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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-18848

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 16 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on any investigations that Scottish Opera has undertaken to determine whether any of the buildings that it manages were fitted with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete; whether any public funding was used to conduct any necessary repairs, and, if this is the case, what the cost was, broken down by building.

Question reference: S6W-18845

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 16 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on any investigations that the Royal Scottish National Orchestra has undertaken to determine whether any of the buildings that it manages were fitted with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete; whether any public funding was used to conduct any necessary repairs, and, if this is the case, what the cost was, broken down by building.

Question reference: S6W-18844

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 16 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on any investigations that the National Theatre of Scotland has undertaken to determine whether any of the buildings that it manages were fitted with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete; whether any public funding was used to conduct any necessary repairs, and, if this is the case, what the cost was, broken down by building.

Question reference: S6W-18850

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 16 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what measures are being taken to ensure healthy sandeel populations, which serve as a key source of food for Scottish seabirds.

Given the importance of sandeel to the wider ecosystem and the subsequent benefit in aiding long-term sustainability and resilience, it remains an overarching Scottish Government position, which is reflected in Scotland’s Fisheries Management Strategy, not to support fishing for sandeel in our waters.

There are several measures in place for the protection of sandeel stocks through the network of Marine Protected Areas. Furthermore, the Northeast UK closed area in sandeel management area 4 has been in place since 2000 and, the UK has not allocated sandeel quota to UK vessels since 2021.

However, recognising a commitment to consider what additional measures could be put in place to manage the sandeel fishery, in May 2023 I announced that the Scottish Government will be undertaking a public consultation this summer on potential measures to manage fishing for sandeel in Scottish waters. I refer the member to the answer to S6W-18244 on 19 May 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

Question reference: S6W-18717

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 16 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many people were held in police custody suites in Scotland, under UK immigration legislation, in each year from 2016-17 to 2022-23 inclusive, also broken down by (a) nationality of those detained and (b) police station.

Question reference: S6W-18612

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 16 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when the free bus travel pilot for people seeking asylum in Glasgow, which is funded by the Paths for All Smarter Choices, Smarter Places (SCSP) Open Fund, is expected to conclude.

A short-term pilot led by the Refugee Survival Trust and third sector partners in Glasgow commenced on Monday 30 January and will run until July.

The pilot provides free bus travel to people seeking asylum living in Glasgow for three months, along with information and digital support to access and use the pass.

The information gathered from this pilot will help inform options on how to deliver our Programme for Government commitment to consider how best to provide free bus travel to people seeking asylum in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-18458

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 16 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what projections it has made on recycling rates for (a) glass and (b) plastic following the introduction of the Deposit Return Scheme.

Question reference: S6W-18614

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 16 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-17942 by Shona Robison on 30 May 2023, whether the 17 buildings on the Scottish Government Core Estate will meet an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of at least band C by 2028, as will be required by all properties actively rented in the private sector, and, if not, what its position is on whether it is fair to impose energy standards on the private rented sector that the Scottish Government will not meet in its own buildings.

The Heat in Building Strategy (October 2021) states that we will build on existing regulations to require existing non-domestic buildings to reduce demand for heat where appropriate, and install a zero emissions heating supply, within the extent of our powers. The Scottish Government is committed to working with commercial and public sector organisations across Scotland to develop the regulatory and support framework that will enable all non-domestic buildings to reduce their direct greenhouse gas emissions. We will consult on primary legislative powers in the coming months. However, we have not, to date, made any proposals around requiring non-domestic rented properties to achieve EPC C by 2028.

The rating on a non-domestic EPC cannot be compared with the relative rating used on domestic EPCs. This is because non-domestic EPCs use fundamentally different calculation methodologies and rating scales. Domestic EPC ratings are currently based on calculated running costs for a dwelling. Non-domestic EPC ratings are based on calculated direct and indirect emissions from the building and estimate a building’s absolute energy demand. We recognise the need for reform of EPCs and first consulted on proposals in 2021. We will consult on finalised proposals later in 2023.

The range of non-domestic EPC ratings for buildings within the Scottish Government Estate reflect their varied use as greenhouses, laboratories, storage units and offices. The variety of activities and building types in the non-domestic built environment will require many different options for decarbonisation - reflecting, for example, the difference between an office in Edinburgh and a laboratory in Aberdeen. The Scottish Government recognises the importance of the public sector playing its part and the Bute House Agreement includes a commitment to develop and agree a series of phased targets for all publicly-owned buildings to meet zero emission heating requirements, with a backstop of 2038.

An Estate Strategy for SG Core buildings is under development to support our asset planning and the future investment decisions required to deliver the Heat in Building Strategy and Net Zero targets.

Question reference: S6W-18566

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 16 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how many civil servants are currently working on the Deposit Return Scheme, broken down by (a) headcount and (b) FTE staff figure, and how many have worked on the scheme in each year since development of the scheme began.

Question reference: S6W-18473

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 16 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a list of the improvements that will be carried out as part of the rail enhancement project to reduce the average journey times between Aberdeen and the Central Belt by 20 minutes by 2026, and whether it can provide a timetable for when each of these improvements will be completed.