- Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 8 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how much venison has been sold from estates managed by Forestry and Land Scotland to wholesalers, in each year since 2016.
Answer
Forestry and Land Scotland sells the venison (deer carcasses in skin) produced on Scotland’s national forests and land to Approved Game Meat Handling Establishments (AGHE), not a ‘wholesaler’.
The volume sold to AGHEs broken down by financial year as follows:
Financial Year | Volume of Venison Sold (kg) |
2016-17 | 720.1k |
2017-18 | 837.6k |
2018-19 | 786.1k |
2019-20 | 791.9k |
2020-21 | 714.6k |
2021-22 | 884.8k |
- Asked by: Joe FitzPatrick, MSP for Dundee City West, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Clare Haughey on 8 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many baby boxes have been distributed in (a) Dundee and (b) the NHS Tayside area, in each year since the initiative was launched.
Answer
Registration opened on 15 June 2017, and delivery of Baby Boxes nationwide began on 15 August 2017 for all babies born and resident in Scotland.
We are unable to give the number of Baby Boxes delivered in the Dundee local authority area as we only record numbers of Baby Boxes distributed by Health Board area. We can provide the number of boxes delivered in Tayside Health Board.
The total number issued in NHS Tayside up to 3 February 2023 is 17,735 Baby Boxes.
The total breakdown is provided below:
2017(15 August – 31 December) | 1,587 Baby Boxes |
2018 | 3,448 Baby Boxes |
2019 | 3,461 Baby Boxes |
2020 | 2,998 Baby Boxes |
2021 | 2,941 Baby Boxes |
2022 | 2,927 Baby Boxes |
2023 (up to Friday 3 rd February) | 373 Baby Boxes |
- Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Clare Haughey on 8 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the Children, Young People, Families and Adult Learning Third Sector Fund has delayed awarding funds to applicants.
Answer
The Children, Young People, Families and Adult Learners (CYPFAL) third sector fund received a significant number of applications from a wide range of organisations totalling £121.8 million of requested funding over the two years, far exceeding the amount of funding available. While we had planned to inform applicants of funding decisions by 31 December 2022, unfortunately this was not possible as more time was required to fully consider all information related to the CYPFAL assessment process.
- Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Clare Haughey on 8 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what financial support is available for any organisations that are struggling as a result of the delay in awarding grants from the Children, Young People, Families and Adult Learning Third Sector Fund.
Answer
To support organisations currently funded through the Children, Young People and Families Early Intervention & Adult Learning & Empowering Communities (CYPFEI & ALEC) third sector fund, the Scottish Government is maintaining funding to the total value of £3.6m, bridging the period of the three month extension and consideration of CYPFAL applications.
Additionally, the CYPFEI & ALEC fund administrator, The Corra Foundation, are available to organisations who applied to the Children, Young People, Families and Adult Learning third sector fund to offer non-financial support by providing links to third sector interfaces to help identify any alternative funding streams.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 8 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to publish the independent report of the detailed analysis of the future prospects for the North Sea and how Scotland's energy activity aligns with its climate change commitments, as referred to in the Draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan, which is currently open for consultation.
Answer
The analysis was published on 3 March and can be found here - https://www.gov.scot/publications/energy-system-transition-independent-analysis/ .
This publication is an independent report, reviewed by an independent panel, which provides a significant volume of evidence and analysis and will contribute to our understanding of the opportunities and challenges in energy transition. To allow stakeholders to fully consider this material before responding, the consultation period for the draft ESJTP has been extended by 5 weeks, and will now close on 9 May.
- Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Christina McKelvie on 8 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has allocated to a National Transition to Adulthood Strategy in the Scottish Budget 2023-24.
Answer
To date, we have been laying the foundations to deliver on Scotland’s first National Transitions to Adulthood Strategy to support disabled young people as they make the transition to young adult life, through research and engagement.
The scope, vision, aims and national priorities for the strategy will now be developed through external stakeholder engagement and wider consultation. Staffing costs for this work will be met from our operating costs budget for 2023-24.
The costs associated with the implementation of the Strategy will be determined by the actions that are developed and ultimately included, once agreed.
- Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 8 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has sought advice from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service regarding any implications of banning muirburn on peat deeper than 40cm.
Answer
The Scottish Government has sought advice from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service regarding their views on making changes to muirburn legislation.
- Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how it plans to improve disease control rates for (a) rheumatoid arthritis, (b) axial spondyloarthritis and (c) psoriatic arthritis.
Answer
The Scottish Government expects health care professionals to deliver high quality person-centred care in line with best practice guidance. The NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) guideline on management of rheumatoid arthritis in adults (NG100) is available on its website: www.nice.org.uk. The Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) guideline on management of psoriatic arthritis in adults (SIGN 121) is available on its website: www.sign.ac.uk.
- Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting access to advanced therapies for people with rheumatoid arthritis.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that people living in Scotland with long term conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis are able to access the best possible care and support.
The Scottish Government is working to ensure an overarching approach for advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) is in place in order to facilitate a ‘once for Scotland’ approach, where possible. We recognise that there are wide-ranging implications and challenges for the managed introduction of these personalised medicines, and are committed to adopting a co-ordinated approach where practical. We are working across Government to develop our understanding of the future direction for this area of medicines policy, including associated genomic testing and service planning implications for the NHS.
- Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 February 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 March 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to reduce any regional variation in levels of access to advanced therapies for rheumatoid arthritis.
Answer
In Scotland, the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) appraises the clinical and cost-effectiveness of newly-licensed medicines. Following receipt of a submission from the manufacturer, the SMC carries out an appraisal of the medicine and then determines whether it should be accepted for routine use within the NHS in Scotland. The SMC appraisal is undertaken independently of Scottish Ministers and is based on the clinical and cost-effectiveness of the medicine at a population level. Following the appraisal process, the SMC publishes advice for NHS Scotland Health Boards to consider. The decision to prescribe a medicine for a patient, and which medicine to prescribe, is entirely for the clinician in charge of a patient’s care, having taken into account the patient’s clinical condition and any relevant clinical guidance.
To support financial and service planning, the SMC also provides Health Boards – in confidence – information on medicines that may require a companion diagnostic through regular Forward Look reports which include emerging new medicines, including advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs).