Finlay Carson

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the Scottish Milk and Healthy Snack Scheme will encourage nursery children to drink cow's milk and not cheaper alternatives.

Answer · Maree Todd: The new Scottish Milk and Healthy Snack Scheme will replace the UK Nursery Milk Scheme in Scotland. Payments will be made under the new Scheme from 1 August 2021. The new policy will allow for all children in regulated pre-school settings which register for t…

11 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to (a) farmers and (b) food producers to ensure that school meals provide high dietary benefits.

Answer · John Swinney: All school meals must meet the nutrient standards set out in The Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020, ensuring that children and young people are provided with an appropriate amount of energy and nutrients from t…

9 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what safety measures have been introduced by (a) it and (b) its agencies following the recent cyber-attack that was experienced by SEPA.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government's Cyber Security Operations Centre continues to proactively monitor the SCOTS network for indicators of compromise related to the SEPA attack. Additional work will be undertaken as necessary to review security arrangements as lessons f…

9 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has cost SEPA to restore data, following the recent cyber-attack that it experienced.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-35327 on 1 March 2021. No firm estimate has yet been made of the cost of fully restoring data lost during the cyber-attack.

9 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recent cyber-attack that was experienced by SEPA, whether (a) it and (b) any of its other agencies have been subject to a similar attack in the last 12 months and, if so, whether (i) extortion attempts and (ii) threats to publish online stolen documents were made.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government is not aware of any similar attacks on the Scottish Government or any of its other agencies in the last 12 months.

9 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the recent cyber-attack that was experienced by SEPA has had on the agency’s ability to record levels of fly-tipping, and what information it has regarding the trend in the number of fly-tipping incidents since the attack.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The cyber-attack has affected the way that SEPA works. SEPA’s Dumb Dumpers phone line was switched off immediately after the cyber-attack and SEPA’s website redirects all fly-tipping reports to the Zero Waste Scotland Dumb Dumpers Stop Line online form. Ho…

9 Mar 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government by what date SEPA is expected to return to full operational capacity, following the recent cyber-attack that it experienced.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: While SEPA has already restored a number of services, it is likely to take many months to fully recover its capacity to normal levels. This is a sophisticated criminal cyber-attack that has had a major impact on all of SEPA’s work. Further significant steps …

23 Feb 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the most recent estimate is of the cost of establishing Social Security Scotland.

18 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what financial costs have been incurred to date as a result of the cyber-attack on SEPA, and what the estimated cost is of fully reinstating SEPA’s systems.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: SEPA’s forecast expenditure for 2020-21 on response and recovery actions is circa £790,000. The assessment of the cost of fully restoring its systems is still a work in progress. More than 90% of SEPA’s projected charging income for the financial year had al…

18 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether legislation could be introduced that would move the power of approving the budget of the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission from the Commission to the Scottish Ministers.

Answer · Ash Denham: As I advised the Justice Committee when I wrote to them in December, a consultation seeking views on a new framework of legal services regulation, and associated complaints system, initially planned for 2020, was delayed due to the combined pressures of Cov…

17 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason garden centres have been closed under the current COVID-19 restrictions when other larger retailers that sell garden products and equipment are permitted to remain open.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: In order to the reduce the opportunities for transmission of Covid-19, people should only be leaving their homes for an essential purpose which includes for essential shopping. For those stores that are considered essential retailers and able to remain open,…

17 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what role it believes gardening can play during the COVID-19 pandemic in helping people maintain good mental health and wellbeing.

Answer · Clare Haughey: The Scottish Government recognises the benefits of connecting with nature and exercising outdoors for physical and mental health and wellbeing. We appreciate the value of gardening as one of the many ways that people can be more active. Doing exercise and oth…

17 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to reopen garden centres that meet the social distancing guidelines and other requirements to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-35018 on 12 February 2021. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at  http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusine…

16 Feb 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many new staff will be required to meet the mental health needs of people following the COVID-19 pandemic.

11 Feb 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to introduce a national allowance for kinship and foster carers.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government is committed to continuing to work with partners to take forward the recommendations of the National Review of Care Allowances, including consideration of a Scottish Recommended Allowance for foster care and kinship care. This will imp…

10 Feb 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting court services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

27 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to introduce a medical exemption card to those who cannot wear a face covering.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: A Scottish Government face covering exemption card came into operation at the end of October 2020. The card is a tool to support people to feel more confident and safe when accessing public spaces and using public services but is not intended as proof of exe…

27 Jan 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how it supports older people.

19 Jan 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the support being provided to businesses that have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

14 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) bills, (b) regulations and (c) consultations it has postponed since March 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19, broken down by portfolio area.

Answer · Graeme Dey: In order to respond to the unprecedented challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Scottish Government has since March 2020 re-prioritised its legislative programme to ensure that Government resources and Parliamentary time could be freed up to respo…

14 Jan 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the responses from local authority stakeholders to the consultation on short-term lets, whether it will provide grants or loans to councils to assist with the costs of setting up a licensing scheme, and how many have (a) requested and (b) indicated that they might require ad…

Answer · Kevin Stewart: Local authorities will be able to charge fees to cover the cost of establishing and running their short-term lets licensing scheme. The Scottish Government has no plans to provide grants or loans to local authorities to do so. A total of 23 local authorities…

6 Jan 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made in tackling fly-tipping.

16 Dec 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made on closing the attainment gap between pupils from the most and least deprived backgrounds.

9 Dec 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to the courts system to allow criminal jury trials to proceed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

10 Nov 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assistance it is providing to the UK Government with its review of transport infrastructure.

2 Nov 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to extend free dental treatment to women for a year after the birth of their child, in light of the impact of COVID-19 on accessing treatment.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-32875 on 11 November 2020. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusine…

26 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the system that is currently being used for the roll-out of the flu vaccination programme will also be used for the roll-out of a COVID-19 vaccine once one is available.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Eligibility and prioritisation decision will be based on clinical evidence and we will be guided by the JCVI which provides independent advice on immunisation, including on the efficacy and safety of vaccines and priority groups to be vaccinated. We are taki…

20 Oct 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the Scottish Growth Scheme.

6 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the changes to the COVID-19 restrictions, whether it will provide an update on what funding streams are available to assist squash clubs.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Government recognises the financial pressures felt by the sport sector. Since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak the Scottish Government has worked closely with the UK Government and private and public sector partners to develop a range of suppo…

1 Oct 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the scientific and medical evidence on which the most recent COVID-19 restrictions are based.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government provides regular updates on the response to tackling the pandemic on its website. The evidence on which the most recent COVID-19 restrictions were based was published on 07 October 2020. It can be found at www.gov.scot in the publica…