- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 22 September 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 3 October 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what contractual relationships it or NatureScot has with (a) Palladium, (b) Lombard Odier and (c) Hampden Bank in support of mobilising private finance into nature; what payments have been made to any of those parties in the (i) last financial year and (ii) current financial year to date; what the (A) value and (B) duration is of any extant contracts, and what procurement process was followed to secure any such contractual arrangements that are in place.
Answer
Neither the Scottish Government nor NatureScot has contractual relationships with or has made payments to Palladium, Lombard Odier or Hampden and Co Bank in support of mobilising private finance into nature. NatureScot is a signatory of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the financial partners. Further information on the partnership is available at www.nature.scot
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 22 September 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 3 October 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the conclusions and recommendations in the Social Research report, Mobilising private investment in natural capital.
Answer
Scottish Government commissioned this report from Finance Earth to better understand the potential role of blended finance in mobilising responsible private investment for peatland restoration. We will draw on its conclusions and recommendations as we develop our forthcoming natural capital markets framework, which we committed to in this year’s Programme for Government.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 22 September 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 28 September 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it remains committed to its policy of offering grant support for peatland restoration until 2030.
Answer
The Scottish Government remains committed to supporting the restoration of 250,000 hectares of degraded Scottish peatlands by 2030. Earlier this year the First Minister’s policy prospectus ‘New Leadership - A Fresh Start’, reaffirmed this commitment with an interim target -promising to deliver up to 110,000 hectares of restored peatland by 2026.
As well as our commitment of £250 million of funding over ten years, through our Private Investment in Natural Capital programme, we are working to attract increased private investment in peatland restoration as a nature-based solution for climate change and biodiversity loss.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 22 September 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 28 September 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether the full £250 million of funding that it has committed for peatland restoration will remain available for that purpose until 2030.
Answer
The Scottish Government remains committed to achieving its target to restore 250,000 hectares of peatland by 2030.
The Scottish Government remains committed to funding peatland restoration and also has an obligation to balance the budget each year. Annual spending plans are based on delivery forecasts and budget requirements from our delivery partners which inform the annual Budget process. The pipeline of work changes from year to year and so, therefore, does our allocated budget.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 14 September 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 27 September 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address recently reported safety concerns in the accident and emergency department in Dr Gray's Hospital.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-21342 on 27 September 2023. 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: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 14 September 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 27 September 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that medics have been raising safety concerns regarding staffing at the accident and emergency department in Dr Gray's Hospital since 2021, what measures it has taken to address these concerns.
Answer
We have been engaging with NHS Grampian on these issues. The Scottish Government facilitated a visit involving Royal College of Emergency Medicine to NHS Grampian on 12 June this year to meet with staff and offer support. The visiting team subsequently made a number of recommendations that will support improvements. We will work closely with the board to support implementation.
We continue to work with NHS Grampian on delivery of their improvement plan, which contains a range of initiatives to support reduced waiting times. The Board have demonstrated progress against their improvement aims including increasing staffing levels to better manage the A&E footprint, increasing hospital at home capacity and reducing ambulance conveyance by strengthening alternative services which focus on A&E prevention.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 August 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 20 September 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to ensure that its recent statutory guidance on Scotland's Guiding Principles on the Environment is embedded in the process of developing a new agricultural policy framework.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to upholding high standards of environmental protection. The statutory guidance on Scotland’s Guiding Principles on the Environment will help ensure that these high standards are maintained through the policy development process. Once the duty to give due regard to the environmental principles comes into force later in the year, Ministers will be legally required to consider these principles in the development of new policies, including through the Strategic Environmental Assessment process. This requirement will encompass policies within the new agricultural policy framework. We have committed in our Programme for Government to ‘continue the Agricultural Reform Programme to produce more of our food sustainably, cut carbon emissions, and farm with nature, by increasing the uptake of carbon audits, soil testing, and biodiversity audits and funding to improve animal health’.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 September 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 19 September 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, beyond the rules for the treatment of contingent liabilities specified in the Scottish Public Finance Manual, whether any requirement exists under the Fiscal Framework, or elsewhere, for the prior permission of the UK Treasury for novel or particularly large contingent liabilities to be entered into by the Scottish Government, and, if so, what cash limits exist for any specific arrangement, or the aggregate of any arrangements, in relation to which UK Treasury permission may be required.
Answer
The Scottish Government's contingent liabilities are considered and approved in line with the guidance contained within the Scottish Public Finance Manual and the Written Agreement between the Scottish Government and the Finance and Public Administration Committee.
There is no separate requirement for the prior permission of HM Treasury for novel or particularly large contingent liabilities for activities either within the Fiscal Framework or elsewhere.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 September 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 19 September 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, in entering arrangements where a contingent liability arises, in addition to the requirements for reporting and seeking any necessary consent, what (a) cash provision within a departmental or agency budget is required to be made prior to any crystallisation of the liability and (b) the effect is on the measurement of Scottish public spending of any accounting provision made for future contingent liabilities.
Answer
Contingent liabilities are considered and approved in line with the guidance contained within the Scottish Public Finance Manual and in the Written Agreement between the Scottish Government and the Finance and Public Administration Committee. The Budget treatment applied is consistent with HMT’s Consolidated Budgeting Guidance:
- Amounts for contingent liabilities are not included in the budget, nor recognised as actual liabilities on the Scottish Government’s balance sheet, but are instead disclosed in notes to their accounts.
- The Scottish Government considers in the course of drawing up its budget whether any contingent liabilities are likely to crystallise and will make plans to absorb any such impact within the existing budget.
The recognition of a contingent liability does not in itself have an impact on Scottish Government’s public spending.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 August 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 12 September 2023
To ask the Scottish Government when it expects to join the National Dash Cam Safety Portal.
Answer
The project to introduce a pilot National Dashcam Safety Portal in Scotland is in the initial business case stage, with Police Scotland currently looking at the internal processing, handling and storage of digital images and how that best fits with current and projected processes. The initial implementation date for the project pilot was indicated as January 2023, however, Police Scotland has now stated that they are reviewing the project’s timings as part of their wider planning for 2023-24 and beyond.
My officials remain in discussion with Police Scotland on this matter and will meet with them again later in August as we look to progress this important road safety initiative.