- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 October 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 17 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is regarding reports that ferries have to cease operations every day while being cleaned as part of COVID-19-related protocols, and what information it has on whether all other modes of transport are similarly treated.
Answer
Enhanced cleaning takes place on a regular basis on all vessels whilst they are in service. If a vessel is confirmed as having a positive covid case onboard, it is temporarily removed from service to allow a deep clean to take place by external contractors.
In terms of bus services – enhanced cleaning of all buses takes place daily, but they remain in service.
In terms of Trains - enhanced cleaning protocols remain in place for both ScotRail and Caledonian Sleeper Ltd operations.
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 October 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 17 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the briefing paper from the Scottish Human Rights Commission, COVID-19 Status Certificates: Human Rights Considerations from April 2021; whether it has addressed the recommendations made in the briefing, and, if not, whether it plans to do so.
Answer
Our COVID Status Certification scheme is a necessary, proportionate and limited measure targeted towards activities that are a higher risk. This is an alternative to the potential closure of higher risk venues.
We value the work of the Scottish Human Rights Commission and the current scheme takes account of potential issues noted in the Commission’s April 2021 briefing paper. We have addressed a range of more specific potential impacts in our published Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) .
Our decisions are taken, and reviewed on the latest data and clinical evidence . Our review process includes consideration of the impact assessments, such as the EQIA.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 16 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its commitment to dedicate at least 5% of community health and social care spend to family support services by 2030, how much it currently invests in community health and social care, and what level of spend it anticipates this will reach by 2030.
Answer
NHS Boards and Integration Authorities currently spend approximately £9.6 billion across community health and social care. Future year budgets will be determined by the relevant spending reviews and budget processes.
The 2021-22 Programme for Government sets out the Scottish Government's commitment to invest at least £500 million over the life of the Parliament to create a Whole Family Wellbeing Fund. We will work closely with The Promise and partners in local government and the third sector to develop the Wellbeing Fund, in line with outcomes from the forthcoming Scottish Budget.
- Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 November 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 16 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government how many applications to the Improving Public Access Agri-Environment Climate Scheme there were, and of those how many (a) were approved and (b) are awaiting a decision, in each year since 2015.
Answer
The following table summarises the number of Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) applications received, applying specifically Improving Public Access (IPA), and of those how many were (a) were approved and (b) are awaiting a decision, in each year since 2015. The figures below exclude those applications that were submitted then subsequently withdrawn by the businesses concerned.
Please note that the 2020 round did not include the IPA option and that the 2019 round was not open to new applications, rather a one year’s extension was offered to all Management options that were due to end in 2020. Not all businesses accepted the offer. Improving Public Access is not a Management Option, it is capital only, and as such was not included in the round.
The 2021 round that closed at the beginning of July 2021 was also extended. These applications are still being assessed.
Year | Application Type | Applications Submitted1 | Applications Approved | Awaiting Decision |
2015 | Improving Public Access | 30 | 17 | 0 |
2016 | Improving Public Access | 54 | 36 | 0 |
2017 | Improving Public Access | 50 | 41 | 0 |
2018 | Improving Public Access | 96 | 53 | 0 |
2019 | Improving Public Access | NA* | - | - |
1Excludes those applications that were submitted then subsequently withdrawn by the businesses concerned.
* Application type not included in Round
- Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 November 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 16 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government how many applications to the Organic Farming Agri-Environment Climate Scheme there were, and of those how many (a) were approved and (b) are awaiting a decision, in each year since 2015.
Answer
The following table summarises the number of Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) applications received, applying specifically for Organic Farming options, and of those how many were (a) were approved and (b) are awaiting a decision, in each year since 2015. The figures below exclude those applications that were submitted then subsequently withdrawn by the businesses concerned.
Please note that the 2020 round was not open to new applications, rather a one year’s extension was offered to all Management options that were due to end in 2020. Not all businesses accepted the offer.
The 2021 round that closed at the beginning of July 2021 was also extended. These applications are still being assessed.
Year | Application Type | Applications Submitted1 | Applications Approved | Awaiting Decision |
2015 | Organic | 82 | 75 | 0 |
2016 | Organic | 121 | 115 | 0 |
2017 | Organic | 86 | 79 | 0 |
2018 | Organic | 48 | 35 | 0 |
2019 | Organic | 76 | 72 | 0 |
1Excludes those applications that were submitted then subsequently withdrawn by the businesses concerned.
- Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 November 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 16 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government how many rejected applications to the Improving Public Access Agri-Environment Climate Scheme have been appealed, and of those how many (a) were upheld following appeal and (b) are awaiting a decision, in each year since 2015.
Answer
The following table summarises the rejected Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) applications, specifically Improving Public Access (IPA), that have been appealed. It records the number of applications that were (a) upheld following appeal and (b) are awaiting a decision, in each year since 2015.
Please note that the 2020 round was not open to new applications, rather a one year’s extension was offered to all Management options that were due to end in 2020. Not all businesses accepted the offer. IPA is not a Management Option, it is capital only, and as such was not included in the round.
The 2021 round that closed at the beginning of July 2021 was also extended. These applications are still being assessed.
Year | Application Type | Applications Reviewed | Review Upheld (decision changed to approve) | Awaiting Decision |
2015 | Improving Public Access | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2016 | Improving Public Access | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2017 | Improving Public Access | <3 | <3 | 0 |
2018 | Improving Public Access | 10 | <3 | 0 |
2019 | Improving Public Access | NA* | - | - |
* Application type not included in Round
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 22 October 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 16 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6T-00179 by Keith Brown on 21 September 2021 and, specifically, the assertion that “where recommendations are made, the priority is to ensure that they are acted upon”, and based on the understanding that there is no national oversight mechanism or statutory mandate for the implementation of fatal accident inquiry recommendations, whether it will clarify (a) whose priority it is to ensure that fatal accident inquiry recommendations are acted upon and (b) how it ensures that fatal accident inquiry recommendations are acted upon.
Answer
The Inquiries into Fatal Accident and Sudden Deaths Act 2016 places a duty on a person to whom a sheriff’s recommendation is addressed to provide a response to the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service within the period of 8 weeks after the respondent receives a copy of the determination.
The respondent must give the SCTS a response in writing either :
- setting out details of what the respondent has done or proposes to do in response to the recommendation, or
- if the respondent has not done, and does not intend to do, anything in response to the recommendation, the reasons for that.
The 2016 Act also place a duty on SCTS to publish responses to the recommendations set out in the determination.
Where a response is given the SCTS must
- publish the response in full,
- publish the response in part, together with a notice explaining that part of the response has been withheld from publication, or
- publish a notice explaining that the whole of the response is being withheld from publication.
The SCTS may withhold the whole of a response from publication only if representations are made to that effect. If no response is given by the end of the 8 week period the SCTS must publish notice of that fact.
Implementation of FAI recommendations are monitored by the annual statistics. The Scottish Parliament receives a copy of the report annually. All responses to recommendations are published and are in the public domain which includes respondents saying what has been done and if the answer is nothing, then explaining why.
The Scottish Government expects all public bodies to respond appropriately to the recommendations of a Fatal Accident Inquiry.
- Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 November 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 16 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government how many rejected applications to the Slurry Storage Agri-Environment Climate Scheme have been appealed, and of those how many (a) were upheld following appeal and (b) are awaiting a decision, in each year since 2015.
Answer
The following table summarises the rejected Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) applications, specifically Slurry Store, that have been appealed. It records the number of applications that were (a) upheld following appeal and (b) are awaiting a decision, in each year since 2015.
Please note that the 2015 round did not include a Slurry Store option and that the 2020 round was not open to new applications, rather a one year’s extension was offered to all Management options that were due to end in 2020. Not all businesses accepted the offer. Slurry Store is not a Management Option, it is capital only, and as such was not included in the round.
The 2021 round that closed at the beginning of July 2021 was also extended. These applications are still being assessed.
Year | Application Type | Applications Reviewed | Review Upheld (decision changed to approve) | Awaiting Decision |
2015 | Slurry Store | NA* | - | - |
2016 | Slurry Store | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2017 | Slurry Store | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2018 | Slurry Store | 3 | 0 | 0 |
2019 | Slurry Store | 5 | 0 | 0 |
* Application type not included in Round
- Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 November 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 16 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government how many rejected applications to the Organic Farming Agri-Environment Climate Scheme have been appealed, and of those how many (a) were upheld following appeal and (b) are awaiting a decision, in each year since 2015.
Answer
The following table summarises the rejected Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) applications, specifically Organic Farming, that have been appealed. It records the number of applications that were (a) upheld following appeal and (b) are awaiting a decision, in each year since 2015.
Please note that the 2020 round was not open to new applications, rather a one year’s extension was offered to all Management options that were due to end in 2020. Not all businesses accepted the offer. 63 Organic applications were offered an extension with 55 applications accepting.
The 2021 round that closed at the beginning of July 2021 was also extended. These applications are still being assessed.
Year | Application Type | Applications Reviewed | Review Upheld (decision changed to approve) | Awaiting Decision |
2015 | Organic | 5 | 3 | 0 |
2016 | Organic | <3 | 0 | 0 |
2017 | Organic | <3 | 0 | 0 |
2018 | Organic | 3 | 0 | 0 |
2019 | Organic | <3 | <3 | 0 |
- Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 05 November 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 16 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the creation of a Lead MS Nurse for Scotland and the development of this as a leadership role.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in Scotland are able to receive the best possible care and support and benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put the patient at the centre of their care.
Since 2015, the Scottish Government has provided £2.4 million annually to improve specialist nursing services. NHS Boards make the decision on where to prioritise this funding based on local need. NHS Boards are expected to ensure that patients, including those who require MS services, have access to a range of professionals to provide the appropriate management of their condition.
The Scottish Government currently has no plans to create a lead MS nurse post, but is willing to consider and discuss any proposals received.