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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-13213

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by George Adam on 12 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to prevent its social media accounts from being hacked.

The Scottish Government has robust security policies and procedures in place, with training and guidance available for all staff to help them understand their security responsibilities. Steps include adhering to best practice in password management and using features such as two-factor authentication which is available on most social media platforms. The Scottish Government is not responsible for the cyber defence of the platforms themselves, but we refer to the UK Government’s SAFE Framework which outlines a set of standards for digital brand safety and includes the requirement for platforms to commit to cybersecurity.

Question reference: S6W-13212

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by George Adam on 12 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many of its civil servants have responsibility for uploading content to its social media platforms.

The Scottish Government runs a number of accounts on social media platforms. Responsibility for uploading content to these accounts lies with the teams who manage those accounts. There are currently four social media managers with specific responsibility for uploading content to the Scottish Government’s primary social media platforms. An additional 112 Communications staff have access to carry out this task as part of their wider role and responsibilities. Outside of the Communications Division this task could form a part of many other roles and is not formally captured or recorded .

Question reference: S6W-13214

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by George Adam on 12 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many times its social media accounts have been (a) successfully and (b) unsuccessfully hacked since they were established.

The Scottish Government does not have access to information about cyber security incidents affecting social media platforms, except where they have been publicly disclosed by the platforms themselves. We refer to the UK Government’s SAFE Framework which outlines a set of standards for digital brand safety and includes the requirement for platforms to commit to cybersecurity. We hold no record of Scottish Government accounts on social media platforms being compromised as a result of hacking.

Question reference: S6W-13210

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by George Adam on 12 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether any (a) ministers and (b) officials have met with Meta regarding its so-called metaverse.

The Scottish Government's Communications Division has not had any meetings with Meta on this topic.

Information on Ministerial engagements is routinely published on the Scottish Government website and can be found at: www.gov.scot/collections/ministerial-engagements-travel-and-gifts/ .

Information on Ministerial engagements prior to May 2016 can be found at: https://www.webarchive.org.uk/wayback/archive/20170401123936/http:/www.gov.scot/About/People/14944/Events-Engagements/MinisterialEngagements .

Question reference: S6W-13299

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 12 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commit to establishing a register of quarries.

Question reference: S6W-13257

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 12 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how specific local considerations, such as factory shift times, can be accommodated when closing a trunk road.

Transport Scotland, through its Operating Companies, consider local communities and affected businesses during the works planning and consultation process. For planned closures, consultation with the community and business groups is undertaken as part of the planning process, to consider the specific concerns and needs of those parties. Where possible, works are scheduled to avoid busier periods and times. This helps to minimise impacts on road users, businesses and local communities, with operating company contracts including specific times on certain routes where planned works are to be avoided.

Question reference: S6W-13252

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 12 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether any new legislation is being considered to help address Scotland-specific cladding issues, and, if this is the case, whether it will (a) incorporate elements from the Building Safety Act 2022 passed by the UK Parliament and (b) be primary or secondary legislation.

Question reference: S6W-13264

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 December 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 12 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the median number of days a household spends in temporary accommodation is, broken down by household type.

Homelessness data, which includes information about temporary accommodation placements, is available for all local authorities from 2017-18. The following table shows the median total time in days spent in temporary accommodation for households with homelessness applications that closed in each year from 2017/18 by household type. The figures are based on homelessness applications with at least one associated temporary accommodation placement.

Median total time (days) spent in temporary accommodation, by household type: 2017-18 to 2021-22

Household type	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22
All	116	117	116	129	121
Single Person	106	105	106	118	111
Single Parent	134	139	134	160	146
Couple	119	115	117	132	128
Couple with Children	192	194	188	270	211
Other	124	133	129	151	138
Other with Children	166	172	162	190	171

Source: HL1 and HL3 dataset as at 18/08/2022

Notes on tables:

Figures may be based on the total duration of multiple temporary accommodation placements taken up by a household. A complete set of temporary accommodation placement data is not available prior to 2017-18. Figures refer to households with a homeless application that closed in the given year that took up temporary accommodation.

Information on household type is derived from the information on household type as at the time of the original homelessness application, and therefore may not reflect the actual composition of the household whilst in temporary accommodation. "Other" includes households with 2 adults that are not a couple or households with more than 2 adults.

Question reference: S6O-01801

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 January 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what recent engagement it has had with community housing enablers, such as the Communities Housing Trust in the Highlands and Islands region, to support the delivery of its commitments regarding rural homes.

Question reference: S6O-01798

Asked by: Rona Mackay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 January 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the progress of the Bairns' Hoose for young people within the justice system.