Questions and answers

Question reference: S6F-03720

Asked by: Jackie Dunbar, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 January 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 January 2025

To ask the First Minister what assessment the Scottish Government has made of the potential economic impact of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners' reported £800 million investment in battery energy storage sites in Scotland.

Question reference: S6O-04202

Asked by: Jackie Dunbar, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 January 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update regarding the steps that it is taking to tackle child poverty.

Question reference: S6W-32052

Asked by: Jackie Dunbar, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 18 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce the time and resources required for public transport projects to go through the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance stages.

The Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM) sets out the appraisal framework for proportionately securing best value and value for money. Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance is designed to comply with the SPFM and forms the first stage of the Business Case process. The current version of the guidance was published in January 2022, following engagement with the user base comprising Regional Transport Partnerships, Local Authorities, Academia and Consultancies.

The Scottish Government is committed to enabling proportionate and efficient appraisal and is working to ensure the business case process is progressed as quickly as possible, whilst also ensuring the requirements of SPFM are met.

A regular topic raised by the user base is for ‘more proportionality’. In response to this feedback, Transport Scotland encourages the use of a ‘risk-based’ approach to appraisal to focus resources on those aspects which are most important to decision making.

Additional options being explored to encourage proportionate appraisal include training courses, more frequent user group meetings and the publication of existing work to demonstrate good practice.

Question reference: S6O-04131

Asked by: Jackie Dunbar, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 December 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting NHS Grampian to increase bed capacity, particularly in light of increased demand during the winter period.

Question reference: S6W-31712

Asked by: Jackie Dunbar, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jackson Carlaw (on behalf of the SPCB) on 5 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what it is doing to help promote the Armed Forces Covenant and the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme amongst MSPs.

Question reference: S6W-31406

Asked by: Jackie Dunbar, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 3 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the feasibility study examining the case for reconnecting Buchan to the East Coast Main Line, which was published in June 2024 by the Campaign for North East Rail.

The Scottish Government is supportive of increasing sustainable travel and better integrated travel infrastructure for the north east. As part of this, Officials from Transport Scotland attended a roundtable event organised by the Campaign for North East Rail (CNER) and Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce (AGCC) in Ellon on 15 November 2024.

The Scottish Government is considering the findings of the Buchan Sustainable Transport Study and a decision on next steps is still to be made.

Question reference: S6O-04079

Asked by: Jackie Dunbar, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting NHS Grampian with its winter preparedness.

Question reference: S6O-04019

Asked by: Jackie Dunbar, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide further details of the work that it is doing to tackle stigma around HIV and to eliminate new HIV transmissions by 2030.

Question reference: S6O-04127

Asked by: Jackie Dunbar, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 October 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the work that it is doing to support those affected by historic forced adoption.

Question reference: S6W-30557

Asked by: Jackie Dunbar, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 October 2024
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 10 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what progress it is making towards delivering its Fisheries Management Plans.

Development of the 43 UK Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs) is an important element of the UK Fisheries Act (2020) and the 2022 UK Joint Fisheries Statement (JFS). The four UK fisheries policy authorities (UK Government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government and DAERA) have been working together and in partnership with stakeholders to develop the FMPs according to the parameters set within the JFS.

A significant amount of work has already been completed, however, this work is complex and further stakeholder engagement and consultation is needed. The statutory deadlines therefore need to be amended to ensure the right time and space to develop and deliver robust and effective plans.

A consultation paper proposing amendments to Annex A in the JFS, which contains the list of FMPs and the revised timetable for their delivery, has today been published. The consultation will be led by DEFRA and will run for 6 weeks from 10 October to 21 November. The deadline for the Scottish-led FMPs will be moved to the end of 2026.

We already have a strong suite of management measures in place to sustainably manage our fisheries and safeguard our fish stocks. FMPs will support further improvements where these are needed and will help deliver increased transparency in the way in which fisheries management takes place across the UK.

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