Chamber and committees

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.

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Question reference: S6W-13361

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 16 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the publication, Neurological Conditions: estimating the prevalence in Scotland of selected conditions using General Practice and Hospital Admissions datasets, for what reasons there are no data on the prevalence of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) from (a) NHS Highland and (b) NHS Ayrshire and Arran.

Question reference: S6W-13363

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 16 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the publication, Neurological Conditions: estimating the prevalence in Scotland of selected conditions using General Practice and Hospital Admissions datasets, of those with a diagnosis of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and in the GP practice dataset, what proportion were (a) female and (b) male.

This publication’s Supporting Documents include a spreadsheet file titled ‘General Practice recorded diagnoses’. Table 4 in this spreadsheet shows GP recorded diagnoses of neurological conditions, by sex and age, for each neurological condition shown . In some cases small numbers have been suppressed to help maintain patient confidentiality. Taking into account the suppression of small numbers, the approximate split of diagnoses for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is as follows: (a) Female – 69% (b) Male – 31%.

Please note that that this percentage breakdown draws on figures which do not cover the whole of Scotland. The general practices whose data are included represented 72.7% of registered patients at the time of the data extract.

Question reference: S6W-13362

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 16 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the publication, Neurological Conditions: estimating the prevalence in Scotland of selected conditions using General Practice and Hospital Admissions datasets, of those with a diagnosis of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and in the GP practice dataset, how many were children whose age when the extract was taken was (a) under 5, (b) 5-11 and (c) 12-17.

This publication’s Supporting Documents include a spreadsheet file titled ‘General Practice recorded diagnoses’. Table 4 in this spreadsheet shows GP recorded diagnoses of neurological conditions, by sex and age. For each neurological condition shown, it gives the number of GP recorded diagnoses by sex in the following age bands: 0-4, 5-9, 10-14, 15-19. This data is shown in the following table. In some cases small numbers have been suppressed to help maintain patient confidentiality. We do not have data apportioned to the exact age bands in the question.

Number of people diagnosed with ME/CFS by sex and age group

	Age 0-4	Age 5-9	Age 10-14	Age 15-19
Female	-	7	16	115
Male	*	*	27	77

(-) indicates a zero value

(*) indicates values that have been suppressed due to the potential risk of disclosure and to help maintain patient confidentiality

Please note that that these figures do not cover the whole of Scotland. The general practices whose data are included represented 72.7% of registered patients at the time of the data extract.

Question reference: S6O-01714

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when it last engaged with the UK Government on the subject of EU replacement funding with respect to the rural affairs portfolio.

Question reference: S6W-12648

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 13 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how children and young people can access their entitlement to the Young Persons’ (Under 22s) Free Bus Travel scheme in each local authority in the Highlands and Islands region.

Applications for the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme can be made through getyournec.scot in all local authorities. Additionally, each local authority is responsible for providing alternative application route(s) for their residents.

The application routes for each local authority in the Highlands and Islands region are outlined in the following table.

Argyll and Bute	? Paper form through Customer Service points ? Some applications have been coordinated through primary and secondary schools
Comhairie nan Eilean Siar	? Paper application form, with three in-person application locations available ? Council-specific online form for 16-21 year olds with an existing card ? Some applications have been coordinated through schools for Primary 7 pupils
Highland	? Paper form through Customer Service points ? Postal application forms ? Some applications have been coordinated through primary and secondary schools
Moray	? parentsportal.scot for applications for 5-11 year olds ? Forms available through schools, library and online ? Some applications have been coordinated through primary and secondary schools
Orkney Islands	? Paper applications through the council
Shetland Islands	? Council-specific online forms ? Contact council directly for alternative routes

Question reference: S6O-01666

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the implementation of its policy, Language Learning in Scotland: A 1+2 Approach.

Question reference: S6O-01580

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 November 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact that the increase in inflation will have on the ability of the public sector to deliver on its Covid Recovery Strategy.

Question reference: S6W-12002

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 15 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government which activities involving animals it next plans to regulate under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Scotland) Regulations 2021.

Future licensable activities are still under consideration, but may include commercial dog walking and pet grooming, the operation of livery yards, greyhound racing, and canine fertility clinics. We are also considering the case for revoking dated licensing legislation covering riding establishments and animal boarding, with a view to replacing it with new controls under the 2021 licensing framework.

We continue to work with key stakeholders to finalise our proposals on licensing and will consult on these at the earliest opportunity.

Question reference: S6W-11730

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 10 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an updated timescale for the stretches of the A9 that are still to be dualled, including at the Slochd Summit and Birnam, in light of the recent reported accidents on the road.

First, I express my sympathies to everyone who has been affected by the loss of a loved one and to anyone who has been injured on our roads over this year.

The Government remains committed to investment in the A9, including dualling the road between Perth and Inverness.

We are currently progressing the procurement for the Tomatin to Moy section and undertaking design work on the rest of the programme, with ministerial decisions to complete the statutory process confirmed for seven of the remaining eight schemes. I will update Parliament shortly on the progress of this section.

I have also today announced to Parliament through the answer to S6W-12140 progress on dualling the A9 section from Killiecrankie to Glen Garry, in that I have determined that the Orders for that scheme should be made.

The only section not to have started the statutory process is the Pass of Birnam to Tay Crossing project, where design and assessment is ongoing to identify a preferred route option following the innovative co-creative process with the local community. Work is progressing on announcing a preferred route for this section.

Work to determine the most suitable procurement options for the remaining sections of the A9 dualling is also ongoing. This is a complex exercise which looks at a number of factors including how the project can be delivered most efficiently by the industry, whilst minimising disruption to road users and helping to support economic recovery post-COVID.

I will of course keep Parliament updated on progress in relation to all aspects of these dualling schemes.

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

Question reference: S6O-01565

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 November 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has made an assessment of the impact of carbon offset schemes on rural depopulation.