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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-23356

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 7 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what incentives it will provide for employers to release staff to become on-call firefighters.

On call firefighters are exceptional individuals who step up to protect their communities when needed most. The Scottish Government continues to recognise the vital role they play and appreciates the cooperation and understanding of their primary employers.

Whilst the recruitment, terms of employment and retention of on call firefighters is a matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS), the Scottish Government will carefully consider any proposal put forward by SFRS on this issue.

SFRS works closely with employers and has an Employers Recognition Scheme to fully recognise their efforts in supporting their employees to become on call firefighters. SFRS also have an On Call Guide for Employers which enables employers to learn more about what is involved and how they can support their employees to become on call firefighters.

Question reference: S6W-23293

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 7 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to establish monitoring of potential healthcare disruptions due to temperature and flood-related events.

It is for Health Boards to assess and prepare for risks to their sites and services from disruptive weather events as part of their climate change adaptation plans.

There is at present no national monitoring system for potentially disruptive weather events in so far as they affect healthcare services per se, but Health Boards should monitor meteorological advice about potentially hazardous weather events, as well as flood warning advice issued by SEPA.

Question reference: S6W-23260

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 27 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 7 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of workers currently employed by Scotland’s rural estates are paid at least the real Living Wage.

Per the latest available Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings real Living Wage data from the Office for National Statistics, Scotland remains the best performing of all four UK countries with the highest proportion of employees (18+) paid the Real Living Wage or more (91.0%). Ahead of Wales 88.2%, England 87.5%, NI 85.4%, and the UK 87.8%. The data is also recorded by Scottish Industry Sector in table 5.4, and Local Authority area in table 5.7. The full data tables can be accessed and downloaded from the following web page.

https://www.gov.scot/publications/annual-survey-of-hours-and-earnings-2022/

Question reference: S6W-23261

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 27 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 7 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact on workers of seasonal and insecure contracts, and whether it is working to reduce the use of these contracts in favour of permanent and secure contracts.

Scotland has one of the lowest levels of low pay, insecure work and low paid insecure work across all UK regions, however with 17% of workers in Scotland classed as being in insecure work (which is deeply connected to low pay), we are not complacent. Although employment law is reserved to the UK Government, we are committed to mainstreaming Fair Work throughout Scotland. Our Fair Work Action Plan aims to use the levers that we have control over to ensure that all parts of the Scottish Government set out collectively what we can do to discourage the use of precarious contracts. Our Fair Work First criteria have been applied to over £4bn of public sector funding since 2019 – driving fair work practices across the labour market. For public sector grants awarded on or after 1 July 2023 we have introduced a requirement to pay at least the real Living Wage to all employees, and provide appropriate channels for effective voice, within the bounds of what we can do within devolved competence.

On 6 November 2023, the Scottish Government announced its accreditation as a Living Hours employer, the first government in the UK to do so. The Living Hours scheme recognises that in addition to payment of the real Living Wage, number and frequency of work hours are critical to tackling in-work poverty. Criteria to accredit also includes providing a contract reflecting accurate hours worked, a guaranteed minimum of 16 hours a week (unless the worker requests otherwise), and at least 4 weeks’ notice of shifts and guaranteed payment if shifts are cancelled within this period.

Question reference: S6W-23244

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Monday, 27 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 7 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government where it anticipates oil extracted from the North Sea will be refined if this process ceases at the Petroineos site in Grangemouth.

As outlined in the Scottish Government’s Draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan, oil extracted from the North Sea is predominantly exported to international markets. The Scottish Government anticipates that this arrangement will continue and North Sea oil will continue to be refined in a number of international locations.

On 3 March 2023, the Scottish Government published the outputs of an independence analysis of Scotland’s Energy System, which provides a detailed overview of the oil and gas sector in Scotland. A link to this publication can be found here .

Question reference: S6W-23242

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Monday, 27 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 7 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assurances it has (a) requested and (b) received from Petroineos regarding the retention of all of the highly-skilled jobs based at the Grangemouth complex.

The First Minister and I met Senior Management at the Petroineos refinery on 23 November 2023, during which we both expressed the criticality of continuing refining for as long as possible as a means to safeguarding both energy resilience and employment at the site. In return the business agreed on the importance of working collaboratively with the Scottish Government and trade unions throughout the transition period. I also wrote to both of Petroineos’ Joint Venture partners on 23 November 2023 to seek assurances that the business will continue to sustain the site’s role as a source of domestic road and air fuels. I will meet Petroineos again in the coming days to seek further assurances around these points.

In addition to engaging with senior management at the site, I met with representatives from STUC and Unite the Union on 23 November 2023 to receive an update on the reaction of the workforce to the announcement. The Scottish Government is committed to continued dialogue with both the trade unions and the workforce at the refinery throughout this period of transition to ensure that highly-skilled jobs are retained for the duration of the asset’s lifecycle.

Question reference: S6W-23259

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 27 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 7 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many of Scotland’s rural estates are accredited Living Wage Employers.

Question reference: S6W-23189

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 24 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 7 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what data it collects on national reuse rates in Scotland.

Question reference: S6O-02888

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 December 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the current options available to record the relationship status of a deceased person are sufficient for the purposes of this information being accurately represented on death certificates.

Question reference: S6O-02891

Asked by: James Dornan, MSP for Glasgow Cathcart, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 December 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how the proposals outlined in its latest Building a New Scotland paper, Social Security in an independent Scotland, would support Scotland’s social security system.