Parliamentary questions
Donald Cameron
1,854 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
4 Apr 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it allocated to advertising its public consultation on Highly Protected Marine Areas.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Scottish Government did not pay for advertisements in relation to the public consultation on our overall approach to Highly Protected Marine Areas. The consultation was publicised online via social media – see the answer to ? S6W-17045 on 15 May 2023 for …
4 Apr 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its public consultation on Highly Protected Marine Areas, what external organisations it met in advance of the consultation launch, and on what date each meeting took place.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: During this initial phase of policy development on Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs), in 2022, the Scottish Government met with a range of stakeholders including -British Trout Association (BTA) – 17 MarchCoastal Communities Network (CCN) – 22 MarchCommun…
4 Apr 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide a breakdown of the number of CalMac scheduled sailings that were defined as (a) on time, (b) Level 1 Lateness and (c) Level 2 Lateness for each month since March 2022.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: The breakdown of CalMac scheduled sailings defined as (a) on time, (b) Level 1 Lateness and (c) Level 2 Lateness for each month since March 2022 are provided in the following table. On Time / Early Level 1 Lateness Level 2 Lateness Mar-22 10,858 292 3…
4 Apr 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government on what date it anticipates publishing its response to the results of the Scottish Highly Protected Marine Areas public consultation, after it closes on 17 April 2023.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Scottish Government’s initial consultation on our proposed overall approach to Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs) closed on 17 April and we have received thousands of responses which we want to ensure are given due consideration. We have now begun coll…
4 Apr 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with (a) Western Isles, (b) Highland, (c) Argyll and Bute, (d) Orkney Islands and (e) Shetland Islands Council in relation to Scottish Highly Protected Marine Areas.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: During this initial phase of policy development the Scottish Government met with representatives of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar on 17 February 2023, representatives of Highland Council on 20 February 2023, and representatives of Orkney Islands Council on 17 Feb…
4 Apr 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to the question S6W-11752 by Mairi McAllan on 10 November 2022, whether it has now considered whether Island Communities Impact Assessments will be required in relation to its proposed Scottish Highly Protected Marine Areas, and if so, whether it will publish de…
Answer · Mairi McAllan: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-17310 on 4 May 2023. 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/w…
30 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to publicise the launch of the Small Producers Pilot Fund across the Highlands and Islands region.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-16876 on 25 April 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/writte…
30 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the total annual cost will be of the salaries of civil servants who work for the Minister for Independence.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-16884 on 25 April 2023. As only one member of staff is allocated to work directly for the Minister for Independence, their individual salary cannot be released. All answers to written parliamentary questions a…
30 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it took into consideration the Supreme Court judgement on whether the Scottish Parliament has the power to legislate for an independence referendum when the First Minister created the post of a Minister for Independence, and, if so, whether it will publish all correspondence that…
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Government’s position on the Supreme Court judgment was set out to the Scottish Parliament on 23 November 2022. That position has not changed. The Scottish Government is committed to building the case for a socially just, independent Scotland w…
30 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the announcement of a preferred (a) medium- and (b) long-term solution for the A83 Rest and Be Thankful in Spring 2023 will change, in light of the appointment of a new Minister for Transport.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government remains committed to providing a resilient infrastructure solution to address the landslip risk at the Rest and Be Thankful. The preferred option for a medium-term solution was announced on 23 December 2022. A detailed programme for th…
30 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether any civil servants will be redirected from other directorates to work for the Minister for Independence, and, if so, (a) which directorates and (b) how many staff will be involved.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: No civil servants have been redeployed as part of my appointment.
30 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the target is for the number of producers that the Small Producers Pilot Fund will assist in each of the next three years.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-16876 on 25 April 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/writte…
30 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-09920 by Mairi Gougeon on 18 August 2022, whether it will provide an update on how much funding (a) it allocated to and (b) was distributed to successful grant applicants from the Croft House Grant scheme in 2022-23.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: In 2022-23, the Croft House Grant budget was £1.9m, with £1,675,837 distributed to successful applicants. As a result of a high proportion of house builds being delayed due to material and labour supply issues, officials invited successful applicants to subm…
30 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what statutory responsibilities exist that require NHS boards to record instances of (a) misdiagnosis and (b) so-called "never events".
Answer · Michael Matheson: NHS Health Boards have a legal requirement through the Organisational Duty of Candour Regulations (2018) to review certain types of adverse events (defined as unintended or unexpected incidents that result in, or could result in, death or harm), record each i…
30 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the budget allocated to the planning of a preferred (a) medium- and (b) long-term solution for the A83 Rest and Be Thankful will change, in light of the appointment of a new Minister for Transport.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: Delivery of medium-term improvements along with a permanent and resilient solution to the landslip risks at the A83 Rest and Be Thankful is a priority and we continue to seek ways to achieve these as quickly as possible, noting that all of the options require…
30 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) e-bike and (b) e-cargo bike hire schemes are currently operational in Scotland, and what action it is taking to promote any such schemes.
Answer · Patrick Harvie: Such bike hire schemes are generally run at a local level, and as such the Scottish Government does not record data on their number and we do not directly promote them. We provide grant funding to the Energy Saving Trust (EST) to run the e-bike loan fund whic…
30 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many Scotland Loves Local gift cards have been purchased by each local authority, in each year since the scheme was launched.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: This information is not held by the Scottish Government. Local authorities are able to purchase gift cards from the Love Local website hosted by Scotland’s Towns Partnership who are delivering the gift card scheme, working with local authorities.
30 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to the question S6W-12216 by Neil Gray on 24 November 2022, whether the National Partnership for Culture will continue to exist, following its meeting on 14 December 2022, and, if so, when it will next meet.
Answer · Angus Robertson: Following their meeting on 14 December 2022, the National Partnership for Culture met on 15 February 2023 to support the development of the Culture Strategy Action Plan Refresh. The partnership will meet again in the coming months to discuss its remit, struct…
30 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will confirm the date on which the Small Producers Pilot Fund will be launched.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-16876 on 25 April 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/writte…
30 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding will be allocated to the recently-announced Small Producers Pilot Fund in each of the next three years.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Small Producers Pilot Fund will launch later this year to support smaller producers increase the proportion of food grown and processed by small farms and small holders for their local community. In the Financial Year 2023-24 up to £1 million is allocat…
30 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide further detail on the reasons why it could not fully commit to the National Partnership for Culture recommendation that "relevant agencies should be charged with developing a national plan to embed artists and other creative practitioners in all schools, in ways th…
Answer · Angus Robertson: Fully committing to charging relevant agencies to develop a national plan would contravene the Scottish Government position that Local Authorities and schools have autonomy to take these decisions at a local level. As set out in our response to the National …
30 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has allocated towards advertising Scotland Loves Local gift cards, broken down by each year since the scheme was launched.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Government has not allocated any funding directly towards advertising Scotland Loves Local gift cards. The Scottish Government provides funding to Scotland’s Towns Partnership (STP) to provide town centre advice and support, which since 2020 inc…
30 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce any instances of (a) misdiagnosis and (b) so-called "never events" occurring in the NHS.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government and NHS Scotland have a shared vision for a culture that values openness and learning and supports continuous improvement. Health Boards are responsible for delivering safe, effective and person-centred care at a local level, which inc…
30 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many civil servants will be allocated to work for the Minister for Independence.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The majority of civil servants are not allocated to work directly for individual Ministers as part of their roles in supporting and delivering the Scottish Government’s priorities. Work related to my responsibilities is no different. I have one member of st…
30 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its work regarding the "scoping of the new youth arts strategy", as outlined in its response to the National Partnership for Culture recommendations.
Answer · Angus Robertson: The Scottish Government will provide an update on this scoping work, as outlined in its response to the National Partnership for Culture recommendations, via the Culture Strategy Action Plan refresh (CSAPR). The CSAPR will outline our ambitions around cultur…
30 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its work to "carry out cross-portfolio engagement to scope where culture may be able to link in to the Place Standard tool", as outlined in its response to the National Partnership for Culture recommendations.
Answer · Angus Robertson: The Scottish Government will outline our ambitions around culture and creativity in learning via the Culture Strategy Action Plan refresh, which we will publish later this year. This will include our plans for cross-portfolio engagement in order to scope wher…
30 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding was allocated to the Fuel Insecurity Fund in each financial year since it was established, and how much of this was distributed through the Fund in each of those years.
Answer · Gillian Martin: The Fuel Insecurity Fund was first established by The Scottish Government in the winter of 2020, as part of the wider Winter Support Fund, to help households struggling with their energy costs who were at risk of severely rationing their energy use, or self-d…
30 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its "review of the expressive arts curricular area", as outlined in its response to the National Partnership for Culture recommendations.
Answer · Angus Robertson: The review of the expressive arts curricular area is part of the ongoing National Discussion on Education as well as the Hayward review into qualifications and assessment. In the immediate term, Screen Scotland, in partnership with the education community, ar…
30 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the devolved responsibilities of the Minister for Equalities, Migration and Refugees will be.
Answer · Emma Roddick: The devolved responsibilities for Minister for Equalities, Migration and Refugees are published on gov.scot: Minister for Equalities, Migration and Refugees - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .
30 Mar 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the day-to-day responsibilities will be of the Minister for Independence in terms of governmental business.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Details of the responsibilities of the Minister for Independence can be found on the Scottish Government’s website at: Minister for Independence - gov.scot ( www.gov.scot ) .