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Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S5W-13988

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 30 January 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to protect the 160 historic sites that have been reported by Historic Environment Scotland as being at high risk.

A scheme of delegation by the Scottish Ministers delegates the conservation and management of the properties in the care of Scottish Ministers to Historic Environment Scotland. I welcome their publication of a Climate Change Risk Assessment which informs publication of an Asset Management Plan under the terms of the scheme. This is expected in February and will assist with the prioritisation of investment across the properties. During the past two financial years I have secured additional capital funding of around £6 million in support of conserving and managing the properties. Managing the threats that climate change brings is a challenge for all and I am pleased that HES continues to lead the field in understanding the impacts on the historic environment. The Chief Executive of Historic Environment Scotland will be happy to provide further operational information.

Question reference: S5W-13993

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 30 January 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to engage with The Environment Agency regarding the consultation on the regulation of the Solway, Eden and Esk Fisheries.

Scottish Government officials held discussions with colleagues in the Environment Agency and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) prior to Christmas regarding the Agency’s assessment of salmon and sea trout stocks in the Solway, Eden and Border Esk rivers and their plans to consult on new byelaws to manage the fisheries on those rivers.

The Agency’s consultation launched on 25 January and will close on 16 February 2018. Officials are examining the proposals in detail and will continue to engage with the Agency as they consider the way forward.

Question reference: S5W-13287

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 December 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 29 January 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many GPs in the Scottish Borders have received a so-called golden hello in each of the last five years.

Golden Hello payments are a matter for Health Boards. NHS Borders have advised that since 2013-14 there have been 13 Golden Hello payments agreed.

Year	Number of GPs awarded Golden Hello in NHS Borders
2013-14	1
2014-15	6
2015-16	1
2016-17	3
2017-18	2

Next year the Scottish Government is extending eligibility for ‘golden hello’ payments of £10,000 to GPs taking up their first post in a rural practice. This will mean more practices in NHS Borders will meet the eligibility criteria for a Golden Hello payment. In addition to this we will increase GP relocation packages from £2,000 to £5,000 and widen eligibility to all 160 remote and rural practices.

Question reference: S5W-13991

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 26 January 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding (a) how many and (b) what percentage of tourist sites in each local authority area are considered dementia-friendly.

The Scottish Government does not hold a formal definition of what is considered “dementia-friendly” in respect of a tourist site and does not hold information on the number of tourism sites across Scotland.

Scotland’s National Dementia Strategy 2017-2020, published in June 2017, states that the Scottish Government wishes to see “more dementia-friendly and dementia-enabled communities, organisations, institutions and initiatives.” As well as local projects, such as Dementia Friendly East Lothian, further information on initiatives is available from organisations such as the Life Changes Trust, whose latest report is available using the url. http://www.lifechangestrust.org.uk/sites/default/files/publications/Dementia%20Friendly%20Communities%20Report%20Designed_1.pdf

Question reference: S5O-01739

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 January 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 31 January 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had regarding the provision of social housing.

Question reference: S5O-01723

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 24 January 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how prevention of and recovery from mental illnesses can be supported through access to culture and the arts.

The Scottish Government places great importance on culture and the arts as they make an invaluable contribution to our quality of life and wellbeing, bringing real social and economic benefits to people and our communities in our cities, towns and villages. Creative Scotland, EventScotland and Historic Environment Scotland promote the rich local culture and traditions of our towns in many different ways.

By supplementing medicine and care, art and music therapy can improve the health of people who experience mental or physical health problems.

Question reference: S5W-13755

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 23 January 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to ensure that rail fare prices are transparent and the cheapest possible fare is made clear to customers, and what discussions it has had with (a) ScotRail and (b) other rail operators regarding this.

It is a requirement of the ScotRail Franchise Agreement that ScotRail publish and maintain a website throughout the franchise period which includes details of all rail ticket prices, and that the information is current and the site is easy to use for existing and potential ScotRail customers. It is also a Committed Obligation within the ScotRail Franchise Agreement that ScotRail have a Price Promise Scheme which allows passengers to access the best value tickets available for their journey.

My officials at Transport Scotland meet with ScotRail on a regular basis to discuss fares matters, and the Committed Obligations contained within the ScotRail Franchise Agreement.

Question reference: S5W-13544

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 December 2017
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 10 January 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) advice and (b) support it provides to (i) farmers and (ii) landowners who want to install small-scale hydro schemes on salmon spawn tributaries.

In a policy statement issued in January 2010, Scottish Ministers set out their objectives with respect to striking the correct balance between the protection of the water environment and renewable energy generation. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency publication - Guidance for developers of run-of-river hydropower schemes – updated in November 2015, provides advice to those wishing to operate a small scale hydro schemes in Scotland’s rivers. The Scottish Government funded Farming For a Better Climate programme also contains a practical guide on micro hydro schemes.

Question reference: S5W-13554

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 December 2017
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 9 January 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the of the recently-published, Independent Review of Student Financial Support in Scotland, whether (a) it plans to co-opt universities into contributing to the student basic income, and if so, at what level and (b) the recommended student basic income will be given to (i) Scotland-domiciled students only and (ii) (A) EU citizens and (B) others with eligibility for student loans.

This Government is committed to ensuring that all students, especially those in our most deprived communities, are provided with the financial support they need to succeed. That is why we commissioned the independent review of student support, chaired by Jayne-Anne Gadhia, CEO of Virgin Money UK.

The report sets out a number of recommendations that would fundamentally change the way students are supported. It is only right that we now take the time to consider these recommendations in detail, and in particular how these interact with social security payments still reserved to the UK Government. We will set out our next steps in due course.

Question reference: S5F-01901

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 08 January 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 January 2018

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to improve small business confidence, in light of reports suggesting that it is at a near-record low.