Parliamentary questions

Alex Cole-Hamilton

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

16 Mar 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has decided to end the provision of routine breast screening for women aged over 75, and, if so, what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Answer · Maree Todd: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-10348 on 29 August 2022, which outlines that the restart of self-referrals must be conducted in a careful, phased manner in order to understand and mitigate impacts on those for whom screening is recommended, a…

3 Mar 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to the urgent question by Angus Robertson on 28 February 2023, whether the Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture plans to request the addition of a correction in the Official Report, within the 20 working day deadline of 28 March 2023…

Answer · Angus Robertson: The Scottish Government has accepted that this statistic relating to Scotland’s offshore wind potential needs revising. In response to the issues raised in the UK Statistics Authority’s letter, dated 7 December 2022, the Scottish Government has engaged direct…

27 Feb 2023 · First Minister's Question

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

20 Feb 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what is being done to tackle misogyny in schools, and what plans there are to improve education on misogyny in schools.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: I refer the member to the answer to question S6T-01111 on 24 January 2023. The answer to the Topical question is available on the Parliaments website, the Official Report can be viewed at: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/se…

16 Feb 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that every firefighter has adequate breathing apparatus training.

Answer · Elena Whitham: The safe use of breathing apparatus is central in the role of every firefighter. Training, the provision and assessment of equipment requirements, and the competence of firefighters is an operational matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

16 Feb 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address the reported chronic understaffing in the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

Answer · Elena Whitham: SFRS continues to respond to every incident with appropriate levels of resources. Staffing levels and recruitment is an operational matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

16 Feb 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether there are any plans to remove high reach appliances from any fire stations.

Answer · Elena Whitham: SFRS takes decisions on the best location and type of firefighting appliance based on an assessment of the risk present in individual communities across Scotland. The location of those resources, including specialist assets such as high reach appliances is an…

14 Feb 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the last inspection of each of the 345 SEPA-licensed and regulated sewer networks in Scotland was carried out; whether any were found not to be compliant with their licence conditions at their last inspection, and, if so, (a) for what reason, (b) whether any work was carried out on …

Answer · Mairi McAllan: Sewer networks are dynamic and non-compliance can be short-lived. At the time of writing SEPA is not aware of any current, ongoing non-compliance with sewer network licences. The inspection of sewer networks by SEPA can be the result of both planned work and…

14 Feb 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether spill data on monitored combined sewer overflows (CSOs), where data is currently reported to SEPA, will be published annually, in light of the commitment in Scottish Water's Improving Urban Waters route map that annual publication of this data would commence by December 2022.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: As indicated in Scottish Water’s first annual update to its Improving Urban Waters Routemap, which I referenced in my response to S6O-01493 on 23 November 2022, spill data has been published at https://www.scottishwater.co.uk/Your-Home/Your-Waste-Water/Sewer…

14 Feb 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the approximately 1,000 network and treatment works combined sewer overflows (CSOs) which, according to Scottish Water's Improving Urban Waters route map, are "discharging to the highest priority waters (including all designated shellfish and bathing waters)", have had monito…

Answer · Mairi McAllan: As referenced in the answer to S6W-15157 on 13 March 2023, in its annual update to its routemap, Scottish Water confirmed that priority locations have been identified for the 1,000 spill monitors, with installation programmed over 2023 and 2024. Over the past…

14 Feb 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the response to the members' business debate on motion S6M-06148 (Sewage and Scotland's Waters) by the Minister for Environment and Land Reform on 26 October 2022 (Official Report, c. 124), how many of the (a) 40 waste water treatment works and (b) 26 priority storm overflows…

Answer · Mairi McAllan: Scottish Water publishes an annual update to its Urban Waters Route Map and the most recent update from December 2022 is available on its website at https://www.scottishwater.co.uk/-/media/ScottishWater/Document-Hub/Key-Publications/Urban-Water-Improvements/…

10 Feb 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it (a) has fully costed the 17,000 return points that will reportedly be required as part of the Deposit Return Scheme, (b) will share the estimated cost for each business required to purchase a return point and (c) plans to support businesses that are unable to meet the cost of …

Answer · Lorna Slater: The final Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) and Full Business Case (FBC) Stage 1 Addendum, published on 16 March 2020, represent the Scottish Government’s final assessment of the costs and benefits associated with DRS, at that time, prior to im…

8 Feb 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to raise awareness of thrombosis and the risks to people of the condition.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government regularly reviews its plans for public awareness campaigns and raising awareness of conditions such as thrombosis. We do not intend to run a public awareness campaign for deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, venous thromboembolism…

1 Feb 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many referrals have been made to Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland’s Long COVID Support Service in each month since it was established.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: This is a matter for Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland. The information requested is not held centrally.

30 Jan 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to allow NHS Scotland patients to access their medical records online.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Scottish Government and COSLA will shortly set out a Data Strategy for Health and Social Care, which will articulate the first set of principles and deliverables needed to improve the access and use of data. One of the core ambitions of the Data Strategy is …

30 Jan 2023 · First Minister's Question

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

25 Jan 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on whether it plans to introduce a similar fare cap on Scottish bus travel to those introduced in parts of England.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: We continue to monitor the introduction of the £2 fare cap in England, however in Scotland we already provide free bus travel for more of the population compared to the rest of the UK, investing £300 million annually to the benefit of over 2 million people, h…

25 Jan 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will introduce a fare cap on Scottish train travel now that ScotRail is under public ownership.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: As a result of the pressures that household budgets are under the Scottish Government confirmed last year that there would be no change to rail fares before March 2023. Any change to rail fares this year will be confirmed in due course but Scottish Ministers …

25 Jan 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how (a) many (i) full- and (ii) part-time staff have been employed and (b) much it has spent on (A) travel costs, (B) accommodation costs, (C) research costs, (D) payments to organisations, (E) any other expenses and (F) its work in total, to support its membership of the Open Government…

Answer · George Adam: Scotland has been a member of the Open Government Partnership since 2016. The Open Government team works collaboratively with civil society to promote transparency, participation, inclusivity and accountability across the Scottish Government and international…

25 Jan 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the Chief Dental Officer (CDO) advisory group, what work the group has undertaken, what the outcomes have been of this work, and whether the group has made any recommendations to the Scottish Government in relation to NHS Dental Services.

Answer · Maree Todd: The CDO Advisory Group have met on four occasions from October 2022 to December 2022. The minutes from the Advisory Group workshops, and copies of all papers provided to the group, are publicly available and can be viewed online at: Updated 17/01 – CDO Advis…

24 Jan 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the stroke care guidelines were last updated.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: I refer the member to the answers to question S6W-06004 on 10 February 2022, and question S6W-06005 on 8 February 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at ht…

20 Jan 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the training places for nurses, midwives and doctors that it committed to support in its National Workforce Strategy for Health and Social Care are currently available; how many applications there have been for them, and how many places have been taken up.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government set an intake target of 4,837 fully funded places on nursing and midwifery programmes for the academic year 2022-23. For academic year 2022-23 4,368 students have enrolled on pre-registration programmes. We have also increased the int…

19 Jan 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that 1,300 charities are facing closure within the next 12 months due to the cost of living crisis, and whether it will provide details of any support it plans to offer such charities.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government values the important role of Scotland’s third sector in working across communities to tackle tough social issues at source. We recognise the impact of rising operating costs across society, including on charities and voluntary organis…