- Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 01 March 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 12 March 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the feasibility study for the former Ayr Station Hotel.
Answer
South Ayrshire Council are leading on the work to determine the most appropriate option for the former Ayr Station Hotel via a comprehensive feasibility study coordinated through the Ayr Station Strategic Governance Group.
The Scottish Government, through Transport Scotland and other key stakeholders including Network Rail, continue to press the Council in regard to the importance of the interface with the railway station and the need to reach a timely decision on the preferred option.
- Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 February 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 10 March 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will discuss the Islands Connectivity Plan directly with the trade unions that organise public ferry workers.
Answer
Yes. I have been quite happy to discuss the Island Connectivity Plan with the unions during our regular quarterly meetings. I would anticipate that this dialogue will continue as the Islands Connectivity Plan is developed, given that the trade unions are important stakeholders in the delivery of Scotland's supported ferries.
- Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 February 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 10 March 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many people in each week since 4 January 2021 entered Scotland from abroad (a) directly and (b) via England.
Answer
The following table sets out the information requested based on Passenger Locator Form data provided to Public Health Scotland:
Week | Direct | Indirect |
Commencing | Arrivals | Arrivals |
04-01-2021 | 10584 | 3848 |
11-01-2021 | 4458 | 2924 |
18-01-2021 | 2697 | 2449 |
25-01-2021 | 1676 | 2800 |
01-02-2021 | 1339 | 3094 |
08-02-2021 | 1908 | 4313 |
15-02-2021 | 511 | 1999 |
22-02-2021 | 650 | 2280 |
Data from 15th February onwards is considered to be the most reliable due to the addition of a flag in the system that robustly identifies direct and indirect travellers.
Prior to 15th February, data was compiled using a manual search of individual records. This procedure did not always allow the clear identification of whether a route was direct or not. Therefore, the data from before 15th February should be treated with caution.
The sum of direct and indirect travellers may not match precisely with the total arrivals published by Public Health Scotland in their weekly COVID-19 statistics report. This is because the total arrivals which are published weekly will include some records where Public Health Scotland are unable to identify the port of arrival.
- Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 March 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 9 March 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with UK Government (a) ministers and (b) officials since 1 January 2017 to discuss freeports.
Answer
I met with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury in September 2020, January 2021 and most recently on 16 February to discuss the development of implementation of the Scottish Government’s tailored green port model for Scotland.
Scottish Government officials have also undertaken regular meetings with UK Government counterparts on this subject throughout 2020 and 2021, including weekly meetings since autumn 2020.
- Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 18 February 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 4 March 2021
To ask the Scottish Government (a) how much spend in and (b) what proportion of its infrastructure investment plan budget is allocated to the delivery of natural infrastructure.
Answer
The Infrastructure Investment Plan for Scotland 2021-2022 to 2025-2026 includes major investment in natural infrastructure such as forestry and peatlands amounting to £283 million and £100 million respectively. It also includes a £50 million programme of investment in the reuse of vacant and derelict land in order to support nature-based solutions and to ensure that the land is utilised for maximum environmental and community benefit.
Many other programmes of infrastructure investment in areas such as transport, housing, regeneration, flood management and water and waste water all have nature-based solutions embedded within them. However, these are not identified separately within the major projects and programmes annex of the Infrastructure Investment Plan.
- Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 February 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 1 March 2021
To ask the Scottish Government how much of the 2021-22 draft Budget it has allocated to (a) the Bus Partnership Fund and (b) other bus priority infrastructure schemes.
Answer
£35 million of capital funding has been allocated to bus priority infrastructure on local and trunk roads in the 2021-22 financial year. This is part of the Future Transport Fund. The allocation will be split between the Bus Partnership Fund (BPF) and reallocation of road space on the strategic transport network, but the proportions will not be known until applications to the BPF close and the scope of the next stage of motorway and trunk road work is defined.
- Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 February 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 25 February 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether additional funding for the (a) diagnosis, (b) treatment and (c) recording of the prevalence of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis will be provided as part of the Respiratory Care Action Plan for Scotland.
Answer
Once the final Respiratory Action Plan has been published, we will develop a programme for its implementation. This implementation programme will give a clearer understanding of the funding required to deliver the commitments and priorities for asthma, bronchiectasis, COPD, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and obstructive sleep apnoea.
- Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 February 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Jeane Freeman on 25 February 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking during the COVID-19 lockdown to mitigate the impacts of reduced mobility and the subsequent impact this can have on the incidence of conditions such as venous thromboembolism and pulmonary embolism.
Answer
We recognise that supporting people to remain physically active and keep mobile can reduce the incidence of both venous thromboembolism and pulmonary embolism.
Being physically active is particularly important during the COVID-19 pandemic as this not only has significant benefits for our physical health but also our mental health.
In April 2020, the Scottish Government launched the ‘Clear your Head’ campaign to help people look after their own mental health and wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic. This included an emphasis on keeping active. Working with partner organisations, the campaign was shared via television, radio and digital mediums in order to provide practical advice and tips on coping with the restrictions and signpost people to further sources of information and support ( www.clearyourhead.scot ).
- Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 February 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Jeane Freeman on 25 February 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that patients presenting to healthcare settings with breathlessness are being assessed for (a) venous thromboembolism and (b) pulmonary embolism, in addition to COVID-19.
Answer
We expect clinicians to deliver care in line with all relevant clinical guidelines when assessing patients who present themselves at healthcare settings with breathlessness. SIGN Guideline 122 on the prevention and management of venous thromboembolism was introduced in 2010 and updated in 2014. Implementation of SIGN guidelines is the responsibility of each individual NHS Board and local ownership of the implementation process.
- Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 February 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 18 February 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether a timeline has been agreed for the resumption of reviews into SIGN guidelines that have been paused as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answer
The Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network (SIGN) is reliant on the capacity of front line health and social care professionals working in guideline development groups. Given the current demands these individuals are facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the normal SIGN programme remains on hold, while SIGN focuses on supporting the response to COVID-19. This situation is kept under regular review.