Parliamentary questions
Finlay Carson
905 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
25 Sep 2024 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its proposed timeline and target date are for the establishment of a leavers fund to support victims of domestic abuse to leave abusive relationships.
19 Sep 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when all of its Fisheries Management Plans will be made public in draft form.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: We are currently working with the other UK administrations to refine the drafting of the Scottish-led FMPs and will undertake further discussions with stakeholders prior to formal consultation. Draft FMPs will be published at the time of the formal consultati…
19 Sep 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether each of its Fisheries Management Plans will be delivered before the deadline.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: At the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee on 11 September, I updated members on the challenges of the current timeframes for all four UK nations in relation to developing quality, credible Fisheries Management Plans and confirmed that I will be writing to th…
19 Sep 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much Seafish was paid to assist in drafting its Fisheries Management Plans.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Seafish has been provided with a grant of £39,479 in connection with the development of Fisheries Management Plans for the North Sea and West of Scotland Nephrops stocks.
19 Sep 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide full details in relation to the commissioning of Seafish to assist in the delivery of its Fisheries Management Plans under the Joint Fisheries Statement.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Seafish have supported Defra to deliver Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs) for English waters. We have also utilised their expertise in Scotland by asking them to support the development of the two Nephrops FMPs.Seafish have been asked to support evidence gath…
18 Sep 2024 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to reassess its tax policies, in light of reports from some businesses that higher taxes are having a negative impact on recruitment, including in the most recent Fraser of Allander Institute survey on Scottish income tax.
12 Sep 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the findings and recommendations set out in Blood Cancer UK’s latest report, UK Blood Cancer Action Plan 2024.
Answer · Neil Gray: I met with Ms Helen Rowntree, CEO of Blood Cancer UK, on 12 September 2024 to discuss their recently published Action Plan. The Scottish Government is pleased to note that the charity’s five recommendations align closely with the ambitions laid out in i…
4 Sep 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when registered social landlords (RSL) will be advised of their 2024-25 budget allocation for aids and adaptations.
Answer · Paul McLennan: Since the integration of health and social care, most funding for aids and adaptations for all housing sectors comes from Health and Social Care Partnerships. Housing adaptations are structural changes to a property made to support a disabled person to live s…
4 Sep 2024 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to ensure that any future Galloway National Park will work in the best interests of local communities.
12 Jun 2024 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what financial support it is providing to housing associations.
30 May 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it is giving to the provision of support for dog owners who are fleeing domestic abuse and seeking accommodation, including (a) any lack of provision by local authorities to house people in temporary accommodation with a dog and (b) the length of time that is spent in …
Answer · Paul McLennan: The Scottish Government recognises the physical and mental health benefits that stem from pet ownership. While there is currently no legal duty on local authorities to house pets, the statutory code of guidance on homelessness and the temporary accommodation…
30 May 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it is giving to the provision of support for homeless dog owners who are seeking accommodation, including (a) any lack of provision by local authorities to house people in temporary accommodation with a dog and (b) the length of time that is spent in temporary accommod…
Answer · Paul McLennan: The Scottish Government recognises the physical and mental health benefits that stem from pet ownership. While there is currently no legal duty on local authorities to house pets, the statutory code of guidance on homelessness and the temporary accommodatio…
30 May 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider strengthening provisions within the Housing (Scotland) Bill to support prospective tenants in addition to those with existing tenancies.
Answer · Paul McLennan: The Bill provides a number of rights for existing tenants and only some would relate to availability of housing which will be the main concern of prospective tenants. The rights created in the Bill mainly apply to those who have a tenancy and there is a clea…
23 May 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many approved providers are available to provide superfast service via the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme in the Mid Galloway and Wigtown West council ward in Dumfries and Galloway.
Answer · Tom Arthur: There are currently 10 suppliers who are registered to deliver services through the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme that may be able to provide a service within the Dumfries and Galloway local authority area, which includes the Mid Galloway and Wigtown…
23 May 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to review the affordability threshold for connections delivered through the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme, which currently stands at £56 per month.
Answer · Tom Arthur: The affordability threshold for the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (R100 SBVS) aligns with that of the broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) set by Ofcom, which is currently £56.20 per month. This threshold is increased by CPI (Consumer Price I…
23 May 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many applications for the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme have been (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful across Dumfries and Galloway.
Answer · Tom Arthur: As at 30 April 2024, through the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (SBVS) 198 connections have been successfully delivered so far across Dumfries and Galloway, 36 are currently planned, and a further 3 have been requested. There are no unsuccessful appli…
23 May 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many properties are still to be connected in Dumfries and Galloway under the R100 programme.
Answer · Tom Arthur: The Scottish Government’s Reaching 100% (R100) programme is being delivered through three key strands of activity – the over £600 million R100 contracts (North, Central and South), the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (R100 SBVS) and continued commercia…
23 May 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the roll-out of the R100 programme in Dumfries and Galloway.
Answer · Tom Arthur: As at 30 April 2024, over 4,900 premises had been connected through the Reaching 100% (R100) South contract in the Dumfries and Galloway local authority area with over 1,400 additional premises connected beyond the contract scope. The R100 South contract rema…
14 May 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what plans it has to clarify additional measurements for monitoring improvements in (a) blood and (b) neurological cancer pathways.
Answer · Neil Gray: An annual report will be published by Scottish Government in Summer 2024 detailing progress made in the first year of the Cancer Action Plan for Scotland 2023-2026 . Officials have been working with third sector organisations to determine what additional me…
14 May 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been diagnosed with myeloma through the Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Service.
Answer · Neil Gray: The recently published University of Strathclyde evaluation report showed that 3% of cancers diagnosed through the Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Services (RCDS) were myeloma. The Scottish Government doesn’t hold data on exact numbers, however a national RCDS dat…
14 May 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to reduce the number of people with myeloma diagnosed through an emergency route.
Answer · Neil Gray: We know that the earlier cancer is diagnosed the easier it is to treat and so a number of Detect Cancer Earlier (DCE) programme initiatives are currently supporting Primary Care referral. The Scottish Referral Guidelines (SRG) for Suspected Cancer were devel…
1 May 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, following the Parliament's agreement of the Scottish Budget in each of the last five years, on what date NHS boards (a) were advised of their individual budget allocations and (b) received their settlement for the next year.
Answer · Neil Gray: a) NHS Boards are informed of their individual baseline funding on the day of the Scottish Budget announcement. In the last five years, this has been: 2020-21 – 6 February 2020 2021-22 – 28 January 2021 2022-23 – 9 December 2021 2023-24 – 15 December 2022…
1 May 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the increase in the National Living Wage from 1 April 2024 will result in an uplift for the Community Pharmacy Scotland financial settlement from the same date.
Answer · Jenni Minto: I recognise the need to provide stability and encourage investment in the community pharmacy network and my officials are in discussions with Community Pharmacy Scotland to reach a financial settlement for 2024-25 which both meets our policy objectives and th…
1 May 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether NHS boards have been advised of their individual financial settlements for 2024-25, and, if so, when they received this funding.
Answer · Neil Gray: NHS Boards were informed of their individual baseline budget for 2024-25 on 19 December 2023, the same day as the 2024-25 Scottish Budget. Their baseline budget is further supplemented by Scottish Government directorate funding allocations throughout the yea…
1 May 2024 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of Historic Environment Scotland properties remain partially closed subject to safety checks.
16 Apr 2024 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the reopening of Historic Environment Scotland sites.
9 Apr 2024 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to promote and improve rail services in Dumfries and Galloway.
14 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of research published by the University of Aberdeen, which reports that cancer patients living in rural areas experience poorer outcomes, and what action it is taking to ensure equitable cancer care across all of Scotland's geography.
Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government welcomes the research published by the University of Aberdeen. We recognise that this data covers the time period between 2007 and 2017 and that there will have been continued service innovation in recent years including, for example, …
14 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to improve equity of access to Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Services, particularly in Scotland's more remote and rural NHS boards.
Answer · Neil Gray: Officials met with every Health Board’s Cancer Management Team in Scotland, including the Island Boards, in March 2024 to discuss their plans for establishing a Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Service (RCDS). The commitment remains, as reflected in Scotland’s Cancer …
14 Mar 2024 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) NHS Scotland and (b) the relevant NHS boards regarding the provision of recurrent funding for (i) existing and (ii) future Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Services.
Answer · Neil Gray: Officials met with every Health Board’s Cancer Management Team in March 2024 to discuss their plans for implementing, or sustaining, a Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Service. All possible funding options for both existing and future services will require careful con…