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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-10042

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 19 August 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it supports in principle a United States' nuclear energy company’s reported declared interest in establishing a design office for small modular reactors in the Highlands, and, if so, whether it will notify this to Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

Question reference: S6W-10079

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by George Adam on 19 August 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-09614 by George Adam on 19 July 2022, how many times in each of the last five years it has exceeded the time limit for responding to (a) freedom of information requests and (b) letters to ministers.

The Scottish Government remains committed to answering all correspondence as quickly as possible and within agreed timescales.

In relation to (a) freedom of information requests, the figures for the last five financial years are as follows:

Year	Number of FOI requests responded to on time	Number of FOI responses issued late
April 2017 - March 2018	2113	431
April 2018 - March 2019	2671	311
April 2019 - March 2020	2662	156
April 2020 - March 2021	2561	649
April 2021 - March 2022	3291	608

In relation to (b) Ministerial correspondence the figures for the last five financial years are as follows:

Year	Correspondence responded to on time	Correspondence responded to after the 20 day correspondence target
April 2017 - March 2018	31941	3835
April 2018 – March 2019	27448	5219
April 2019 – March 2020	23488	4211
April 2020 - March 2021	62323	44921
April 2021 - March 2022	55600	15922

It should be noted that the Scottish Government changed correspondence management system through the period 2018 to the end of 2020. The phased transition between systems means that the response data from 2017-2020 and from 2020–2022, cannot be easily compared. The different methods each system uses to store and count correspondence means that the response rate numbers, displayed above, are not like for like comparable across the 5-year period.

At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, correspondence received by the Scottish Government more than trebled, compared to the previous year. As the Government focused on the emergency response to the pandemic, performance against the pre-pandemic response target fell. However the response rate improved in the subsequent year. The Scottish Government is committed to building on this improvement and monitors correspondence response rate on a regular basis. Processes and systems are regularly reviewed to ensure that they are conducive to delivering high-quality correspondence as quickly as possible.

Question reference: S6W-10100

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 29 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 19 August 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S6W-06253 and S6W-05317 by Ivan McKee on 10 February and 27 January 2022 respectively, whether it will provide the information requested regarding what the precise technical purpose was of it owning the Dalzell steelworks for a short period; what specific benefits this provided to (a) Tata Steel UK, (b) Liberty House and (c) the Scottish Government, and what prevented a direct sale of the asset without the Scottish Government owning the steelworks for a short period.

The Scottish Government’s intervention in March 2016 was designed to ensure that steel communities in Scotland had a future. The benefits of the intervention are manifest in the high-quality steel products that continue to be produced in Lanarkshire, the skilled employment retained and the economic multiplier effects that accrue via ongoing payments to suppliers and the circulation of income through the local economy. Tata Steel, Liberty House and the Scottish Government were all aligned in agreeing a transaction that secured the earliest realisation of the commercial and wider economic benefits of the deal, and the selected structure was the best available means to deliver this.

Question reference: S6W-10101

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 29 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 19 August 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-06253 by Ivan McKee on 10 February 2022, what each party required from the sale and purchase of the business that could not be achieved without the Scottish Government owning the steelworks for a short period of time.

The three parties to the sale and purchase of the Lanarkshire steelworks on 2016 – Tata Steel, Liberty House and the Scottish Government – were all aligned in agreeing a transaction that secured the earliest realisation of the commercial and wider economic benefits of the deal, and the selected structure was the best available means to deliver this. Following negotiation the particular commercial requirements of each party are captured in the transaction documentation.

Question reference: S6W-10295

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 12 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 19 August 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when it plans to publish the responses to its consultation on mandatory calorie labelling in the out of home sector.

Question reference: S6W-10134

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 19 August 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what role it plays in monitoring whether best practice is followed by Scottish universities, regarding the moderation and cross-marking of student assessments.

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) has a statutory obligation under section 13 of the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 2005 to secure that provision is made for assessing and enhancing the quality of higher education provided by fundable bodies in Scotland.

On our behalf, to meet this obligation the SFC, supported by the Quality Assurance Agency, works with institutions so that they meet an agreed set of expectations for academic standards and quality, as measured against agreed sector reference points such as the UK Quality Code, to ensure that best practice is followed regarding moderation and marking of assessments, including the use of external expertise and examiners.

Question reference: S6W-10099

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 01 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Dorothy Bain on 18 August 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the type and level of resources that have been allocated over the last decade to the Police Scotland and Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service's investigation into the alleged use of Scottish airports by CIA rendition flights.

Question reference: S6W-09992

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 18 August 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any proposed benefits of introducing compulsory microchipping for cats.

The Scottish Government has not carried out an assessment of any proposed benefits of introducing compulsory microchipping of cats.

The Scottish Government is aware of the DEFRA consultation and report on the microchipping of cats which was published on 4 December 2021. The Scottish Government will give full and careful consideration to the outcomes of that consultation and the UK Government response in due course.

Question reference: S6W-09953

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 25 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 18 August 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported concerns by football fans in south Scotland that current public transport services do not run frequently enough to attend an evening football match and return home afterwards.

Question reference: S6W-09986

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 July 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 18 August 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-09439 by Lorna Slater on 21 July 2022, which local authorities with residual waste treatment arrangements in place beyond 2025 compliant with the forthcoming ban on sending biodegradable municipal waste to landfill have (a) long-term/permanent and (b) interim arrangements in place, and how long any interim arrangements extend for.