Parliamentary questions
Rachael Hamilton
1,432 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
6 Oct 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will revise the guidance on face coverings in places of worship.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government is required by law to regularly review all protective measures that are currently in place, such as the mandatory requirement for the wearing of face coverings in most indoor settings, including places of worship. This measure will con…
4 Oct 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Ofgem's price cap increase, and the £500 million fund announced by the UK Government to support vulnerable households, whether it will provide a similar household support fund in order to alleviate fuel poverty.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government recognise that the recent rises in energy prices, and the increase in the price cap authorised by Ofgem, can only have a negative impact on fuel poor households. While energy markets are a reserved matter, we are taking action, within…
30 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to extend the application deadline for the Pig Producers Fund.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Pig Producers Hardship Support Scheme was set up to compensate pig producers who were paid £15 less per pig by Quality Pork Processors at Brechin, between 8 February and 31 March 2021. It opened for applications on 30 August and closed on 26 September, an…
30 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how much money it has been allocated by the UK Government in relation to Brexit, also broken down by how much of this it has now spent.
Answer · Kate Forbes: From 2017 to the end of 2021 we have received a total of £194.8m in EU Exit preparation consequentials. Spend, both in preparation and post-EU Exit, has been on staff supporting activities such as legislative preparations, and supporting stakeholders and par…
28 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-03183 by Mairi Gougeon on 28 September 2021, whether it will publish a timetable covering the current parliamentary session for the reform of crofting law.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: A decision on the timing of a Bill will be taken by Cabinet in the context of setting the content of future legislative programmes in the normal way.
20 Sep 2021 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to recruit GPs in the Borders.
17 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has not included a crofting reform bill in the Programme for Government 2021-22.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Programme for Government is largely a one year delivery programme, and does not include all of the activity planned by Government over the full parliamentary period. Therefore although crofting reform has not been included in this year's PfG, work will be…
17 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the observations included in an open letter to crofting commissioners from Donald MacKinnon, on behalf of the Board of the Scottish Crofting Federation, dated 14 September 2021.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: It is for the crofting Commission to respond to the matters addressed to it in the letter from the Scottish Crofting Federation. However, the Scottish Government will also consider the broader issues relating to crofting policy. We are already committed to ad…
17 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it is offering to the pork processing industry.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: We fully support the pig sector in Scotland and understand the difficulties created by Covid-19 and the knock-on impact this has had on exports to China. The Scottish Government are running a £715k Pig Producers Hardship Support Scheme to support the sector b…
14 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had or plans with (a) the chief constable and (b) Police Scotland regarding what action can be taken to address the concerns reportedly expressed by the chief constable that non-emergency calls to the force were abandoned 40% of the time due to delays in answering…
Answer · Keith Brown: Police Scotland have advised that this has been an exceptionally busy period for the service and particularly for the Contact, Command and Control Division, with an unprecedented call levels to both the 101 non-emergency number and 999 call lines. The COVID p…
14 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many errors have been recorded with COVID-19 vaccination records, and how many (a) have been and (b) are yet to be rectified.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) has established a dedicated Quality Resolver Team which leads on resolving errors with COVID-19 vaccination records. As of 22 September, NSS Resolver group have resolved over 21,000 cases of incorrect vaccination records,…
14 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the regulations related to the parental viewing of children’s sports in schools.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Our priority is keeping children, young people and school staff safe. The COVID-19 Advisory Sub-Group on Education and Children’s issues keeps the mitigations in schools and ELC settings under constant review. It considered the issue of parental attendance at…
14 Sep 2021 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the aspects of the Strategic Transport Projects Review regarding the Scottish Borders.
13 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the short-term let licensing legislation contradicts the Provision of Services Regulations in UK law.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government’s position is that the short-term let licensing legislation does not contradict the Provision of Services Regulations, the Human Rights Act 1998 (The First Protocol, Article 1), nor The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Uni…
13 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the short-term let licensing legislation contradicts the provisions relating to property contained in the Human Rights Act 1998 (The First Protocol, Article 1), and The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (Article 17).
Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-03027 on 1 October 2021. 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-committe…
13 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on how the overprovision regimes under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Short-term Lets) Order 2021 and Town and Country Planning (Short-term Let Control Areas) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 interact with each other.
Answer · Shona Robison: Draft guidance for local authorities on overprovision is set out in chapter 3 of the Licensing guidance part 2: supplementary guidance for licensing authorities, letting agencies and platforms . Paragraphs 3.37 to 3.41 explain how overprovision policies int…
13 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the short-term let licensing legislation is in line with the Better Regulation Agenda and the Scottish Regulators’ Strategic Code of Practice (Clauses 2 and 3).
Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-03027 on 1 October 2021. 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…
13 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the overprovision regime in the short-term let licensing legislation is ultra vires in terms of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982.
Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-03027 on 1 October 2021. 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-committe…
13 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the comment by the Minister for Local Government and Housing on 8 November 2017 in relation to the antisocial behaviour powers available to local authorities, whether it expects local authorities to enforce the Antisocial Behaviour Notices (Houses Used for Holiday Purposes) (…
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government fully supports the police, local authorities and the court services to take appropriate and proportionate action to tackle antisocial behaviour. We expect all relevant authorities to use the powers available to them to deal with antiso…
13 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to review the effectiveness of the Antisocial Behaviour Notices (Houses Used for Holiday Purposes) (Scotland) Order 2011.
Answer · Shona Robison: We have no plans to review the Antisocial Behaviour Notices (Houses Used for Holiday Purposes) (Scotland) Order 2011 at this time. However, we are always open to listening to the police, local authorities, the court services and communities to see how we can …
13 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the comment by the Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning on 8 January 2020 in relation to the plans for the short-term let licensing regime, whether ensuring the safety of occupants was the rationale for introducing the policy, and whether that continues to be t…
Answer · Shona Robison: On 8 January 2020, Mr Stewart, the then Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning, emphasised the importance of the safety of visitors, hosts, neighbours and local residents in his statement to the Scottish Parliament. This was the rationale for int…
13 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what constitutes overprovision in terms of the operation of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Short-term Lets) Order 2021.
Answer · Shona Robison: Draft guidance for local authorities on overprovision is set out in chapter 3 of the Licensing guidance part 2: supplementary guidance for licensing authorities, letting agencies and platforms . The guidance will be revised and updated working with stakehol…
13 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what empirical data it expects local authorities to provide to allow the introduction of a short-term let control area.
Answer · Shona Robison: Guidance for local authorities on establishing control areas and the reasons and evidence they need is set out in chapter 2 of Planning circular 01/2021: short-term let control areas .
9 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reported ferry cancellations, what action it is taking to ensure that fresh produce ferry freight is able to be moved effectively.
Answer · Graeme Dey: The Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services (CHFS) and Northern Isles ferry Service (NIFS) operators will always try to ensure that fresh produce freight is moved quickly and effectively. At times of disruption and cancellation they seek to prioritise or move freig…
9 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many applications to the Seafood Producers Resilience Fund have been (a) received, (b) approved and (c) declined, and how much funding has been distributed.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: 1,020 applications were received under the Seafood Producers Resilience Fund. 911 applications were approved and paid a total of £5,808,112 with 109 applications declined.
9 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how the Scottish Forestry Regional Strategic Woodland Creation Project fits with the (a) role of Regional Land Use Partnerships and Frameworks and (b) South of Scotland Regional Land Use Partnership pilot.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Scottish Government supports the planting of the right tree in the right place. Forest and woodland strategies, including the Scottish Borders Woodland Strategy , set the regional framework for woodland expansion and are developed by the local authority…
9 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action is being taken to ensure that people's COVID-19 vaccination records are accurate and display the appropriate information.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government and National Services Scotland are working to ensure that COVID-19 records, in terms of vaccinations show complete accuracy. This will be assisted by the digital application to record the COVID-19 vaccine, which will be available from…
9 Sep 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) deer and (b) pregnant hinds have been shot on Forestry and Land Scotland land in each of the last five years, also broken down by how many were shot (i) at night and (ii) outside of the closed season.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: The total number of deer shot on Scotland’s national forests and land in the last five years is as follows: Year Shot (a) Deer Culled (i) Shot at Night (ii) Shot Out of Season Shot at Night & Out of Season (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) 2016 31,684 12,888 …
8 Sep 2021 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it supports schools in delivering high-quality education for children with additional support needs.
31 Aug 2021 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it can offer the Borderlands region with its bid to be UK City of Culture 2025.