- Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 December 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Ben Macpherson on 22 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making on Universal Credit (UC) Scottish choices split payments, where UC payments can be split between members of a couple in a household, in order to ensure that everyone has access to an independent income based on their individual circumstances, and what its position is on whether this will promote equality in the welfare system.
Answer
Following a pause, due to capacity challenges related to the pandemic from March 2020 to March 2021, officials from the Scottish Government and the UK Government's Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have resumed work to finalise a proposal for introducing split payments of Universal Credit in Scotland. This work has been progressing steadily and Scottish Government officials expect to have a policy proposal ready for the DWP to undertake impact assessments in 2022.
Offering the choice of split payments of Universal Credit has the potential to help address the inequality inherent in household payments that reduce access to independent incomes and can place power in the hands of abusers. Whilst offering split payments of Universal Credit in Scotland will not be sufficient to solve these complex problems, improving the accessibility of an independent income may help people in difficult situations and result in fairer and more empowering outcomes.
- Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 December 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Ben Macpherson on 20 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what the remit is of the proposed review of the Scottish Welfare Fund, and what the timescale is for (a) the review to be completed and (b) its findings to be published.
Answer
We have committed, both in the Programme for Government and in our initial response to the Social Renewal Advisory Board’s report, to a full, independent review of the Scottish Welfare Fund. The review will examine many areas of the Fund including accessibility, funding levels, local authority administration and statutory guidance. In order to do this we are commissioning independent research, findings from which will be reported before the end of 2022.
- Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 December 2021
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 14 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what flexibility will be afforded for the installation of interlinked fire alarms in light of recent reports about the available funding for low-income households.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 14 December 2021
- Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 November 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 10 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on its Single Building Assessment programme, and when it anticipates the programme will be concluded.
Answer
My officials are working closely with the homeowners of the 25 buildings within the pilot phase of the Single Building Assessment. Our approach is to understand the fire safety of those buildings and particularly the external cladding. The programme will be concluded once buildings with unsafe cladding are remediated. We have committed to spending £97.1 million on cladding assessment and remediation and I have recently written to the UK Government to seek clarification on further funding for this work.
- Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 November 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 23 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government when it will confirm the date for the removal of the requirement for EWS1 forms, and their replacement with Scottish Government-funded Single Building Assessments.
Answer
The EWS1 certificate was developed by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) along with UK Finance and the Building Societies Association (BSA). It is not a Government form, nor is it a legal requirement. The initial phase of the Single Building Assessment program is ongoing, which will be followed by the national roll-out.
- Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 01 November 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 17 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken to ensure that NHS patients in Scotland can access Magnetic Resonance Guided Focused Ultra-Sound (MRgFUS) to treat the condition, essential tremor.
Answer
Patients in Scotland with medication-refractory essential tremor can be referred for MRgFUS treatment to the current centre in London which offers this service. These arrangements are managed through robust commissioning arrangements between NHS England and NHS National Services Scotland’s National Services Division (NSD). Referral to the service is dependent upon the patient’s local neurologist considering their eligibility and whether they would benefit from MRgFUS treatment.
In Scotland a partnership between NHS Tayside and University of Dundee is also enabling a small number of eligible patients to receive MRgFUS treatment at a newly developed facility in Dundee. So far 80 patients have been referred for assessment this year, and around 25% of those have been considered as being appropriate for treatment. The National Deep Brain Stimulation Service in Glasgow has been working closely with the facility to ensure that patient selection is appropriate with a view to the best clinical outcomes as well as patient safety.
While evidence continues to be gathered on the effectiveness of the technology, NSD continues to engage with the clinical team in Tayside with a view to the development of an application for national designation in Scotland.
- Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 November 2021
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 18 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether it recognises long COVID as a disability.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 18 November 2021
- Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 October 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 3 November 2021
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason NHS boards are reportedly not being provided with clear face masks to aid people who are hearing impaired, in light of these reportedly being provided to NHS trusts in England.
Answer
Transparent masks have the potential to bring significant benefits in aiding communication and the Scottish Government is supportive of their introduction where appropriate. We are aware that NHS England have previously trialled transparent masks in non-clinical settings.
Earlier this year, a new technical specification for the design and performance requirements of transparent masks was established. The UK Four Nations PPE Review Group has a role to review any products submitted for approval and NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) is actively engaging in this process and working to ensure masks can be made available as soon as possible.
- Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 October 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Ash Regan on 29 October 2021
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the forthcoming bonfire night celebrations, whether it will confirm what the outcome was of its consultation on the use of fireworks.
Answer
The consultation ‘Use and Sale of Fireworks in Scotland, and tackling the misuse of pyrotechnics’ ran from 20 June to 15 August 2021. The consultation consisted of two sections; the first sought views on proposed changes to how fireworks can be supplied and used in Scotland; while the second section considered the use of pyrotechnic devices.
Over 1,700 responses were received, with the majority submitted by individual members of the public, with stakeholder organisations including the emergency services, the fireworks industry and animal welfare organisations also responding. An analysis of consultation responses, undertaken by an independent contractor, will be published shortly.
Where permission was granted, responses have been published at https://consult.gov.scot/justice/use-and-sale-of-fireworks-in-scotland/consultation/published_select_respondent .
A Fireworks and Pyrotechnics Bill will be introduced to Parliament in Year One of this Parliamentary term to prevent harm in our communities.
- Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 30 September 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 28 October 2021
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason there continues to be a delay to the implementation of the provisions in the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 prohibiting pavement parking, double parking and parking at dropped kerbs.
Answer
The implementation of the parking elements of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 has been affected by the Covid-19 Pandemic and preparations for European Union exit. This particularly impacted the development of guidance and regulations and the related consultation processes however my officials are continuing to consult with local authorities to develop both the secondary legislation required to allow them to enforce the national pavement prohibition as well as the Parking Standards Guidance which will underpin the Act.
Additionally, we need to consult with the public on some areas contained within the secondary legislation. Local authorities will be required to undertake an assessment to identify and progress any exemptions to the pavement parking prohibition they consider necessary. We are actively working with Local Authorities to undertake this work and Scottish Ministers have provided the requested £2.4 million of funding to enable this to be progressed in a timeous manner.
The majority of the secondary legislation is likely to be in place by 2022. Some aspects however, such as the appeals process for those who wish to appeal a ticket issued for pavement parking, may not be in place until summer 2023.
