Rachael Hamilton

12 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it offers to schools to increase cultural participation among children and young people.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government supports cultural participation among children and young people in many different ways. Our long-standing investment of £118 million since 2007 in the Youth Music Initiative has made a huge impact, helping young people in all 32 local…

12 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to increase cultural participation among children and young people.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Through the Youth Music Initiative, Cashback for Creativity programme and funding for Sistema Scotland we are enabling young people all over Scotland to take part in culture. The Cultural Youth Experience Fund will also help more young people to engage with c…

12 Feb 2019 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to forge greater links with Singapore.

5 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with children’s health charities and other organisations regarding the effects of passive smoking around children’s playgrounds, outdoor sports facilities and play parks.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Smoke-free local authority implementation guidance was published in 2017 to support local authorities implement their policies at publicly owned sites. This focusses on implementing smoke-free buildings and grounds and outlines the responsibilities of partner…

5 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider changing legislation to ensure that smoking will become prohibited around children’s playgrounds, outdoor sports facilities and play parks.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Our Action Plan in 2018 stated that we will monitor the implementation of smoking bans in Wales and the implementation of guidance produced by COSLA and NHS Health Scotland on creating smoke-free areas to assess whether legislation is warranted in Scotland.

5 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to conducting an assessment of the impact of passive smoking around children’s playgrounds, outdoor sports facilities and play parks.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Scotland has already led the way on assessments into the potential impact of passive smoking around children’s playgrounds, outdoor sports facilities and play parks. Evidence shows that the risks from second hand smoke are low but the visibility of smoking is…

5 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the submissions that have been made to its National Discussion on Transient Visitor (Tourist) Taxes in Scotland will inform its plan to legislate for a transient visitor levy.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Our national discussion on the tourism tax ran from 23 November to 25 January. We undertook to publish anonymised readouts of the roundtable discussion sessions and the written evidence received, where correspondents have given us permission to do so. The na…

29 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the retrofitting of changing places toilets in public buildings.

Answer · Christina McKelvie: Disabled people continue to experience inequality and so cannot enjoy their rights on an equal basis to others. Creating a fairer and more equal society is a priority for this government. This is why the Scottish Government is consulting on proposals for the…

29 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action is being taken to encourage the fitting of more changing places toilets across the transport network.

Answer · Michael Matheson: There are currently 185 Changing Places Toilets (CPTs) throughout Scotland and the Scottish Government remains committed to increasing this number so that people with complex needs have an accessible network of suitable toilets, can get out and about and are …

29 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the introduction of changing places toilets to building regulations is progressing.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: Proposals for the introduction of a requirement for changing places toilets in certain types of larger new building were investigated during 2018 as part of a broader review of building regulations. We will consult on proposals later this month with the inte…

16 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government by what date it will publish its family justice modernisation strategy.

Answer · Ash Denham: The Programme for Government for 2018-19 announced that there will be a Family Law Bill introduced during this parliamentary session. We will publish the Family Justice Modernisation Strategy when the Family Law Bill is introduced. The Family Justice Modernis…

15 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has with groups that advocate on behalf of grandparents who seek the right to access their grandchildren following family breakdown.

Answer · Ash Denham: We have recently consulted on the review of Part 1 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995. The consultation sought views on whether there should be a presumption in law that grandchildren benefit from contact with their grandparents. We are now considering next …

15 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment has been made of the viability of changing legislation to allow grandparents greater rights regarding the custody of their grandchildren following family breakdown.

Answer · Ash Denham: We have recently consulted on the review of Part 1 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995. The consultation sought views on whether there should be a presumption in law that grandchildren benefit from contact with their grandparents. We are now considering next …

15 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on revising (a) section 11 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 and (b) the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006 to allow greater rights for grandparents to have access to their grandchildren.

Answer · Ash Denham: We have recently consulted on the review of Part 1 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995. Amongst other things, the consultation sought views on whether there should be a presumption in law that grandchildren benefit from contact with their grandparents. We are…

15 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review the Charter of Grandchildren to reflect the changes in the role that grandparents play in the lives of their grandchildren.

Answer · Ash Denham: The Charter for Grandchildren was originally published in April 2006. We republished the Charter of Grandchildren in April 2018 as part of our Your Parenting Plan resource. The Charter for Grandchildren is available at the link below:https://www.gov.scot/publ…

9 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been allocated to each local authority area by the Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund in each of the last 10 years, also broken down by the projects supported.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund, administered by VisitScotland, has to date had one funding round and supported three pilot projects. Information on the pilot projects, funded in 2017-18, is as follows: Pilot Project Local Authority Amount - £ Fair…

9 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many police-recorded common assaults on emergency workers there have been in the Scottish Borders in each of the last five years; broken down by type of emergency worker, and how many led to subsequent (a) arrests, (b) prosecutions and (c) convictions.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The number of common assaults on emergency workers in Scottish Borders recorded by Police in Scotland, 2013-14 to 2017-18 Crime 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 Common Assault of an Emergency Worker 61 68 76 75 61 Source: Recorded Crime in…

9 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has provided to the agritourism sector in each of the last 10 years.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The detailed information requested is currently being collated and I will write to the member as soon as the information is available and a copy will be placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib number 60408).

9 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that recent film studio applications are located in close proximity to each other in the central belt.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government backs the expansion of the screen industry and welcomes the recent private and public sector proposals for studio infrastructure that should help increase the range of available facilities in Scotland and enable our screen sector to ac…

8 Jan 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the Scottish Expert Advisory Panel on the Collaborative Economy last met, and what issues were discussed.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Expert Advisory Panel on the Collaborative Economy met for the last time on 30 November 2017 to discuss its draft report and to approve agreed recommendations for inclusion. The Advisory Panel’s final report published on 29 January 2018, and can …

20 Dec 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many trains have been (a) cancelled and (b) delayed on the Borders Railway in each month since September 2015. 

Answer · Michael Matheson: Transport Scotland does not routinely receive performance information down to this level of detail because the franchise does not obligate ScotRail to provide it. The performance of Borders Line services is reported within the East Suburban service group. Sp…

17 Dec 2018 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that rail transport performs well during the festive period.

27 Nov 2018 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met NHS Borders.

26 Nov 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) purpose and (b) remit is of its Short Term Lets Delivery Group; which groups are represented on it; on what dates it has met; what future meetings are planned; which stakeholders it has engaged with, and by what date it will present its findings.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The purpose and remit of the Short Term Lets Delivery Group is set out in the Scottish Government's response to the recommendations made by the Scottish Expert Advisory Panel on the Collaborative Economy. Full details can be found at https://www.gov.scot/pub…

14 Nov 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the announcement that the FreeStyle Libre glucose monitoring system will be prescribed to everyone in England with type 1 diabetes who qualifies for the technology; what plans it has to offer this system to all eligible people in Scotland, and what progress each NHS board is…

Answer · Jeane Freeman: FreeStyle Libre is already available on prescription in 13 of the NHS Boards. NHS Highland is committed to introducing FreeStyle Libre to patients that meet the agreed criteria, and is working closely with the local Diabetes Service to identify and make the p…

14 Nov 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many neurologists have been employed by each NHS board in each year since 2007.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The number of medical staff employed by each NHS Board, by specialty, from 2007 to the most recent published data as at 30 June 2018, is available on the ISD website: https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Workforce/Publications/2018-09-04/Medical_Trend_J…

14 Nov 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the average waiting time has been for a specialist neurology appointment in each NHS health board in each year since 2007.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The following tables provide the average waiting times for Neurology in days across all NHS territorial NHS Boards from 2007 to 2017. In March 2010, the national standard for new outpatients changed from 15 weeks for General Practitioner/General Dental Pract…

13 Nov 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it provides to support the expansion of the network of public access defibrillators.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Government appreciates the contribution voluntary organisations, businesses and members of the public make by funding public access defibrillators in their local communities. Scottish Government is supporting improving the effectiveness of the us…

13 Nov 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to introduce a standardised identification system for all public access defibrillators to enable the Scottish Ambulance Service to more easily locate them in an emergency situation.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) Public Access Defibrillators (PADs) Register is the arrangement in operation for PADs already in place, in a variety of locations, to be mapped, maintained and accessible to the public. This enables SAS call handlers to di…

13 Nov 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to create a single, comprehensive and publicly available register of the locations of all public access defibrillators.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: There are mobile device applications designed to facilitate bystander CPR and public access defibrillator use during cardiac arrests. An evaluation of these Apps to compare functionality, feasibility and potential benefit for cardiac arrest victims in Scotlan…