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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S6W-28336

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 June 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 22 July 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action is being taken to address the reported sewage discharge in the Kirkconnel/Kelloholm area.

Question reference: S6W-28227

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 June 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 15 July 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when Strengthening Communities Programme funding for the financial year 2024-25 will be released to the Development Trusts Association Scotland to allow local organisations to receive funds.

Question reference: S6W-27989

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 03 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 14 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether the new funding announced for diabetes technology will be ringfenced.

Question reference: S6W-27959

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 31 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 14 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has received a business case regarding the provision of diabetes technology, and, if so, when it plans to make a decision.

I refer the member to answer to question: S6W-27895 on 28 May 2024. The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that everyone living with diabetes can access the care that they need to live their lives well. This includes increasing access to diabetes technologies.

Between 2016 and 2022, we invested £29.6 million of additional funding to support the increased provision of diabetes technologies.

I am delighted to confirm that this financial year, up to £8.8 million of funding will be made available to expand access to diabetes technologies in Scotland. The focus will primarily be on providing access to all children that want Closed Loop Systems, but will also allow us to continue increasing access to adults.

This investment will allow us to continue developing innovative care models for diabetes in Scotland that have a focus on digital pathways and peer support.

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: S6W-28050

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 13 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what the average ambulance response time is for a cardiac arrest in NHS Dumfries and Galloway.

Question reference: S6W-27962

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 31 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 10 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to review cyber security, in light of the reported recent breaches at Scottish public bodies.

The Scottish Government recognises that cyber resilience is paramount for the delivery of secure digital public services, and it works closely with the Scottish public sector to strengthen its cyber security posture through the implementation of The Strategic Framework for a Cyber Resilient Scotland.

Staying ahead of cyber criminals is an ongoing battle; as technologies evolve, so do their tactics. Public bodies are responsible for their own cyber resilience and security arrangements and must continually adapt to emerging threats.

The Scottish Government supports public sector bodies to help strengthen their cyber resilience and address areas for improvement. This includes embedding robust security standards, controls and governance, maintaining and regularly testing incident response plans, training staff and learning lessons identified from incidents.

Additionally, the Scottish Cyber Coordination Centre plays a key role in coordinating effective multi-agency response to incidents which impact on the public sector.

Question reference: S6W-27966

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 31 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 7 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to manage badger populations in the south of Scotland.

Badgers and their setts are protected under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 as amended by the Wildlife and Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2011.

NatureScot, the licensing agency in Scotland, may consider issuing licences under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 to undertake actions for a specific purpose, such as to prevent serious damage by badgers to agriculture.

Recent research investigating reports of badger predation on lambs on Scottish farms was undertaken in 2022 and 2023 by Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA), in conjunction with NatureScot, Scottish Land and Estates, and the National Farmers Union Scotland, The research found that whilst the results cannot fully rule out the occurrence of badger predation, they strongly suggest that foxes are most likely to be responsible for the majority of lamb predation events on Scottish farms. A copy of the report of this research can be found at:

https://www.nature.scot/doc/naturescot-research-report-1345-investigating-role-badgers-meles-meles-lamb-predation-scottish-farms

Question reference: S6W-27767

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 6 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has made available to install Changing Places toilets in (a) the current financial year to date and (b) each of the last five financial years.

Question reference: S6W-27727

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don on 4 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what recent action it has taken to ensure that (a) families have a choice of settings to access the 1,140 hours of funded early learning and childcare and (b) local authorities are encouraged to increase capacity.

The Scottish Government published updated national policy guidance on Funding Follows the Child in December 2023, which outlines the principles and criteria local authorities should follow when delivering funded early learning and childcare. The local authority is responsible for local delivery and has a duty to ensure that the statutory funded early learning and childcare entitlement is made available for each eligible young child belonging to its area. Local authorities also have a duty to publish local delivery plans outlining the choice available to parents and carers.

Question reference: S6W-27508

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 May 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 29 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the phenomenon know as wind theft where larger turbines built near existing turbines impact on the electricity generated.

The selection of a site and the configuration of wind turbines is a matter for the wind farm developer. This process involves comprehensive analysis to ensure the most suitable placement and design for wind turbines. Developers may have to balance the benefits of a compact site, which can minimise construction cost, and the gains from maximising energy capture from greater separation distances.

Policy 11: Energy of National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) states that potential cumulative impacts are important considerations in the decision-making process. All applications are subject to site-specific assessments.