Oliver Mundell

16 Aug 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W- 28736 by Ivan McKee on 7 August 2024, what consideration it has given to how the public and other stakeholders may perceive instances of planning permission being granted, and advance construction beginning, for associated grid infrastructure for w…

Answer · Ivan McKee: Planning legislation requires that any particular planning application is timeously determined on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration relevant planning considerations of the individual application. This is the responsibility of the relevant planni…

13 Aug 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in response to the reported closure of Moat Brae in Dumfries.

Answer · Angus Robertson: I am saddened to hear of the closing of Moat Brae, Scotland’s national centre for children’s literature and storytelling.The Scottish Government firmly believes in the importance of literature and its unique ability to enrich our lives. Through ou…

5 Aug 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether an environmental impact assessment will be required to be carried out before any licence is granted for the trial being proposed to keep adult salmon broodstock for the aquaculture industry in a trout fish farm at the headwaters of the River Annan.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The need for an Environmental Impact Assessment would be dependent upon the site and whether there is any material change of use with regards to existing permissions. Ultimately, that is a local planning matter and determining whether the operator requires fu…

5 Aug 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what grant support (a) is currently available and (b) it plans to introduce for egg producers to upgrade their farms and to improve animal welfare.

Answer · Jim Fairlie: There is currently no direct funding available to egg producers in Scotland. Pressures on the Scottish budget, brought about by global inflationary trends and exacerbated by the previous UK Government’s decisions means that we are unable to commit to possible…

24 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason additional grid capacity and infrastructure at Bearholm substation has reportedly been granted planning permission, in light of the Rivox and Scoop Hill Windfarm planning applications reportedly having not yet been determined.

Answer · Ivan McKee: The decision to grant planning permission for an extension to an existing substation at Bearholm near Moffat was made by the relevant planning authority, Dumfries and Galloway Council. Planning authorities are required to determine any valid application subm…

24 Jun 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action is being taken to address the reported sewage discharge in the Kirkconnel/Kelloholm area.

Answer · Gillian Martin: As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water, and the Scottish Government does not hold this information, I have asked them to respond. Their reply is as follows: Scottish Water has advised that investigations have been on-going into reports of sewage…

17 Jun 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when Strengthening Communities Programme funding for the financial year 2024-25 will be released to the Development Trusts Association Scotland to allow local organisations to receive funds.

Answer · Tom Arthur: Ministers have now made a decision on the final budget to support the Strengthening Communities Programme for 2024-25. The decision has been communicated through the delivery partners, including the Development Trusts Association Scotland, in order to advise …

4 Jun 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the average ambulance response time is for a cardiac arrest in NHS Dumfries and Galloway.

Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government does not hold this information. The Scottish Ambulance Service publish their weekly performance statistics, which can be found here - https://www.scottishambulance.com/publications/unscheduled-care-operational-statistics/ .

30 May 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the new funding announced for diabetes technology will be ringfenced.

Answer · Jenni Minto: Yes – this funding is specifically for the provision of diabetes technologies and will be managed by a central team. A small part of this investment will cover costs of infrastructure to enable delivery at scale.

30 May 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to manage badger populations in the south of Scotland.

Answer · Jim Fairlie: Badgers and their setts are protected under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 as amended by the Wildlife and Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2011. NatureScot, the licensing agency in Scotland, may consider issuing licences under the Protection of Badger…

29 May 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to review cyber security, in light of the reported recent breaches at Scottish public bodies.

Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government recognises that cyber resilience is paramount for the delivery of secure digital public services, and it works closely with the Scottish public sector to strengthen its cyber security posture through the implementation of The Strategic…

29 May 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has received a business case regarding the provision of diabetes technology, and, if so, when it plans to make a decision.

Answer · Jenni Minto: I refer the member to answer to question: S6W-27895 on 28 May 2024. The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that everyone living with diabetes can access the care that they need to live their lives well. This includes increasing access to diabetes te…

21 May 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has made available to install Changing Places toilets in (a) the current financial year to date and (b) each of the last five financial years.

Answer · Maree Todd: We announced last year that we will look to make the new £10 million fund available across the financial years 2024-25 and 2025-26. As a result there has been no funding to date. We know how important it is to develop clear funding criteria to ensure the best…

20 May 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent action it has taken to ensure that (a) families have a choice of settings to access the 1,140 hours of funded early learning and childcare and (b) local authorities are encouraged to increase capacity.

Answer · Natalie Don: The Scottish Government published updated national policy guidance on Funding Follows the Child in December 2023, which outlines the principles and criteria local authorities should follow when delivering funded early learning and childcare. The local authori…

13 May 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the phenomenon know as wind theft where larger turbines built near existing turbines impact on the electricity generated.

Answer · Gillian Martin: The selection of a site and the configuration of wind turbines is a matter for the wind farm developer. This process involves comprehensive analysis to ensure the most suitable placement and design for wind turbines. Developers may have to balance the benefit…

22 Apr 2024 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the energy minister has had with ministerial colleagues regarding any support that it provides to communities opposing onshore windfarm developments at public inquiries.

10 Apr 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many out-of-hours doctors have been on call in NHS Dumfries and Galloway on each of the last 30 days, also broken down by the location at which they have been based.

Answer · Neil Gray: The Dumfries and Galloway (D&G) Out of Hours Service do not operate an 'on-call' model of service. Whilst the number of GPs working in the Out of Hours service is not collected routinely by the Board, in the 30 days up to the 11 April, when the Parliamentary…

9 Apr 2024 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment the Ministerial Taskforce on Population has made of the potential impact of the centralisation of services on the sustainability of rural communities.

19 Mar 2024 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to support the creation of new jobs at the Chapelcross site near Annan.

11 Mar 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to support the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of police officers in rural and remote communities such as Dumfries and Galloway.

Answer · Angela Constance: Thanks to an additional £80 million of funding from the Scottish Government in 2023-24, Police Scotland have invested in their workforce - recruiting almost 600 officers in 2023 alone and around 1,480 new officers since the beginning of 2022. Police Scotland…

11 Mar 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered the appropriateness of local authorities as statutory consultees accepting any financial incentives from windfarm developers prior to submitting their statutory response on a proposed development.

Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government is clear that the views of local authorities are an important consideration in the decision-making process for determining energy consents applications. The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 provides a legal framework for the oper…

4 Mar 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the initial predicted contract cost with ACER for Scottish National Standardised Assessments was, and what the actual final cost totalled.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The estimated value in the invitation to tender was £10 million over 5 years. This was not a detailed estimate but a guide price to inform potential bidders – standard practice when issuing an Invitation To Tender of this sort. The contract was extended for a…

4 Mar 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether any representatives from the Scottish Government attended the World Athletics Championships in Glasgow, and, if so, who.

Answer · Kaukab Stewart: From Friday 1st to Sunday 3rd March Glasgow hosted the World Athletics Indoor Championships for the first time in Scotland and only the third time in the United Kingdom. A total of 586 athletes from 128 countries across all six continental areas competed in G…

4 Mar 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to improve the quality of prevalence data on the number of people in Scotland with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), in light of its publication of experimental statistics in December 2022 in the report, Neurological Conditions: estimating the…

Answer · Jenni Minto: National Services Scotland are currently developing a Primary Care Data and Intelligence platform, which will provide a modern digital infrastructure to unlock the value of data from general practice, including prevalence data on neurological conditions. The …

26 Feb 2024 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to support rural NHS boards.

22 Feb 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many disabled members of NHS Scotland staff have been subject to formal disciplinary processes in each of the last five years, and what process is in place to ensure that (a) disabled staff members are treated fairly under conduct policies and (b) disciplinary action takes any di…

Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government does not hold the requested information that may be available from each Health Board as employer. The NHSScotland workforce policies and their supporting documents set the standard for employment practice for all NHS Boards in Scotlan…

20 Feb 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the Coalfields Regeneration Trust small grants were deemed to be in breach of procurement rules.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Coalfields Regeneration Trust’s (CRT’s) grant for 2023-24 has been agreed following the principles of the Scottish Government’s latest grant management guidance which ensures adherence to the Scottish Public Finance Manual instructions. These state that contr…

20 Feb 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of it approaching four years since the report of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review, First Do No Harm, was published, and that three years have nearly passed since the Scottish Government published its plan for delivering on its commitment to implement,…

Answer · Jenni Minto: There has been progress in implementing the Scottish Government’s delivery plan:the Patient Safety Commissioner for Scotland Act 2023 established a Parliamentary Commissioner on patient safetythe Glasgow Complex Mesh Surgical Service offers mesh removal surge…

20 Feb 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to mesh survivors in Scotland, whether it supports the recommendations in The Hughes Report: Options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh.

Answer · Jenni Minto: I refer the member to the answer to the question S60-03094 on 21 February 2024. All answers to Oral questions are available on the Official Report, for which can be found at Meeting of the Parliament: 21/02/2024 | Scottish Parliament Website

8 Feb 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when Individual Training Accounts administered by Skills Development Scotland will reopen to new applicants.

Answer · Graeme Dey: Discussions on the Skills Development Scotland budget for 2024-2025 are ongoing. We hope to confirm the ITA position in the coming weeks.