Finlay Carson

5 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any benefits of free-to-air terrestrial TV and radio services in supporting the physical and mental health and wellbeing of (a) people in rural communities, (b) older people and (c) people on low incomes in Scotland.

Answer · Angus Robertson: The Scottish Government is aware of the health and wellbeing impacts of access to broadcast services on particular demographics from our assessment of research conducted by Ofcom, such as their annual Media Nations reports, and through our engagement with sta…

5 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what representations it has made to Ofcom regarding the potential impact of any agreement to change spectrum allocations at the World Radiocommunication Conference 2023 (WRC-23) on the physical and mental health and wellbeing of (a) people in rural communities, (b) older people and (c) p…

Answer · Angus Robertson: The Scottish Government has not made specific representations to Ofcom in relation to the changes to spectrum allocations due to be discussed at the World Radiocommunication Conference 2023, or the impacts of those changes on particular groups. We understand …

5 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding any potential impact on the health and wellbeing of people in Scotland, particularly people experiencing poverty, what discussions it has had with the UK Government in relation to safeguarding the future of free-to-air terrestrial TV and radio services in Scotland beyond the c…

Answer · Angus Robertson: The Scottish Government has not had any conversations to date with the UK Government in relation to the future of broadcasting beyond 2034. Although decisions on broadcasting are reserved to the UK Government, the Scottish Government retains a strong interest…

4 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to reconsider the Solway Firth as part of its Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy.

Answer · Gillian Martin: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-21544 on 4 October 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committe…

2 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration is given as part of its speed camera safety programme to (a) the impact of speeding vehicles on the health and wellbeing of communities located on trunk or main roads and (b) allocating speed camera programme resources to reduce such speeding.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Safety camera resources are primarily deployed in locations where they have the greatest potential to reduce injury collisions, and where there is evidence of both collisions and speeding. Safety cameras deployments are aimed at improving driver behaviours, l…

18 Sep 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what calculations are carried out to assess the greenhouse gas emissions in areas of clear felling, including the impact of ground disturbance, and what the estimated emissions have been in clear-felled areas in each of the last seven years.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The greenhouse gas impacts of all forest operations, including the effects of ground disturbance, are accounted for in the modelling used for the GHG Inventory, both for the UK and for Scotland. The Inventory is published annually although impacts of specif…

18 Sep 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what total area of forest has been felled in each of the last seven years, broken down by (a) conifers and (b) broadleaf forestry.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The area of forest that has been felled in Scotland is not monitored on an annual basis. Scottish Forestry is the Scottish Government agency responsible for the regulation tree felling and monitors the area approved for felling each year. After approval for f…

18 Sep 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what further consideration is being given to the SW1 option, as part of its Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy.

Answer · Gillian Martin: SW1 was a draft plan option that was considered in the draft Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy (SMP-OWE) and formed part of the consultation in 2019 and 2020. The option was removed before adoption of the final SMP-OWE. The INTOG planning process…

6 Sep 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-20426 by Mairi Gougeon on 29 August 2023, whether it can confirm how many cattle identification inspections, (a) in each year and (b) by each regional office included in its answer (i) were originally planned to review and (ii) actually reviewed rec…

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The number of Cattle Identification Inspections undertaken by the Scottish Government Rural Payments and Inspections Division on cattle keepers in the last five years, detailed per year and regional office and further detailed into originally planned to revie…

30 Aug 2023 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the second Strategic Transport Projects Review in relation to improving the A75.

3 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many livestock inspections were undertaken by the Rural Payments and Inspections Division to "make sure cattle keepers are complying with animal identification and traceability, and (where applicable) voluntary coupled support scheme legislation set by the United Kingdom and European…

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The number of Cattle Identification livestock inspections undertaken by the Scottish Government Rural Payments and Inspections Division on cattle keepers in the last five years is provided in the following table. Cattle Identification Inspections (CII) under…

21 Jul 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps are required, under the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010, to (a) disestablish or dissolve an all-through school and (b) create new partnerships with other schools; whether pupils and parents within the existing catchment area have any involvement in such decisions, a…

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 does not make any specific provision regarding all-through schools or the establishment of partnerships between schools, for example, regarding school management. It is primarily for local authorities to consider…

21 Jul 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) has any role in relation to the curriculum offering or subjects taught in local authority-run schools, and, if so, what its role is.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Under the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman Act 2002 The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman is excluded from considering complaints about the curriculum offering or teaching. They can consider complaints about complaints handling. While the Curriculum for E…

21 Jul 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what mechanism is in place to remedy any non-compliance by local authorities with the provisions of the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: It is the responsibility of the relevant local authority to comply with the provisions of the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 (“the 2010 Act”). The Scottish Government has a power to call in a proposal to permanently discontinue a school or a stag…

21 Jul 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether local authorities have the ability to remove core subjects from a senior phase school without consultation under the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 does not require local authorities to consult on the removal of subjects from a school’s curriculum offer. Under the Education (Scotland) Act 1980, the statutory responsibility for the delivery of education sits…

20 Jun 2023 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to "support the constitutional protection of the specific interests and needs of island communities", as outlined in its latest Building a New Scotland paper.

13 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government in relation to any support payments that are returned through the agricultural cross compliance mechanism, for example, penalties under SMR7, where the funding is returned to.  

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: When we process payments, some will have cross compliance applied to them. If the beneficiary does not comply with the requirements and standards, we deduct this during the payment calculation for EU funding, so in effect, return this to the Commission. For S…

7 Jun 2023 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on what impact poor infrastructure has on the ability of Scottish businesses to succeed.

5 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that there is equal access to women's health services across all parts of Scotland.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Women’s Health Plan sets out actions which aim to address women’s health inequalities by raising awareness around women’s health, improving access to health care for women across their lives, and reducing inequalities in health outcomes for women and girl…

5 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact of accelerated home working and flexible working practices on the health of the working population, and of any consequential impact on the NHS.

Answer · Jenni Minto: Good quality employment contributes to good health. We know that home and flexible working can have both positive and negative impacts on workers’ health and wellbeing. ONS data has found positive and negative health impacts vary by socio-demographic characte…

5 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that NHS dental patients with chronic dental problems or ongoing dental treatment can continue to access non-emergency NHS dental care when it is clinically required.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The new Policy Prospectus, set out by this Government on 18 April, further commits us to sustained and improved equitable national access to NHS dentistry by 2026. This reaffirms our commitment to the sector and to patients in all parts of Scotland. Official…

5 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that any patients who have lost access to NHS dental care, but who require regular NHS dental prescriptions, are able to continue to access any such prescriptions without having to pay for them privately.

Answer · Jenni Minto: We are working closely with affected Boards to ensure that unregistered patients will continue to be able to access emergency and urgent care via Public Dental Service clinics.

5 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that rural communities have access to pharmacy services, within a reasonable distance, in light of reports of continuing shortfalls in pharmacist recruitment in remote and rural communities.

Answer · Jenni Minto: It is for individual Health Boards to ensure that communities have access to pharmacy services within a reasonable distance. However, in our strategy for pharmaceutical care in Scotland ‘Achieving Excellence in Pharmaceutical Care’ (2017) we committed to enha…

5 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether NHS boards should provide palliative care in local healthcare settings, near to patients' families, friends and communities.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government is committed to equitable and timely access to general and specialist palliative care services, as needed, by each person of any age, living with any illnesses, in all places. We want people to receive care where they feel most comfort…

5 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact of delays to the R100 programme on access to digital healthcare services for remote and rural patients.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: Our investment through the R100 programme will be transformational for many of Scotland’s most rural communities and is providing a full fibre backbone that will enable reliable connectivity services to be delivered. An individual’s ability to access digital…

5 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what work it is undertaking to ensure that digital access to medical records, with appropriate safeguards, is facilitated between neighbouring NHS boards, and to other medical services, such as community pharmacies.

Answer · Jenni Minto: We continue to work with key partners across Scotland to ensure that information, with the appropriate safeguards in place, is available to all staff when and where they need it. Regional Clinical Portals support NHS Boards to allow clinicians to access diffe…

5 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact that the reported scarcity of NHS dental care availability in Dumfries and Galloway will have on the (a) oral and (b) general health of the population.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government is aware of emerging access issues within NHS Dumfries and Galloway, noting that this is an area which has suffered disproportionately with dental workforce issues in the past – an issue has only been heightened by the significant loss…

2 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider introducing a patient travel scheme in NHS Dumfries and Galloway similar to that which is available to patients in NHS Highland under the Highlands and Islands Patient Travel Scheme.

Answer · Michael Matheson: I refer the member to the answer to question S5O-04795 on 26 November 2020, the official report can be viewed at Meeting of the Parliament: 26/11/2020 | Scottish Parliament Website As previously confirmed in the Chamber, a review of the arrangements in pla…

2 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how many properties are expected to receive new connections of superfast broadband through the R100 build scheme by its completion.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The R100 contracts are expected to connect over 114,000 premises upon completion. Around 99% of those connections will be fibre to the premises (FTTP) which is capable of delivering gigabit download speeds, over 30 times faster than our original superfast com…

2 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many properties have been provided with new connections of superfast broadband by the R100 build scheme since 2017, broken down by (a) lot and (b) year.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: As outlined in response to S6W-18910, the R100 commitment comprises of three strands of activity - the R100 contracts, the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (R100 SBVS) and continued commercial build. The R100 Central and South contracts were awarded in…