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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: S6F-02256

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 June 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 June 2023

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-18860

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 19 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many land holdings in Scotland are over 500 hectares in size, and what total area of land is covered by land holdings of over 500 hectares.

This is a question for the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland. She advises me that that on 13 June 2023, there were 2,025 Registered titles in the Land Register of Scotland where the total footprint of the title exceeds 500 ha. Together, these titles comprise a combined footprint of 2,813,263 ha.

A further 256 draft titles which are currently undergoing registration for the first time look set to also exceed this threshold once registration is complete. The expected combined footprint for these titles will be around 448,361 ha, which may include rights which overlap with already registered titles.

The figures above include outright ownership as well as long-term leases.

A further 616 unregistered areas of land, each with homogenous ownership and an indicative extent over 500 ha, have been linked to a Sasines Search Sheet in the RoS Unlocking Sasines dataset. These unregistered areas comprise an indicative extent of 1,739,070 ha, with no overlapping rights present.

Question reference: S6W-18862

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 19 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many individuals own land holdings of over 500 hectares.

This is a question for the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland. She advises me that that on 13 June 2023, out of the 2025 registered titles with a footprint area over 500 ha, 801 are owned exclusively by one or more natural persons.

A further 15 titles are leased exclusively by one or more natural persons and 2 are mixed tenure titles registered under the Land Registration (Scotland) 1979 Act.

These figures exclude titles where a natural person may be acting in a special capacity (e.g. as a trustee or partner), as well as titles with a complex proprietorship structure consisting of a mix of natural and non-natural persons acting in various capacities.

Of the 616 areas of unregistered land over 500 ha, which have been linked to a Sasines Search Sheet in the RoS Unlocking Sasines dataset, an estimated 245 are owned exclusively by one or more natural persons.

Question reference: S6W-18849

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 19 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to prevent landlords from banning tenants keeping pets in a property without good reason, in light of similar plans in other jurisdictions.

We are aware of the proposals in the Renters (Reform) Bill in England introduced last month. The Shared Policy Programme in August 2021, followed by our ‘New Deal for Tenants’ consultation in December 2021 sought views on proposals to strengthen the rights of tenants including, specifically, greater rights to have a pet.

Our proposals for reform are in development ahead of a future Housing Bill. The timing and content of that Housing Bill is currently being considered as we continue to deliver our emergency response to support tenants through the ongoing cost of living crisis.

Question reference: S6W-17842

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 19 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will allow West Lothian IJB to retain some of its £10 million of COVID reserves, in light of reports that some social care services in West Lothian could be privatised due to a budget gap.

Most Integration Joint Board (IJB) reserves are earmarked for specific purposes, including the response to COVID-19, and cannot be used to fund other spending commitments. In 2022-23, surplus COVID-19 reserves were redistributed to meet COVID-19 costs across health and social care, whilst ensuring that IJBs continued to have sufficient funding to cover their COVID-19 costs.

Ultimately, it is for IJBs, including locally-elected representatives, to make informed decisions on how best to deliver services to their local communities.

Question reference: S6W-18774

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 19 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 provided the ability for people to have the choice for a video appointment with social work.

Video appointments are an option across social work in Scotland via Near Me, through the Scottish Government’s purchase of a national licence for the use of Near Me by any part of the public sector that wishes to use it. Work continues supporting the social work sector on considering how and when video appointments work best, for example in accessing out of hours support. This work includes a funded and expert-supported programme in Fife HSCP (Health and Social Care Partnership) to establish use cases and develop pathways by the end of the year.

Question reference: S6W-18963

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 19 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the reported withdrawal of fire appliances at Maryhill, Govan and Cowcaddens in Glasgow, Kingsway East in Dundee, Greenock, Dunfermline, Glenrothes, Methil, Perth and Hamilton will have on the safety of the public.

The safety of those in our communities is paramount for the Scottish Government and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS).

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service decision to temporarily remove these appliances was made following detailed modelling using historic incident data and a robust assessment of the risks present in the communities those fire stations cover. SFRS will continue to respond to every incident in Scotland with the appropriate level of resources

Question reference: S6W-18749

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 19 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish a new British Sign Language (BSL): National Plan.

Question reference: S6W-18734

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 19 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to reform planning laws to require planning permission to be granted before a freestanding public house can be demolished.

Permitted development rights (PDR) apply to, amongst other things, the demolition of buildings, including public houses.

Our PDR review is ongoing. We consulted in 2019 on what we considered to be the priority areas for the review. The fourteen development types identified at that stage did not include demolition. A programme for a phased review of development types was then established. This programme is itself subject to periodic review as circumstances and priorities change.

The main focus of the current Phase 3 consultation is new and extended PDR for domestic and non-domestic renewable energy equipment, in light of the cost and climate crises.

Question reference: S6W-18773

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 19 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 carried out the re-procurement of the Near Me Video platform, ensuring effective transition.