Parliamentary questions

Colin Smyth

990 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

22 Sep 2021 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will implement part 3 of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 to allow local authorities to bring forward proposals to directly run bus services in their area.

13 Sep 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on banning greyhound racing.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government considers that the provisions of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006, as amended, are sufficient to ensure that action can be taken if the welfare of greyhounds, whether still racing or retired, is not being met. The prov…

13 Sep 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it has provided to bus operators in receipt of government funding on returning services to pre-pandemic levels.

Answer · Graeme Dey: Throughout the pandemic we have supported bus operators to keep Scotland moving, and have made up to £210 million in additional financial support available since June 2020. Operators receiving this funding enter into public service contracts and are required …

13 Sep 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to enforce the wearing of face coverings on ScotRail trains.

Answer · Graeme Dey: By law, you must wear a face covering on trains and inside railway stations in Scotland. ScotRail has clearly communicated this message to customers via prominent signage and announcements on trains and within stations, social media messaging and joint media…

8 Sep 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to reduce the number of prisoners who are on remand.

5 Sep 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it takes to promote the wearing of helmets by cyclists.

Answer · Graeme Dey: The wearing of a cycle helmet is not a requirement in the UK and remains a matter of personal choice. The wearing of cycle helmets is covered by the Highway Code and is a matter reserved to the UK Government, however the Scottish Government is committed to i…

1 Sep 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle the reported shortage of housing in rural areas.

25 Aug 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported proposals by ScotRail to no longer run 300 train services from May 2022.

16 Aug 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it plans to take to tackle the issue of nuisance gulls in town centres in situations where growing gull populations are impacting on the quality of life of residents.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: I refer the member to the answer to PQ S6W–02294 on ? 9 September 2021. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees…

16 Aug 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have received a different COVID-19 vaccine for their second dose than the one they received for their first dose, broken down by the circumstances in which this has occurred.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: As of August 23rd there are 8,220 records flagged receiving 2 doses of mixed COVID-19 vaccine products in the National Clinical Data Store (NCDS). There are 7,697,632 total records ( first and second doses ) in the NCDS relating to COVID-19 vaccinations ther…

16 Aug 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason people under 40 who were given the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for their first dose, prior to the recommendation that this age group should receive an alternative vaccine, are not being offered the option of an alternative vaccine for their second dose.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) have recommended that, where operationally possible, those aged under 40 should receive an alternative to the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine. However, everybody who has already had a first dose of the Ox…

16 Jun 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what additional support it will provide to the hospitality sector to mitigate against the impact of the COVID-19 restrictions.

8 Jun 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to update crofting law in the current parliamentary session, and what timeline it has for publishing any legislation.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government remains committed to modernising crofting law to make it more transparent, understandable and workable. This is a complex area of work and officials will continue to engage with key crofting stakeholders with issues for consideration b…

21 May 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the timescale is for carrying out a feasibility study into the extension of the Borders Railway, as agreed within the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal, and what progress has been made on this to date.

Answer · Graeme Dey: Consideration of options for extending the Borders Railway continues to be undertaken through the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2). This is a national appraisal of strategic transport interventions and will conclude later this year. As deta…

21 May 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the analysis of the feedback on the Phase 1 Strategic Transport Projects Review 2 Recommendations.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Transport Scotland published the draft Phase 1 recommendations and an update on the second Strategic Transport Projects Review on 3 February 2021. This included National and Regional Case for Change Reports which contained a list of transport options that are…

21 May 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish Phase 2 of the Strategic Transport Projects Review 2.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Due to the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, we have taken a two phased approach to the second Strategic Transport Projects Review. Phase 1 recommendations, which were published on 3 February 2021, identify short-term investment priorities in line …

10 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government who it consulted with when determining its preferred location of Cairnryan for a Border Control Post.

Answer · Michael Russell: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-35934 on 18 March 2021 . 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…

10 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the waterfront in Stranraer was ruled out as its preferred location for a Border Control Post.

Answer · Michael Russell: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-35934 on 18 March 2021. 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/…

10 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government where its preferred location in Cairnryan is for a Border Control Post.

Answer · Michael Russell: The Scottish Government has not yet identified a preferred location for a Border Control Post to service the ports at Loch Ryan and Cairnryan. A number of sites have been identified, one of which is the old Ferry Terminal in Stranraer, which is the stated pre…

4 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-35100 by Mairi Gougeon on 18 February 2021, in light of the delay of the reviews of the SIGN guidelines because of the COVID-19 pandemic, what consideration it has given to Healthcare Improvement Scotland providing temporary endorsement for NHS Scot…

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Where there is no SIGN guideline on a particular topic, the Scottish Government expect healthcare professionals to look for another high quality, evidence-based guideline (e.g NICE, RCP, RCEM). This was the expectation prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and conti…

2 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact that freeports might have on the (a) National Transport Strategy Delivery Plan to 2022 and (b) Strategic Transport Projects Review 2.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The appraisal process within the Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2), not the National Transport Strategy (NTS2) Delivery Plan, is the appropriate mechanism to consider the impact of potential changes to movement of people and goods at a national leve…

2 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with UK Government (a) ministers and (b) officials since 1 January 2017 to discuss freeports.

Answer · Ivan McKee: I met with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury in September 2020, January 2021 and most recently on 16 February to discuss the development of implementation of the Scottish Government’s tailored green port model for Scotland. Scottish Government officials ha…

27 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the feasibility study for the former Ayr Station Hotel.

Answer · Michael Matheson: South Ayrshire Council are leading on the work to determine the most appropriate option for the former Ayr Station Hotel via a comprehensive feasibility study coordinated through the Ayr Station Strategic Governance Group. The Scottish Government, through Tr…

26 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the potential impact on Scotland of the UK Government's consultation on changes to the Electronic Communications Code.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: All legislative and regulatory responsibility for telecommunications rests with the UK Government and Ofcom respectively, and as such, the current consultation relates to a reserved matter. However, the Scottish Government is supportive of the Electronic Comm…