the prevention of Mpox. However, Public Health Scotland, who are leading on planning and preparedness in Scotland, are working closely with public health colleagues across the UK, as well as…

26 Aug 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-29245 by Mairi Gougeon on 23 August 2024, whether it can provide details of the system that is in place to report collisions between its Marine Protection Vessels and (a) whales, (b) dolphins, (c) porpoises, (d) basking sharks, (e) seals a…

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government does not have a procedure in place to report collisions between its Marine Protection Vessels and cetaceans, basking sharks and other marine mammals. There have been no known incidences of collisions and so no procedure has been develo…

22 Aug 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding any impact on devolved benefits in Scotland, whether it will provide an update on any discussions that it has had with the UK Government regarding the (a) work capability assessment and (b) Universal Credit health element.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Further to the answer to S6W-24007 on 4 June 2024, Scottish Government officials regularly meet Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and have reiterated the need for effective co-operation on these matters in order to ensure that any negative impact on…