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.

Question reference: S5W-25752

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 6 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-24895 by Maree Todd on 23 September 2019, on what date it first requested administrative data about potentially eligible households from the UK Government, and whether it will place a copy of the requests sent and responses received to date in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe).

DWP provide aggregate data to SG to estimate eligible 2s when new data becomes available. This is part of our ongoing relationship. Use of aggregate, administrative data for analytic purposes does not require creation of a new gateway. We are in regular contact with DWP on a range of data sharing issues. As outlined in my response to S5W-25751 on 6 November 2019, regular updates are requested inside our ongoing working relationship, but DWP are not currently able to provide an expected date for the supply of the latest data. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

Question reference: S5W-25733

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 October 2019
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 30 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government by what date section 14 of the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 will come into force.

Consultation on the development of Island Community Impact Assessments (ICIAs) provisions within the Act has now been completed. Policy development is underway and a timeline for the commencement of section 14 is being finalised.

In the meantime, although there is no duty to do an impact assessment, all Ministerial colleagues have been advised of the provisions of the Islands Act, with the recent Fuel Poverty (Targets Definition and Strategy) (Scotland) Bill being a good example of how Ministers are trying to reflect the need to island proof legislation, in advance of the development of the ICIA tool being finalised.

We have also been advising our agencies and partners, where possible to operate in the spirit of the Act, and to consider island issues in their work bearing in mind that the Act would allow for an impact assessment, to potentially be applied retrospectively, where appropriate.

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