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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-32609

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 20 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 14 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what criteria are used to determine the budgets for its international offices.

The majority of the budget for each office in the international network is staffing costs. This comprises both Scottish Government civil servants posted on diplomatic assignment, and country-based staff employed by FCDO on terms appropriate for the local labour market. The small component for programme delivery is considered through annual budgeting procedures taking into account priorities in each country and elsewhere in the portfolio.

Question reference: S6W-32586

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 14 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what role private sector investment plays in funding (a) ScotRail and (b) Caledonian Sleeper services.

Question reference: S6W-32256

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Claire Baker (on behalf of the SPCB) on 14 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, further to the answer to question S6W-31550 by Claire Baker on 11 December 2024, how many email and domain accounts for MSP spouses who are not in paid employment by MSPs there are on the Parliament IT system, and what the average annual cost is of administering any such accounts.

Question reference: S6W-32344

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Claire Baker (on behalf of the SPCB) on 14 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what the cost of maintaining the Parliament's bees has been in each of the last five years.

The total cost of maintaining the Parliament’s bees on-site for the last five years in total is £20,219.68. This includes the installation and maintenance of 15 beehives since March 2020.

The costs per year are given in the table below:

Hoods Honey Costs per year
Year	Ex VAT	Gross Amount
2023/24	£ 4,349.90	£ 5,219.88
2022/23	£ 3,199.92	£ 3,839.90
2021/22	£ 3,199.92	£ 3,839.90
2020/21	£ 3,600.00	£ 4,320.00
2019/20	£ 2,500.00	£ 3,000.00

Question reference: S6W-32347

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Claire Baker (on behalf of the SPCB) on 14 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how much (a) honey and (b) wax was harvested from the Parliament's bees in each year of the last five years.

In the last 5 years, from January 2020 – January 2025, 144 jars of honey have been received and sold in the Parliament shop, each weighing 227g. The shop was completely closed from March 2020 – April 2022 and no honey was received or sold in that period. No honey was received in 2023.

The beeswax isn’t harvested by the Parliament, it remains the property of our beekeepers, and therefore, we do not have the cost information. The beeswax is harvested by the beekeepers who provide the wax for the Great Seal of Scotland under a separate contract.

Question reference: S6W-32348

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Claire Baker (on behalf of the SPCB) on 14 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what the cost is of replacing a light (a) bulb and (b) fixture in the Parliament canteen.

The general maintenance of lighting is included within the building maintenance contract and only additional maintenance spends are on parts or replacements if they fail. The cost of bulb varies from fitting to fitting and is sourced through a wholesaler by the current contractor for best value at time of purchase. Both types of fittings in the canteen are original and bespoke to the Parliament. To date no fitting/fixture has been replaced in this area and there are no plans to. Therefore, no cost of fitting/fixture for either is known.

Question reference: S6W-32346

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Claire Baker (on behalf of the SPCB) on 14 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what the total repair and maintenance cost for the Parliament building was in (a) 2024 and (b) each of the last five years.

Building maintenance of the site is carried out through two separate contracts. Noted below is both the planned and reactive/repair maintenance costs for the last 5 years for each contract. Overall total for both contracts being £8,117,010.95 excluding VAT.

Building Maintenance

Planned Reactive/Repair

2019/20	£654,720	2019/20	£117,319.60
2020/21	£793,088	2020/21	£31,644.30
2021/22	£803,292	2021/22	£39,611.92
2022/23	£851,724	2022/23	£34,639.00
2023/24	£948,231	2023/24	£56,423.41

High Level Maintenance

Planned Reactive/Repair

2019/20	£692,913	2019/20	£20,906.15
2020/21	£710,180	2020/21	£15,120.41
2021/22	£720,441	2021/22	£17,300.00
2022/23	£764,075	2022/23	£15,799.16
2023/24	£829,583	2023/24	£17,254.74

Question reference: S6W-32345

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Claire Baker (on behalf of the SPCB) on 14 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what the total cost was of the recent replacement of the heating and window control systems in MSP offices in the Parliament building.

The works referred to in your question is part of an existing project to upgrade the Parliament’s Building and Energy Management System (BEMS). The BEMS is a business-critical tool which provides visibility and control of building services, principally the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and domestic hot water systems in all areas of the Holyrood site. The new BEMS replaces an existing system which was installed 20 years ago and at end of life.

The estimated total value for the BEMS project is £3,900,000. This information is published on the Scottish Parliaments Contracts Register under the contract reference NIC-SER-486 at the following link - Contract register | Scottish Parliament Website.

Question reference: S6W-33113

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 14 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what support and training is provided to justices of the peace to ensure consistency in their decision-making.

Question reference: S6W-33093

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 14 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many personalised or special vehicle number plates it owns, and what the cost of any such plates has been over the last five years.