- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 May 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Angus Robertson on 21 May 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will engage with the Invictus Games Foundation regarding a potential bid to host the 2029 or 2031 iteration of the Invictus Games in Glasgow.
Answer
Glasgow is an excellent host city for Major Events, as proven most recently by the successes of the UCI Cycling World Championships in 2023 and the World Athletics Indoor Championships in March 2024.
A decision on whether to bid to host the Invictus Games in 2029 or 2031 would be primarily for Glasgow City Council. VisitScotland's Events Directorate EventScotland, work with partners to actively assess hosting opportunities to secure a strong and diverse pipeline of Major Events for Scotland, involving the Scottish Government as required.
Bidding to host any event, including the Invictus Games, could only happen through an appropriate formal bidding process and would first be informed by a feasibility study to determine the viability, benefits and legacy of hosting. It would also require the assembly of a partnership which could offer suitable assurances of a viable funding package to plan, host and deliver the event in question. At present the Scottish Government is unaware of a viable proposal and funding package.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 May 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Siobhian Brown on 21 May 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how many complaints to public bodies related to non-crime hate incidents have been received since the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 was passed, broken down by parliamentary region.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of complaints received by Police Scotland or any other public body that relate to Non-Crime Hate Incidents (NCHIs).
On 9 May 2024, Police Scotland published their interim guidance on ‘ Responding to Hate Crime ’ which includes information on the recording and handling of NCHIs. They also have a dedicated complaints system for instances where an individual may feel they have not been provided the level of service expected.
You may wish to contact Police Scotland directly regarding any other questions you have in relation to these procedures.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 May 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 21 May 2024
To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates that its Vacant and Derelict Land Investment Programme (VDLIP), based on the current trend, will have brought all 848 hectares of vacant and derelict land across the 619 sites in Glasgow back into productive use.
Answer
Since 2021 the low carbon Vacant and Derelict Land Investment Programme (VDLIP) has supported the productive reuse of 50.5 hectares of vacant and derelict land across nine projects in Glasgow.
The aim of the VDLIP is to help with tackling persistent vacant and derelict land, supporting place based approaches to delivering regeneration and sustainable inclusive growth, as part of a just transition to net-zero. It is not intended to fund the remediation and reuse of all sites that are registered as vacant and derelict land.
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 May 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 21 May 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-22266 by Paul McLennan on 16 October 2023, how much of the £500,000 domestic abuse pilot fund has been distributed to date.
Answer
The £500,000 fund to leave pilot was announced in October 2023 and ended on 31 March 2024. Women’s Aid groups disbursed the funding on behalf of the Scottish Government in five pilot areas. The Scottish Government expects a full report from Scottish Women’s Aid on the outcomes achieved by the start of June. Interim reports show that the £500,000 fund has been fully distributed, with over 500 applications being approved.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 May 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 21 May 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) Eurostar Group and (b) other train operating companies about reviving the Regional Eurostar and Nightstar services that were proposed to run from Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley to Paris Nord.
Answer
The Scottish Government has had no meetings or discussion with Eurostar Group and other operators regarding the Regional Eurostar and Nightstar services, which was cancelled in the 1990's.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 May 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 21 May 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether Police Scotland has requested further assistance in the past six months from the Metropolitan Police in relation to its policing and constitutional duties, particularly in relation to serious and organised crime.
Answer
This is an operational matter for Police Scotland.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 May 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 21 May 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide police officer relocation figures, in light of the reported closure of five current and 14 potential locations in Edinburgh and the Lothians, and of safety issues identified in buildings that they have been working in from at least the 1970s onwards, including reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).
Answer
The location and deployment of police officers is an operational decision for the Chief Constable. However, under its estate plans for Edinburgh and the Lothians, Police Scotland intends that front-line operational officers will be relocated within the same geographical policing area, meaning there will be no loss to community-based policing.
Police Scotland is currently considering options, and is in discussion with a number of partners around possible locations, to ensure it continues to provide a local policing service that meets the needs of communities across Edinburgh and the Lothians, and has committed to undertake a public consultation in advance of any decisions being reached.
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 03 May 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 21 May 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the availability of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication.
Answer
Various Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) medicines continue to experience limited and intermittent supply issues. We are aware that market data has indicated that some of these issues will continue beyond May 2024 into the Summer.
As the pricing and supply of medicines is a reserved matter for the UK Government, we continue to engage with them to find a lasting solution on minimising the impact of these medicine shortages on patients and their families.
The Chief Pharmaceutical Officer (CPO) sits on the UK Government’s Medicine Shortages Response Group (MSRG). The CPO continues to raise the issue of ADHD medicine shortages and has urged the UK Government to consider alternative solutions, if possible, for medicines with continuous and intermittent supply issues. There was general agreement that the situation wasn’t improving, and that the UK medicine supply team would consider what further could be done, including organising a meeting with the manufacturers to seek further solutions. We hope to be in a position to update on this further in due course.
For anyone who experiences difficulties in obtaining their prescribed ADHD medication, I encourage them to discuss this with their specialist, who should be able to review their circumstances and prescribe an alternative treatment if appropriate until stock supplies are stabilised.
- Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 May 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 21 May 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-17778 by Graeme Dey on 23 May 2023, whether it will provide updated information on how many (a) modern, (b) foundation and (c) graduate apprenticeship learning providers there have been since 2019-20, based on the latest information available.
Answer
The number of Apprenticeship providers by year are as follows:
Year | Modern Apprenticeship Providers | Foundation Apprenticeship Providers | Graduate Apprenticeship Providers |
2019-20 | 256 | 39 | 15 |
2020-21 | 255 | 39 | 14 |
2021-22 | 243 | 40 | 12 |
2022-23 | 228 | 39 | 12 |
2023-24 | 205 | 44 | 11 |
- Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 May 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Fairlie on 21 May 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to attract more airlines to establish direct routes to Scotland, and what its position is on whether its planned Air Departure Tax could be used to improve the competitiveness of Scotland's airports as hubs within Europe and the UK.
Answer
The Scottish Government has always recognised the importance of Scotland’s international connectivity. Our ambition is to make Scotland at least as well connected as peer nations. Transport Scotland, in partnership with VisitScotland and Scottish Development International, works to help Scotland’s airports secure new routes that are essential for inbound tourism, business connectivity and the economy as a whole. Recent successes include direct routes from Atlanta, Calgary and Beijing and we look forward to welcoming the arrival of a new airline for Scotland later this month, with JetBlue launching their first ever Scottish service to New York JFK.
Representatives from the cross government partnership recently took part in the route development forum Routes Europe 2024, meeting with a number of airlines to discuss future opportunities and promote Scotland as a market that can sustain more direct connectivity.
The Scottish Government recognises that tax is one factor in airlines’ decision-making on where to fly. We will review the rates and bands of Air Departure Tax prior to the implementation of the tax once a solution to the Highland & Islands exemption has been identified.