Parliamentary questions
Monica Lennon
3,484 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
31 Jan 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-24004 by Jenny Gilruth on 8 January 2024, regarding the agreement to meet with senior education officers of North Lanarkshire Council, in relation to the consultation involving both Condorrat and Baird Memorial primary schools, "in the new year", wh…
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Officials from the Scottish Government met with North Lanarkshire Council on 25 January 2024 to discuss matters relating to the consultation involving Condorrat and Baird Memorial primary schools. Although the consultation has concluded and these matters are …
31 Jan 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it is measuring success in its performance against key success metrics in relation to its total budget spend for the (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23 financial year.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Consolidated Accounts are published annually and include a Performance Report which includes a Performance Overview and Performance Analysis, with high level financial information split by portfolio. The Consolidated Accounts for the years noted can be fo…
31 Jan 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will be establishing an independent public inquiry into the reported overspend in relation to Ferguson Marine.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Scottish Government’s current focus is on our previously stated objectives to complete the vessels for our island communities, to support the workforce of Ferguson Marine and to ensure a sustainable future for the shipyard. The spend on the vessels is su…
30 Jan 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider introducing the standard, PAS 2080, into procurement standards for public authorities.
Answer · Tom Arthur: The recently revised PAS 2080 by the British Standards Institute (BSI), is welcomed as a voluntary standard that can assist public authorities in managing carbon in building and infrastructure projects. Our current position is that the incorporation of PAS 2…
30 Jan 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider implementing any of the recommendations in the Climate Emergency Response Group report, Committing to delivery: Certainty and leadership for a just transition to a net zero, climate resilient future for Scotland.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Scottish Government welcomed the Climate Emergency Response Group’s (CERG) annual report, which set out their four key areas of proposed action. We are already taking action to address many of the issues highlighted by CERG, including: undertaking a pilo…
30 Jan 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered establishing a "net zero test", similar to the New Zealand Government's climate impact of policy assessment, for all policy and investment decisions, as recommended by the Climate Emergency Response Group.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Scottish Government is currently undertaking a pilot to introduce a net zero assessment, with the intention of a full roll out later this year. In developing the methodology for the pilot, we have looked at variety of existing approaches from other countr…
29 Jan 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the conduct of Erudio Student Loans, and any impact of its debt recovery practices on people in Scotland.
Answer · Graeme Dey: The Scottish Government regularly engages with the UK Government and devolved government administrations in respect of student financial support matters. However, we have not been made aware of any issues relating to the conduct of Erudio Student Loans debt r…
29 Jan 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the number of people in Scotland who have loans payable to Erudio Student Loans Company, including those with deferred payments.
Answer · Graeme Dey: The Scottish Government does not receive information on the number of people in Scotland who have loans payable to Erudio Student Loans Company.
29 Jan 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with NHS Forth Valley regarding the future of ward 6 for women's health at the Forth Valley Royal Hospital, in light of reported concerns that the ward may close.
Answer · Neil Gray: I expect all NHS Boards, including NHS Forth Valley, to keep their services under review to ensure that they are of the highest quality; and that they meet the needs of local people, whilst remaining consistent with national policies and frameworks. NHS Fort…
29 Jan 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of research published in the Annals of Oncology journal, which reports an expected rise in bowel cancer death rates for adults aged 25 to 49 years in the UK by 26% for men and 39% for women, including (a) what data is available for Scotland, (b) what action it…
Answer · Neil Gray: (a) There are a number of published data sets available in Scotland that help us understand bowel cancer. These are facilitated by Public Health Scotland and include data on incidence, mortality, staging, waiting times for cancer organised by tumour type. Ca…
29 Jan 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the capacity of police dog pounds, in light of reports that they are full ahead of the XL bully dog restrictions coming into force.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: Following the recent Scottish Government announcement on XL Bully dog safeguards, Scottish Government officials are continuing to engage with Police Scotland about the impact of enforcing this change to the law, including any impact on police dog kennels.
26 Jan 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which (a) companies and (b) non-governmental organisations were invited to the St Andrew’s Day reception that it hosted during COP28 in Dubai.
Answer · Neil Gray: The following list of companies and organisations were invited to the St Andrew’s Day reception during COP28 in December 2023: Abu Dhabi Aviation CPI media Islamic Finance Guru Radisson AD Ports Group DAHC JM Foods Retail Is Detail LLC of Alabbar Ente…
26 Jan 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide a full list of the non-government representatives who were part of its delegation to COP28, including private organisations such as businesses and trade associations.
Answer · Neil Gray: The following list of companies part in Scotland’s business delegation to COP28 in December 2023: Company COP 28 Attendees Aquatera 4 Delegates AstroAgency Limited 1 Delegate CCU International 1 Delegate D-CAT 1 Delegate Green Bioact…
26 Jan 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it marked Clean Air Day on 15 June 2023.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: Clean Air Day (CAD) is an important opportunity to raise awareness of the impacts of poor air quality on human health and the environment and the actions to address it. CAD 2023 saw a variety of events taking place across the country such as poster competitio…
26 Jan 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it undertook any action to mark Clean Air Night on 24 January 2024.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: Clean Air Night 2024 was the first such event, and has been introduced to complement Clean Air Day, which has taken place since 2017 with funding support from the Scottish Government. The Scottish Government will consider how to engage with future Clean Air…
26 Jan 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S6W-23867 and S6W-23868 by Joe FitzPatrick on 11 January 2024, whether it can provide an update on the work of the Fair Work Working Group in relation to New Year's Day trading.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Fair Work Working Group (FWWG) continues to explore ways to promote all aspects of fair work across the sector, finding common ground on good fair work practices which will be both meaningful and impactful and will encourage retail businesses to demonstra…
26 Jan 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide an update on its work in implementing the recommendations of the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee report, The role of local government and its cross-sectoral partners in financing and delivering a net-zero Scotland.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Scottish Government welcomed the Committee’s thorough and wide-ranging report and we are committed to working with local government to deliver our shared climate change goals. Following the Committee’s Inquiry, COSLA and the Scottish Government is workin…
26 Jan 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide details of how NHS 24 ensures that calls regarding mental health are properly triaged.
Answer · Michael Matheson: NHS 24 ensures that mental health calls are correctly triaged through training, support for frontline staff and ongoing oversight and review of calls and processes. All new staff undertake a robust four-week induction training programme, and Psychological We…
23 Jan 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider adopting a policy that requires developers of five or more holiday pods or chalets to develop at least one of these units in line with the inclusive design principles set out in British Standard BS 8300-2:2018.
Answer · Patrick Harvie: Building regulations already require that, in residential buildings, a proportion of rooms intended to be used as bedrooms must be accessible to a wheelchair user. Guidance offered within the Building Standards Technical Handbooks promotes an inclusive approa…
23 Jan 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide details of the uptake of reusable nappy vouchers through the QR code on the Baby Box.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: We commenced the issuing of reusable nappy kit vouchers via a QR code at the start of September 2023, giving parents the option to register for the reusable nappy kits by QR code or by post. Data from our Baby Box Managing Agent covering the period September…
23 Jan 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when the Scottish National Investment Bank's advisory group will be established, and how often it will meet.
Answer · Neil Gray: Under Section 29 of the Scottish National Investment Bank Act 2020, the Scottish Ministers must establish and maintain an advisory group to provide Ministers with advice on the Bank’s objects, conduct and performance. Now that the Bank is fully established, …
22 Jan 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-24720 by Jenni Minto on 22 January 2024, whether it can provide information on (a) the names of (i) organisations that and (ii) individuals who are members of the Expert Group on eliminating cervical cancer, (b) whether the Expert Group's membership…
Answer · Jenni Minto: As announced on 22 January, an Expert Group will be established to lead on scoping work to consider and provide recommendations on how Scotland will work towards reaching the targets set by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to eliminate Cervical Cancer. We…
22 Jan 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any concerns regarding the reported reduction in the number of specialist palliative care beds at hospices, in light of the situation at Kilbryde Hospice.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government is aware of the temporary reduction in beds at Kilbryde Hospice. South Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) has been clear that the temporary reduction of beds is due to clinical and operational reasons associated wit…
19 Jan 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it can detail what its policies are in relation to designing clinical models for independent hospices.
Answer · Jenni Minto: It is for Integration Joint Boards to govern, plan and resource adult palliative care in their areas, including independent hospice care. The Scottish Government is developing a national guidance framework to support local planning and commissioning of indepe…
19 Jan 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to increase capacity in hospices.
Answer · Jenni Minto: It is for Integration Joint Boards to govern, plan and resource adult palliative care in their areas, including independent hospice care, using the integrated budget under their control. The Scottish Government is not taking action to increase capacity in ho…
17 Jan 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that local authorities have lost in-house expertise on trees, green infrastructure, biodiversity and nature conservation, and what action it will take to address any workforce and skills pressures in these areas.
Answer · Lorna Slater: Local authorities are independent corporate bodies with their own powers and responsibilities. It is up to each local authority how it manages its day-to-day business and decision making processes, including the allocation of staff resources and the level of …
11 Jan 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6O-02933 by Christina McKelvie on 10 January 2024, whether it has set a deadline for the full or partial reopening of sites where access has been restricted, following the conclusion of Historic Environment Scotland’s inspection programme at the end of…
Answer · Christina McKelvie: Further to my response to the question S60-02933 on 10 January 2024, I have not set a deadline for the full or partial reopening of sites affected by high level masonry issues. Historic Environment Scotland continues to put the health and safety of individual…
9 Jan 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what urgent action it is taking to support the mental health and wellbeing of teachers and other workers impacted by violent and abusive behaviour in schools.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of teachers and education professionals impacted by violent and abusive behaviour in schools. Violence is never acceptable, and the safety of both pupils and staff is paramount. No staf…
8 Jan 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-23572 by Mairi McAllan on 14 December 2023, by what date it estimates that the draft Climate Change Plan would need to be published in order to allow a final version to be laid in the Parliament in March 2025, and, in determining this date, how many…
Answer · Mairi McAllan: Under the terms of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009, the statutory deadline for laying a draft of the Climate Change Plan is 22 November 2024. However, statute also requires time for consideration of representations received during the statutory scrutin…
21 Dec 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact of its 2024-25 Budget on local community and voluntary organisations.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The 2024-25 Scottish Budget is a budget built on our values - setting out, in tough times, to protect people, sustain services, and take pragmatic steps to addressing the climate emergency. All budget decisions are subject to robust assessment in line with th…