- Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 May 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 12 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government when it expects jury trials to resume in Dumfries.
Answer
Court programming is a matter for the senior judiciary, supported by the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS). SCTS advise that jury trials resumed in Dumfries Sheriff Court in April 2021. Under present arrangements, the jurors for these trials attend the remote jury centre in Ayr . However, from July the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service will begin decommissioning remote jury centres for most purposes. That process is due to be completed by October, and so on current planning assumptions jurors should be cited back to local courts - including Dumfries - by October.
- Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 May 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Kate Forbes on 10 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-08000 by Kate Forbes on 25 April 2022, how many candidates with agricultural experience applied for the recently advertised vacancies.
Answer
South of Scotland Enterprise advertised for four new Board members in Autumn 2021. Applicants were asked to demonstrate evidence of their skills, knowledge and experience in one of three areas: land based industries; governance/strategic management; or digital transformation.
The Scottish Government received 47 completed applications for the advertised vacancies. Of these, over a third (16 applicants) set out evidence under the ‘land-based industry’ criterion. However, it is possible that other applicants, who chose to set out evidence against one of the other criteria instead, may also have experience in land based industries.
- Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Kate Forbes on 10 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will grant an extension to businesses that were awarded grants through the COVID-19 Business Ventilation Fund but which did not receive notice from Dumfries and Galloway Council in time to have works carried out.
Answer
As stated in the Business Ventilation Fund Guidance published on 23 November 2021, the deadline for works to be completed was 31 March 2022, as the budget for this fund was only available for financial year 2021-22.
The Scottish Government extended the deadline for submitting claims to 15 April 2022 to allow businesses to get works done and provide the paperwork required for claims to be made.
The Scottish Government will evaluate the impact of the Business Ventilation Fund and consider more widely how organisations can be supported to improve ventilation in their premises.
- Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 10 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what role NHS boards have in monitoring the performance of dental practices treating NHS patients and the availability of NHS treatment.
Answer
NHS boards are provided with monthly reports on the activity levels of practices providing NHS activity. We have set out through NHS Boards action plans for those practices with lower levels of activity with the intention of seeing substantial increases from them in the immediate future.
- Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 May 2022
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 12 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what action is being taken to increase subject choice for secondary pupils.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 12 May 2022
- Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 11 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Ash Regan on 4 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address antisocial behaviour, in particular in relation to repeat offenders.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that police and local authorities continue to have the powers and resources needed to address antisocial behaviour in our communities. This includes investing in prevention and early intervention.
No single approach will tackle all antisocial behaviour and that is why we support a range of activities which includes the use of Antisocial Behaviour Orders (ASBO’s) and Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN’s) alongside diversionary and early intervention activities in appropriate circumstances. We encourage agencies to work in partnership to address the issues being faced by communities and work with them to address these issues, including dealing with those who are persistent offenders.
- Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 04 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 4 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason premises in Class 7 under the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) (Scotland) Order 1997 are no longer exempt from the short-term let licensing legislation.
Answer
Some premises listed in Use Class 7 (of the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) (Scotland) Order 1997) are exempt from short-term let licensing legislation. Schedule 1 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Short-term Lets) Order 2022 (the “Licensing Order”) sets out excluded accommodation. Class 7 premises that are exempt are:
- a hotel, which has planning permission granted for use as a hotel
- a hostel
In addition, the following exemption will also be relevant to some Use Class 7 premises (including hotels and guest houses):
- premises in respect of which a premises licence within the meaning of section 17 of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 has effect and where the provision of accommodation is an activity listed in the operating plan as defined in section 20(4) of the 2005 Act
Guest houses were originally listed as excluded accommodation in a previous version of the Licensing Order laid in December 2020. However, in response to feedback from our stakeholder working group we subsequently removed guest houses from the list of excluded accommodation and undertook further public consultation on this in June 2021. As guest houses can be variants of home sharing, they should not be automatically excluded. Further information is set out in the 2021 consultation paper (item 1 in table 2 at page 12): Short term lets - draft licensing order and business and regulatory impact assessment (BRIA): consultation - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .
Unless otherwise excluded by any of the criteria set out in Schedule 1 of the Licensing Order, use class 7 premises are therefore within scope of the definition of a short-term let in the Order laid in November 2021 and approved by the Scottish Parliament in January 2022.
- Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 28 April 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been allocated to the creation of specialist “Lead Teacher” roles.
Answer
Since the start of the pandemic the Scottish Government has provided local authorities with £240 million of additional investment, over two financial years (2020-21 and 2021-22), specifically for the recruitment of more education staff, and a further £145.5 million of permanent funding has been allocated from April 2022.
The recruitment and deployment of teachers is a matter for individual local authorities, and they are responsible for using available resources to provide a complement of staff, including Lead Teachers, which meets the needs of each of their schools and its pupils based on local needs and priorities.
- Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 28 April 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many specialist “Lead Teachers” have been recruited since the introduction of the programme in August 2021.
Answer
The recruitment and deployment of teachers is a matter for individual local authorities, and they are responsible for using the resources available to them to provide a complement of staff, including Lead Teachers, which meets the needs of each of their schools and its pupils based on local needs and priorities.
At the time of the Summary Statistics for Schools In Scotland 2021 publication, there were no Lead Teachers employed in schools. This data was collected in September 2021 and therefore will not reflect the current position.
- Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 11 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Kate Forbes on 25 April 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-07650 by Mairi Gougeon on 4 April 2022, what steps were taken to ensure that any required agricultural expertise was represented on the board of South of Scotland Enterprise.
Answer
South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE) advertised for four new Board members in Autumn 2021. Applicants were asked to demonstrate evidence of their skills, knowledge and experience in one of three areas: land based industries; governance/strategic management; or digital transformation. On 15 February 2022, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy announced the appointments, with two of the successful candidates having extensive expertise in land based industries. In addition, two existing members of the Board have knowledge of agricultural matters.
