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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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S6W-13894

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 27 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it has introduced to tackle drugs misuse in the veterans community in Scotland.

The Scottish Government is investing £250 million in the National Drugs Mission over the life of the Parliament to save and improve lives of people who use drugs, including veterans. For the first time this year we will have data on the number of veterans accessing drug and alcohol treatment services, using the new Drug and Alcohol Information System (DAISy). We will use this data to inform our work to better meet the needs of veterans who use drugs to support them to achieve their recovery goals.

Question reference: S6W-13833

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 27 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) work has been undertaken and (b) funding has been provided to explore the development of steel mills that could produce high-quality scrap steel from decommissioned oil and gas infrastructure.

The Scottish Government commissioned independent research into the state of the steel sector in Scotland from the University of Warwick. This report is available to read online and can be found here .

Decommissioning at Scottish ports should be undertaken in line with the principles of a circular economy and promote the reuse of materials over recycling and disposal. A circular approach has the potential to reduce the energy intensity and emissions from decommissioning structures, create new jobs and business opportunities, and provide cost savings for manufacturing processes that use decommissioned material.

We would encourage any company interested in developing a major project in Scotland, such as a steel mill, to engage early with the Scottish Government and our Enterprise Agencies.

Question reference: S6W-13887

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 27 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what it has done to reinvigorate senior participation in cross-border networks with a view to improved information sharing about veterans.

Question reference: S6W-13886

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 27 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what it has done to establish a distinctive Scottish approach to veterans’ health at a strategic level.

The Scottish Government works with key veteran stakeholders, NHS Armed Forces and Veterans Champions and through the Armed Forces Personnel and Veterans Health Joint Group to ensure we create the conditions for and drive forward progress towards the ‘Distinctive Scottish Approach to Veterans Health’ as set out by the Scottish Veterans Commissioner.

The action taken by Scottish Government against this set of recommendations can be found here SVC Annual Progress Report: Findings | (scottishveteranscommissioner.org)

Question reference: S6W-13889

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 27 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when the remit of the Armed Forces and Veterans Health Joint Group was last refreshed.

Question reference: S6W-13897

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 27 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how NHS Scotland ensures that an appropriate level of funding is available to guarantee that wheelchairs provided by the Ministry of Defence for veterans with amputations can be serviced, maintained and replaced with the best possible equipment commensurate with the individual's needs, and what amount of funding NHS Scotland provides for this purpose.

A letter was sent to Health Boards from National Clinical Director on 30 December 2020 requesting that Wheelchair and Seating services maintain and replace wheelchairs used by veterans to at least a level commensurate with that issued to them at the time of their discharge, provided it is safe and continues to meet their clinical and wheeled mobility needs. It confirmed that any additional costs associated with servicing, maintaining, replacing – which are expected to be low – will be met by the providers.

Question reference: S6W-13896

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 27 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether the work of the Scottish Trauma Network includes the specific needs of veterans who have suffered polytrauma.

Question reference: S6W-13891

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 27 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether there is a National Managed Clinical Network on veterans’ health and, if so, what its membership is.

NHS National Services Division operated the Scottish Veterans Care Network between November 2020 and March 2022.

A range of stakeholders were involved in shaping the Network. The Network’s primary focus was on the Mental Health and Wellbeing Action Plan (MHWAP). The delivery of the MHWAP is now being taken forward by a veteran led Implementation Board, and as such the Network has been stood down.

Question reference: S6W-13926

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 27 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many dangerous buildings notices have been issued under the Building (Scotland) Act 2003 in each year since 2003, broken down by local authority area.

The Scottish Government has collated Scotland level data on the number of enforcement notices since 2010. Information about notices should be available from individual local authorities via their online building standards registers on their websites. These have been publicly available since 2016. The number of notices issued under the Building (Scotland) Act 2003 is provided in the following table.

Year	Scotland
2010-11	187
2011-12	219
2012-13	140
2013-14	135
2014-15	176
2015-16	180
2016-17	106
2017-18	163
2018-19	74
2019-20	122
2020-21	92
2021-22	124

Table - Number of enforcement notices issued

Question reference: S6W-13901

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 27 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether NHS Scotland and its partners identify veterans as a distinct group in their work in tackling health inequalities.

We recognise that veterans may have specific health needs as a result of their military service. Scottish Government works with key partners, including NHS Armed Forces and Veterans Champions to ensure that veterans are identified as a distinct group to ensure their needs are met within the healthcare system.

As a result of a project in NHS Fife, it was agreed at the UK wide MoD/ Department of Health and Social Care Partnership Board that a single code identifying veterans within primary care records be used.

In addition, as part of our commitment to establish a GP’s Armed Forces and Veterans Recognition Scheme, we have developed a training package for health and social care staff, working in general practices to help them understand the specific health needs that veterans can present with.