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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-30194

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 8 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of its Sites of Special Scientific Interest is privately owned.

Question reference: S6W-30188

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 8 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage private landlords to participate in the student rental market.

While the Scottish Government Review of Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) related solely to this specific type of student housing, we know that student accommodation in Scotland is a complex and interdependent system interacting with local housing systems and local communities, and that many students prefer to live in private tenancies. We will be inviting a representative from the Scottish Association of Landlords to a roundtable discussion on student accommodation which will be scheduled for the end of this year.

Question reference: S6W-30196

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 8 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many complaints have been received in each year since 2019-20 from landowners following a decision to designate their land as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, also broken down by how many were upheld.

Through the provisions of the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004, the scientific justification for a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) can be challenged by owners or managers of a site:

At notification of the site
Once every 10 years following notification

The number of challenges since 2019-20 and the outcome is summarised in the following table:

	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24	2024-25
Challenges	2	1	0	0	3	0
Upheld	0	0	0	0	0	0
Withdrawn	0	0	0	0	2	0

Question reference: S6W-30199

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 8 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has provided in compensation to land owners whose land was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in each financial year since 2020-21.

Through the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004, NatureScot can enter into Management Agreements to compensate land owners for stopping or not adopting management practices which would damage nature on Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Positive Management Agreements can also be agreed to support specialist management for nature which is not available through agri-environment or forestry support mechanisms. The amounts provided each year since 2020-21 are:

Value £’s	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24	204-25
Positive	231,959	292,506	207,551	110,238	33,688 (+85,203)
Compensatory (part or purely)	167,756	139,894	150,971	139,280	49,602 (+12,972)
Totals	399,715	432,400	358,522	249,518	83,290 (+98,900)

* Figures in bracket – anticipated spend to end of Financial Year

Question reference: S6W-30187

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 8 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with investors to pilot affordable, mid-range, purpose-built student accommodation housing developments to address the current student housing need.

The Scottish Government Review of Purpose Built Student Accommodation recommended convening a national roundtable discussion which included representation from all those involved with the provision of purpose-built student accommodation, including developers and the investment community. The first roundtable discussion, chaired by myself, took place on 23 August. A further meeting will be convened later this year.

Question reference: S6W-30189

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 8 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to undertake or commission further research to fill any remaining data and knowledge gaps in relation to student housing.

Question reference: S6W-30252

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 27 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 8 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce waiting lists for people seeking audiology appointments.

The Scottish Government accepted, in principle, the recommendations set out by the Independent Review of Audiology Services in Scotland and are fully committed to seeing improvement in Audiology services.

Audiology is now being considered as a clinical priority area, and work is being progressed through the National Planning and Delivery Board arrangements led by the Chief Operating Officer – NHS Scotland.

In order to support with long waits, our NHS Recovery Plan sets out our plans for health and social care over the course of this parliament. The plan will support an increase in inpatient, day case, and outpatient activity to address the backlogs of care, which will be supported by the implementation of sustainable improvements and new models of care.

Question reference: S6W-30141

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 8 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will carry out a comprehensive review of maternity experiences throughout Scotland to understand the occurrence of pregnancy-related trauma.

We are committed to gathering evidence on maternity care experiences across Scotland and are currently developing the next iteration of the Maternity Care Survey, which was previously run in 2013, 2015 and 2018. Our intention is for the next survey to take place in 2025. The survey will ask about experiences of antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal maternity care, including questions about person-centred care, trust in healthcare providers, and the provision of advice and support. However this survey is not the right vehicle to ask about pregnancy related trauma, which requires sensitive and responsive inquiry.

In line with NICE guidelines, we would expect Health Professionals to offer advice and support to women who have had a traumatic birth and wish to understand and talk about their experience. We are working with NHS Boards to develop specialist Community Perinatal Mental Health services to provide assessment and care for women with moderate to severe mental illness, including psychological impact following the birth of a baby.

Question reference: S6W-30145

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 7 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to increase the number of local authority care homes to ensure that the proper care is available to women.

Although the Scottish Government has overall responsibility for health and social care policy in Scotland, the statutory responsibility for delivering and commissioning services at a local level lies with local authorities, NHS boards and integrated health and social care partnerships. Local authorities are distinct corporate bodies whose powers and duties are set out in statute and are separate from the Scottish Government. As long as they act lawfully, it is up to each authority to manage its day to day activities, including the planning of services, in accordance with these responsibilities.

Question reference: S6W-30144

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 7 October 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what training it has provided to justice system staff regarding eradicating male violence against women and girls.

The Scottish Government are committed to the eradication of violence against women and girls (VAWG), and this is why we are implementing the Equally Safe Strategy.

However, the Scottish Government are not responsible for the training of justice system staff. As independent organisations, they are responsible for their own learning and development.

The Scottish Government often provides additional funding for training to support the implementation of new legislation and initiatives, for example, additional funding of £825k was provided to Police Scotland to support officers and staff respond to and investigate the new Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 offence.

Justice organisations are subscribed to the Equally Safe Strategy and are included in the membership of the Equally Safe Joint Strategic Board who are responsible for driving change in relation to the aims and priorities of the Equally Safe Strategy and its implementation. Our Equally Safe delivery plan, which was published in August 2024, contains a commitment to develop a streamlined approach to trauma-informed workplace practices that promote and enhance VAWG knowledge, skills, and expertise. Partners from the justice system will be engaged in the development of this approach.

The Vision for Justice in Scotland (2022) prioritises women and children and reiterates a commitment to make improvements to the justice system which benefit and empower women. The Justice Board, which represents many of the key national justice organisations, overseas the implementation of the delivery plan. The Vision ensures that Equally Safe is a key component in the route to a transformed justice system and commits to working across boundaries to improve outcomes for individuals to address causes of crime and reduce offending.