Parliamentary questions

Alex Cole-Hamilton

2,700 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

5 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the average wait time is for a patient to see a gastroenterologist.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The latest available information at national level relates to the position at 31 December 2022: Ongoing waits: For those patients still waiting for a new outpatient appointment in Gastroenterology, the median wait was 130 days and 9 out of 10 waits (90th per…

4 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many full-time equivalent civil servant staff roles in the Scottish Government are dedicated to delivering universal breakfast provision in all (a) primary and (b) special schools, and how many individual civil servants this is divided between.

Answer · Natalie Don: The Scottish Government is committed to developing plans to deliver free breakfasts to all primary and special school children. Understanding the need from children and families for breakfast provision and planning how to respond to that forms part of several…

2 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that road works are carried out in a manner that (a) is minimally intrusive to local communities and (b) does not have a significant environmental impact.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: Transport Scotland on behalf of Scottish Ministers is responsible for managing, maintaining and improving Scotland’s trunk road and motorway network. The statutory responsibility for local roads improvement, maintenance and repair lies with local road authori…

28 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to introduce free, publicly-funded childcare for all one- and two-year-olds, in light of the commitment by the First Minister to do so.

Answer · Natalie Don: Scotland already has the most generous childcare offer anywhere in the UK. We offer 1140 hours of high quality funded Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) to all 3 and 4-year-olds and eligible two-year-olds, regardless of the working status of their parents. N…

27 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it received Barnett consequential funding in connection with the 75% business rates relief that the UK Government is offering to some English business, and, if so, how any such funding was allocated in the Scottish Budget 2023-24.

Answer · Tom Arthur: The Scottish Government received £199 million in Barnett Consequentials in respect of the UK Government’s 75% relief for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure sectors in 2023-24. The Scottish Government needs to consider its funding availability in totality and no…

25 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether TikTok has had any association with, or taken part in, any Scottish Government employability schemes.

Answer · Neil Gray: Delivery partners are responsible for awareness raising and promotion of Scottish employability services, and use a variety of channels for this including social media. The Scottish Government’s Employability social media promotional activity to date has not …

24 Apr 2023 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister when the Cabinet will next meet.

20 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-16028 by Richard Lochhead on 14 April 2023, how many times it has disclosed (a) ministerial and (b) official correspondence conducted by WhatsApp in each year since 2019.

Answer · George Adam: The Scottish Government recognises that all recorded information relating to its business is subject to Freedom of Information (FOI) law, irrespective of its format or the platform on which it is held. This includes any information held in or originally gener…

19 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the former Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans discussed any investigations into the Scottish National Party during his meeting with Police Scotland on 9 February 2023.

Answer · Angela Constance: Investigations into the Scottish National Party were not discussed at the meeting held between the former Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans and Police Scotland on 9 February 2023.

18 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many sewage monitors were logged as faulty in (a) 2021, (b) 2022 and (c) 2023 to date, and what the (i) average and (ii) longest length of time taken to replace or repair the monitors was.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water [and this data is not held by Scottish Government] I have asked them to respond. Their reply is as follows: In respect of published guidelines on reporting, Scottish Water is not currently required to repor…

17 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on any plans it has to further regulate the sale of nicotine vapour products, also known as vapes, particularly in regard to their packaging and marketing towards younger users.

Answer · Jenni Minto: In September 2022, the Scottish Government published the report from our consultation on proposals to make regulations under sections 17 to 19 of the Health (Tobacco, Nicotine etc. and Care) (Scotland) Act 2016, which could introduce restrictions on the follo…

12 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many areas in Scotland have been granted Blue Flag status in each year since 2007.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Blue Flag beach award is an international programme administered by the Foundation for Environmental Education. The main themes are; water quality; safety and information provision; environmental education; and land based facilities. Keep Scotland Beautif…

12 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has carried out an assessment of any impact of sewage spills on shellfish in Scotland.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is responsible for protecting aquatic wildlife, including shellfish, from sewage discharges to the water environment. SEPA currently classifies all Scotland’s coastal waterbodies at good or better condition fo…

12 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out of the impact of any sewage found on Blue Flag beaches.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Blue Flag programme in Scotland was discontinued at the end of 2016 and replaced with the Scottish Beach Awards scheme. Keep Scotland Beautiful will announce the 2023 beach awards winners before the start of the bathing season. In order for a beach to ach…

3 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review the provision of publicly-funded childcare, in light of any consequential funding as a result of the UK Government's announcement regarding an increase in funded childcare in England.

Answer · Natalie Don: It was good to see the UK Government finally recognising the importance of investing in childcare in their recent Budget. However, overall this was another missed opportunity to take meaningful action to lift families out of poverty, invest in our public serv…

3 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when property valuation will next be reviewed for the setting of (a) domestic and (b) non-domestic rates.

Answer · Tom Arthur: The Scottish Government is committed to a fair, inclusive and fiscally sustainable form of local taxation. Scottish Ministers have convened the ‘Joint Working Group on Sources of Local Government Funding and Council Tax Reform’, which is chaired by the Scotti…

3 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it plans to take regarding regulating the sale of disposable vape cartridges.

Answer · Lorna Slater: The Scottish Government is considering the health and environmental impacts of disposable vape cartridges. Zero Waste Scotland is undertaking an urgent review into the environmental impacts of disposable vapes and we expect the review report to be received in…

3 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it will offer to Epilepsy Scotland’s welfare rights service.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government recognises the critical role of advice services, often delivered by our diverse third sector and providing lifeline services to the most vulnerable communities, especially during the cost crisis. In 2022-23, we directly invested around…

29 Mar 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support victims of human trafficking who are trafficked to Scotland and forced to work or beg for their handlers.

Answer · Siobhian Brown: Any form of human trafficking or exploitation is completely unacceptable. The Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015, which was passed unanimously by the Scottish Parliament, gives police and prosecutors greater powers to detect and bring to …

29 Mar 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many SEPA employees have been working on water pollution, in each year since 2015.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Scottish Government does not hold this information. The allocation of SEPA staff resource is the responsibility of SEPA’s CEO and Senior Management Team. SEPA’s Corporate Plan will be renewed in 2024 and Ministers will work with SEPA to agree the Key Per…

28 Mar 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many GPs work, on average, (a) between (i) 40 and 50, (ii) 50 and 60, (iii) 60 and 70, (iv) 70 and 80, (v) 80 and 90, (vi) 90 and 100 and (vii) 100 and 110, and (b) over 110 hours, per week, and what the highest figure reported in the General Practice Wor…

Answer · Michael Matheson: The General Practice workforce survey 2022 collected information based on sessional commitment by GPs not hours worked. While GP sessions have sometimes been defined for the purposes of various payments, there is no contractual definition of GP sessions. GP …

22 Mar 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that the Office for National Statistics (ONS) will pause the COVID-19 Infection Survey, which helps to monitor the prevalence of long Covid, whether it plans to replace the collection of long Covid data in the event that the COVID-19 Infection Survey does not recomme…

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has been running the monthly COVID-19 Infection Survey (CIS) for almost three years. Since 2021 this survey has included long COVID questions and has provided high-level estimates for Scotland of the number of people w…

22 Mar 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that the Office for National Statistics (ONS) will pause the COVID-19 Infection Survey, which helps to monitor the prevalence of long Covid, what assessment it has made of any potential impact of an absence of ONS data on the (a) diagnosis and (b) monitoring of cases…

Answer · Michael Matheson: We recognise that accurate local data on long COVID prevalence, distribution across the population and symptoms are needed to forecast and plan for the need for NHS services and specific specialties arising from long COVID. a. Diagnosis of cases. We do not …

20 Mar 2023 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister when the Cabinet will next meet.