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.

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Question reference: S6W-26982

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 2 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to increase the baseline funding for the drug and alcohol rehabilitation programme in (a) East and (b) South Ayrshire beyond the current allocations, in light of reports of a projected increase to 40 referrals for 2024-25.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) published a baseline report as part of their interim Evaluation of the Scottish Government Residential Rehabilitation programme in February, where the best available evidence suggested that referrals into residential rehabilitation have been increasing not only in East and South Ayrshire, but across the country since the beginning of the Scottish Government’s National Mission to improve and save lives impacted by substance use.

According to another recent PHS report, the upward trend in placements suggests that the Scottish Government is on track to hit its target of 1,000 people publicly funded to go to rehab by 2026.

The Scottish Government is finalising plans to provide more funding to facilitate this increase in areas where it is most needed. Further details on this will be made available in due course.

Question reference: S6O-03410

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 May 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to tackle homelessness in Ayrshire.

Question reference: S6W-26981

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 1 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has allocated to the Alcohol and Drugs Partnership (ADP) in (a) East and (b) South Ayrshire for the 2024-25 financial year.

Question reference: S6W-26887

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 1 May 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on Police Scotland's pilot to no longer investigate some minor crimes in the north east, and whether there are any plans to roll this out across Scotland.

The Chief Constable has been clear that the Proportionate Response to Crime pilot has been about ensuring an appropriate approach to policing. It is not the case that certain specific crimes will no longer be investigated.

Both Police Scotland and the Scottish Government have been consistently clear that all incidents reported are assessed using the THRIVE model which covers Threat, Harm, Risk, Investigative opportunities, Vulnerability and Engagement. The circumstance of each incident is fully assessed before a decision is made to either file the report and issue a crime reference number or have the incident passed to local officers for further investigation.

An evaluation of the pilot was provided to the Scottish Police Authority’s Policing Performance Committee on 12 March 2024 by Assistant Chief Constable Emma Bond. ACC Bond stated that the plan for the rollout would be to initially cover the North region before moving east then west, acknowledging that training and preparatory work would be required.

It is worth noting that the pilot’s evaluation shows that only 5% of crime reports were recorded and filed for no further enquiry. The evaluation states that this freed up 2,657 police officer hours which were therefore used to investigate crimes where there are lines of inquiry.

ACC Bond stated at the meeting on 12 March that she would be able to provide a further update to the committee with more information on the rollout of the pilot in May.

Question reference: S6W-26612

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 30 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what work is being done to promote traditional building skills in rural areas.

Question reference: S6W-26801

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 26 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many hectares of new planting has been of a productive species in each year since the beginning of the current parliamentary session.

Official statistics are published by Forest Research in September each year which detail the hectarage of woodland creation by each of the UK’s constituent countries, broken down by broadleaf and conifer species. The most recent publication is from September 2023 and can be found on the Forest Research website at https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/tools-and-resources/statistics/forestry-statistics/ .

Provisional statistics for 2023/24 will be published by Forestry Research on 20 June 2024 at https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/tools-and-resources/statistics/statistics-by-topic/woodland-statistics/ , with the finalised update due to be published on 26 September 2024.

Question reference: S6W-26799

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 26 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of new planting has been of (a) productive and (b) native species, in each year since the beginning of the current parliamentary session.

Percentages for 2021-22 and 2022-23 are as follows:

Scotland Private Sector Native Woodland Creation Areas
Year	Native WC Planting Area (ha)	Total New WC Planting (ha)	Proportion Native Planting (%)	Proportion Productive Planting (%)*
2021-22	4,362	9,854	44%	56%
2022-23	2,876	8,018	36%	64%

*To note this figure will include a proportion of native conifer and mixed productive broadleaved species.

Woodland creation figures for 2023-24 are expected to be published in June 2024.

Question reference: S6W-26800

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 April 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 24 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact of not meeting its target of creating 18,000 hectares of new woodland in 2024-25.

As a result of the UK Government cutting Scotland’s capital allocation, funding support will not allow us to reach our target, but it will still help create over 9,000 ha of new woodland. The implications of not meeting the 2024-25 woodland creation target will be examined in preparation for the next Climate Change Plan, including modelling the impacts on the capacity of Scotland’s forests to sequester carbon and their longer term contribution to Net Zero in 2045. Even though it will not deliver its very ambitious woodland creation target in 2024-25, Scotland is expected to deliver the large majority of woodland creation across the UK.

Question reference: S6W-26553

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 18 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to ensure that the 62-day cancer treatment standard is met in NHS Ayrshire and Arran.

£11.3 million of additional funding has been directed to support Cancer Waiting Times improvements in our NHS across 2023-24, of which NHS Ayrshire & Arran received a share of £838,000.

Funding has been targeted towards the most challenged specialties, including breast, colorectal and urology. This funding includes investment to support extended working days and weekend working to increase capacity and treat patients as timely as possible.

In addition, NHS Ayrshire & Arran have established a Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Service (RCDS). The RCDS provides primary care with access to a new referral pathway for people with non-specific symptoms suspicious of cancer. The Services are a useful addition to how cancer can be diagnosed in Scotland providing a new fast-track diagnostic pathway for people with non-specific symptoms suspicious of cancer, such as weight loss and fatigue.

Question reference: S6W-26493

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 March 2024
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 16 April 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what public information campaigns or actions it will undertake in advance of the proposed increase in alcohol minimum unit pricing in autumn 2024, to minimise the potential of any friction between customers and shop staff.

The Scottish Government laid legislation seeking the agreement of the Scottish Parliament to continue Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP), and set the price per unit at 65 pence on 19 February 2024. Members of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee voted to approve those orders on 26 March 2024 and I am pleased that there is cross party support for this policy.

The Scottish Government undertook an awareness raising campaign in 2018 before the original implementation of MUP, and we will take learning from that approach.

We are currently considering different options regarding public information campaigns and direct communications with businesses around the proposed changes to the minimum unit price of alcohol. These will be finalised after the sunset clause vote by the Scottish Parliament, which must take place before 30 April 2024.