Gail Ross

13 Nov 2019 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it gives to organisations and public sector bodies to mitigate the effects of fuel poverty in remote and rural areas.

13 Nov 2019 · SPCB Oral Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what consideration it has given to introducing remote voting and video conferencing options for Members.

6 Nov 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assistance it gives to remote rural communities that depend on air services to connect to the rest of Scotland and beyond.

4 Nov 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much each section of the A9 dualling work will cost.

Answer · Michael Matheson: To date, we have delivered the £35m contract between Kincraig and Dalraddy, which opened to traffic in September 2017, and have made good progress on the second section between Luncarty and Pass of Birnam at an estimated cost of £96m. Construction of this sec…

4 Nov 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to tackle illegal dredging in marine protected areas.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Currently, all reports made to Marine Scotland Compliance of suspected incursions into Marine Protected Areas are assessed to see if immediate action is possible. Where there are available resources (aircraft or vessel) and this is in line with current priori…

9 Oct 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to protect the red squirrel through encouraging local authorities to provide appropriate signage to warn drivers of their presence in areas of woodland.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government has approved official road signs warning road users of the presence of red squirrels for a number of locations across Scotland in the past and will continue to approve similar applications for signs that are considered appropriate. It…

25 Sep 2019 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assistance it can give to teachers and staff from remote and rural areas to access training and CPD.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government fully supports professional learning for the education staff based in remote and rural areas. The Regional Improvement Collaboratives, funded by Scottish Government, allow teachers, and the wider education workforce, to access support …

19 Sep 2019 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will announce (a) the outcome of the Northern Isles Ferry Services tender and (b) its plans to reduce ferry fares to the Northern Isles.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Following a fair and transparent public procurement competition, I can today confirm that the preferred bidder to operate the Northern Isles Ferry Services is Serco Ltd. We now enter a statutory ten-day standstill period, before confirming the formal award of…

17 Sep 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what role seagrass meadows, and similar blue carbon ecosystems, play in helping Scotland reach its climate change targets.

3 Sep 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when Scottish Natural Heritage plans to update its data recording trends in red deer culls, and how this information will be presented.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Information on reported deer culls in Scotland is published on the Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) website. In early 2019 SNH commissioned the James Hutton Institute to undertake some further work on red deer population trends, including culls, and this work …

3 Sep 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of the effectiveness of the recent deer management planning investment by Scottish Natural Heritage to protect notified upland and woodland protected areas for nature conservation, and what its response is to reports that this has led to higher levels of …

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Between 2014 and 2018 Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has provided around £240k funding and support for Deer Management Groups to develop deer management plans. The most recent figures available for 2017 – 18 show the highest reported deer cull taken in Scotl…

26 Aug 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making in meeting its climate change targets, and how it works with the agricultural sector to maximise the potential that farmers have to help achieve these.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: We are on track to meeting Scotland’s world-leading climate change targets, with emissions down by 47% between 1990 and 2017. Scottish farmers already play a key role in this progress, including contributing to emissions reduction through forestry, land use …

18 Jun 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it spent in 2018-19 on each of the three PSO air routes that it operates.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The cost of the contract for the air services from Glasgow to Campbeltown, Tiree and Barra in 2018-19 was £4,404,319.61.

28 May 2019 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what actions the Scottish Government is taking to investigate the disenfranchisement of EU nationals who were denied their vote at the recent EU elections.

7 May 2019 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will provide a progress update regarding the Northern Isles Ferry Services tender.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Court of Session judgment on 26 April 2019, dismissing Pentland Ferries’ petition for Judicial Review, allows the tender for the Northern Isles Ferry Services to proceed as set out in the competition documents. I can also confirm that Transport Scotland …

17 Apr 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what research is taking place into citizen engagement and satisfaction with the new BBC Scotland channel.

27 Mar 2019 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it plans to take to re-engage the Rural GP Association with its Remote and Rural General Practice Working Group.

18 Mar 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress of the Advanced Manufacturing Challenge Fund.

13 Mar 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the North Coast 500 has changed the economy of the north Highlands.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-22151 on 27 March 2019. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/…

13 Mar 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the North Coast 500 has benefited the country.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Since its establishment in 2015, the North Coast 500 has delivered economic benefits to the area. An initial impact review of the North Coast 500 was commissioned by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) in 2017, and this found that the route had attracted …

13 Mar 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how fostering and adoption services vary between local authorities.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government does not collect information about local fostering and adoption services. Rather it provides the legislative framework for fostering and adoption services in Scotland through the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007 and the Looked…

13 Mar 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to make the process for fostering and adoption easier and quicker.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government is aware of the importance of making these processes easier and quicker where possible without detracting from the crucial safeguarding of children that these processes seek to ensure. The Scottish Government recognises that permanent,…

13 Mar 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last carried out a review of the fostering and adoption service.

Answer · Maree Todd: Fostering and adoption services in Scotland are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Through the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010, the Scottish Government established Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland, known as the Care Inspectorate to inde…

13 Mar 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the membership of the Seaweed Review Steering Group will be chosen.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: During the parliamentary scrutiny of the Scottish Crown Estate Act 2019, I committed to establishing a seaweed review steering group to be drawn from key environmental agencies, non-governmental organisations and sectoral stakeholders. Membership would be wid…

27 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how Scottish agriculture would be affected by a no deal Brexit.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: A no deal Brexit is likely to be catastrophic for Scottish agriculture, and could have a particularly severe impact on trade, especially for the sheep sector. Analysis from the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute shows that in the longer term, if …

20 Feb 2019 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will provide a progress update on the Northern Isles Ferry Services tender.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Invitation to Tender (ITT) for the Northern Isles Ferry Services was issued to CalMac Ferries Ltd, Förde Reederei Seetouristik GmbH & Co. KG (FRS) and Serco NorthLink Ltd on 17 January. The ITT will be published on Transport Scotland’s website today. Pen…

19 Feb 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the possible impact of Brexit on the local government workforce in Scotland.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Local authorities are independent bodies and as such are responsible for their own workforce planning. The Scottish Government sent a questionnaire to all Scottish public bodies, including all Scottish local authorities, in July last year to determine how pr…

15 Feb 2019 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making on completing the devolution of forestry by bringing into force the Forestry and Land Management (Scotland) Act 2018.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: A package of regulations was laid on 15 February which will bring into force the Forestry and Land Management (Scotland) Act 2018 on 1 April 2019. This package also creates a new regime for the regulation of forestry, which is based on the current regime to e…

14 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government in what circumstances a woman aged (a) under 25 and (b) over 65 can request an NHS smear test.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Government, along with the rest of the UK is advised on all aspects of screening by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) an independent expert advisory group. The UK NSC currently recommends that women should be screened routinely for cer…

14 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether there are any plans for the NHS to introduce home smear tests.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Government takes advice from the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), an independent expert advisory group which advises Ministers and the NHS in the four UK countries about all aspects of screening policy. The UK NSC are currently reviewin…