- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 10 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what (a) information it has on or (b) estimate it has made of the number of digital devices distributed to children and young people that have been damaged or broken, broken down by local authority area.
Answer
Funding for devices was provided to local authorities by the Scottish Government. As such, local authorities undertook their own procurement exercises and devices purchased became assets of, and are managed by, individual local authorities. Decisions on their use are taken locally. We do not hold information on how devices are used and monitored.
- Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Ash Regan on 10 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to encourage members of the Pursuers Panel in Scotland to take on more cases funded by legal aid.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to questions S6W-08215 and S6W-08217 on 10 May 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 28 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 10 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-07335 by Maree Todd on 25 March 2022, whether it will provide a breakdown of the funding provided to the Scottish Huntington’s Association in each year since 2012.
Answer
The following is a breakdown of the funding provided by the Scottish Government to the Scottish Huntington’s Association (SHA), since 2012.
2012 - £103,000
2013 - £93,000
2014 - £88,000
2015 - £138,000
2016 - £133,000
2017 - £133,000
2018 - £145,600
2019 - £50,000
2020 - £40,000
2021 - £15,000
Total Funding - £938,600
This funding largely comprises support for the development of a national care framework for Huntington’s Disease, and organisational core and project funding for the SHA, to support the provision of their specialist services and initiatives for people affected by Huntington’s Disease and their families.
- Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 28 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 10 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on whether there are any roundtable forums for self-employed inventors to meet relevant stakeholders in Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not facilitate any forums or roundtables for self-employed inventors. We are working with industry and key stakeholders to develop a new innovation strategy to ensure businesses, people and institutions are ready to meet the challenges and opportunities we face over the next 10 years. We will ensure the support we provide is easy to access and focused on areas of greatest opportunity to meet our vision in becoming a world leading, innovation nation.
- Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 28 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 10 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how (a) much funding it has provided to and (b) many people have been successful in using the Scottish Land Matching Service in each year since the service was established.
Answer
The Scottish Land Matching Service (SLMS) launched at the end of September 2019. During the period 1 October 2019 to 30 September 2020, Scottish Government provided £55,480 of funding. For the second year between 1 October 2020 and 30 September 2021, Scottish Government expenditure was £54,785. So far £31,958 has been spent in the seven months from 1 October 2021 to 30 April 2022.
The SLMS has dealt with over 300 enquiries and has helped achieve 19 contractual agreements since its introduction.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 28 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 10 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-07335 by Maree Todd on 25 March 2022, what the outcome was of the meeting on 10 November 2021, and what steps have been taken since to "work with NHS, third sector partners and people affected by Huntington’s Disease to drive up standards of care".
Answer
The Minister had a positive and constructive meeting with Scottish Huntington’s Association (SHA) in November to discuss the issues raised within motion S6M-00923. Scottish Government officials will meet with the SHA this month in order to further explore the need for provision and service development across neurological conditions, including Huntington’s Disease.
The pandemic has seen our NHS under the most severe pressure in its 73-year existence. The NHS Recovery Plan sets out plans and ambitions for recovery, backed by more than £1 billion of funding. The plan will support increased inpatient and outpatient activity, including an aim to increase outpatients capacity by 10% compared to pre-pandemic levels.
In March we published a National Workforce Strategy for Health and Social Care which supports the remobilisation and recovery of health and social care services and sets out priorities for recruitment, training and retention.
The Scottish Government’s National Advisory Committee for Neurological Conditions and the Centre for Sustainable Delivery have set up a working group to improve workforce and care pathways in neurology. This includes development of tools to support statutory providers to make effective workforce decisions. Alistair Haw, Chief Executive Officer at the SHA is a member of this group, representing the Neurological Alliance of Scotland.
- Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 28 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 10 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been convicted of possessing indecent images of children, broken down by type of disposal, in each of the last 10 full financial years.
Answer
The latest available information from the Scottish Government Criminal Proceedings database is for 2019-20 and is provided in the following tables.
Information for 2020-21 will not be available until publication of the Criminal Proceedings in Scotland, 2020-21 statistical bulletin later this year.
Number of people convicted for taking, distribution, possession etc. indecent photos of children 1 , by disposal and length of custodial sentence, where main charge, 2010-11 to 2019-20
Main disposal | Total convicted | Custody | Community sentence | Monetary | Other |
2010-11 | 107 | 49 | 57 | - | 1 |
2011-12 | 118 | 45 | 71 | 2 | - |
2012-13 | 166 | 72 | 90 | 1 | 3 |
2013-14 | 245 | 93 | 148 | 2 | 2 |
2014-15 | 287 | 74 | 203 | 4 | 6 |
2015-16 | 279 | 60 | 208 | 6 | 5 |
2016-17 | 232 | 72 | 154 | 3 | 3 |
2017-18 | 250 | 85 | 160 | 4 | 1 |
2018-19 | 283 | 96 | 183 | 2 | 2 |
2019-20 | 211 | 54 | 152 | 2 | 3 |
Length of custodial sentence
| | Total custody | Up to 3 months | Over 3 months to 6 months | Over 6 months to 1 year | Over 1 year to 2 years | Over 2 years to less than 4 years | 4 years and over |
2010-11 | 49 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 17 | 12 | 4 |
2011-12 | 45 | - | 5 | 6 | 13 | 15 | 6 |
2012-13 | 72 | - | 6 | 23 | 18 | 10 | 15 |
2013-14 | 93 | - | 4 | 27 | 24 | 20 | 18 |
2014-15 | 74 | 1 | 5 | 19 | 21 | 16 | 12 |
2015-16 | 60 | 1 | 6 | 12 | 21 | 14 | 6 |
2016-17 | 72 | 1 | 3 | 19 | 32 | 11 | 6 |
2017-18 | 85 | - | 3 | 21 | 42 | 13 | 6 |
2018-19 | 96 | - | 3 | 31 | 40 | 20 | 2 |
2019-20 | 54 | - | - | 12 | 26 | 13 | 3 |
1. Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 sections 52 and 52A.
- Asked by: Gillian Mackay, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 11 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 10 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many people aged under 18 are recorded as having been supplied with vaping products in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority area.
Answer
Enforcement of legislation around the sale and purchase of NVP's is carried out by Local Authorities as part of the ETSEP (Enhanced Tobacco (and NVP) Sales Enforcement Programme) overseen by The Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in Scotland (SCOTSS), and funded by the Scottish Government. These activities in relation to this are reported annually to the Scottish Government with figures provided on a national basis.
The following table shows verified sales of NVPs to under 18s, following test purchase failures during trading standards activity over the past five financial years.
Financial Year | 17-18 | 18-19 | 19-20 | 20-21 | 21-22 |
Aberdeen | 1 | 5 | 7 | | 1 |
Aberdeenshire | | 2 | | | |
Angus | 1 | 9 | 1 | | |
Argyll & Bute | 1 | | 1 | | |
City of Edinburgh | | 6 | 4 | | |
Clackmannanshire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Dumfries & Galloway | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Dundee City | | 4 | 1 | | |
East Ayrshire | | 1 | | | |
East Dumbarton | | | 2 | | |
East Lothian | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
East Renfrewshire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Falkirk | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fife | | 5 | | | |
Glasgow City | 19 | 14 | 11 | | |
Highland | | | 2 | | |
Inverclyde | | 2 | 2 | | |
Midlothian | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Moray | 2 | | 1 | | 2 |
North Ayrshire | 9 | | 7 | | |
North Lanarkshire | 7 | 8 | 5 | | 6 |
Orkney | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Perth & Kinross | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Renfrewshire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Scottish Borders | | | | | 1 |
Shetland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
South Ayrshire | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
South Lanarkshire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Stirling [and Clackmannan] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
West Dunbartonshire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
West Lothian | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
- Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Date lodged: Friday, 22 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 10 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-03514 by Humza Yousaf on 27 October 2021, whether the National Services Division review of NHS Scotland’s genomics services has been completed; (a) whether and (b) what recommendations have been made to the Scottish Genomics Leadership Group, and what actions will be taken on the basis of any recommendations to ensure that appropriate planning and decision-making processes are in place for genetic testing availability in Scotland.
Answer
The NHS National Services Division (NSD) commissioning team have completed a Major Service Review of the current Genomics service. The final report has been shared with NHS Board Chief Executives, the Scottish Genomics Leadership Group, Trade Union representative, Medical and Laboratory Directors for the boards that host the Genomic Laboratories, the document is now available on the (NSS)NSD website at the following link:https://www.nss.nhs.scot/specialist-healthcare/specialist-services/genetic-and-molecular-pathology-laboratories/
All of the recommendations from the report were put to the Scottish Genomics Leadership Group on the 24 February 2022.
The NSD Transformation Team which will become operational in June 2022 will develop an action plan for the implementation of the recommendations from the Review
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 22 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 10 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government when the cost of grid infrastructure enhancements will be shared across all users rather than levied on individual households that are willing and able to afford investing in domestic generation and storage.
Answer
The cost of grid infrastructure enhancements is an area of policy reserved to the UK Government. The recent Ofgem reform will mean that from the 1st of April 2023 generation and storage will pay less upfront costs and some of these costs will be socialised across the relevant network.
The Scottish Government wishes to see network costs reformed to support greater uptake of renewables generation and storage. However, this cannot done at the expense of financially vulnerable and fuel poor.
Those most vulnerable are already experiencing difficulties due to the cost of living energy crisis and care needs to be taken to ensure that those least able to pay do not end up paying the costs for those who can afford domestic generation and storage.
The Scottish Government will continue to make the case for comprehensive reform of network charges that supports delivery of net zero at the lowest cost to the consumer.