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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-01812

Asked by: Evelyn Tweed, MSP for Stirling, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 January 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to reduce the avoidable harms associated with drugs and alcohol.

Question reference: S6O-01816

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 January 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when non-urgent elective operations will resume in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

Question reference: S6O-01821

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 January 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what guidance it gives to landlords in all sectors to help prevent and deal with damp, condensation and mould in their properties, including when this was last revised.

Question reference: S6O-01824

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 January 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has conducted on the effect of the rent cap on the number of homes available for rent in the private sector.

Question reference: S6O-01819

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 January 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the report, Leave no one behind, from The Health Foundation.

Question reference: S6O-01815

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 January 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it last spoke to NHS Lothian and NHS Borders.

Question reference: S6W-13594

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 18 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government in what ways it assesses the efficacy of its New Scots strategy.

The New Scots refugee integration strategy is built on partnership and collaboration, led by the Scottish Government, COSLA and the Scottish Refugee Council, and involves a wide range of partners across different sectors.

The strategy provides a clear framework for all those working towards refugee integration in Scotland. It has also assisted in coordinating the work of the Scottish Government and its partner organisations to maximise impact and make the most of limited resources, placing Scotland in a strong position to respond to recent humanitarian crises.

The New Scots Core Group brings together key stakeholders and is responsible for monitoring and reviewing progress against the overarching outcomes of New Scots during the strategy implementation period. The Core Group is chaired by Professor Alison Phipps, UNESCO Chair in Refugee Integration through Languages and the Arts at the University of Glasgow.

The year one report for the New Scots refugee integration strategy 2018-2022 was published on 2 April 2019. The report can be found here: New Scots refugee integration strategy 2018-2022: first year progress report - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

The COVID-19 pandemic and work to support people arriving from Afghanistan and Ukraine have impacted delivery of the strategy and meant that it has not been possible to produce the year two and three reports as originally planned. However, the New Scots Core Group continues to meet four times a year to monitor and review progress of the strategy, as well as identifying areas for collaboration.

The New Scots Refugee Integration Delivery Project includes a workstream on research and evaluation. This entails working with our partners and external evaluators to carry out project monitoring, research work and an evaluation of the strategy. An evaluation report of the current strategy is due to be published in Spring 2023.

Question reference: S6W-13593

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 18 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many civil servants have worked on helping to implement its New Scots strategy in each year since 2018.

From 2017-22, the Scottish Government had one civil servant working on the New Scots refugee integration strategy, although the post was redeployed to support the Covid-19 response in 2020-2021. An additional civil servant has supported work on the strategy since May 2022. Other civil servants have worked in support of the New Scots strategy across a range of policy areas.

In addition to the permanent civil servants working on the strategy, from January 2021, up to three additional temporary staff have worked to manage the delivery of the New Scots Refugee Integration Delivery Project.

Question reference: S6W-13567

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 18 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it will update the Parliament on when a formal national apology for forced adoption will be made.

We are still considering the next steps on how to address the responses to our engagement with people affected by historical adoption practices.

In the meantime, we have commissioned a scoping study of the support services available in Scotland for people affected by historical adoption practices. This will help us understand where we need to improve, introduce or enhance the services to better meet the needs and expectations of those affected by historical adoption. The research started on 9 January and will take approximately 8 months.

We have also agreed to fund a proposal to establish specialist peer support groups for those affected, in partnership with Health in Mind The planning and implementation of this support service has already begun and been influenced by a working group of people affected by historical adoption.

Question reference: S6W-13374

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 18 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has allocated to spend on (a) Facebook, (b) Instagram, (c) Twitter, (d) YouTube and (e) Tik Tok in relation to its Winter Heating Payment advertising campaign.

Social Security Scotland posted on its Twitter and Facebook accounts to raise awareness of Winter Heating Payment. There has been no spend to date on Winter Heating Payment advertising through social media channels. This will be part of further advertising planned for early this year. Social Security Scotland's budget breakdown by channel is still to be confirmed and will be based on insight, taking advice from their media buying agency.