Donald Cameron

10 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the expected cost to it will be of SEPA’s plan to end exemptions for burning agricultural waste.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: We do not expect that there will be any additional financial costs to be borne by the Scottish Government as a result of the ban on the burning of most types of agricultural waste.  

10 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what infrastructure is in place in remote areas to facilitate SEPA’s plan to end exemptions for burning agricultural waste.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The ban does not extend to all types of agricultural waste. The burning on farms of some types of biomass waste and, under certain conditions, animal carcasses, will still be permitted. However, the burning of plastic waste on farms will be banned. A list of…

10 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to put in place an uplift system to facilitate SEPA’s plan to end exemptions for burning agricultural waste.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: As indicated in the reply to S5W-18681 on 20 September 2018, there are services in place in Scotland to allow farmers to arrange for the collection of their plastic waste. The burning of some types of biomass waste and , under certain conditions, animal carca…

15 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the Expert Ferry Group has not met since December 2017; when it will next meet, and what will be discussed.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The remit of the Expert Ferry Group, which is published on the Transport Scotland website (link below), states that the group will meet up to three times per year. It does not set a minimum number of meetings per year. https://www.transport.gov.scot/public-…

9 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what work it has done to evaluate its campaign of awareness-raising to increase the uptake of energy efficiency measures for domestic/residential buildings.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: Free and impartial advice on energy efficiency measures and eligibility for fuel poverty support, is made available to all households in Scotland through Home Energy Scotland (HES). The Scottish Government liaises closely with the Energy Saving Trust (EST) – …

9 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what modelling work it has undertaken to analyse the cost of reaching an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) (a) B and (b) C rating for a domestic/residential building.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government used the National Household Model to analyse and estimate the costs for improving residential buildings. The National Household Model is a domestic energy-policy modelling and analytical tool, commissioned from the Centre for Sustainab…

7 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many reports of a pipe leak have been submitted to Scottish Water in each year since 2007.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Between 2008-09 – 2017-18 Scottish Water received over 111,450 customer reported leaks. Yearly totals are detailed in the following table.  08-09 09-10 10-11 11-12 12-13 13-14 14-15 15-16 16-17 17-18 Customer Reported Repairs – Total 14,505 14,0…

7 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many litres of water have been lost through pipe leaks in each year since 2007.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Scottish Water publishes statistics on leakage in its annual reports. The latest report for 2017-18 is available here http://www.scottishwater.co.uk/assets/about%20us/files/key%20publications/annualreport201718.pdf with leakage management reported on page 2…

7 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of pipe leaks have been resolved by Scottish Water in each year since 2007.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Scottish Water report that according to its records all customer reported leaks on the network have been resolved by Scottish Water over each rolling 12 month period. Customer reported leaks last year accounted for around 60% of total leaks, the remainder wer…

7 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the longest time has been between a pipe leak being reported to Scottish Water and it being fixed in each year since 2007.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Scottish Water's new leakage cycle time reporting system has been fully effective since 2016. Scottish Water report that from the data easily available the longest repair time on record is 119 days. Issues which may delay repair include the need to sample and…

7 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what active travel plans are in place to supplement the Low Emission Zone in Glasgow.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Low Emission Zones are one of a range of measures aimed at improving air quality and encouraging modal shift towards active and sustainable travel. The Scottish Government has doubled the active travel budget from £40 to £80 million in 2018-19. This will allo…

7 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many organisations from the Highlands and Islands have (a) applied for and (b) received funding each year from the Saltire Prize, also broken down by the (i) total and (ii) average annual award.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The £10 million Saltire Prize was established to accelerate the commercial development of wave and tidal energy technology. The Prize has helped draw international attention to the potential of marine energy, and sparked the interest of technology developers …

7 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many applications for Peatland Action grants there (a) were in 2017-18 and (b) have been since April 2018, broken down by how (i) many have been approved and (ii) much has been awarded.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The number of peatland action applications and grants in the relevant years are as follows : - Peatland Action Grants from April 2018 2017-18 No. £ Applications received 107 £7,209,409 Applications Approved for funding 95 £5,642,372  2018-19 No. …

7 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many communities (a) each year and (b) in the last 12 months have (i) registered an interest in acquiring and (ii) acquired land under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, also broken down by how much funding it has made available to support these communities.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Table 1. Number of CRtB registrations per year as at 15 August 2018 (legislation came into force on 14 June 2004). Year No of Registrations 14-6-04 to 13-6-05 13 14-6-05 to 13-6-06 10 14-6-06 to 13-6-07 28 14-6-07 to 13-6-08 14 14-6-08 to 13-6-09 …

7 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made on putting in place the (a) physical infrastructure and (b) administrative processes required for the Low Emission Zone in Glasgow, and how much it has allocated towards this.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The physical infrastructure and administrative processes will be for Glasgow City Council to decide upon for their city specific Low Emission Zone. It is anticipated that £2.2 million capital funding will be available in 2018/19 to support local authorities i…

7 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making to raise awareness of the Low Emission Zone in Glasgow.

Answer · Michael Matheson: A national Low Emission Zone communications strategy is being developed by the Scottish Government with the primary goal of raising awareness amongst businesses and the general public prior to the introduction of Scotland’s first Low Emission Zone by the end …

7 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many electric vehicle charging points there are in each (a) constituency and (b) local authority area in the Highlands and Islands region, also broken down by how much it has allocated to each council to deliver these.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Transport Scotland does not hold information on the number of electric vehicle charge points by constituency area. Local Authority funded charge points are shown in the table below, along with the total amount offered to each Local Authority since 2010. Loca…

7 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet will next meet in the Highlands and Islands.

Answer · Graeme Dey: Since 2008, the Scottish Cabinet has met 16 times in the Highlands and Islands (as defined by the Highlands and Islands Enterprise). Cabinet will next meet in the Highlands and Islands area on 27 August 2018, on the Isle of Arran.  

7 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people will be employed as a result of the implementation of the Low Emission Zone in Glasgow.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The range and volume of employment opportunities as a result of the implementation and enforcement of the forthcoming Low Emission Zone in Glasgow is not yet known. These will be dependent upon a variety of factors related to how Glasgow City Council choose t…

7 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with stakeholders regarding the development of joint frameworks on the environment that might need to be developed (a) during and (b) following the Brexit process.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government has frequent dialogue with stakeholders, including public bodies, on many aspects of environmental policy including arrangements that might need to be developed following the Brexit process. The Scottish Government has continued to en…

7 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve early cancer detection in the NHS Highland area, and what its response is to reports that stage 1 figures for that area fell from 24.7% in 2015-16 to 24.3% in 2016-17.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government is committed to working with all NHS boards to increase the early detection of cancer. Screening remains one of the most effective ways to find cancer early. It’s therefore positive to see that NHS Highland’s uptake rate for breast an…

6 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the commitment by the Minister of Community Safety and Legal Affairs when announcing the Review into the Regulation of Legal Services on 27 April 2017 that it "is intended that [the review] reports to Ministers within 15 months", for what reason it has not been published, an…

Answer · Ash Denham: This is a complex landscape and we expect the review to submit its findings to the Scottish Government in the Autumn.  

25 Jul 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many patients living in the NHS Highland area who were transferred to hospitals in other NHS board areas have been delayed in being (a) transferred back to a hospital in the NHS Highland area and (b) discharged from hospital in each year since 2011-12.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The specific information requested is unavailable. Information held nationally on delayed discharges does not identify people who had been transferred from another hospital prior to becoming delayed. Further, since 2016, inter-hospital transfers are not class…

25 Jul 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many patient bed places there are in each hospital in the NHS Highland area.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Information is not available centrally on ‘patient bed places’. The following table shows the average number of available staffed beds for all specialties during quarter ending March 2018 within NHS Highland. Table 1: Average number of available staffed beds…

25 Jul 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many bed days were lost due to delayed discharge in each hospital in the NHS Highland area in each year since 2011-12.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The following table shows the numbers requested from hospitals in NHS Highland for all delay reasons over the period July 2016 to June 2018. Due to revised data definitions and national reporting requirements information on delayed bed days prior to July 2016…

25 Jul 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many patients living in the NHS Highland area were transferred to hospitals in other NHS board areas in each year since 2011-12.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The number of patients resident in the NHS Highland area admitted to a NHS Highland hospital and subsequently transferred during their hospital stay to hospitals in other NHS board areas is shown in the following table. Table 1: Number of patients resident i…

8 Jun 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much was allocated in non-fuel subsidy payments to Argyll Ferries Limited for contract year 6 (July 2016 to June 2017) for the Gourock-Dunoon public service obligation, also broken down by the subsidy cost of the charter for the (a) MV Coruisk and (b) replacement bus service.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The non-fuel subsidy payment made to Argyll Ferries Limited for the Gourock to Dunoon ferry service public service obligation in contract year 6 (July 2016 to June 2017) was £3,530,421. That total figure included a sum of £958,000 for the charter of the MV C…

14 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-16314 by Annabelle Ewing on 10 May 2018, in light of it providing the breakdown that was requested in its response to question S4W-02179 on 12 September 2011 regarding the then Strathclyde Police area, whether it will provide the information that wa…

Answer · Annabelle Ewing: The answer provided to question S4W-02179 used a definition which related to an indicator on antisocial behaviour from the Scottish Policing Performance Framework. This definition was changed in subsequent years and the framework itself is no longer in use. …

8 May 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it takes to alleviate social inequalities among faith groups.

Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government is committed to tackling inequality, promoting equality and ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to achieve their full potential – irrespective of their faith or any other characteristic. The member raises an important issue, and…

2 May 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many cases of Lyme disease were (a) reported and (b) treated in each NHS board area in 2017-18.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The following table shows the number of laboratory confirmed cases of Borrelia burgdorferi reported to Health Protection Scotland (HPS). These numbers are likely to underestimate the total number of treated cases of Lyme disease, because current guidance reco…