Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-05582

Asked by: Rona Mackay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 January 2022
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Michael Matheson on 10 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the outcome is of its latest review into border health measures, and whether there will be any changes to the regulations.

We have reviewed the border health measures closely over the last 28 days and have assessed that there continues to be a requirement for the regulations to remain in place to reduce the risk of imported transmission and safeguard public health in Scotland. The regulations continue to be an important and proportionate part of the Scottish Government response to managing the pandemic. As we have done throughout the pandemic, we will continue discussions with UK Government and the other devolved administrations and continue to seek to take a four-nations approach to future changes to regulations and the travel regime.

Question reference: S6W-05191

Asked by: Rona Mackay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 December 2021
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Keith Brown on 16 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when it will provide an update on the progress of implementation of recommendations from Dame Elish Angiolini’s review of complaints handling, investigations and misconduct in relation to policing in Scotland.

I am pleased to confirm the publication today of the Scottish Government’s second thematic report on implementation progress following Dame Elish Angiolini’s Final Report.

The thematic progress report showcases the significant steps partners have taken to implement Dame Elish Angiolini’s recommendations, as well as highlighting our commitment to consult next year on legislative proposals in advance of bringing forward primary legislation.

I commend Police Scotland, the Scottish Police Authority, the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland for the collaborative working and progress to date. As set out in the last report, this second report features updates from all partners, with tables to record progress against every recommendation grouped under the following themes:

Rights & ethics
Jurisdiction & powers
Governance & accountability
Transparency & accessibility
Equality, diversity & inclusion
Conduct & standards
Training & HR
Efficiency & effectiveness
Audit & review

The report can be accessed here: http://www.gov.scot/ISBN/9781802017168

Question reference: S6W-05099

Asked by: Rona Mackay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 December 2021
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Michael Matheson on 13 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what the outcome is of its latest review into border health measures, and whether there will be any changes to the regulations.

We have reviewed the border health measures closely over the last 28 days and have assessed that there continues to be a requirement for the regulations to remain in place to reduce the risk of imported transmission and safeguard public health in Scotland. The regulations continue to be an important and proportionate part of the Scottish Government response to managing the pandemic. As we have done throughout the pandemic, we will continue discussions with UK Government and the other devolved administrations and continue to seek to take a four-nations approach to future changes to regulations and the travel regime.

Question reference: S6W-04458

Asked by: Rona Mackay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 November 2021
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Clare Haughey on 18 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when the Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Act 2019 will be fully commenced.

Question reference: S6W-04438

Asked by: Rona Mackay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 November 2021
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Graeme Dey on 12 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what the outcome is of its latest review into border health measures, and whether there will be any changes to the regulations.

We have reviewed the border health measures closely over the last 28 days and have assessed that there continues to be a requirement for the regulations to remain in place to reduce the risk of imported transmission and safeguard public health in Scotland. The regulations continue to be an important and proportionate part of the Scottish Government response to managing the pandemic. As we have done throughout the pandemic, we will continue discussions with UK Government and the other devolved administrations and continue to seek to take a four-nations approach to future changes to regulations and the travel regime.

Question reference: S6O-00271

Asked by: Rona Mackay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 October 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to introduce a Young Citizens' Assembly.

Question reference: S6W-03829

Asked by: Rona Mackay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 October 2021
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Mairi McAllan on 18 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what the outcome is of its latest review into border health measures, and whether there will be any changes to the regulations.

The previous International Travel Regulations were due to expire on 20 September 2021 but were instead revoked and replaced with new, consolidated regulations that came into force on that date. We have reviewed the border health measures closely over the last 28 days and have assessed that there continues to be a requirement for the regulations to remain in place to reduce the risk of imported transmission and safeguard public health in Scotland. The regulations continue to be an important and proportionate part of the Scottish Government response to managing the pandemic. As we have done throughout the pandemic, we will continue discussions with UK Government and the other devolved administrations and continue to seek to take a four-nations approach to future changes to regulations and the travel regime.

Question reference: S6W-03471

Asked by: Rona Mackay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 September 2021
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Ash Denham on 1 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when it will consult on the recommendations in the report of the Independent Review of Legal Services Regulation in Scotland.

A consultation based on Esther Roberton’s recommendations, from her independent review of legal services regulation, will be available to the public via Citizen Space from 1 October until 24 December 2021. In parallel we will be undertaking a series of consultation focus groups to increase the opportunity for stakeholders and the public to respond to the consultation in part or in whole.

As was stated in my response, the Scottish Government is open to further views on how the report recommendations should be taken forward and this consultation is intentionally broadly set to capture the fullest range of views on the recommendations and what level of reform is supported. As such the consultation has been developed collaboratively with those representing consumer interests and the legal profession.

The findings from the consultation exercise will inform the design of reform, and confirms our commitment to a modern and effective framework of legal services regulation.

The consultation will be available at: https://consult.gov.scot/justice/legal-services-regulation-reform-in-scotland .

Question reference: S6W-03147

Asked by: Rona Mackay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 1 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how much each local authority will receive of the £42 million of funding between 4 October 2021 and 31 March 2022 to enable bus operators to maintain services while patronage recovers from the effects of COVID-19.

Covid Support Grant Restart (CSG-R) funding for bus is available to support eligible organisations, such as bus operators and local transport authorities, which are running local registered bus services, and are able to increase service mileage up to 95% of pre COVID levels. Where a local transport authority (LTA) runs local bus services directly it is eligible for CSG-R funding for those services. To date, the only local authority in receipt of CSG-R funding is Scottish Borders Council.

The amount of funding each operator – including eligible local authorities – will receive depends on the actual gap between the costs of running the services and revenue received over the funding period and so is not known at this point. A condition of the funding is that participating operators are required to cooperate with LTAs in planning services and to take steps to respond positively and quickly to reasonable requests from LTAs to amend service patterns, hours or levels of provision.

Question reference: S6W-03411

Asked by: Rona Mackay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 2021
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Ash Denham on 29 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made on revising the Fire and Rescue Framework for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

I have today launched a consultation on the next Fire and Rescue Framework for Scotland which invites comment on our future strategic priorities for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. I encourage everyone who has an interest in this important consultation to have their say. You can access and respond to this consultation online at https://consult.gov.scot/safer-communities/fire-and-rescue-framework .

Chamber and committees