- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 September 2021
-
Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 4 October 2021
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the comment in the Programme for Government that “Current plans are to fully dual the A96 from Inverness to Aberdeen; however, we will undertake a transparent, evidence-based review of that, to include a climate compatibility assessment to assess direct and indirect impacts on the climate and the environment, reporting by the end of 2022”, under what circumstances the outcome of the review might lead to it deciding to withdraw the plans to carry out this work, and who will have responsibility for making the final decision.
Answer
Scottish Ministers set investment priorities for the Scottish Government. When making investment decisions, Ministers will consider multiple criteria and evidence informed by robust assessments which are in accordance with statutory procedures.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Monday, 23 August 2021
-
Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 4 October 2021
To ask the Scottish Government when the NHS Recovery Plan will be published.
Answer
In response to the pressures on NHS services caused by the pandemic over the past 18 months, the First Minster launched the NHS Recovery Plan, on the 25 August. The Plan sets out the Scottish Governments key headline ambitions and actions to be developed and delivered now and over the next 5 years.
While it is important to stress that recovery is the immediate task, this Plan is fundamentally about ensuring that the process of recovery focusses on alternatives pathways of care that allow people to be treated more quickly closer to home and also delivers long term sustainability. The plan is backed by more than £1 billion of investment over the next five years.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 September 2021
-
Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 4 October 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to tackle the reported backlog of people requiring urgent mental health support.
Answer
We recognise that long waits are unacceptable and we remain committed to meet the standard that 90% of patients start treatment within 18 weeks of referral.
We have asked all Boards to set out their plans and trajectories for meeting the waiting times standards and clearing backlogs by the end of March 2023. To support this, we have already allocated £9.25m from the Mental Health Recovery and Renewal Fund, for the first year of clearing waiting list backlogs in CAMHS and Psychological Therapies. This is part of a wider investment supported by a £120m Recovery and Renewal fund to transform services, with a renewed focus on prevention and early intervention.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
-
Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 4 October 2021
To ask the Scottish Government how it will update its strategy, Housing to 2040, in light of the commitments in its shared policy programme with the Scottish Green Party, and how it plans to review progress against the strategy.
Answer
Housing to 2040 is Scotland’s first long-term housing strategy. It sets out the Scottish Government’s vision for housing by 2040, that everyone has access to a safe, warm, affordable and energy efficient home that meets their needs, located in the place they want to be. The strategy needs to be agile and able to respond to future changes, and is in alignment with the Shared Policy Programme agreed with the Scottish Green Party. The updated commitments will be reflected in the governance process and monitoring framework plan for Housing to 2040 that will be established later this year.
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 September 2021
-
Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 4 October 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what options it is considering to ensure that glass does not exit closed-loop recycling, if the forthcoming deposit return scheme does not include a re-melt target.
Answer
Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, as amended by the Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012, requires any person who manages controlled waste to apply the Waste Hierarchy set out in Article 4(1) of Directive 2009/98/EC (the “Waste Framework Directive”) and to take reasonable steps to increase the quantity and quality of recyclable materials, with the desired outcome being closed-loop recycling.
The scheme administrator for Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme will therefore have to ensure glass is sorted and processed in a way that maintains the recyclate in a high-value state.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 September 2021
-
Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 4 October 2021
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the comment in the Programme for Government that “Current plans are to fully dual the A96 from Inverness to Aberdeen; however, we will undertake a transparent, evidence-based review of that, to include a climate compatibility assessment to assess direct and indirect impacts on the climate and the environment, reporting by the end of 2022”, whether the decision to hold a review arose as a consequence of the discussions that it held with the Scottish Green Party regarding reaching a cooperation agreement.
Answer
All projects, including the A96 Programme, are subject to detailed review and assessment work to ensure we deliver the right schemes and keep impacts on the environment to the absolute minimum. The decision to commit to a review forms part of a wide range of transport commitments set out in the cooperation agreement with the Scottish Green Party.
- Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 24 September 2021
-
Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 4 October 2021
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its publication, Whole School Approach Framework for Schools to Support Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing, what action it is taking to support teachers to become Mental Health First Aiders, and how this will be facilitated if training is not allowed to take place virtually.
Answer
The Mental Health in Schools Working Group have sought to establish a comprehensive approach to supporting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing through schools. The publication of the whole-school approach framework provides guidance on setting mental health and wellbeing at the heart of the ethos and culture of schools.
This approach is also reflected within the new professional learning resource, which has been specifically developed for use by school staff, as part of a strategic approach to enhancing understanding of supporting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing in schools. The new professional learning resource is available online and can be used by any member of school staff.
- Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 24 September 2021
-
Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 4 October 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the roll-out of the new digital platform to support group treatments and therapies for patients experiencing mental ill health.
Answer
The Scottish Government recognises that the lack of a national platform for group therapy has been challenging for services, that is why we have been working with the software developers, Attend Anywhere, to develop their platform Near Me as suitable solution to undertake patient facing group video consultations. Developers are currently testing the Alpha version of the Near Me group platform and it is anticipated that a Beta version (testing by clinicians) of the system will be available for testing with patients in November with full release shortly thereafter.
Meantime, we have issued guidance for NHS Scotland on the use of video consultation for group therapy using existing platforms, available from the Technology Enabled Care Scotland webpage. settings-mental-health-guidance"> Use of Video Consulting in Group Settings for Mental Health Guidance | TEC Scotland
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 September 2021
-
Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 4 October 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether an evaluation of the plan, Mental Health – Scotland’s Transition and Recovery, has been produced; if not, whether one will be, and how many of the actions from the plan have been achieved.
Answer
Delivery of the actions set out in our Mental Health Transition and Recovery Plan is ongoing. Since publication we have undertaken a wide range of activity to help people deal with the mental health effects of the pandemic. That includes, for example, working with local authorities to establish new community mental health and wellbeing services for children, continuing to support the roll-out of computerised Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and providing ongoing support for the Clear Your Head campaign.
A £120 million Recovery and Renewal Fund was announced in February to support the Plan. So far over £50 million has been allocated from the Fund. This includes allocations of £40 million to improve Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. We are currently allocating the remainder of the fund and will make further announcements in the coming weeks.
I will update Parliament on progress against the Transition and Recovery Plan in the months ahead.
- Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 September 2021
-
Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 4 October 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of whether SEPA's approach to environmental protection is consistent with addressing the biodiversity crisis.
Answer
Under the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act (2004), all public bodies in Scotland are required to further the conservation of biodiversity when carrying out their responsibilities. The Wildlife and Natural Environment (Scotland) Act (WANE Act) (2011) introduced a further requirement for all public bodies in Scotland to provide a publicly available report every three years, on the actions which they have taken to meet this biodiversity duty.
Protecting habitats, species and Scotland’s ecosystem services is an integral part of SEPA’s regulatory remit. All SEPA’s regulatory decisions take account of potential effects on biodiversity and opportunities for biodiversity enhancement. SEPA is responsible for setting standards in environmental licences that protect and help improve the state of water, land and air and the services that ecosystems provide. SEPA issues environmental licences under a range of regulations, including the following:
- Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations 2012
- Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2011
- Waste Management Licensing (Scotland) Regulations 2011
SEPA’s Nature conservation procedure for environmental licensing ensures that its statutory duties to protect designated features in nature conservation sites are incorporated into all environmental licensing regimes in a consistent and auditable manner.