Parliamentary questions
Alex Cole-Hamilton
2,700 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
17 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many civil servants have worked (a) full-time and (b) part-time on its four-day working week public sector pilot, since April 2023.
Answer · Neil Gray: Four civil servants have worked part-time on its four-day working week four-day working week public sector pilot, since April 2023.
17 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the letter to the COVID-19 Recovery Committee from the then Minister for Just Transition, Employment and Fair Work, dated 28 March 2023, whether it will set out the ways in which it has taken forward the aims of the Centre for Workplace Transformation through (a) the National…
Answer · Neil Gray: The CfWT was intended to be a “centre of expertise” to test new ideas around post-pandemic ways of working, providing research and advice to support innovative solutions to improve workplace productivity and wellbeing as well as being the support mechanism fo…
17 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the (a) proposals and (b) approved plans for its four-day working week public sector pilot, including the (i) terms of reference, (ii) objectives and (iii) assessment criteria.
Answer · Neil Gray: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-23120 on 7 December 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-committ…
15 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-20632 by Shona Robison on 11 September 2023, whether the (a) stage 1 desktop and (b) stage 2 visual inspection of the Scottish Government Estate has been competed, and, if so, what the outcome of each of these inspections was.
Answer · Shona Robison: The stage 1 desktop and stage 2 visual inspections of core Scottish Government Estate was concluded and the report received 23 November 2023. 65 buildings were inspected. No RAAC has been identified. 19 properties require a further intrusive inspection in lin…
15 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-20204 by Jenni Minto on 14 August 2023, whether the National Hub to review all child and neonatal deaths has published its first report.
Answer · Jenni Minto: In February 2023, the National Hub published a report which provided an overview of activity undertaken since the launch of the Hub in October 2021. The report can be viewed at National Hub overview report: Year 1: 01 October 2021 - 30 September 2022 (health…
15 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government on what date the findings of the NHS Healthcare Improvement Scotland review of the increase in neonatal mortality will be published.
Answer · Jenni Minto: We have commissioned Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) to undertake a review of the increase in neonatal mortality across Scotland in 2021-22. The review will seek to understand whether there are any contributing factors to this increase, drawing on relev…
14 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of drugs deaths in the Lothian region in each year since 2018 have been linked to fentanyl or other synthetic opioids such as Captagon.
Answer · Elena Whitham: The Scottish Government does not hold this information. The annual National Records of Scotland publication on drug-misuse deaths does include data on the geographic split of drug deaths by substance, but the categories only include ‘any opioid’, ‘heroin/morp…
13 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what work it is undertaking to ascertain for what reason excess deaths in Scotland are reportedly far higher than pre-COVID-19 levels, at 3,255 to date in 2023, and what information it has that may explain any such increase.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government closely monitor excess deaths statistics and work closely with our analytical partners Public Health Scotland (PHS) and National Records of Scotland (NRS) to understand the causes of excess deaths. NRS are responsible for publishing S…
13 Nov 2023 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister when the Cabinet will next meet.
1 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy raised any concerns in relation to human rights during his visit to the United Arab Emirates in October 2023.
Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government is committed to upholding its robust standards when it comes to Human Rights. I visited the UAE between 24-27 October and met senior government and business leaders to promote Scotland’s planned COP28 business programme and advance our…
24 Oct 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to support the work of Police Scotland in light of a reported decline in policing numbers.
Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government continue to invest in policing, investing £1.45 billion in policing in 2023/24, increasing the resource budget of Police Scotland by an additional £80m. Police Scotland have utilised this additional funding to invest in their workforc…
23 Oct 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to review the current regulation for enforcement of taxi bays.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: Taxis and private hire cars are licensed under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 ("the 1982 Act"). While the Scottish Government has responsibility for the overarching legislation, the day to day administration of the licensing regime is devolved to in…
23 Oct 2023 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister when the Cabinet will next meet.
6 Oct 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has been contacted by any organisations or local authorities about any issues in relation to finding people qualified to assess buildings for the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Issues of RAAC competence and capacity building were discussed at the RAAC Cross-Sector Working Group meeting of 22 September. Minutes from that meeting are published on The Scottish Government Website at: Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC): Cross…
6 Oct 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people in Scotland have undertaken any training necessary to be able to assess whether reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete is present in buildings.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-22080 on 23 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-committ…
6 Oct 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people in Scotland are currently registered as being qualified to assess whether reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete is present in buildings.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-22080 on 23 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-committ…
6 Oct 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what training a person needs to be able to identify reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete and assess whether it is present in a building.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-22080 on 23 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-committ…
6 Oct 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many qualified engineers and assessors there currently are in Scotland who are able to ascertain whether reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete is present in a building, and whether it is able to determine how high the demand for these engineers and assessors currently is.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: There is no specific qualification required to investigate and confirm the presence of RAAC in a building. The Institution of Structural Engineers note on their website that: “Identification can be undertaken by an experienced estate/ maintenance manager/ or …
4 Oct 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how much money from Chinese companies has been invested into Scottish universities in each of the last five years.
Answer · Graeme Dey: Universities in Scotland are autonomous bodies, and the Scottish Government does not hold data on the level and nature of financial investment from China.
4 Oct 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it can do to ensure that Scottish Government buildings are safe from any outside interference, in light of the reported allegations of Chinese state spies in the UK Parliament.
Answer · Shona Robison: Outside interference is a risk which the Scottish Government is aware of through our regular threat analysis and risk assessment processes. The Scottish Government employs a range of measures to mitigate this type of risk as much as possible. As I’m sure Mr C…
4 Oct 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will carry out a risk assessment of any investment from China in Scottish universities, to determine what the impact on (a) universities and (b) university cities would be in the event that any such investment stopped.
Answer · Graeme Dey: Our universities are autonomous and responsible for ensuring their alliances and partnerships are safe and appropriate. The alliances that our further and higher education institutions forge across global academic networks are a matter for them and their gove…
29 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what NHS Grampian's (a) (i) NHS Scotland Resource Allocation Committee (NRAC) formula target and (ii) actual funding allocation and (b) distance from NRAC parity has been in each year since 2016-17.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Budget provides additional funding of £730 million for frontline NHS Boards in 2023-24 and continues to ensure that no Board is further than 0.6% from its target funding allocation. In 2023-24, NHS Grampian will receive additional investment of …
29 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has met (a) the Marine Conservation Society, (b) Keep Britain Tidy, (c) Friends of the Earth and (d) Surfers Against Sewage in the last two years.
Answer · Lorna Slater: The Scottish Government engages regularly with relevant stakeholders. Their work and input to our policies is valued greatly. We have met the Marine Conservation Society, and Surfers Against Sewage several times in the last two years. We have met them to disc…
29 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what happens to any money levied in fines for Scottish Water that it receives from SEPA.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: In accordance with the Scotland Act 1998, fines received by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency are returned to the Scottish Consolidated Fund. The accounts for the Scottish Consolidated Fund are published annually by the Scottish Government and the m…
29 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether Scottish Water has an estimate of the true volume of sewage that has been discharged into Scotland's waterways in each of the last five years.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water, I have asked its Chief Executive to respond. His response is as follows: "Typically, monitors are designed to measure the duration of spills and not flow or volume. Scottish Water is not required to measur…
29 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason there were reportedly no sewage monitors installed in the 12 months following the announcement that there would be new monitors.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: I refer the member to the answer to S6W-15158 on 13 March 2023 for further information on Scottish Water’s approach to identifying locations for new CSO monitors. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the s…
29 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many complaints Scottish Water has received regarding sewage discharges in the last five years, and which locations generated the most complaints.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water, I have asked its Chief Executive to respond. His response is as follows: Scottish Water does not collate and report annual figures for the number of contacts received about discharges from combined sewer o…
29 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will introduce sewage monitoring on the (a) River Almond and (b) Water of Leith.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water, I have asked its Chief Executive to respond. His response is as follows: Scottish Water intends to install 29 monitors in the Almond Valley, and 67 monitors along the Water of Leith.
29 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will make it easier for beaches to qualify for bathing water status.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Bathing Water Directive is implemented in Scotland by the Bathing Waters (Scotland) Regulations 2008. Under these Regulations Scottish Ministers designate bathing waters where they expect a large number of people to bathe, having regard to past trends and…
29 Sep 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what length of sewage piping has been laid or replaced by Scottish Water in each of the last 10 years.
Answer · Mairi McAllan: As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water, I have asked its Chief Executive to respond. His response is as follows: The data provided in the following table is an extract from the Annual Returns, publicly available on the Water Industry Commission …