Parliamentary questions
Jamie Greene
1,978 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
5 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure a high rate of vaccination against diseases among young people, in light of UK Health Security Agency data revealing that 13% of new students are unprotected against four deadly types of meningitis.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government is working closely with Public Health Scotland (PHS), territorial Health Boards and other key partners to promote uptake of immunisation against vaccine-preventable disease in young people, including our student population. PHS has t…
5 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration was given to any potential impact on public trust in policing of Police Scotland’s decision not to investigate all minor crimes as a pilot scheme in the north east.
Answer · Angela Constance: It is vital that Police Scotland continues to inspire public trust and maintains relationships with local communities. These principles are clearly set out in both the Scottish Government’s Strategic Police Priorities and in the Police Scotland/Scottish Polic…
5 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure the safety of all road users and pedestrians, in light of Police Scotland figures revealing that there have been over 2,000 incidents involving e-scooters reported in the last year.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: In Scotland it is illegal to ride an electric scooter on a public road, pavement, cycle paths, shared paths or any public place. Enforcement of this is an operational matter for the Chief Constable of Police Scotland, with oversight provided by the Scottish P…
5 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to provide additional funding for alcohol support services in Inverclyde, where recent figures have shown it has the highest rate of alcohol-related deaths in Scotland.
Answer · Elena Whitham: I recognise the need for urgent action in Inverclyde following the publication of the National Records of Scotland data on alcohol-specific deaths during 2022. It shows that with 28 deaths Inverclyde had the highest age standardised mortality rate for alcohol…
5 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to a study published in the academic journal, Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy, which reportedly states that it "should expect to cause hardship to problem drinkers" if it extends minimum unit pricing.
Answer · Elena Whitham: Minimum unit price (MUP) is one of a range of population and individual level interventions set out in the Scottish Government Alcohol Framework that together are intended to improve the prevention and treatment of alcohol related harm in Scotland. MUP is a w…
5 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider closing the 35 schools in Scotland that were found to have been built with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, as has been done in other jurisdictions.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government has been actively engaging with local authority partners, who have statutory responsibility for school buildings in Scotland, for some time. Those schools where RAAC has been identified are taking mitigation steps in line with guidanc…
5 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that homelessness applications due to evictions from rent arrears have increased by 74% in a year.
Answer · Paul McLennan: It is disappointing to see an overall increase in households becoming homeless from the private rented sector. However, there was a notable decrease between the first and last six months of the year. This is likely due to the cost of living legislation that…
15 Aug 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will formally respond to the publication and recommendations of the final report of the UK Government's LGBT Veterans Independent Review, as it relates to Scotland, and, if so, when it plans to do so.
Answer · Graeme Dey: The Scottish Government released a statement responding to and welcoming Lord Etherton’s LGBT Veterans Independent Review on the day it was published. We said that the report made clear that from the many personal accounts within the review, that a grav…
28 Jun 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to proposals to introduce an opt-out testing service for HIV in Scotland.
Answer · Jenni Minto: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-19568 on 26 July 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…
28 Jun 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it has provided to sexual health clinics in Scotland to increase their outreach, following a reported decline in the uptake of such services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answer · Jenni Minto: In August 2021, the Scottish Government published Reset and Rebuild, a recovery plan for sexual health and blood borne virus (SHBBV) services. This plan was co-produced with NHS and third sector partners, to take stock of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic …
28 Jun 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to reduce barriers to accessing HIV and sexual health testing within rural areas and communities.
Answer · Jenni Minto: As indicated in response to S6W-19566 on 26 July 2023, a national project to develop an online sexually transmitted infections (STI) testing pilot has been underway since 2021 and is hosted by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, with development work being underta…
28 Jun 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on whether it plans to include a pilot of an opt-out HIV testing system in its upcoming Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Strategy.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government’s Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus plan for 2023 to 2026 is scheduled for publication towards the end of summer 2023. As part of this approach, there will be a focus on improving access to testing for STIs and blood borne viruses. …
28 Jun 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that it meets its goal of eliminating new transmissions of HIV by 2030.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The HIV Transmission Elimination Proposal, commissioned by the Scottish Government and published on World AIDS Day in 2022, sets out 22 recommendations to ensure progress is made to meet our goal of zero HIV infection transmissions in Scotland by 2030. An HI…
28 Jun 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the development of a national online service for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and bloodborne viruses, as announced in December 2020.
Answer · Jenni Minto: A national project to develop an online STI testing pilot has been underway since 2021 and is hosted by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, with development work being undertaken across a number of Board areas. The Scottish Government provided £0.5 million for an…
28 Jun 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what structures or schemes it currently has in place to provide support to EU students seeking financial support to study in Scotland.
Answer · Graeme Dey: EU nationals who were living in the UK prior to the end of the Brexit Transition Period (31 December 2020) are eligible for the home tuition fee rate and tuition fee support to study at a Scottish institution. EU nationals who satisfy this criteria and were a…
28 Jun 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has made an assessment of the impact of the redevelopment of Ardrossan harbour on the ferry routes servicing Arran, and, if so, whether it will provide details of this assessment.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Potential impacts of the re-development of Ardrossan harbour on ferry services to Arran are being considered as part of service continuity planning in collaboration with project partners, including the Isle of Arran Ferry Committee.
28 Jun 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much a prisoner on the prison estate is currently charged for 100 minutes of telephone usage for (a) landline and (b) mobile calls, and whether it will provide a breakdown of any change to those charges in each of the last four years.
Answer · Angela Constance: I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows: Prisoners are charged £5.00 to use the Prisoner PIN phones for 100 minutes when calling a landline and are charged £10.00 when they ca…
28 Jun 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the financial limit is beyond which it considers that the cost for answering a written parliamentary question would be disproportionate.
Answer · George Adam: The disproportionate cost threshold is £600.
28 Jun 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many pupils were suspended from schools in each of the last four years, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Information on the number of pupils and cases of exclusions is collected and published every two years. Statistics on the number of pupils excluded by local authority from 2007-08 to 2020-21 are available in Table 2.3 here: https://www.gov.scot/binaries/cont…
28 Jun 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many rural bus services have been discontinued in each year since May 2018, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government does not hold information on discontinued bus services. The registration and deregistration of services falls under the remit of the Office of the Traffic Commissioner.
28 Jun 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its progress towards its target for out-of-area residential placements and inappropriate hospital stays to be greatly reduced by March 2024, as set out in its report, Coming Home Implementation: A report from the working group on complex care and dela…
Answer · Maree Todd: We are committed to delivering the Coming Home recommendations to reduce inappropriate out-of-area placements and delayed discharges experienced by people with learning disabilities and complex care needs. We continue to work closely with COSLA and the local …
28 Jun 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much was paid out in grants from the Forestry Grant Scheme, and how many grants were made, in each of the last five years.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The following table shows the number of unique forestry grant scheme cases with a capital or Single Application Form claim within the past 5 financial years and the total associated authorised financial claims. Number and Value of cases claimed: Capital & Si…
26 Jun 2023 · Topical Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it can do to increase the resilience of Scotland's 999 emergency telephone service, in light of UK-wide technical issues over the weekend that rendered the service unusable for many users.
19 Jun 2023 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on whether the Scottish Government is fully committed to improving the safety and condition of all of Scotland's major roads.
7 Jun 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, following the publication of its Marine and Fisheries Compliance reports, how many vessel boardings conducted by Marine Scotland in the last 12 months resulted in (a) a fixed penalty notice being issued and (b) other prosecution.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: There were 34 Fixed Penalty Notices issued for infringements detected at sea by Marine Scotland officers from our Marine Protection Vessels in the last 12 months. Of these 3 were not paid within the required time and were reported to the Crown Office Procurat…
7 Jun 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the cost of running its fleet of Marine Protection Vessels has been for each of the past five years.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Details are as follows: 2018 - 19 2019 - 20 2020 - 21 2021 - 22 2022 - 23 Total £9,437,564.40 £9,909,706.80 £10,649,192.74 £10,129,334.11 £11,896,000.65
7 Jun 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, following the publication of its report, Marine and fisheries compliance: list of fixed penalty notices - 26 May 2020 to 30 June 2022, how many individual businesses received fixed penalty notices (FPN), and what the total value of FPNs paid to Marine Scotland was in the period covered …
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Fixed Penalty Notices are issued to individuals rather than businesses. There were 106 individuals offered a Fixed Penalty Notice between 26 May 2020 and 30 June 2022, a number of these individuals were offered more than one. The total value of fines paid was…
7 Jun 2023 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to tourism and other businesses within island communities to mitigate the impact of any connectivity issues affecting them.
1 Jun 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether Japanese knotweed or other invasive species have been found at Historic Environment Scotland properties in the last five years, and, if so, whether it will provide a list of any such incidences.
Answer · Christina McKelvie: Questions regarding day-to-day operational matters of Historic Environment Scotland, including information relating to any maintenance and monitoring works, are best answered directly by Historic Environment Scotland. I have asked Historic Environment Scotla…
1 Jun 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been awarded in Private Water Supply Grants to (a) homes and (b) commercial premises in the West Scotland region, in each year since 2007.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: A total of £194,841 in private water supply grants has been awarded by North Ayrshire, Inverclyde, Renfrewshire, East Dunbartonshire, West Dunbartonshire and East Renfrewshire Councils from financial years 2007-08 to 2022-23. A further £2,263,062 has been awa…