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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-32993

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 21 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will include low-emission heating systems, such as fuel cells, hybrid heat pumps and hydrogen ready boilers, in future Scottish House Condition Survey data.

The Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS) provides a snapshot of the domestic housing stock in each survey year, including the construction age, built form and primary and secondary heating system and fuel.

The SHCS currently records the following heat systems: Boiler, Community Heating, Storage Heaters, Room heaters, Warm Air Systems, Heat Pumps (with and without and MCS certificate), and Room Heater Back Boiler: no Radiators (these are systems which have a solid fuel fire with a back boiler where the back boiler is used only for heating water, and is not connected to radiators for heating the house). As these are the most common types of heating systems in Scotland.

The SHCS does not currently record heating systems, such as fuel cells, hybrid heat pumps and hydrogen ready boilers. However, we review the survey questions annually and these forms of heating will be considered for inclusion in future surveys when they become more prevalent in the Scottish dwelling stock.

Question reference: S6W-32857

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 21 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £254 million that was committed in its 2016 memorandum of understanding with Aberdeenshire Council and Aberdeen City Council, for additional investment in housing, transport and digital in the Aberdeen city region, has been spent to date.

To date, £32.2m funding committed through the Memorandum of Understanding has been spent. A breakdown of this figure, along with explanatory detail, is provided below:

Project	Spend to Date (£m)
Improve rail links between Aberdeen and the Central Belt	23.2
Improve the A90/A937 junction at Laurencekirk	4.0
Extend digital infrastructure	5.0

The total invested to 7 December 2024 (Railway Period 9 – 2024) on projects to reduce journey times between Aberdeen and the Central Belt is £23.2m. Of this figure, £16.4m has been spent on the Aberdeen – Central Belt Service Improvement project, and £6.8m has been spent on the project to improve rail line speeds in the Barnhill area between Perth and Dundee. The scope of the project includes signal enhancements, improvements to station layouts at Dundee, Aberdeen, Arbroath and Montrose, and specific capacity alterations, including freight loops, to facilitate the mixed operation of faster and slower trains on the same route.

Just over £4m has been spent on taking forward necessary design and assessment work to deliver the new grade-separated junction at Laurencekirk. This project is currently going through the statutory authorisation process.

£5m has been spent on digital infrastructure projects which are supporting the enhancement of both public and private service delivery. In total, £7.8m has been committed to support digital projects.

The Scottish Government is actively encouraging Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Councils to work together to identify Housing Infrastructure Fund projects which meet terms of the Memorandum of Understanding aligned with the Aberdeen City Region Deal.

Scottish Government officials have maintained regular contact and liaison with officials in both Local Authorities to identify potential Housing Infrastructure Fund projects. No proposals which meet the terms of Housing Infrastructure Fund have been received to date.

Question reference: S6W-32843

Asked by: Kevin Stewart, MSP for Aberdeen Central, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 21 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the potential cost to the public sector in Scotland of the UK Government's decision to raise employer national insurance contributions.

The Scottish Government published estimates of the impact of the increase in employer national insurance contributions on the public sector in Scotland on 20 November. While the information is incomplete, these estimates indicate the combined impact on the public sector and commissioned services could be well over £700 million.

If the UK Government’s reported allocation is all that is provided, that will mean the Chancellor will be short-changing services the public depend on by over £400 million.

We will continue to work with His Majesty’s Treasury, Local Government and portfolios to support an evidence-based approach and will update Parliament when new information is available.

Question reference: S6W-33054

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 21 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it supports the inclusion of smaller or independent media outlets in its advertising strategies.

Scottish Government marketing teams do not specify inclusion of any specific media outlets to media agencies who prepare the media strategy and schedules based on audience to ensure advertising is as effective as possible and delivers high levels of reach for the investment. Therefore campaign budget is also a critical factor in media agencies determining whether smaller outlets, which deliver lower levels of reach in general, will be added to a media schedule.

The media agency does not have guaranteed spend arrangements with media vendors, whether large or small. Each media property is assessed according to its merit and relevance to campaign requirements.

Question reference: S6W-33150

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 21 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of Foundation Year 2 doctors who applied for NHS specialty training in each of last 10 years was offered a place.

Question reference: S6W-32930

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 21 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many grants it has awarded to Tesla Inc in each year since 2016; what the total value of any such grants is, and whether it will provide details of each project funded by any such grants.

Question reference: S6W-33006

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 21 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what the average fee has been for (a) accessing and (b) updating information in the Registers of Scotland in each of the last five years.

Registers of Scotland is a non-Ministerial Public Body answerable to the Scottish Parliament.

RoS charge a range of different fees for various types of application. The following table details the main application types. Further information on RoS fees and types of application is available on the RoS website, www.ros.gov.uk.

Financial Year	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24
	£	£	£	£	£
Land Register Disposition	311	333	376	389	391
Land Register Standard Security	60	66	80	80	80
Land Register (Other Deeds)	70	74	88	87	90
Sasine Register	62	68	81	82	83
Crofting Register	90	90	90	90	90
Chancery and Judicial Registers	16	22	27	30	28

Question reference: S6W-32813

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 21 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether ScotRail passengers who hold a National Entitlement Card should be able to claim discounted tickets online and via machines, as is currently possible when purchasing at a ticket office.

The National Entitlement Card allows the holder to access rail concession schemes, where such schemes exist. It is a feature of these Local Authority sponsored schemes that tickets may only be purchased in face-to-face transactions – either at ticket offices or on board a train. The Scottish Government specifies that all ScotRail trains should have a member of staff on board and therefore these concessionary fares are always available for eligible passengers.

Question reference: S6W-33149

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 21 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many NHS specialty training places are projected to be offered in the next five years.

The allocation of medical specialty training places is made annually to ensure it meets the needs of the healthcare workforce, recognising that completion of specialty training can take a minimum of 3 to 8 years depending on the specialty. This process is overseen by a group of senior representatives from the Scottish Government, NHS Education for Scotland, professional bodies, and Health Boards. Based on workforce data and service demands, the group makes recommendations to Scottish Ministers regarding any changes needed, including the potential expansion of training places in specific specialties.

Question reference: S6W-33157

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 21 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is to taking address the presence of "drug dens" in Glasgow.

We are working in partnership with other stakeholders, including Police Scotland, to reduce the presence of public injecting and other antisocial behaviour (eg drug house or location) across Scotland including Glasgow, by offering safer alternatives, combined with strong law enforcement measures. This includes harm reduction initiatives, community engagement and enforcement actions by Police Scotland to ensure safer communities. We are committed to tackling all antisocial behaviour and want everyone to be, and feel, safe in their homes and communities.