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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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S6W-18677

Asked by: Michael Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its Medium Term Financial Strategy, published in May 2023, in what ways engagement with stakeholders will "feed into the Budget 2024-25".

As set out in the Scottish Government’s Framework for Tax, engagement is one of the six principles for good tax policymaking. We already consult widely on tax ahead of each Budget, listening to the views of tax experts, trade unions, anti-poverty campaigners, wider civic society and business organisations before making tax decisions. The Tax Advisory Group will build on this inclusive approach. It will be a key part of achieving our ambitions for Open Government and greater engagement on tax policy, including as part of the policy cycle for Budget 2024-25.

Question reference: S6W-18680

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 20 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many suspensions have been imposed by SEPA on water abstraction licences in each month since January 2022.

Summer 2022 was the first time that SEPA has imposed suspensions on abstraction licences, imposing both full (a complete suspension on all water abstractions) and partial (allowing for a reduced volume to be abstracted) suspensions.

All abstraction suspension decisions by SEPA were made in August 2022 but the suspensions for two catchments were effective from 1st September 2022. The breakdown of suspensions are as follows: August 2022, 87 full suspensions and 39 partial suspensions; September 2022, 30 full suspensions and 19 partial suspensions. There were no other suspensions.

Question reference: S6W-18722

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 20 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether the delivery of a Scottish Education Exchange Programme within the current parliamentary session would mean that students will be on mobility programmes in the 2025-26 academic year.

Question reference: S6W-18676

Asked by: Michael Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether agendas and minutes will be published for each meeting of the external tax stakeholder group.

Question reference: S6W-18723

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 20 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether a Scottish Education Exchange Programme is on course to be delivered within the current parliamentary session.

Question reference: S6W-19081

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 20 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether Contracts for Difference for wind farms in Scotland include the cost of decommissioning wind farms at the end of life.

Question reference: S6W-19090

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 20 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has incorporated the findings of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) 2022 study, Carbon Neutrality in the UNECE Region: Integrated Life-cycle Assessment of Electricity Sources, in its modelling of Scotland’s future electricity system.

Question reference: S6W-18942

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 20 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when the Green Heat Finance Taskforce (a) last met and (b) will next meet.

Question reference: S6W-18810

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 20 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the commitment in its Care in the Digital Age: Delivery Plan 2022-23, whether it has further developed its UK and international collaborations, bringing inward investment in support of improvements, and innovations and industry collaborations.

The Scottish Government, NHS Scotland and our partners have an ongoing commitment to developing UK and international collaborations. This includes active participation in European and International networks as well as hosting of inward study visits to Scotland and outward visits to international partners. Inward visits include from the Netherlands, Denmark, Andalucia, Wales, World Health Organisation (Georgia and Macedonia) and Spain.

The Digital Health and Care Innovation Centre (DHI) play a key role in supporting inward investment opportunities. This has included:

The AICE Horizon Europe Project for AI-supported Image Analysis in Large Bowel Camera Capsule Endoscopy (AICE) which has seen 1m euros made available to Scottish partners as part of a 6m euro programme
The Northwest Europe CHANCE project, funded by Interreg Europe, focussed on development of promising eHealth applications and nanotechnology for heart failure patients at home.
The £5m Moray Growth Deal supported by UK Government funding

Question reference: S6W-18816

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 20 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the commitment in its Care in the Digital Age: Delivery Plan 2022-23, what it has done to develop its approach to the introduction of legally mandated standards for the safe and effective sharing of information across health and social care, under the powers proposed by the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill.

Work on the National Care Service Bill continues as it progresses through the parliamentary process. The Bill allows Ministers to set out, in secondary legislation, the details of a scheme to support information sharing so services can be provided effectively and efficiently by, and on behalf of, NCS and NHS. Second, the Bill will also allow Ministers to set out information standards so there is a consistent approach to how information is defined, stored and reported.

However, prior to conclusion of the bill, and in support of the introduction of data standards, COSLA and the Scottish Government are currently in the process of convening a Data Standards Board for health and social care. This will allow us to create clear governance regarding the preferred data standards for use across the sector.