- Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 22 November 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 3 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that workers in the ferry industry are trained to (a) operate and (b) re-fuel hydrogen-powered ferries.
Answer
There are no hydrogen powered ferries operating as part of either the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service or Northern Isles Ferry Service. Ferry industry workers are and will be appropriately trained to operate and refuel existing and future vessels deployed across the networks.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 19 November 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 3 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any responsibility for the passenger locator form; if not, what discussions it has had with the UK Government and other stakeholders regarding the reasons for the form having to be completed no more than 48 hours before returning to Scotland, and what information it has on whether other methods of completing the form are available for people who are unable to complete it electronically.
Answer
The Scottish Government works closely with the Home Office on the requirements for the Passenger Locator Form (PLF). It is a UK wide system as border controls are a reserved matter. However, as health policy is devolved, the Scottish Government ensures that the PLF aligns with Scottish policy and legislation for international travellers arriving into Scotland. The 48 hour completion window for PLF submission is a vital tool which enables Scottish Ministers to act swiftly in response to emerging concerns, such as when changes are made to the country/territory red list, or when new international travel restrictions are announced, often at short notice. The PLF contains specific logic to ensure travellers into Scotland have the met the correct health measure requirements (tests, isolation, managed quarantine) based on where they have travelled from. The trace and compliance response to international travel has required PLF data to be immediately and securely available across health departments. To enable this, the PLF is only available online accessed via Gov.UK. Details of the helpline to provide and advice on completion are also available on Gov.UK. The helpline is not able to complete the PLF on an individual’s behalf.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 19 November 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 3 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what the timeline is for the Ending Homelessness Together updated plan, and by what date all of the outcomes will be achieved.
Answer
Our Ending Homelessness Together action plan sets out actions we are taking in the short to medium term to end homelessness. Some actions have timescales associated with them while others involve system-wide reforms. There are timescales for the funding that supports the action plan, however. The £50 million Ending Homelessness Together Fund announced in 2017 is for five years (2018-23) and the new £50 million announced in Programme for Government 2021 to end homelessness is for this parliamentary term (2021-26).
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 19 November 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 3 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government when it will announce the members of the new Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel.
Answer
Recruitment for the Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel has now been completed and we will announce the successful candidates in due course, once the necessary processes to establish this new Advisory Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB) have been completed.
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 15 November 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 3 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to prioritise the (a) preservation and (b) restoration of native and ancient woodland fragments in addition to increasing tree and woodland cover.
Answer
Scottish Government takes the preservation (protection) and restoration of native and ancient woodlands seriously. Protection for all woodland is in place via felling regulations under the Forestry and Land Management (Scotland) Act 2018, and is also controlled by the Control of Woodland Removal Policy and The Forestry (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017.
Priority for restoration is given to those woodlands that are designated sites in unfavourable condition, and to sites identified by the Native Woodland Survey of Scotland to be in unsatisfactory condition.
Under the Programme for Government we have committed to establishing a National Register of Ancient Woodlands, and will then work with owners and agencies to maintain and protect them.
- Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 November 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by George Adam on 2 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has not published information on ministerial engagements, travel and gifts since April 2021.
Answer
Engagements and events are an essential part of official government business. Ordinarily, the Scottish Government will routinely publish this information online. However during the Covid response it has been necessary to reprioritise staff resources to support the Covid recovery and the publication schedule has been delayed.
The Scottish Government are working hard to address this and anticipate that transparency data publication will return to normal mid-December.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 November 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 2 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans to deliver Anne’s Law and other action it is taking to reduce isolation and loneliness in care homes.
Answer
We remain absolutely committed to strengthening residents’ rights in adult care homes through the introduction of ‘Anne’s Law’. This will give people who live in adult care homes the right to see and spend time with those who are important to them. Our public consultation on Anne’s Law closed on 5 November . We have received a considerable number of responses Scottish Government officials are currently working through the responses to consider the impact this may have on how we implement Anne’s Law. It is important that we carefully consider the views from the public and stakeholders that took the time to submit a response to our consultations. We intend to publish the responses in the coming weeks and results of the consultations on Anne’s Law and the strengthening of health and social care standards in the early part of the new year.
- Asked by: Willie Coffey, MSP for Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 November 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 2 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government what improvements to transport infrastructure are planned for the Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley constituency.
Answer
Future transport investment by the Scottish Government, will be set out in the second Strategic Transport Projects Review.
In February, we published of the Case for Change report for Ayrshire and Arran, which included transport options being appraised as part of the Review. Under consideration are options for active travel; bus priority; getting more freight onto rail; improving the safety and resilience of the transport network and the decarbonisation of the transport system.
We intend to publish the STPR2 recommendations in the new year, however, until then I am not able to share further details.
- Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 November 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 2 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government how many successful applications to the Young Farmers Start-Up Grant Scheme there were from women in each year for which the scheme was open for applications.
Answer
The following table successful applications to the Young Farmers Start-Up Grant Scheme from women in each year for which the scheme was open for applications.
Scheme Year | Applications successful from women |
2016 | 25 |
2017 | 10 |
2018 | 26 |
2019 | 1 |
- Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 November 2021
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 2 December 2021
To ask the Scottish Government how many applications to the Women in Agriculture Practical Training Fund there have been, and of those how many (a) were approved, (b) were not approved and (c) following appeal, were (i) approved and (ii) not approved.
Answer
In total 585 applications for the Women in Agriculture Practical Training Fund were received. Of this:
- 460 applications were approved.
- Where an application was not approved (125 applications), there was always a reason provided, specific to the application and if sought clarification and discussion on this reasoning was provided.
- There have been no appeals. A number of applications were asked to provide additional information, and where provided the application was reviewed in light of the additional information.
