Parliamentary questions
Monica Lennon
3,484 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
15 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had regarding the potential impact in Scotland of the UK Government's plans to develop an early warning system to detect synthetic opioids and emerging drugs, which will reportedly track drug presence in real-time through wastewater testing and overdose reports, u…
Answer · Christina McKelvie: Scottish Government officials have been meeting regularly with the UK Government and the other devolved nations to discuss and share plans around the potential impact of synthetic opioids. These meetings are now occurring on a monthly basis. This issue has al…
15 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what potential impact the COVID-19 pandemic is predicted to have on alcohol (a) consumption, (b) hospitalisations and (c) deaths in Scotland over the next 10 years.
Answer · Christina McKelvie: Modelling undertaken by Sheffield University looked at how alcohol consumption in Scotland changed during the COVID-19 pandemic and the longer-term implications over 20 years of these changes for public health. This found that on average, people in Scotland…
15 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it has taken to address alcohol harm since it was cited in the 2022-23 Scottish Budget as a public health emergency.
Answer · Christina McKelvie: The Scottish Government continues to take whole population and targeted approaches to tackle alcohol-related harms. We have laid legislation seeking the agreement of Parliament to continue Minimum Unit Pricing, and set the price per unit at 65 pence. Members …
15 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on alcohol (a) consumption, (b) hospitalisations and (c) deaths in Scotland.
Answer · Christina McKelvie: Public Health Scotland published a summary of evidence on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on alcohol consumption and harm in Scotland and England looking at data up to around 2021. This found that, overall, alcohol consumption decreased following the sta…
14 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-25890 by Siobhian Brown on 11 March 2024, when it will report back to the Parliament on its discussions with Police Scotland, local authorities and animal welfare organisations regarding the identification of XL Bully-type dogs.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: I provided an update to the Scottish Parliament on this issue when I appeared before the Parliament’s Criminal Justice Committee on 27 March 2024 to give evidence to the Committee on The Dangerous Dogs (Compensation and Exemption Schemes) (Scotland) Order …
13 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider regulating for the provision of Swift nest bricks in planning applications for new buildings and renovations over five metres in height, as a biodiversity enhancement.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: We have no current plans to regulate for the provision of swift nest bricks in planning applications for new buildings. All planning applications must be determined in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. Fo…
13 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider introducing a national policy for the installation of Swift bricks in builds and renovations.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Securing positive effects for biodiversity is one of six statutory outcomes for the National Planning Framework, as identified in section 3A(3)(c) of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997, as amended. National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) was adopt…
13 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of the scientific advice that it has received regarding (a) blue hydrogen technology, (b) green hydrogen technology and (c) carbon capture technology.
Answer · Gillian Martin: Many of the technologies required for hydrogen are already mature, however research and innovation still has an important role to play to reduce costs, improve integration models and efficiency to help enable the production and use of hydrogen at scale. We c…
13 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the connections between Peterhead Power Station and the Scottish Cluster in relation to enabling carbon capture.
Answer · Gillian Martin: It is proposed that the carbon capture project at Peterhead Power Station would connect into the CCS infrastructure being developed by the Acorn Project and the wider Scottish Cluster. This would see its emissions transported through shared pipelines and safe…
13 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what scientific advice it has considered regarding the proposal for a carbon capture storage facility at Peterhead Power Station.
Answer · Gillian Martin: It would not be appropriate to comment on a live application. A decision will be taken by Ministers in due course, following consideration of the application information, consultation responses and representations made by members of the public.
13 Mar 2024 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it can provide to any local authorities that are struggling to meet the rising costs associated with providing school transport, so that children and young people can travel to school in a safe, efficient and affordable manner.
12 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to help reduce the ethnicity pay gap.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government remains committed to addressing labour market inequalities for racialised minorities. Our Anti-Racist Employment Strategy published in December 2022 supports and encourages employers to address these inequalities. It provides guidance …
12 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken to ensure equitable access to Auditory Verbal therapy for all deaf children under the age of five whose families want them to learn to listen and speak.
Answer · Jenni Minto: Auditory Verbal UK is a suitable therapeutic intervention for some young people, and it remains an option that can be pursued by local health boards. The provision of services including suitable therapeutic intervention remains a matter for local authorities…
12 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to (a) NHS boards and (b) local authorities to ensure that there is sufficient funding for the training of (i) audiologists, (ii) speech and language therapists and (iii) teachers of the deaf in the provision of Auditory Verbal therapy to help improve outcome…
Answer · Jenni Minto: Auditory Verbal therapy is one of a number of methods used to provide support for deaf children. NHS Boards and local authorities are responsible for ensuring the services they deliver best meet the needs of their local population. As such, any decisions aro…
12 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what steps are being taken to ensure that there is sufficient funding for the training of Auditory Verbal therapists to enable all deaf children to have the opportunity to access this specialist support.
Answer · Jenni Minto: There are no plans at present for any additional funding of additional Auditory Verbal therapists.
12 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what work it has done to tackle any issues associated with the reported rise in so-called fast fashion.
Answer · Lorna Slater: Scottish Ministers are aware of the environmental impacts of so-called fast fashion. Information and advice for consumers on tackling fast fashion is provided by Zero Waste Scotland https://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/resources/how-fast-fashion-failing-envir…
12 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many electric buses are currently in operation in Scotland.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Department for Transport publish statistics on all licensed plug-in vehicles for each quarter and this provides the total number of bus and coaches operating in Scotland. The data is captured at data sheet VEH0141 and can be found at the following link …
12 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many dental practices in the NHS Lanarkshire area that provide NHS services have currently closed or suspended their list to new patients.
Answer · Jenni Minto: This information is not held by the Scottish Government The list of practices accepting new patients in NHS Lanarkshire can be found at: Dental Practices accepting new NHS patients | NHS Lanarkshire (scot.nhs.uk), and as with all Boards, is subject to chan…
11 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, as part of its work to address sexual misconduct in sport, what action it has taken to encourage professional sports clubs to implement their own publicly available sexual misconduct policy.
Answer · Maree Todd: Gender equality is at the heart of the Scottish Government’s vision for a fairer Scotland, one where women and girls have and are empowered to exercise equal rights and opportunities, have equitable access to economic resources and decision making, and live t…
8 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact of the UK Government's alcohol duty freeze in the Spring Statement on (a) public health harm, (b) alcohol deaths and (c) hospitalisations due to alcohol consumption in Scotland.
Answer · Christina McKelvie: Powers to set alcohol duty are reserved to the UK Government. The Scottish Government would strongly recommend that the UK Government considers public health as part of any review to alcohol duty, and clearly considers potential effects and impacts of decisio…
8 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will adopt the recommendations in the report, Consideration of the effectiveness of the Scottish Government’s Climate Change Plan, which was published by Environmental Standards Scotland in February 2024.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Scottish Government welcomes the report by the Environmental Standards Scotland published in February 2024. As outlined in their report, the previous 2018 Climate Change Plan received recommendations from committees of the Scottish Parliament and the Clim…
7 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to (a) deliver fair work for lecturers and support staff, (b) prevent compulsory redundancies and (c) protect students from the impact of any reduction in funding, in light of reports of an ongoing industrial dispute, which resulted in hundreds of lecturers and s…
Answer · Graeme Dey: The Scottish Government expects fair work principles to be adhered to in the college sector. To support fair work in the college sector, the Scottish Government recently introduced legislation to add trade union nominees to college boards, which will improve …
7 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what contribution further education is making to the delivery of a worker-led just transition in Scotland.
Answer · Lorna Slater: The education and skills system is critical to the delivery of a just transition and the further education sector is actively supporting individuals to gain the skills and knowledge they need to participate in the green economy. Our forthcoming Just Transiti…
7 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its work in relation to the National Public Energy Agency.
Answer · Patrick Harvie: The National Public Energy Agency – Heat and Energy Efficiency Scotland (HEES) – has been operating in virtual form in-house within the Directorate for Energy and Climate Change since October 2022. The resources allocated to the Agency are integrated into the…
6 Mar 2024 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on NHS Lanarkshire's recovery plans.
1 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to increase digital access for adults aged 60 and over, in light of the 2022 Scottish Household Survey finding that 44% of disabled adults and 19% of non-disabled adults aged 60 and over do not use the internet.
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government is keenly aware of the importance of increasing digital access for all people in Scotland. Through programmes such as Connecting Scotland, the Scottish Government is taking action to improve digital access for multiple priority groups,…
1 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to increase digital access in areas of high deprivation, in light of the 2022 Scottish Household Survey finding that 16% of households in the 20% most deprived areas in Scotland lack internet access at home and 31% of households with a net annual income of betwee…
Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government is keenly aware of the importance of increasing digital access for all people in Scotland. Through programmes such as Connecting Scotland, the Scottish Government is taking action to improve digital access for multiple priority groups,…
1 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will reallocate the funding earmarked for freezing Council Tax in (a) Inverclyde and (b) Argyll and Bute to other local authorities or public services, in light of reports of these councils not agreeing to the proposed freeze.
Answer · Tom Arthur: Scottish Ministers remain committed to working with councils to ensure that all households across Scotland benefit from a council tax freeze in 2024-25. Our offer to Argyll and Bute Council and Inverclyde Council to deliver a freeze in 2024-25 remains on the …
29 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when it will introduce its proposed Land Reform Bill to the Parliament.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Bill was introduced on Wednesday 13 March, and published on Thursday 14 March 2024.
28 Feb 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it is assisting local authorities to establish investment savings bonds, as has reportedly been done elsewhere in the UK, including by Southwark Council.
Answer · Tom Arthur: Scottish Government are not aware of any local authority that is considering establishing such bonds. A local authority's capital financing and investment arrangements are a matter for the authority. Whilst we would expect councils to engage appropriate spec…