Alexander Burnett

24 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the removal of fireplaces in properties in rural communities in order to meet new housing standards, in light of the potential impact that this could have during events such as Storm Arwen, and whether it will consider allowing fireplaces to be kept as a back-up h…

Answer · Patrick Harvie: Social landlords are responsible for ensuring their housing stock complies with housing standards including the Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing (EESSH). Decisions on how the energy efficiency ratings required by EESSH are met, is an operational …

24 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the roll-out of the PAS 2035 standard.

Answer · Patrick Harvie: We already require projects funded as part of our fuel poverty schemes including Local Authority Area Based Schemes, Warmer Homes Scotland and the Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund to comply with all relevant building regulations, retrofit standards and guara…

24 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to support mobile operators to ensure that they have backup generators for rural mobile phone masts.

Answer · Kate Forbes: The Scottish Government recognises the vital importance of 4G for remote rural and island communities. Mobile telephony is however, as with wider Telecommunications policy, a Reserved subject area and the responsibility of the UK Government. The installation …

24 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether Unique Property Reference Numbers were used during Storm Arwen to locate people who are identified on the vulnerable persons list, and, if not, for what reason.

Answer · John Swinney: This is an operational matter for Category 1 responders, therefore the Scottish Government does not hold this information.

24 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the National Centre for Resilience will undertake a review of Storm Arwen.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government published a review into the preparation and response to Storm Arwen on 27 January 2022. We therefore do not consider there to be any need to commission a separate review from the National Centre for Resilience.

24 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what resilience planning is required by Scottish Water for events such as Storm Arwen to ensure that there are generators for pumping stations.

Answer · Michael Matheson: As part of Scottish Water’s emergency contingency planning, many of its Water Treatment Works already have permanent standby generators in place to ensure supplies can be maintained in the event of loss of power. During these recent storms, those permanent ge…

20 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the Bioenergy Expert Panel, including when it was or will be established, when it will next meet, and what sectoral representation is on the panel.

Answer · Michael Matheson: We expect the expert panel to be assembled in the coming months and to consist of a broad range of stakeholders. There are a diverse range of issues to be considered including biomass availability, competing demands, technology readiness, environmental and su…

20 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects COVID-19 restrictions to be eased to allow pregnant mothers to take their young children with them when attending midwife appointments, in order to alleviate the need to find alternative childcare.

Answer · Maree Todd: Scottish Government guidance ‘Visiting in Maternity and Neonatal Settings During COVID 19 Pandemic’ is intended to support maternity and neonatal units in developing local guidance for visiting. It sets out that, as a minimum, women may have one supportive pe…

20 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what measures are in place to ensure that women feel safe in their local areas.

Answer · Christina McKelvie: The Scottish Government is taking robust action to ensure that women feel safe by improving our laws, encouraging more victims of recent and historical cases to come forward and improving support. That is why our Equally Safe strategy continues to have a de…

20 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many incidents of violent crimes were recorded in each of the last 10 years.

Answer · Keith Brown: Table 1 shows the number of non-sexual crimes of violence recorded by the police in Scotland from 2011-12 to 2020-21. From 2019-20 onwards this includes new crimes recorded under the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018, following its enactment on 1 April 2019.…

20 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to run educational sessions for men in order to try and stop violence towards women.

Answer · Christina McKelvie: We are clear that there is no place for harassment or abuse of any form, whether in the workplace, schools, in the home, or in society. That is why Equally Safe, Scotland’s strategy to prevent and eradicate violence against women and girls, challenges the not…

19 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has asked under-22s who are eligible for the new free bus travel scheme not to apply to the scheme at this time or travel by bus, except for those for whom bus travel is essential, in light of there being no such restrictions on travel for other adults.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: We initially asked that only those with an essential need to travel by bus should apply due to the high rates of COVID-19 cases. This was intended to help minimise pressure on local councils, also impacted by the current situation with the pandemic, which are…

19 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether people who participated in the Novavax trial will be recognised as fully vaccinated on the NHS Scotland COVID Status app.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: We are grateful to everyone who has volunteered for vaccine trials in Scotland. They have all made a tremendous contribution to tackling the COVID-19 pandemic. At present, Novavax is not approved by the MHRA in the UK. For this reason, people who participate…

13 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether (a) boarding kennels and (b) other businesses that rely on the travel industry will be eligible for business funding support, made available in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2022.

Answer · Kate Forbes: The Scottish Government has announced £375m of business support to support businesses in the sectors most affected by the restrictions and guidance to control the spread of Omicron. This includes £6m for the most directly affected businesses in the tourism se…

13 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking to ensure that businesses that did not qualify for business funding support, made available in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2021 will be eligible for such support in 2022.

Answer · Kate Forbes: We announced £375m of business support to tackle Omicron and provided details on how £276m of this will be allocated. Decisions on the allocation of the remaining funds will be confirmed following further consultation with affected sectors on how it can best…

11 Jan 2022 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting the care inspectorate in its role of inspecting and assessing care homes.

11 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will review birth delivery methods, processes and practices, in light of reports that emergency caesarean section has become the main method of delivery in recent months.

Answer · Maree Todd: Following the publication of The Best Start – caesarean section rates: review report on 2 September 2021, the Scottish Government has asked the Maternity and Children’s Quality Improvement Collaborative (MCQIC), part of the Scottish Patient Safety Programme…

11 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it holds statistics on birth delivery methods in each NHS maternity ward for the last two years.

Answer · Maree Todd: Data on birth delivery methods are not collected or held centrally. Public Health Scotland collects and publishes data on method of delivery at NHS Board level in its annual Birth in Scottish Hospitals report. The most recent report, for the year ending 31 Ma…

11 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will review the criteria of qualifying recipients of the Scottish Child Payment and Bridging Payments so that children who are home-schooled are entitled to the equivalent level of welfare support benefit as children who attend school and receive free school meals.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Child Payment commenced for children under the age of 6 in February 2021 and eligibility is based on receipt of qualifying benefits, with 106,000 children receiving the payment as of September 2021 based on the latest data available. Children wh…

22 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, when it takes over administration of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP), whether it plans to stop payments to people receiving PIP once they reach state pension age.

Answer · Ben Macpherson: The Scottish Government does not intend to stop payments to people receiving Adult Disability Payment (ADP) once they reach state pension age. An individual, over state pension age, will continue to receive payment of Adult Disability Payment until either th…

21 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether funding is available for businesses for any damage caused by Storm Arwen, which is not covered by their insurance.

Answer · Ivan McKee: The Scottish Government has not provided direct or specific funding for businesses damaged by Storm Arwen. I appreciate that the aftermath of Storm Arwen will have created difficult operating conditions for affected businesses. Information on available busin…

16 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-04732 by Maree Todd on 8 December 2021, whether it will provide details of the composition of the Burial Regulations Working Group; whether the group met on 9 December 2021, and, if so, where the minutes of this and other meetings are published.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government reconvened the Burial Regulations Working Group (first established in 2016) on 9 December 2021 to continue work to develop burial regulations, as provided for in the Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Act 2016. At that meeting the Group …

14 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people with learning difficulties and autism have died in inpatient units in Scotland since 2015.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: This information is not routinely published. We are currently undertaking an exercise to analyse the data about how many people with learning disabilities and autism have died in inpatient units in Scotland. I will write to the member in due course when we ha…

14 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it has taken to (a) ensure that private COVID-19 test providers on its approved supplier list are legitimate businesses, (b) conduct regular due diligence of and review of the regulations that govern the private providers on its approved supplier list, (c) remove private su…

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The list of private providers is owned by the UK Government. All providers included on the list must complete or be working towards full United Kingdom Accreditation Service accreditation. If a provider does not complete this or fails the accreditation then t…

9 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether Scottish Water will provide compensation for customers who were without supply as a consequence of Storm Arwen.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Storm Arwen was one of the most significant weather events we have experienced in decades and, unfortunately, the impact of Storm Arwen on Scottish Water’s infrastructure was very significant and widespread due to the loss of normal power supply to a substant…

8 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much was raised in non-domestic rates revenue in (a) 2019-20 and (b) 2020-21 as a result of the Scottish Assessors Association's Practice Note 3, Valuation of Photovoltaic Electricity Generators.

Answer · Tom Arthur: Non-domestic properties in Scotland are valued by independent Scottish Assessors based on the law. A property’s rateable values reflects the valuation of the lands, heritages and any rateable plant and machinery, but is not disaggregated by component. Therefo…

8 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is considering making eligible green plant and machinery, such as solar panels, wind turbines and battery storage that is used with renewables, exempt from non-domestic rates.

Answer · Tom Arthur: The Scottish Government currently provides the most generous non-domestic rates regime for renewable energy generation in the UK. Under the Valuation for Rating (Plant and Machinery) (Scotland) Regulations 2000, solar panels, wind turbines and storage batteri…

8 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much tax revenue has been raised from photovoltaic electricity generators subject to the contractor's basis valuation referred to in the Scottish Assessors Association (SAA)/Valuation Office Agency (VOA) Rating Lists Cost Guide 2017, in each year since 2017-18.

Answer · Tom Arthur: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05040 on 11 January 2022. 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-committ…

6 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will place oil and gas workers returning from Angola, who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and have a negative PCR test, on the quarantine exemption list, in line with the rest of the UK, and whether it will do this in time for the Christmas holiday season.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The COVID(O) committee met on 14 December (attended by myself, and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer) and all 4 nations agreed to remove all 11 nations (including Angola) from the red list. This came into effect from 0400 on Wednesday, 15 December. Thus there …

6 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to start recoding data by NHS board area to capture information on community first responders, in order to understand local resource requirements and assist in the allocation of resources in response to, for example, the recent pressure on ambulance services and …

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Ambulance Service does not record data on use of community first responder schemes (CFRs) by health board area but is fully aware of the volunteer resources available throughout the country to support operational delivery. CFRs are highly valued…