Jamie Greene

21 May 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government from which line of the Scottish Budget 2025-26, as passed by the Scottish Parliament, the funds will be sourced to meet the request from Ferguson Marine Port Glasgow, reportedly of £25 million, to complete the construction of the Glen Rosa vessel, in light of comments made by the S…

Answer · Kate Forbes: The Scottish Government is working with Ferguson Marine and CMAL to understand fully the basis of the revised delivery plan for MV Glen Rosa. All requests for an additional budget for capital projects require detailed scrutiny processes before they can be app…

21 May 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government from which line of the Scottish Budget 2025-26, as passed by the Scottish Parliament, the funds will be sourced to potentially acquire Ardrossan Harbour from Peel Ports, and how much has been set aside for any such transaction.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The potential harbour purchase sits within the ‘Vessels and Piers’ budget for 2025-26, which also includes a number of port improvements and upgrades. As previously stated in Parliament, whilst we await the outcome of the commercial negotiations b…

21 May 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to support partners to reduce any widespread disruptive gatherings on coastal communities and beaches during seasonal warm weather and bank holidays, in light of reports of such gatherings resulting in antisocial behaviours, violence and serious incidents. 

Answer · Siobhian Brown: We want to encourage people to enjoy our beautiful beaches safely and responsibly.The Scottish Government is working with partners to promote community safety over the summer period.This month, our grant funded partner Fearless will launch a summer safety cam…

21 May 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the sale of Prestwick Airport to a new owner or the timescales around its potential return to the private sector. 

Answer · Kate Forbes: I wrote to the Economy and Fair Work Committee on 25 June 2024 to confirm that a market testing exercise for Glasgow Prestwick Airport was underway. Scottish Ministers’ longstanding position is that the airport should be returned to the private sector a…

21 May 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether NHS Scotland plans to roll-out the new gonorrhoea vaccine, which is being made available to eligible and high risk groups in England from August 2026.

Answer · Jenni Minto: NHS Scotland will introduce a new vaccination programme which offers protection against gonorrhoea from August 2025. This targeted opportunistic programme is specifically aimed at Gay, Bisexual and other Men who have Sex with Men (GBMSM) who are at increased …

16 May 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports of a six-fold increase in ferry cancellations due to technical faults on the Clyde and Hebrides routes, what specific measures it is taking to improve service reliability and maintain consistent connectivity for island communities.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: CalMac make every effort to avoid cancellations due to technical breakdowns, but it is impossible to completely remove the risk of this happening in technically complex vessels.Between 2015 and 2024 CalMac have operated over 1.5 million sailings, with 5.2% ca…

14 May 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide the most recent data on how many (a) full-time equivalent, (b) part-time, (c) casual and (d) other employees it has in each local authority area.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish government publish official workforce statistics on a quarterly basis. The latest available data, is for December 2024 Scottish Government workforce information - gov.scot.The following table provides details of the working location of directly e…

14 May 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been prosecuted under the Dog Fouling (Scotland) Act 2003 in each year since 2010.

Answer · Angela Constance: The latest available information on convictions is for the financial year 2022-23.The following table provides the number of people prosecuted under the Dog Fouling (Scotland) 2003 Act, where it was a main crime, 2010-11 to 2021-22. 2010-112011-122012-13…

14 May 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the average fine issued for the possession of (a) heroin, (b) cocaine, (c) ecstasy, (d) cannabis and (e) amphetamines has been in each of the last 10 years.

Answer · Angela Constance: The latest available information on convictions is for the financial year 2022-23. The answer is provided in the following table.Average fine amount (£), where main penalty, for people convicted of a main charge of drug possession or possession with int…

7 May 2025 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with charitable and third sector organisations regarding the decision not to introduce legislation to end conversion therapy practices, and other equalities-related legislation, during the current parliamentary session.

2 May 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the (a) adequacy and (b) uptake of the council tax reduction scheme, in light of the reported record-high increases in council tax.

2 May 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what is being done to tackle reported digital exclusion, especially among low-income households and older people, as essential services increasingly move online.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government is committed to tackling digital exclusion. We recognise that some groups, including older people and low-income households, often face additional barriers to digital participation and we are addressing those through a range of initiat…

2 May 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is ensuring that its anti-poverty strategy addressees any disproportionate impact of poverty on single mothers and older women.

30 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the (a) adequacy and (b) uptake of the Council Tax Reduction scheme, in light of reports of record council tax rises.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Council Tax Reduction Scheme exists to ensure that nobody in Scotland should have to meet a Council Tax liability they cannot be expected to afford.Over 460,000 households receive some level of CTR, and on average recipients save over £850 a year. O…

30 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in response to reports of record food bank use, particularly among families, despite measures that have been taken to tackle poverty.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Food insecurity is driven by insufficient and insecure household income. No one should have to compromise on food or other essentials.Mid-year statistics published by Trussell on 20 November 2024 highlighted a 6% decrease in the food parcels distributed in Sc…

30 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is ensuring that its anti-poverty strategy explicitly addresses the reported disproportionate impact of poverty on single mothers and older women.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Gender equality is at the heart of the Scottish Government’s vision for a fairer Scotland. We want women of all ages to be empowered to exercise equal rights and opportunities, and to have equitable access to economic resources and decision making.Eradi…

30 Apr 2025 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what further consideration it has given to increasing or removing the earnings limit for recipients of the Carer Support Payment.

28 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has conducted on any impact of current business rates on small independent retailers in town centres, and whether it is considering any reforms or relief to support such businesses, in light of reported declining high street footfall.

Answer · Ivan McKee: The Scottish Fiscal Commission forecasts estimate that £3 billion will be raised in non-domestic rates revenue in 2025-26, and £731 million of reliefs will be provided.Those reliefs, including the UK’s most generous Small Business Bonus Sche…

25 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-31009 by Jenny Gilruth on 12 November 2024, what percentage of primary school teachers who completed the Teacher Induction Scheme in the academic year 2023-24 secured permanent full-time teaching positions by August 2024, and how this compares …

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Statistics on the employment of primary school teachers who completed the Teacher Induction Scheme in the 2018-19 to 2023-24 cohorts are available from the teacher census supplementary statistics tables, here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/teacher-census-…

25 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many antisocial behaviour incidents have been reported to Police Scotland in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government do not hold this information.Police Scotland publish data on Anti-social behaviour incidents in their Management Information reports. The latest information is available in their Quarter 3 2024-25 report.https://www.scotland.police.uk/…

24 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide the current monthly cost of chartering the MV Alfred, and whether that cost has changed since the initial date of the charter.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-35337 on 11 March 2025 which cover the costs of the current charter agreement. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be foun…

24 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when a review of the emergency department opt-out blood borne virus testing pilot will be complete, and whether there are any initial findings to report.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government’s recently published Programme for Government includes a commitment to begin roll out of Emergency Department opt-out testing for blood borne viruses in NHS Lothian and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, with further expansion consid…

1 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many victims of crime have been notified of their perpetrator's release from prison in a timely manner as part of the automatic early release rules under the Prisoners (Early Release) (Scotland) Act 2025, and what steps it is taking to ensure that all victims are informed o…

Answer · Angela Constance: I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:SPS and Scottish Government worked directly with Victim Support Organisations including, Victim Support Scotland ahead of automatic earl…

1 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been prosecuted for online sexual extortion (sextortion) in the last year; how many were subsequently convicted, and whether it will provide an update on its campaign to deal with this crime and support victims.

Answer · Angela Constance: Where a reported sextortion-related crime involves the perpetrator making demands for money or other valuables, it will be recorded and investigated under Threats and Extortion. Where it involves a motive other than financial gain (for example a demand of a p…

1 Apr 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action is being taken to increase the uptake of abdominal aorticaneurysm screening in NHS Ayrshire and Arran, in light of recently reportedlocal health warnings.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government is unaware of any particular concerns regarding uptake of abdominal aortic aneurysm screening in NHS Ayrshire and Arran. The social media posts reported in the press were routine reminders posted by NHS Ayrshire and Arran as part of a …

18 Mar 2025 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it or its agencies next plan to build CalMac ferries in Scotland.

10 Mar 2025 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what steps the Scottish Government is considering to further support Scotland's universities, in light of reports that the University of the West of Scotland reported a multi-million pound deficit in the last financial year, with other universities across Scotland in a similar financial posit…

24 Feb 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6O-04318 by Fiona Hyslop on 19 February 2025, on what date it instructed Transport Scotland and Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd to progress discussions around its potential purchase of Ardrossan harbour.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: We did not expect to consider a change of ownership as part of the business case work, and this alternative approach has not been taken lightly. Transport Scotland and CMAL were formally advised to take forward initial discussions with Peel Ports Group in Nov…

11 Feb 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it carried out to determine which NHS boards would take part in the emergency department opt-out blood borne virus testing pilot.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government has funded pilots of emergency department opt-out blood borne virus testing in three areas – NHS Lothian, NHS Grampian and NHS Highland. The funding allocations followed a call for bids which was open to all Scottish territorial …

11 Feb 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans there are to extend the emergency department opt-out blood borne virus testing pilot to areas of higher prevalence.

Answer · Jenni Minto: Improving access to testing for blood borne viruses (BBV) plays an important role in achieving the Scottish Government’s hepatitis C elimination and HIV transmission elimination goals. However it is vital that we carefully consider which interventions a…