Emma Harper

31 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of the introduction of baby boxes on parents in (a) Dumfries and Galloway and (b) the Scottish Borders.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Between the introduction of the Baby Box in August 2017 and 31 March 2025, 7,916 Baby Boxes have been delivered to families in NHS Dumfries and Galloway, and 5,948 in the Scottish Borders. Over the past six years, the uptake rate has been over 91%. The Baby B…

31 Mar 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many baby boxes have been issued in the NHS (a) Dumfries and Galloway and (b) Borders area since (i) their introduction and (ii) 31 March 2024.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Scotland’s universal Baby Box programme opened for registration on 15 June 2017, and delivery of Baby Boxes nationwide began on 15 August 2017 for all babies born and resident in Scotland.The total number of Baby Boxes issued since the introduction of t…

20 Mar 2025 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on publication of the UK Pesticides National Actional Plan.

Answer · Jim Fairlie: The UK Pesticides National Action Plan (NAP) was published on 21 March 2025.The NAP is a UK-wide document which sets out the shared ambition of the Scottish Government, Defra, the Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive. It aims to minimise the ri…

4 Mar 2025 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the new deal for agriculture and its agricultural support schemes will aim to support the dairy sector.

28 Feb 2025 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the progress of the Scottish Hospital’s Inquiry’s investigations into the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People and the Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Edinburgh.

Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Hospitals Inquiry concluded its hearings on the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People and the Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Edinburgh (RHYCP/DCN) last summer. Today, the Chair of the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry, Lord Brodie, publishe…

26 Feb 2025 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to support increased levels of sport and physical activity in Dumfries and Galloway.

19 Feb 2025 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the progress and impact of the £30 million allocated in 2024-25 to reduce NHS waiting times.

Answer · Neil Gray: NHS Boards have exceeded the commitment to deliver 64,000 appointments and procedures in 2024-25, funded through our additional investment of £30 million to drive action to address the longest waits.To the end of January 2025, Boards are reporting deliv…

19 Feb 2025 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the announcement by Creative Scotland that it will provide multi-year funding to deliver cultural and creative programmes.  

13 Feb 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to extend the planning exclusion zone at the Eskdalemuir Seismological Array beyond 10km to allow additional generational capacity, as suggested by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) report, Consultation on the Ministry of Defence's approach to safeguarding the Eskdalemuir S…

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The Scottish Government is committed to working with the UK Government, including the Ministry of Defence, with the aim of developing a solution that opens up the possibility of onshore wind deployment in the Eskdalemuir area whilst ensuring the protection of…

13 Feb 2025 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, what discussions it has had with the Eskdalemuir Working Group, in light of the publication of the Ministry of Defence report, Consultation on the Ministry of Defence's approach to safeguarding the Eskdalemuir Seismological Array, and when the group will next meet.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) consultation on its proposals regarding its approach to safeguarding the Eskdalemuir Seismological Array closed on 20 December 2024. The MOD is currently reviewing the consultation responses.The Eskdalemuir Working Group …

6 Feb 2025 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making with supporting farmers and crofters to deliver its Vision for Agriculture.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Today the First Minister will outline a £20m package of support to assist in implementing transformational change required to deliver its Vision for Scottish Agriculture. This will provide:capital funding to support investment in equipment and measures …

29 Jan 2025 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has carried out an assessment of the economic impact on Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders of the South Scotland Enterprise Agency, since its inception in 2019.

13 Jan 2025 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with NHS Dumfries and Galloway regarding the provision of dentistry.

17 Dec 2024 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what work is underway to improve national flood resilience.

Answer · Gillian Martin: We know that flooding in Scotland will become more frequent and more severe in the decades ahead. As our biggest climate adaptation challenge, we need to do all we can to be prepared for this. That is why today we will publish Scotland’s first Flood Res…

4 Dec 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is regarding what support should be provided to people with dyslexia when appearing before the judiciary.

Answer · Angela Constance: Access to inclusive communication is a fundamentally important matter for people using public services, many of whom have diverse communication needs, and that is why the Scottish Government is investing in new guidance and tools to strengthen the public sect…

4 Dec 2024 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to people who are going through family court proceedings.

26 Nov 2024 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to ensure that national speed limits and speed limits for HGVs are appropriate for Scotland.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Scotland's Road Safety Framework to 2030 sets out a vision for Scotland to have the best road safety performance in the world by 2030 and an ambitious long-term goal where no one is seriously injured or killed on our roads by 2050. However, the number of fata…

26 Nov 2024 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to publish a final Biodiversity Strategy and Delivery Plan.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: I am delighted to confirm that today the final Scottish Biodiversity Strategy and Delivery plan is being published. The strategy sets out our ambition: to halt the loss of nature by 2030 and to make significant progress in restoring nature by 2045.Our Strateg…

21 Nov 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made with the implementation of the Good Food Nation Plan for Scotland, and which (a) local authorities and (b) public bodies have met the requirement in the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022 to submit a Good Food Plan.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022 ("the Act") requires Scottish Ministers to publish a national Good Food Nation Plan. Work on the first iteration of the plan is currently underway. The Scottish Government published a draft of the national Good Food Na…

12 Nov 2024 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement Transport Scotland has with regional transport partnerships, such as SWestrans, regarding contractual requirements for key local public transport services, including the provision of rural buses.

7 Nov 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding child contact hearings, what action it is taking to ensure that Scottish Family Court processes are streamlined so as to maximise the opportunity for fathers, where it is appropriate, to have meaningful contact with their children without any unnecessary and bureaucratic delay…

Answer · Siobhian Brown: It is the Scottish Government’s view that delay in child contact proceedings will usually not be in the best interests of the child.The Children (Scotland) Act 1995 (the 1995 Act) is the key legislation in relation to child contact and residence. In dec…

30 Oct 2024 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its work regarding the Social Isolation and Loneliness Strategy, particularly in relation to rural areas ahead of the winter months.

18 Sep 2024 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the local government funding settlement, what discussions the finance secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding the potential revenue that local authorities could generate through Decriminalised Parking Enforcement regimes in their areas.

16 Sep 2024 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what the implications are for public health in Scotland of the UK Government’s announcement that it plans to ban junk food advertising before 9.00 pm.

27 Aug 2024 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with Network Rail and ScotRail with regards to improving the Dumfries-Glasgow train service.

17 Jul 2024 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Chair of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry’s report on Module 1, covering pre-pandemic preparedness and resilience, which publishes on 18 July 2024.

Answer · Kate Forbes: We welcome the publication of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry’s Module 1 report on pre-pandemic preparedness and resilience. A copy of the report is available online at Module 1 Report - UK Covid-19 Inquiry (covid19.public-inquiry.uk) . The Scottish Government wil…

8 Jul 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the estimated cost has been to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service of call-outs to vacant, abandoned and derelict buildings in each year since 2016.

Answer · Siobhian Brown: This information is not collected or held by the Scottish Government. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service have the resources in place to provide the appropriate response to every incident which occurs in Scotland, including fires in abandoned or derelict bui…

5 Jul 2024 · Inspired Question

To ask the Scottish Government when ministers will be in a position to provide an update to the Parliament on the work of the Chief Medical Officer’s office to review the recommendations of the Cass Review and its implications for Scotland.

Answer · Jenni Minto: Today, the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) has laid the multidisciplinary team's full report (SG/2024/132) in Parliament. The CMO is also writing to the Convener of the Health, Social Care and Sport committee to set out the findings of the multidisciplinary team.…

24 Jun 2024 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on the Scottish Government’s work to roll out the Carer Support Payment.

19 Jun 2024 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how citizens' assemblies can help ensure that the views of people in rural communities are taken into account in decision-making on matters of importance to rural Scotland.