Asked by: Kerr, Stephen (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Central Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the percentage of total hospital buildings that currently fail basic modern safety standards for older and vulnerable patients.
Answered by Gray, Neil - Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
While the condition and suitability of the NHS estate is assessed, these assessments are not typically presented as a single percentage of buildings failing "basic modern safety standards," but rather through a detailed, risk-based classification system. The data is managed by NHS Boards with buildings categorised based on their physical condition and functional suitability.
Through measures such as backlog maintenance and functional suitability, we are aware that parts of the NHS estate require additional investment, which is why this year we intend to invest an additional £100 million in funding in 2025-26 to support maintenance-only business continuity investment plans, which prioritises investment based on a risk-based assessment of NHS Boards infrastructure. This is in addition to a 5% uplift to core capital funding provided to boards to support maintenance and improvement of the NHS estate.
Asked by: Kerr, Stephen (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Central Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish all (a) internal and (b) external correspondence relating to the Flamingo Land Lomond Banks planning process.
Answered by McKee, Ivan - Minister for Public Finance
Scottish Ministers are committed to a fair, open and transparent process for all aspects of its planning appeal casework. There is no statutory requirement for the Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA) to publish any information relating to a case. DPEA does however publish the information a reporter will take into account in their consideration of a case, including everything submitted by the appellant, the National Park Authority and numerous representations received from the local and wider community.
Asked by: Kerr, Stephen (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Central Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what safeguards exist to ensure impartiality in ministerial planning decisions for nationally significant developments.
Answered by McKee, Ivan - Minister for Public Finance
The Scottish Ministerial Code ensures impartiality in ministerial planning decisions, including avoiding conflicts of interest and maintaining transparency. Ministers must separate their roles as decision-makers and elected representatives, and must recuse themselves from any case where their impartiality could reasonably be questioned. It is a legislative requirement that planning decisions be made in accordance with the development plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.
Asked by: Kerr, Stephen (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Central Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason no public consultation or stakeholder engagement was carried out before the acquisition of the Glen Prosen estate.
Answered by Gougeon, Mairi - Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands
Due to the off-market and confidentiality arrangements imposed by the seller Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) were unable to consult with stakeholders prior to purchase. Full consultation with stakeholders, including the local community, has now be undertaken as FLS has developed its proposals for Glen Prosen through the Land Management Plan (LMP) process.
Asked by: Greer, Ross (Scottish Green Party - West Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to its news release of 3 March 2022, Stop trading with Russia, whether it remains its position that "Businesses in Scotland [should] withdraw from trading with Russia, following its invasion of Ukraine".
Answered by Forbes, Kate - Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic
On 3 March 2022, when Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Economy, I wrote an open letter to business in Scotland asking them to review their links to Russia, however indirect, and to sever them, with due regard for the safety of any employees or individuals they may work with.
It remains the position of the Scottish Government that it, and its economic agencies, will not support trade and investment activity with Russia. This policy is additional to the UK government’s regime of sanctions against Russia.
We cannot however, force businesses to sever links if what they plan is otherwise lawful, including not breaching the UK sanctions regime. There may also be legitimate reasons why links cannot be severed, for example: if staff safety might be jeopardised; contractual reasons; and/or being prohibited from selling assets due to Russian law.
Asked by: Regan, Ash (Alba Party - Edinburgh Eastern)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, as part of its work to further the case for Scottish independence, what its policy is on whether an independent Scotland would (a) take a share of UK debt in exchange for assets or (b) adopt a position of no shared assets, no shared debt.
Answered by Robertson, Angus - Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture
The Scottish Government’s position on share of UK debt following a vote for independence is set out in the publication Building a New Scotland: A stronger economy with independence - gov.scot.
Asked by: Kerr, Stephen (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Central Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will suspend any further decisions on the Flamingo Land Lomond Banks development until all reported concerns about potential document falsification are resolved.
Answered by McKee, Ivan - Minister for Public Finance
Reported claims of document falsification are entirely unfounded. We are committed to processing the appeal in a fair, transparent, and lawful manner. Baseless speculation to the contrary is unhelpful and damages public trust in the planning system.
Asked by: Regan, Ash (Alba Party - Edinburgh Eastern)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, as part of its work to further the case for Scottish independence, what its policy is on who would represent an independent Scotland in any participation at a G20 summit.
Answered by Robertson, Angus - Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture
The Scottish Government proposes that Scotland would seek to join the EU as soon as possible after independence. The EU is a full member of the G20, and represents it’s member states at G20 summits, alongside the leaders of G20 member countries.
Asked by: Regan, Ash (Alba Party - Edinburgh Eastern)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, as part of its work to further the case for Scottish independence, what its policy is on whether an independent Scotland would seek to join NATO.
Answered by Robertson, Angus - Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture
The Scottish Government proposes that an independent Scotland would apply to join NATO. Further details can be found in the publication https://www.gov.scot/publications/building-new-scotland-independent-scotlands-place-world/
Asked by: Villalba, Mercedes (Scottish Labour - North East Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any barriers that might prevent the transition to low-impact and sustainable fishing methods.
Answered by Gougeon, Mairi - Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands
We have not done a formal assessment of barriers at this stage, however we discuss issues such as this through our engagements with industry and will consider barriers in the course of our work to develop a climate change action plan for fisheries.