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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.

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Question reference: S6F-01962

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 March 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 March 2023

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-15980

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 27 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what research it has undertaken into the use of data centres as “digital boilers”.

In September 2020, ClimateXChange published a study titled “Potential sources of waste heat for heat networks in Scotland”. The report examined a variety of potential waste heat sources, including data centres.

The study identified nine commercial data centres located in Scotland, but recognised the actual number is likely to be much higher. In addition, some commercial data centres are likely to be kept confidential for security reasons. It concluded that the total waste heat that can be recovered from data centres is therefore likely to have been underestimated in the study.

The study can be accessed at the following address:

https://www.climatexchange.org.uk/research/projects/potential-sources-of-waste-heat-for-heat-networks-in-scotland/?msclkid=42fdd948b3fe11ecbd09640b7d2a6cc2

Question reference: S6W-15704

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 March 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 27 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its Programme for Government 2022-23 commitment to consult on proposals to restrict alcohol promotions, what preparatory work it has undertaken (a) in the lead-up to the consultation being published and (b) for the eventual implementation of the policy.

Preparatory work pre-consultation involved gathering, analysing and commissioning academic evidence. We also commissioned projects with Young Scot and the Youth Parliament to ensure that young people’s voices were central to our proposals.

We have not done any preparatory work on implementation as no decisions have been taken on scope or on the type of restrictions that might be taken forward, our next steps depend entirely on the responses to the consultation itself.

Question reference: S6W-15989

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 27 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-11906 by Shona Robison on 18 November 2022, whether it will provide an update on the status of each of the recommendations, broken down by each action from the review in (a) October 2021 and (b) July 2022.

Question reference: S6W-15941

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 27 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will list any cases in which sewage leaks have been recorded in NHS hospitals in each year since 1 January 2022, broken down by (a) hospital and (b) part of the building in which the leak occurred.

Question reference: S6W-15932

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 27 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of Biffa’s contract as the logistics service provider for the Deposit Return Scheme, what (a) type and (b) number of lorries have been negotiated for the scheme’s launch on 16 August 2023, and what its response is to reports that Biffa is (i) buying and (ii) manufacturing new lorries for the implementation of the scheme.

Circularity Scotland, the scheme administrator is a private non-profit company and is responsible for operating the scheme, including its logistics. Questions regarding the detail of their contracts should be directed to them.

The Scottish Government can however confirm that an extensive tender process for a logistics service provider was carried out by Circularity Scotland over a period of around 12 months and was open to businesses of all sizes. The process involved extensive due diligence by Circularity Scotland. BIFFA was awarded that contract in July 2022.

Question reference: S6W-15957

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 27 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of whether Biffa is an appropriate logistics partner for the Deposit Return Scheme, given that the company has previously been prosecuted for breaches of environmental waste export laws.

Circularity Scotland, the scheme administrator is a private non-profit company and is responsible for operating the scheme, including logistics. Decisions regarding their contracts are for them – this is entirely appropriate for a scheme that has industry responsibility at its heart.

An extensive tender process was carried out by Circularity Scotland over a period of around 12 months and was open to businesses of all sizes. The process involved extensive due diligence by Circularity Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-15954

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Elena Whitham on 27 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to issue revised guidance to local authorities, regarding the High Hedges (Scotland) Act 2013, to ensure that the definition of high hedges specified in the Act, which includes “a hedge which is formed wholly or mainly by a row of 2 or more trees or shrubs”, is used by local authorities, rather than the definition in the current guidance, issued in 2019, which requires that, for trees and shrubs to be considered as a “high hedge”, they must first be considered to form a hedge.

Question reference: S6W-15960

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 27 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with Circularity Scotland regarding the decision to appoint Biffa as its logistics partner for the Deposit Return Scheme.

Question reference: S6W-15852

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 27 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported concerns that retaining the Network Support Grant base rate, which has remained at 14.4 pence per kilometre since 2012, amounts to a real terms cut for bus operators.

The Scottish Government is investing in the bus network to support long term growth, with the 2023-24 budget allocating £425.7m for concessionary fares and bus. The aim of the Network Support Grant is to help commercial operators keep their fares lower, and enable these operators to run services that might not otherwise be commercially viable, thus contributing to the maintenance of the overall bus network.

I appreciate that operators are experiencing challenges with rising costs and driver shortages which has led to concerns over the Network Support Grant base rate. I chair the Bus Taskforce to consider these issues with stakeholders, while recognising that many of the levers are reserved to the UK Government. These are matters which the UK Government could be providing assistance with but have thus far failed to do so.

The Scottish Government is providing extra funding to support a marketing campaign to encourage people back to bus. In line with our long-term goal to encourage a shift from private vehicles to sustainable modes of transport, we continue to engage with operators, delivery partners and other key stakeholders to promote public transport as an attractive way to travel as more people begin to return to workplaces and travel for leisure purposes more often.