Rachael Hamilton

13 Nov 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to educate school pupils about acid attacks.

Answer · John Swinney: Curriculum for Excellence is the national approach to learning and teaching for young people aged 3 to 18 in Scotland. It provides significant flexibility, within broad national guidelines, for teachers to develop lessons which best meet the needs of individu…

13 Nov 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that all incidents of acid attacks are properly recorded and monitored.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Police Scotland treats any incident involving the use of acid to attack another person with the utmost seriousness, and will keep each case under review as their investigations proceed. The production of the National Statistics on police recorded crime is a …

5 Nov 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to improve the speed at which students with (a) dyslexia and (b) dyspraxia receive Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) support.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all students with a disability, long term medical condition or additional support needs are fully supported throughout their studies. This academic year, the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) has made…

5 Nov 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the target time is for disabled students to receive Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) support for the start of the academic year.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) are committed to ensuring that all students will have their funding (tuition fee and living-cost support) in place by the start of their course. To make this possible, students need to apply by 30 June each year with …

1 Nov 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what additional funding it will be providing to local authorities as a consequence of the Vibrant Libraries, Thriving Schools strategy.

Answer · John Swinney: Decisions on the level of local authority funding settlement for 2019-20 are subject to negotiation with COSLA and the results will be confirmed as part of the Budget next month. The Scottish Government is already providing £1 million over three years throug…

29 Oct 2018 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to ensure that there is mental health support for college and university students.

24 Oct 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce levels of social isolation among older people.

18 Oct 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the First Minister’s speech at the Scottish Tourism Alliance Conference on 1 October 2018, whether it will hold a public consultation regarding introducing a so-called tourism tax and if so, what the timeline for this will be.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: As indicated by the First Minister, the Scottish Government will hold an open, inclusive and transparent national discussion around the issues related to Tourism Tax. This is not an official public consultation consulting on specific proposals from the Scotti…

18 Oct 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) community mental health nurses, (b) mental health nurses, (c) consultant psychiatrists, (d) psychologists NHS Borders has employed in each year since 2007.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The number of mental health nurses employed by NHS Borders 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/Non-Medical_Trend_J2018.xls…

18 Oct 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to control the spread of larch disease in the Scottish Borders.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Scottish Government is maintaining its investment in the extensive programme of surveillance, monitoring, research, and rapid action to help slow down the spread and reduce the impact of Phytophthora ramorum on larch. Our surveillance programme has ensured ea…

18 Oct 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many farm businesses are awaiting outstanding CAP payments for (a) 2017 and (b) 2018.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: As at 5 November 98.9% of all Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments for 2017 had been completed, with only 37 BPS payments still to make. We have also completed 99.57% of all 2017 payments under the Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme and Scottish Upland Shee…

18 Oct 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how may (a) collisions and (b) other accidents there have been on the (i) A1, (ii) A68 and (iii) A7 in each year since 2007, also broken down by how many led to (A) fatal and (B) serious injury and the number of people (1) killed and (2) seriously injured.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Police Scotland collect data on road traffic accidents that were a) reported to the police and b) involved someone being injured or killed. The following tables show the number of injury road accidents and the number of casualties recorded by the police as o…

18 Oct 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the maintenance budget for the (a) A1, (b) A68 and (c) A7 for 2018 has been in each year since 2007.

Answer · Michael Matheson: A copy of this information has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre, BIB number 60193.  

19 Sep 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met the UK Government to discuss UK bills that contain proposals that impact on Scotland.

18 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the Scottish Health Technology Committee last discussed the Freestyle Libre glucose monitoring system.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Health Technologies Group considered the evidence for FreeStyle Libre flash glucose monitoring device, at their meeting on 25 June 2018.

11 Sep 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recommendations regarding the A1 in the Jacobs report, Borders Transport Corridors.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government recognises the important role the A1 plays in providing access to key markets, jobs and services between the south east of Scotland and north east England and beyond. The recommendation in respect of the A1, one of 21 emerging options …

4 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what quantity of (a) antibacterials, (b) sea lice treatments, (c) anthelmintics, (d) fungicides and (e) anaesthetics has been used in the salmon farming industry in each year since 2007.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Sales of veterinary fish antibiotics are recorded by the UK Veterinary Medicine Directorate. Data is not broken down at the national level. Sales do not necessarily equate to use. The most recent sales report can be found here; https://www.southampton.ac.uk/…

4 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it estimates has been lost from the economy as a result of sea lice infestation.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Scottish Government does not hold information on the economic loss resulting from sea lice. The Scottish salmon farming industry estimated recently that their cost of controlling sea lice is in the region of £70 million per annum.

4 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of salmon is rejected due to exceeding the lice infestation threshold.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: There is no human health implication from the presence of sea lice. Operators may make a commercial decision to remove product from the market for quality control purposes.

4 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many recorded fish deaths due to sea lice there have been in each of the last 10 years.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Under current fish health legislation, it is a requirement to report increased mortality in aquaculture animals to either a veterinarian or Scottish Government's fish health inspectorate. The total number of salmon mortalities specifically attributable to sea…

4 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it (a) monitors and (b) manages effluent from fish farms.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: SEPA as Scotland's environmental regulator: (a) monitors the impact of operational fish farms on the sea bed through a combination of monitoring provided by the operators and the results of its own monitoring and investigative surveys to check that relevant …

4 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many cases of chronic lice infestation on fish farms have been reported in each of the last 10 years.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: Fish farms report average adult female sea lice numbers above reporting and intervention levels to Scottish Government’s Fish Health Inspectorate (FHI). These reports are used to assess whether satisfactory measures are in place to prevent, control and reduce…

29 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of research by the James Hutton Institute, which suggests that they are at risk of losing more than 25% of their population by 2046, what action it is taking to reduce population decline in rural areas.

Answer · Fergus Ewing: The Scottish Government recognises that people are key to driving forward our rural communities and economies. In order to retain and attract people, action is needed to grow the rural economy and to invest in the infrastructure that supports communities lik…

21 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it gives to premises license (a) holders and (b) applicants regarding assisting people who have a hidden disability.

Answer · Ash Denham: The Scottish Government published Guidance for Completing a Disabled Access and Facilities Statement to support applicants in completing, and local authorities in assessing, the required statement. The Guidance advises that it is important to consider that no…

21 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it gives to premises license (a) holders and (b) applicants regarding providing clear information about access for disabled people.

Answer · Ash Denham: The Scottish Government has published Guidance for Completing a Disabled Access and Facilities Statement to support applicants in completing, and local authorities in assessing, the required statement. The Scottish Government encouraged local authorities to p…

21 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on publishing a register of licensed premises that offer full access for disabled people.

Answer · Ash Denham: Legislation on equalities is largely reserved to the UK Government at Westminster. However since 30 March 2018, individuals applying to their local Licensing Board for a new liquor premises licence have been required to provide a disability access and facili…

9 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to protect the National Records of Scotland.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: National Records of Scotland (NRS) take forward a number of activities to protect the records in their care. This includes: - The records are held in secure storage. Specialist conservators are employed to ensure that records are stored in the correct condit…

9 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many applicants to the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2018 are from Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) quintile (a) Q1, (b) Q2, (c) Q3, (d) Q4 and (e) Q5 areas, and how this compares with each year since 2007.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of applicants to the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland by SIMD quintile between 2007 and 2018. Information on the number of applicants to Conservatoires is collected by UCAS. Provider-level data i…

9 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many places have been offered at undergraduate level for (a) music, (b) drama and (c) dance at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in each year since 2007.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government does not hold information on how many places have been offered at undergraduate level for music, drama or dance at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in each year since 2007. Information on the number of applicants to Conservatoires …

9 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many nurses have (a) joined and (b) left NHS Borders in each year since 2007.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The number of joiners and leavers across an entire year is not captured centrally. However, the equivalent information available centrally, showing the number of net joiners and net leavers for qualified nursing and midwifery staff in NHS Borders each year be…