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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: S6W-15621

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 21 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government for what reasons the percentage of children participating in the General Dental Service fell from 97% in September 2007 to 63.9% in September 2021.

Due to the onset of the pandemic in Scotland all routine dental services ceased from 23 March 2020, with emergency and urgent dental care being provided by dedicated urgent dental care centres from NHS Boards.

The majority of dental services require the use of an aerosol which carries a higher risk of viral transmission. Dental services operated under specific infection, prevention and control measures for two years to April 2022.

Question reference: S6W-15684

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 21 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much it will cost NHS Scotland Assure to fund the Deposit Return Scheme trial that NHS Grampian is currently taking part in.

Question reference: S6W-15695

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 21 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met representatives from the British Medical Association to discuss pay restoration for junior doctors.

I last met with the Chair of the BMA Scotland Committee on 11 January to discuss their request for a national conversation, and met with Chair of the BMA Scottish Junior Doctors Committee on 15 December to discuss their concerns around pay for Junior Doctors.

In addition I wrote to the Chair of the BMA on 21 February offering to meet with both him and the Chair of the BMA Scottish Junior Doctors Committee to discuss further.

Question reference: S6W-15291

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 21 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when the consultation on the Long-Term Plan for Vessels and Ports on the Clyde & Hebrides and Northern Isles networks (2023-45), which is part of the Islands Connectivity Plan, will be launched.

I look forward to launching the public consultation of the draft Long-term Plan for Vessels and Ports on the Clyde & Hebrides and Northern Isles Networks (2023 – 2045) in April. An advance copy of the draft Plan was sent to key stakeholders, for initial comments, and published on the Transport Scotland website on 30 December 2022.

www.transport.gov.scot/publication/draft-for-consultation-long-term-plan-for-vessels-and-ports-on-the-clyde-hebrides-and-northern-isles-networks-2023-2045-islands-connectivity-plan

Question reference: S6W-15950

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 21 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what data it holds on how many people have been excused as of right from jury duty in the past year, and, of those, how many were excused because they had (a) already served on a jury in the last five years and (b) been cited but not selected in the last two years.

Question reference: S6W-15943

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 21 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey includes questions on the potential normalisation of violence in sexual activity.

The Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS) is an annual, large-scale social survey which asks people about their experiences and perceptions of crime in Scotland. It includes a module on sexual victimisation, which produces estimates of adults’ experiences of different types of sexual assault. At present this does not include a question on experiences of violence during what began as consensual sexual activity.

We are currently progressing set up of a new multi-year run of the SCJS, following a recent re-procurement exercise. As part of this ongoing work we will consider in 2023-24 whether a question on this specific topic could be added to the above module. Given the subject sensitivity, this requires careful consideration and testing prior to any roll-out, to ensure such a question is understandable, accessible and doesn’t place undue stress on survey respondents.

Such a change would build on the continuous improvements being made to the survey, whereby we are currently cognitively testing and piloting a new survey module on Partner Abuse and new and updated questions on Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG). These areas were identified as a key priority by survey users in last year’s consultation .

Question reference: S6W-15945

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 21 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether a solar energy target will be included in its forthcoming Energy Strategy, and, if so, whether it will align with the reported 4GW to 6GW ambition recommended by the solar industry.

Through our draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan (ESJTP) we are consulting on setting an ambition for solar deployment in Scotland, and what level that ambition should be set at. The consultation period for the draft ESJTP is open until 9 May 2023, and we encourage stakeholders to engage in the consultation and bring forward evidence relating to this.

It is vital that we consult widely upon the need for, and achievability of, any deployment ambition for solar before such an ambition is set. Following engagement with stakeholders and analysis of the consultation responses, we will finalise the solar vision and solar deployment ambition as part of the final ESJTP.

Question reference: S6W-15953

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 21 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what data it holds on how many people have been cited for jury duty more than once in the past year.

Question reference: S6W-15588

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 21 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the average response time was to phone calls to the Citizens Advice Scotland Helpline, and how many calls were (a) received and (b) discontinued in each year since 2019.

Question reference: S6W-15055

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 21 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government on what date the Minister for Transport was first advised that the 2025 deadline for completing the dualling of the A9 between Perth and Inverness was not achievable.

Arising from its ongoing work to determine the optimal procurement approach to the remainder of the programme, Transport Scotland concluded in late 2022 that the completion date of 2025 could not be achieved and should no longer apply to the A9 Dualling programme. I was informed on 7 December 2022 of Transport Scotland’s view that the published completion date of 2025 for the dualling of the A9 between Perth and Inverness should no longer apply.

A statement to Parliament on the next steps for the Programme required to take account of the outcome of the ongoing Tomatin to Moy project procurement. The decision on that procurement was made on 3 February 2023 and the bidder was informed on 8 February, prior to the statement to Parliament on the same day.