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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: S6O-02785

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 November 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body under what circumstances Fairtrade products are used in catering in the Scottish Parliament.

Question reference: S6O-02743

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 16 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any impact that preventable illnesses have on the Scottish economy.

The Scottish Government has drawn from a range of sources including the Labour Force Survey, the Fraser of Allander Institute and ONS’ Labour Market Statistics as part of its consideration of the impact of preventable illness and long term conditions on the Scottish economy. A range of actions are underway across government to mitigate this including the delivery of No-One Left Behind, reviewing the Health and Work Strategy and working with NHS and PHS to support the delivery of employer and employee work-related support services including Healthy Working Lives and Working Health Services Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-23064

Asked by: Rona Mackay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 November 2023
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Mairi McAllan on 16 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update following the first meeting of the Storm Babet recovery taskforce.

Following initial discussions between Ministers in the aftermath of Storm Babet, the Deputy First Minister chaired the first formal meeting of the Storm Babet recovery taskforce this morning. It brought together relevant ministers and the Chair of the Tayside Recovery Group to discuss the impact of Storm Babet and any support the Scottish Government can provide for impacted communities working in partnership with local recovery partnerships.

The taskforce agreed a package of Scottish Government support for those suffering from the impacts of Storm Babet. This package will include a £1,500 community recovery payment for individuals whose properties have been flooded, and a £3,000 business recovery grant for businesses impacted by flooding. Grants will be administered by local authorities, further information on when and how to access will be made available in due course.

In addition, support is already available to impacted households and businesses through Council Tax and Non-Domestic Rates, with powers available to Councils to exempt households and provide reliefs for impacted properties. Ministers also agreed to an extension of the timeframe to which the Bellwin scheme will apply, which will further support Local Authorities with the cost of recovery. The Scottish Welfare Fund is also in operation to help people in Scotland on low incomes through crisis grants and community care grants. There will also be support for the repair of agricultural floodbanks as well as an additional £50,000 for the Royal Scottish Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RSABI) to help bolster the charity’s Flooding Crisis Fund.

This support is in addition to our long-standing annual funding of £42 million and the additional £150 million for flood risk management and £12 million for coastal change adaptation over the course of this parliament.

The taskforce will also consider medium and long term impacts of Storm Babet, and will meet in another two weeks to assess progress.

Question reference: S6W-22601

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 October 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 16 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what plans have been developed with NHS Scotland and local authorities for mobility aids to be collected and provided to medical charities operating in war zones.

The Scottish Government currently has no specific plans to provide mobility aids to medical charities operating in war zones. However, we will work with NHS Scotland and local authorities to respond to such requests from recognised partners, including WHO and UN bodies.

The Scottish Government has provided significant financial aid to humanitarian efforts in war zones in Gaza and Ukraine. We also donated a significant amount of medical supplies to Ukraine last year as part of the UK humanitarian response, coordinated by Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Question reference: S6W-22675

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 16 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that sufficient numbers of qualified insulation contractors are available to meet demand.

Our Heat in Buildings Supply Chains Delivery Plan sets out practical steps that we will take to support the growth of the green heat sector. We continue to work in partnership with the sector to ensure that the appropriate support and training provision are aligned at a local level with business needs and future local demands. The Scottish Government has funded Energy Saving Trust to develop an Insulation Toolkit to explain the importance of insulation and the likely future demand. It also gives guidance to help installers achieve PAS 2030 certification and become TrustMark registered. This will be launched shortly and will be promoted to stakeholders by Energy Saving Trust.

Question reference: S6W-22651

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 16 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-21208 by Patrick Harvie on 26 September 2023, how many households have received the rural uplift within the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan scheme in each month since September 2022.

The following table sets out the total number of applications approved and paid for the rural uplift in each month from September 2022 to October 2023.

The rural uplift has only been included as part of the HES Grant and Loan Scheme since the launch of the Scheme in December 2022, meaning data only goes back to this date. Four applications from November 2022 received the rural uplift as these had not yet progressed to a formal offer when the rural uplift was introduced.

Payments are often made in the months following an approved application, which means that the number of applications approved in a month will not be equal to the number of applications paid in a month.

Month	Rural Uplift Applications Approved	Rural Uplift Applications Paid
Sep-22	-	-
Oct-22	-	-
Nov-22	4	-
Dec-22	35	-
Jan-23	146	-
Feb-23	100	15
Mar-23	144	22
Apr-23	237	52
May-23	238	81
Jun-23	222	113
Jul-23	208	136
Aug-23	166	182
Sep-23	177	253
Oct-23	105	218

Question reference: S6W-22647

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 16 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many students who have completed energy efficiency qualifications have remained in Scotland and are currently employed within the energy efficiency sector.

The Scottish Government does not hold or have access to information on how many students have completed specific energy efficiency qualifications or where they are currently working. As energy efficiency would typically form part of a wider course syllabus for a diverse range of qualifications including engineering, technology, science and construction, the Scottish Government is unable to identify which courses include an energy efficiency component and therefore does not have the information required to answer the question accurately.

Question reference: S6W-22646

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 16 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) certified installers are employed within Scotland, broken down by local authority area.

Question reference: S6W-22660

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 16 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether regular maintenance and servicing are included as terms in the contracts for the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan scheme.

Funding agreements issued for the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan scheme are between applicants and Energy Savings Trust, who administer the scheme on behalf of the Scottish Government. Funding provided is for the installation of approved measures only.

As a consumer led scheme, the applicant sources the installer and enters into a contract with that organisation. Similarly, any contracts for maintenance and servicing would be for the applicant to arrange.

Question reference: S6W-22788

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 16 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what work it has undertaken to provide for exemption schemes in the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill for military personnel working in Scotland.

As set out in the Policy Memorandum, accompanying the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill, the policy intention is that a local authority can establish exemptions to a visitor levy scheme in its area as it believes are appropriate. The Bill therefore provides for a local authority to put such exemptions in place, which will be informed by advice in national guidance being developed by local government and business organisations in the Visitor Levy Expert Group.