Alexander Stewart

18 Jun 2024 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to tackle any inappropriate care and overcrowding in NHS emergency departments.

7 Jun 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Public Petition PE2101, what its plans are for providing all primary and secondary schools with automated external defibrillators.

Answer · Jenni Minto: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-14642 on 6 March 2023 , funding for local authorities is provided through the annual block grant settlement from the Scottish Government. Local authorities should use funding resources allocated to them in the …

5 Jun 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting small businesses to meet any potential costs associated with compliance with the requirements of Low Emission Zones.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Financial support has been provided to smaller businesses since 2019 in preparation for Low Emission Zones, through scrappage grants and retrofitting grants. Over £6.3 million has been paid out to small businesses with cars, taxis and vans whilst over 1,100 n…

13 May 2024 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what work it has undertaken to prepare for the introduction of low emission zones in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee.

8 May 2024 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it can ensure that the public has confidence in the arts and culture sector.

7 May 2024 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to reports that Scotland has the highest suicide rate in the UK, with young men being three times more likely to die than women.

1 May 2024 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure good dental care provision for older people in care settings.

22 Apr 2024 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact it anticipates its recent announcement on changes to its net zero targets will have on the development of a green economy.  

18 Apr 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) regarding how it makes use of section 16 of the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman Act 2002, in order to keep the Scottish Parliament informed of cases where public organisations have failed to comply with the…

Answer · Siobhian Brown: The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) is a Scottish parliamentary supported organisation, and the Scottish Parliament is ultimately responsible for their resourcing and for holding their performance to account. The SPSO publishes information in their…

9 Apr 2024 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of recent reports that one in 10 planned operations in the NHS were cancelled this January, what steps it is taking to reduce the rate of cancelled operations.  

13 Mar 2024 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to spend the £295 million in Barnett consequential funding arising from the UK Government’s 2024 Spring Budget.

12 Mar 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the costs associated with the production and publication of the paper, An independent Scotland’s place in the world.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Details of the external costs associated with the production and publication of all the Building a New Scotland papers published to date can be found on the Scottish Government’s website: https://www.gov.scot/publications/building-a-new-scotland-papers-costs…

22 Feb 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken towards an equitable approach to diagnosis across all NHS boards for severe asthma.

Answer · Jenni Minto: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-25757 on 7 March 2024. 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-committees…

22 Feb 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken to address the lack of a uniform approach across Scotland for the treatment of people with severe asthma, and the particular problems for smaller centres, as highlighted in the Respiratory Care Action Plan 2021-2026.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government’s Respiratory Care Action Plan for Scotland sets out our priorities and commitments for driving improvement in the prevention, diagnosis, care, treatment and support of people living with respiratory conditions such as severe asthma.…

12 Feb 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, following the recent publication of data by the British Heart Foundation, which reportedly highlights significant issues in Scotland’s cardiology services for both outpatient appointments and echocardiograms and suggests that performance against waiting time targets is the worst on reco…

Answer · Neil Gray: I refer the member to the answer to questions S6W-25404 and? S6W-25405 on 27 February 2024. 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/ch…

23 Jan 2024 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that the housing of adult male prisoners at HMP & YOI Polmont is being considered, what its position is on whether such an announcement should be made to the Parliament.

17 Jan 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to NHS Fife reiterating its commitment, in August 2023, to the development of two new purpose-built Community Health and Wellbeing Centres in Kincardine, in addition to Lochgelly, with plans having been developed over a number of years with its partners and local communities, an…

Answer · Michael Matheson: As set out in our draft budget the capital funding position is extremely challenging, with a UK Government cut of some 10% in our capital budget over the next five years. That has inevitably led to some difficult decisions on what capital projects will be pro…

16 Jan 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many online clicks its paper, Our marine sector in an independent Scotland, received in its first month following publication, broken down by (a) main paper, (b) easy read version, (c) each individual language version and (d) audio version.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: We have previously answered two FOIs on website visits to the Building a New Scotland Papers: Unique online visitor statistics: FOI release - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) Building a New Scotland webpage visitors: FOI release - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) Paper title…

11 Jan 2024 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to reports that Scotland has among the worst survival rates for some of the most serious cancers.

10 Jan 2024 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it (a) has and (b) will put in place to make the public aware that vehicle idling is an offence, under the Road Traffic (Vehicle Emissions) (Fixed Penalty) (Scotland) Regulations 2003.

Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Road Traffic (Vehicle Emissions) (Fixed Penalty) (Scotland) Regulations 2003 provide local authorities with powers to issue fixed penalty notices to drivers of parked idling vehicles who refuse a reasonable request to switch off their engines. It is for i…

20 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-23695 by Paul McLennan on 19 December 2023, whether it will provide the information requested regarding for what reason there is reportedly no requirement for people selling properties to demonstrate that any boiler present in a property has been se…

Answer · Paul McLennan: Responsibility for the regulation of the gas network and for the safety of supplies to premises is a matter reserved to the UK government. Within the current gas safety regime, there is no legal minimum frequency for servicing gas appliances in owner-occupied…

12 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that patients in the NHS Forth Valley area have access to assessments for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and what the waiting time currently is for ADHD assessments to be carried out by NHS Forth Valley.

Answer · Maree Todd: Data on ADHD assessments and waiting times is not centrally held for adults or for children and young people. Although it is the responsibility of local Health and Social Care Partnerships to put in place services to meet local needs, including the needs of …

11 Dec 2023 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the housing minister has had with ministerial colleagues regarding any impact on the availability of housing through the private rented sector of its energy efficiency reforms.

6 Dec 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason there is reportedly no requirement for people selling properties to demonstrate that any boiler present in a property has been serviced before the sale of the property concludes.

Answer · Paul McLennan: At present, there is no legal minimum frequency for servicing of gas appliances in owner-occupied homes in the UK. Therefore, there is no requirement for sellers to provide proof of servicing before a property sale. However, visual inspection of gas appliance…

28 Nov 2023 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how it is supporting the arts sector.

22 Nov 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which public organisation is responsible for safeguarding the nearby residents of HMP & YOI Stirling, including many children and older and disabled people, in light of reports that they continue to experience daily noise disturbances from the facility, and what its position is on how St…

Answer · Angela Constance: I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows: Any concerns from residents in relation to general noise disturbances, fall under the remit of the local authority, in this instance S…

21 Nov 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will confirm the costs associated with the (a) production and (b) publication of the paper, Our marine sector in an independent Scotland.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The external costs associated with the production and publication of the Building a New Scotland paper, ‘Our marine sector in an independent Scotland’, are set out in the following table: Costs    Task VAT % VAT Net Price Formatting and Online Publicati…

15 Nov 2023 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many civil servants worked on the production of the latest Building a New Scotland paper on immigration and EU policy.

9 Nov 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on whether it has any plans to conduct an analysis of the impact of the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2021 since its introduction.

Answer · Gillian Martin: The Scottish Government does not currently have plans to assess the impact of the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2021 following its introduction. The Scottish Government considers increasing people’s awareness a key factor in the p…

24 Oct 2023 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Fire Brigades Union’s report, Firestorm, which reportedly warns that the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is in "crisis".