Rachael Hamilton

25 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its analysis of the consultation responses on Highly Protected Marine Areas, which was launched in December 2022.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: The analysis of the Scottish Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs) consultation and the Scottish Government response were published on the Scot.gov website on Tuesday 7 November. These documents can be accessed via the following links: Consultation Analysis …

18 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to update the Mobile Homes Act 1983.

Answer · Paul McLennan: Following the necessary consultation , the Scottish Government confirmed in June 2023 that it intends to update the Mobile Homes Act 1983 to change the presumed basis of pitch fee uprating from the Retail Prices Index to the Consumer Prices Index, for both …

16 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to any potential applicability in Scotland of the approaches taken in Norway to aquaculture consenting and innovation, in light of its recent participation at Aqua Nor in Trondheim.  

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Aqua Nor Conference in Trondheim was a fantastic opportunity to showcase the innovation, technology and research of Scottish aquaculture to an international audience. A new Consenting Task Group has been formed to take forward and pilot key recommendatio…

16 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether its recently published Innovation Strategy will encourage and facilitate the establishment of a marine innovation site.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: I refer the member to the answer to S6W-22257 on 3 November 2023. The National Innovation Strategy addresses the challenges and actions we need to take to ensure we deliver across the entire range of innovation activity in Scotland, and how we can best utili…

16 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will explore the establishment of a marine innovation site.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government seeks to support the adoption of innovative aquaculture practices and recognises the role which legislative frameworks and other incentives play in fostering innovation. A recent example is the reduction of SEPA’s CAR licence fees by 5…

16 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to promote innovation in Scotland’s aquaculture sector. 

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government recognises the crucial role that innovation plays in enabling the sustainable development of Scottish aquaculture. We will continue to work with our enterprise agencies, innovation centres, and other relevant stakeholders to find ways …

11 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether there are plans for another extension of the White-tailed Eagle Action Plan.

Answer · Gillian Martin: The current Action Plan ends in December 2023. Future plans will be informed by the review mentioned in my answer to question S6W-22193 on 26 October 2023. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search fa…

11 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what place white-tailed eagles have in its biodiversity strategy.

Answer · Gillian Martin: The Draft Scottish Biodiversity Strategy includes commitments to continue effective species recovery, reintroduction and reinforcement programmes and to introduce an agricultural future support framework which delivers for nature restoration and biodiversity.…

11 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether NatureScot’s Sea Eagle Management Scheme should be reformed, in light of the reported increased predation of farming livestock by white-tailed eagles.

Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government and NatureScot have agreed to undertake a review of the Sea Eagle Management Scheme and White-tailed Eagle Action Plan. Terms of reference for this work have been drafted and will be shared with the Sea Eagle National Stakeholder Panel…

11 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking to tackle sheep predation by white-tailed eagles.

Answer · Gillian Martin: NatureScot, through the Sea Eagle Management Scheme, delivers a range of measures to support farmers and crofters to manage sheep flocks to mitigate the impacts of sea eagle predation. These include:Provision of one-to-one advice from experienced contractors…

11 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with farmers and crofters regarding predation by white-tailed eagles.

Answer · Gillian Martin: Scottish Government Rural Payment and Inspectorate Division staff and NatureScot staff are part of the National Sea Eagle Stakeholder Panel. The panel is represented by a range of interests including a number of farming and crofting organisations Alongside …

11 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is currently running any marketing or recruitment campaigns to encourage more GPs to work in NHS boards in predominantly rural areas such as the Scottish Borders and the Highlands.

Answer · Michael Matheson: We launched a GP recruitment campaign in June 2022, as part of our commitment to increase the number of GPs in Scotland. The campaign seeks to encourage GPs from the rest of the UK to relocate to Scotland, highlighting the flexible, supportive, collaborative,…

11 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has discussed the most appropriate ways to support people with endometriosis with colleges and universities in Scotland’s further and higher education sectors; if so, when these discussions last took place, and when any further discussions are planned to take place.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all students with a long term medical condition or additional support needs are supported as they study in further and higher education. Colleges and universities are autonomous bodies with responsibility …

11 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has gathered any information on awareness of endometriosis among the general public, and, if so, whether it will publish those findings.

Answer · Jenni Minto: In March 2023, the Scottish Government ran an endometriosis public awareness campaign in partnership with Young Scot, targeted primarily at increasing young people’s awareness of the condition. Following the campaign a post-evaluative survey ran to measure t…

11 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown by age group of the number of women in Scotland with endometriosis.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The information requested is not held by the Scottish Government.    

11 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its most recent estimate is of the cost to the Scottish economy of endometriosis in (a) treatment, (b) healthcare costs and (c) loss of work.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The information requested is not held by the Scottish Government.  

11 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its most recent estimate is of the number of women in Scotland with endometriosis.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government does not hold this information, however it is estimated that one in ten women in the UK currently have endometriosis .  

11 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many nurses have been employed in the NHS in each of the last three years, also broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Information on how many nurses have been employed in the NHS in each of the last three years, also broken down by NHS board, can be found on the TURAS NHS Education for Scotland workforce statistics site at: NHS Scotland workforce | Turas Data Intelligence

11 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many women currently waiting for a diagnosis of endometriosis have been waiting more than (a) one year, (b) five years and (c) 10 years.

Answer · Jenni Minto: This is a matter for the Health Boards. The information requested is not held centrally.  

11 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether there is any guidance for (a) public and (b) private sector employers on how to support employees with endometriosis.

Answer · Jenni Minto: As set out in the Women’s Health Plan , we are committed to developing a menopause and menstrual health workplace policy for NHS Scotland, as an example of best practice and to promote equivalent efforts across the public, private and third sector. This pol…

11 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many farmers its ministers spoke with regarding the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill prior to its introduction.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Information on those who engaged with the consultation, the findings of this extended engagement and total number that attend the events can be found at this link: https://www.gov.scot/publications/agriculture-bill-analysis-consultation-responses . Engagem…

11 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the final version of the Endometriosis Pathway for Scotland has been formally shared across NHS Scotland, and, if not, when that will happen.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Endometriosis Referral Care Pathway for Scotland was published by the Centre for Sustainable Delivery in January 2023 and distributed to NHS Scotland Boards.

11 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a list of all GP surgeries that have closed in each of the last five years, also broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government does not hold a list of how many GP surgeries have closed. Health Boards are responsible for managing GP contracts. Public Health Scotland publishes quarterly information about GP practices in Scotland. Gathering Views | HIS Engage

11 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether Scottish Prison Service guidelines on the management of trans prisoners are compliant with its policy of gender self-identification that is open to every person over the age of 16 with a Scottish birth register entry or who is ordinarily resident in Scotla…

Answer · Angela Constance: I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows: SPS does not have a policy for gender self-identification. SPS does however retain the right to place people in a way that both meets …

11 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, pending the outcome of the judicial review of the decision of the UK Secretary of State for Scotland to issue an order under section 35 of the Scotland Act 1998 in respect of the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill, whether it plans to implement a gender self-identification policy…

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: It is for individual organisations to create their own policies in accordance with the Equality Act 2010. The Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill does not modify the Equality Act 2010. The Scottish Parliament’s power to legislate on equality is limited …

6 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Forestry Grant Scheme budget has been underspent in any financial year since its inception.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Forestry Grant Scheme opened for applications in 2015 as part of the Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP) and initially had a 7 year budget of £36m per year. The Forestry Grants budget has since been reviewed on an annual basis, as part of the wide…

6 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how often the Agriculture Reform Implementation Oversight Board meets, and, on average, how long each meeting lasts.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-22110 on 30 October 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-committ…

6 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government by what date it plans to publish the guidelines for farmers to adopt ahead of the proposed implementation of provisions in the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: I refer the member to the answer to S6W-22110 on 30 October 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/writt…

6 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what work it has undertaken to establish a threshold for tapering agricultural payments under provisions in the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-22110 on 30 October 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-committ…

6 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to fast-track initial applications for practitioners to use more than two dogs as a means of controlling predator populations in Scotland, in light of any anticipated overlap in processing times and the implementation of new guidelines on this practice.

Answer · Gillian Martin: The NatureScot licensing team will prioritise applications for practitioners to use more than two dogs as a means of controlling predators for preventing serious damage, and where there is a high risk of imminent damage, applications can be turned around with…