- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 November 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 24 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what support will be provided for tree and plant growers to trial and develop new peat-free growing media mixes.
Answer
We have consulted on ending the sale of peat in Scotland as per the commitment made in our 2021-22 Programme for Government. We received over 550 responses to the consultation, which are providing valuable insights as to the transitional needs of growers. We are actively collaborating with the horticulture industry to facilitate the transition, with a crucial aspect being the allocation of sufficient time for the industry to identify alternative growing media and methods. It is important to recognise that there is no direct replacement for peat, and growers must proactively adapt to meet their individual needs.
We work closely with the horticulture industry and with research providers to commission and support a number of research projects that will assist transition away from peat. These include:
- a Rapid Evidence Assessment of the Alternatives to Horticultural Peat in Scotland (2019, link );
- an evaluation of alternative growing media for the production of healthy potato mini-tubers (2020, link );
- an analysis of the barriers and Opportunities for Peat Growing Media Supply (2022, link );
- identifying the plant health risks associated with plant waste disposal and peat-free growing media and developing best practice guidance for waste disposal and composting across sectors (2023, link ).
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 November 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 22 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what arrangements have been made to support children and young people travelling to England to receive (a) CAR-T therapy and (b) other specialist and innovative cancer treatments not yet available in Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Government acknowledges that that it can be difficult for patients when there is a need to refer them outwith Scotland for specialist treatment.
Ministers expect Health Boards to be mindful of this, to discuss patients’ circumstances with them, and make suitable arrangements to ensure that the necessary treatment can be provided in a patient-centred way. This includes helping to identify and access financial support available for eligible patients and authorised escorts, such as through the Patient Travelling Expenses Scheme and the Highlands and Islands Travel Scheme (HITS).
All Health Boards also have the discretion to reimburse patient travel expenses where it is viewed to be an extension of treatment costs and deemed to be clinically necessary.
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 November 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 22 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what provision it plans to make to support children and young people with cancer to travel to their specialist treatment when they are not required to stay as an inpatient.
Answer
The Scottish Government has several sources of funding available to children and young people with cancer, in Scotland, to assist with the travel expenses incurred for travelling for cancer treatment. These include the Patient Travelling Expenses Scheme and The Highlands and Islands Travel Scheme (HITS) for outpatients. All Health Boards also have the discretion to reimburse patient travel expenses where it is viewed to be an extension of treatment costs and deemed to be clinically necessary.
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 November 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 21 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when it plans to undertake a full review of the Young Patients Family Fund, including its eligibility criteria, to assess its impact to date.
Answer
We continue to monitor the implementation and effectiveness of the Young Patients Family Fund (YPFF) and keep this under review.
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 November 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 21 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the use of service level agreements in relation to employment contracts adheres to the NHS Scotland Partnership Information Network (PIN) policies, which define a minimum standard of best employment practice.
Answer
Individuals from NHS Scotland Health Boards fulfilling Service Level Agreements continue to be supported and managed under the policy requirements and the terms and conditions of employment of their substantive role. They will also be expected to meet certain requirements of the host organisation, particularly code of conduct and standards of behaviour.
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 November 2023
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 23 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to reduce accidents and improve overall safety on the A77.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 23 November 2023
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 November 2023
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 16 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what clarification on teacher number arrangements will be provided to local authorities this year.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 16 November 2023
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 8 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what plans are in place to review non-domestic rates, particularly for hospitality businesses.
Answer
Since the independent Barclay Review of Non-Domestic Rates, we have implemented a range of key reforms and changes to the non-domestic rates system, some of which came into effect on 1 April 2023.
We remain committed to three-yearly revaluations with a one-year tone date, introduced this year, as recommended by the Barclay Review, to ensure rateable values more closely reflect market values and to reduce volatility between revaluations. Revaluations redistribute the tax base to reflect changes in market circumstances and ensure fairness for all ratepayers, and the next revaluation is scheduled to take place on 1 April 2026.
The New Deal for Business established a consultative sub-group on non-domestic rates, which includes representative groups from the hospitality sector, to advise on further enhancements to the operation and administration of the non-domestic rates system following the implementation of the final recommendations of the Barclay Review. The sub-group’s recommendations were included in the New Deal for Business Report on Progress and Recommendations, and further details on how these will be taken forward are outlined in the New Deal for Business Group’s Implementation Plan which was published on 19 October.
Decisions on non-domestic rates for 2024-25 will be made in the context of the Scottish Budget which will be published on 19 December.
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 3 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-21760 by Angela Constance on 9 October 2023, how many of the 543 charges under the Protection of Workers (Retail and Age-restricted Goods and Services) (Scotland) Act 2021 that led to a conviction in criminal court between August 2021 and March 2023 resulted in the person convicted (a) going to prison and (b) receiving a community sentence.
Answer
Data about the number of charges resulting in a conviction has been extracted from the management information used to publish the Scottish Government Justice Analytical Services Criminal Disposals Dashboard (Source: Scottish Government Justice Analytical Services Criminal Disposals Dashboard ).
The number of charges under the new Protection of Retail Workers (Scotland) Act that have received a conviction in criminal court from August 2021 up to March 2023 was 543.
Taking into account that an individual can have multiple charges and each charge can have different disposals (for example a custodial and a monetary disposal), 250 charges (of the total 543 charges) resulted in the person convicted going to prison and 189 charges received a community sentence as main disposal.
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 2 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide a list of all verbal engagements and meetings that it has had with Circularity Scotland, in 2023 to date, including the (a) basic facts of and (b) names of those in attendance at any such meetings.
Answer
The Scottish Government had regular engagement with Circularity Scotland (CSL) as part of preparations for Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). Circularity Scotland Ltd went into administration in June 2023 following the UK Government’s decision not to grant a full exclusion from the UK Internal Market Act.
It is not possible to provide a list of all verbal engagements between Scottish Government officials and CSL staff due to the frequency of these working-level engagements and the fact that many of them were informal discussions rather than scheduled meetings. However, the main meetings between CSL and Scottish Ministers or officials are as follows:
1. CSL met with the Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity on a monthly basis, [link] .
2. CSL were members of the System-Wide Assurance Group, a DRS governance groups comprised of a range of stakeholders. The Meetings and minutes (including attendees) for DRS System-Wide Assurance Group: EIR release .
3. CSL were members of the DRS Executive Oversight Group. This group was responsible for overall system readiness, risks, and mitigations across all relevant bodies. This meeting was also attended by Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), Zero Waste Scotland (ZWS) and the Scottish Government.
4. CSL attended regular Sectoral Stakeholder Meetings to discuss implementation design with industry e.g. producers, retailers and the hospitality sector.
You may find it helpful to utilise the Scottish Government publications below:
