- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 10 March 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 23 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many miles of dual carriageway were opened on the A9 trunk road between Perth and Inverness in (a) May 1979 to May 1997, (b) May 1997 to May 1999, (c) May 1999 to May 2007 and (d) since May 2007.
Answer
The available records of published Road Orders details our understanding of when the following sections of A9 dual carriageways were opened:
(a) May 1979 to May 1997
Location | Approximate Length (m) | Date |
Between Dalnarcardoch and Dalnaspidal | 6.2 | Circa 1979 / 1981 |
Moy south of Inverness to Bogbain | 5.7 | April 1979 |
Bogbain to Inshes | 1 | October 1979 |
Northwards from Ballinluig | 4 | May 1981 and April 1983 |
Charlestown to Tore Roundabout | 3.7 | October 1981 |
Faskally | 0.3 | May 1981 |
Longman to Charlestown (Kessock Br) | 2.3 | July 1982 |
Killiecrankie | 1.2 | August 1986 |
Crubenmore south of Etteridge | 0.9 | December 1979 |
(b) May 1997 to May 1999
nil
(c) May 1999 to May 2007
nil
(d) since May 2007.
| | |
Crubenmore north of Etteridge | 2 | September 2011 |
Kincraig to Dalraddy | 4.6 | September 2017 |
Luncarty to Pass of Birnam | 5.9 | August 2021 |
In addition, procurement of a further 6 miles of dual carriageway between Tomatin and Moy is in progress at present.
This Scottish Government is the only administration to have committed to dualling the A9, bringing benefits to business and local communities throughout Scotland.
No previous administration started preparatory work to enable full dualling to be undertaken.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 March 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 23 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to its plans to include glass packaging in a Deposit Return Scheme, whether it has considered the impact on overall glass recycling rates of splitting glass into two waste streams for material collected manually and using reverse vending machines.
Answer
Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 requires those handling waste to ensure that it is handled in a fashion that promotes high-value recycling.
Return points, producers and Circularity Scotland, when handling returned scheme packaging, including glass, will therefore have an obligation to promote high-value recycling regardless of whether the glass is collected manually or by the use of reverse vending machines.
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 March 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 23 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether Circularity Scotland has entered into signed contracts with partners to deliver the Deposit Return Scheme's logistics, operations and IT systems, in line with the timescale that it set out in December 2021.
Answer
The timescale set out in December 2021 was for such contracts to be signed by the end of March 2022. I am aware that Circularity Scotland Ltd is currently in commercial negotiations and it would be inappropriate for me to comment further at this time.
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 March 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Angus Robertson on 23 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates its Global Affairs Framework will be published.
Answer
Work on the Global Affairs Framework is continuing and the Framework will be published in due course.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 10 March 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 23 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, in 2019-20, how many people under the age of 19 accessing services for mental ill health were offered talking therapy but declined the service and chose antidepressants as first-line treatment.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all children and young people are able to access the right support for their mental health without stigma, including medication where this is the most appropriate intervention.
The Scottish Government does not hold data on the numbers of children and young people who have been offered talking therapy or who have refused talking therapy as a treatment option.
Prescribing is a clinical decision based on a prescriber’s judgment as to what they believe to be in the best interests of the patient. The prescribing of antidepressants to children and young people is undertaken in consultation with the patient and, where appropriate, with their family, to ensure that patient choice is also central to decisions taken regarding treatment and care.
Medication is one aspect of treatment, alongside psychological therapy or other therapeutic interventions, available as an option for children and young people who require support. We continue to invest and improve access to other services, including by providing £16 million per annum to ensure that every secondary school in Scotland has access to counselling support; and by investing £15 million in community-based mental health and wellbeing services as part of our focus on early intervention and prevention.
- Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 10 March 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 23 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to allow local authorities to trial the use of e-scooters in public places.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05219 on 17 January 2022. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .
- Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 10 March 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 23 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to the supplementary to question S6O-00801 by Jenny Gilruth on 2 March 2022, for what reason the minister did not provide the information requested regarding whether all of the new buses supported by the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund will be built in the UK, and whether it will confirm whether those buses not already cited as being built by Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL) in Falkirk will be built in the UK, or whether these orders will go abroad.
Answer
The Scottish Government’s Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund (ScotZEB) is awarding £62 million to support bus operators to acquire 276 new zero emission buses and associated infrastructure. Bus operators are free to choose which manufacturer they purchase from and we do not seek to influence this, in order to ensure a level playing field.
Level playing field provisions in trade agreements ensure that competition is open and fair, and that businesses from one trading partner to not gain an unfair advantage and undercut rivals from others. The success of the bus manufacturing industry in Scotland and the UK requires that the industry makes available high-quality products for bus operators at competitive prices and which can compete in the international market.
ADL will manufacture their buses in Falkirk, Wrightbus, Switch and Orion manufacture elsewhere in the UK (with Orion chassis being manufactured in Italy, Poland and Turkey), EVM manufacture in the Republic of Ireland (with the chassis manufactured in Germany) and Yutong manufacture in China. In total, 137 buses will be manufactured in Scotland, 23 in the rest of the UK, and 116 in China.
The following table shows how many buses from which manufacturer ScotZEB is supporting operators to acquire:
| ADL | Yutong | Wrightbus | EVM | Switch | Orion | TOTAL |
Stage-coach | 84 | 25 | | | | | 109 |
First Bus | 50 | 24 | | | | | 74 |
McGill’s | | 41 | | | | | 41 |
Ember | | 26 | | | | | 26 |
West Coast Motors | | | 10 | | | | 10 |
Shuttle Buses | | | | 2 | | 3 | 5 |
Dumfries & Galloway | | | | | 4 | | 4 |
Houston’s | | | | 4 | | | 4 |
Stirling Council | 3 | | | | | | 3 |
Totals | 137 | 116 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 276 |
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 March 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 23 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to incorporate the Armed Forces Covenant into law in relation to (a) local government, (b) the NHS and (c) other devolved public bodies in Scotland.
Answer
While we do not currently have such plans under consideration, we always keep such matters under review. However, we do continue to engage with MOD as it seeks to further embed the Armed Forces Covenant into legislation through the Armed Forces Act, which received Royal Assent on 15 December. We worked closely with MOD in advance of its introduction to ensure it is fit for purpose in Scotland and continue to work with MOD as they develop the statutory guidance. However, we are satisfied that the Covenant provisions in the Armed Forces Act do not fall within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 10 March 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 23 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its proposed Deposit Return Scheme, whether wholesalers will be permitted during the course of their normal delivery schedule to use the same lorries and vans for back haul of the collection, and uplift of glass bottles, plastic containers and aluminium tins; whether SEPA has been asked to provide advice on this matter, and, if so, when (a) it was first asked to do so and (b) the advice will be published.
Answer
Since July 2021 SEPA has advised that the same vehicle that is used for delivery can be used for the backhaul of scheme packaging provided that:
- the haulier is a registered waste carrier ;
- where backhaul is carried out in a vehicle used to transport fresh food, there is sufficient separation and a barrier to prevent contamination of waste materials with organic matter.
This advice was published as part of a series of DRS Frequently Asked Questions on SEPA’s website on 8 March 2022.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 25 February 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 23 March 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-05560 by Humza Yousaf on 31 January 2022, for each stage of the care pathway in each NHS board, whether it will clarify which stroke guidelines have been embedded into the care that patients receive, and whether it plans to diverge Scotland’s proposed new national stroke guidelines in any way from those used across the rest of the UK.
Answer
Guidelines are intended as an aid to clinical judgement, not to replace it. The ultimate decision about a particular clinical procedure or treatment will always depend on each individual patient’s condition, circumstances and wishes, and the clinical judgement of the healthcare team.
Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) have taken the opportunity to take a four nations approach and collaborate with the Intercollegiate Stroke Working Party on the 6th edition of the Royal College of Physicians National Clinical Guideline for Stroke which is expected to be published in February 2023. This will be a collaborative national guideline which will be applicable for use in Scotland.