Chamber and committees

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-05943

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 7 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government which minister is responsible for the implementation of its Deposit Return Scheme.

Portfolio responsibility for Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) lies with me as Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity.

In line with the principle of extended producer responsibility and the polluter pays principle, the work to deliver DRS is being led and paid for by industry, in particular the scheme administrator, Circularity Scotland Ltd (CSL). I meet with CSL on a monthly basis to ensure that the agreed implementation timetable is maintained.

Question reference: S6O-00728

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 February 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what steps it is taking to improve the provision of services for NHS Tayside breast cancer patients.

Question reference: S6W-05152

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 1 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether its Climate Justice Fund is currently contributing to projects supporting international efforts to (a) tackle forest fires and (b) reforest the Amazon Basin and Indonesian provinces, and whether such projects will be eligible for funding in the future under the expanded fund.

The Climate Justice Fund does not currently contribute to projects tackling forest fires or reforestation in the Amazon Basin or Indonesia. The focus of the Fund is on actions to achieve climate justice, principally supporting communities most affected by climate change build a more resilient, inclusive and equal future. Projects in Scotland's three international development partner countries of Malawi, Rwanda and Zambia will remain the primary focus of the expanded Fund.

Question reference: S6T-00467

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 31 January 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to support those communities affected by Storm Malik and Storm Corrie, including addressing the impact on the provision of services such as public transport.

Question reference: S6W-05457

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ash Regan on 28 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether its short life working group on tackling prostitution will seek to develop (a) policies and (b) support services for sex workers in Scotland.

A short life working group, comprising of key public bodies and third sector representatives, has been established to consider the fundamental principles which will underpin a model for Scotland to effectively tackle and challenge men’s demand for prostitution. These principles will embed equality, human rights and support our efforts to tackle men’s violence against women. Draft principles will be consulted upon later this year.

As part of this work, the group are considering a range of issues which includes support services and how this will be reflected within the model’s principles.

A key aim of this work is to reduce stigma and criminalisation experienced by women involved in prostitution and improve access to services at local and national levels.

Question reference: S6W-05459

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ash Regan on 28 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether its short life working group on tackling prostitution will include representation from sex worker-led organisations.

Lived experience will be captured within the short life working group’s membership as many of our third sector organisations work directly or indirectly with women involved in prostitution. The consultation on draft principles will also enable further voices to feed into this process.

In addition, recognising that prostitution may be experienced alongside other forms of gendered violence, we have agreed that a Reference Group is convened with opportunities to input into the development of the draft principles work. This membership spans across a number of Scottish Government portfolio areas, the wider public sector, third sector and those with direct lived experience.

We have also commissioned a central piece of national lived experience research which aims to understand current support service provision and the needs of service users better. This is being taken forward by an independent research team and is crucial in the forward look towards re-design of support services.

Question reference: S6W-05458

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ash Regan on 28 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether its short life working group on tackling prostitution will consider all options, including a decriminalisation model.

Question reference: S6W-05751

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 21 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 27 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-04664 by Mairi Gougeon on 9 December 2021, what percentage of land holdings are estimated to be above a threshold of 2,500 acres, broken down by (a) tenanted crofts, (b) owner occupied crofts, (c) tenanted farms and (d) owner occupied farms.

Less than two percent of agricultural holdings in Scotland, covering 52 per cent of agricultural land, are estimated to be above a threshold of 2,500 acres. Less than one percent of owned or tenanted holdings with crofts are above 2,500 acres in size. Five per cent of tenanted holdings without crofts and two per cent of owner occupied holdings without crofts are above 2,500 acres in size.

The data presented in the paragraph above refers to data collected as part of the June Agricultural Census 2021. The data included contains holdings with a registered croft, not all crofts have registered holdings and are therefore excluded from this analysis. A small number of large holdings include a registered croft on the holding. As these figures relate to the land area of the holding and not the croft these areas will have a large impact on reported area of crofts. A single holding may comprise both rented and owned land, these categories are based on majority area for the holding.

Question reference: S6W-05788

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 January 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 27 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to protect the pay, conditions and employment rights of workers in the hospitality sector, in light of reported allegations against the MacMerry 300 and Abandon Ship hospitality group regarding mistreatment of its workforce.

While many aspects of employment law and particularly pay legislation are reserved to the UK Government, promoting fair pay is a key element of the Scottish Government’s Fair Work policy. Scottish Ministers believe that all workers should receive a fair pay for the work they do, regardless of their age and status.

The Scottish Government is committed to using all the levers it has at its disposal to promote fair work practices across Scotland including payment of the real Living Wage. We firmly oppose the inappropriate use of zero hours contracts and other non-standard types of employment that offer workers minimal job or financial security. We have set out our position in our Fair Work First approach and within our National Tourism Strategy; Outlook 2030 which states our commitment to support and enable the adoption of fair work practices in Scotland’s tourism sector.

The Scottish Government has made a clear commitment to promote collective bargaining through the inclusion of an employee voice indicator, measured by collective bargaining coverage, within the National Performance Framework. Our Fair Work Action Plan confirms our subsequent commitment to work with the STUC to achieve increased coverage focusing on four key sectors one of those being hospitality.

The Scottish Government remains committed to supporting strong Trade Unions in Scotland for the benefit of workers and our economy and have provided funding of £250,000 for the last six years to STUC to help unions embed the Fair Work Framework in workplaces in Scotland.

We also support Unite’s FH Charter which helps to promote fairer working practices for its members and all workers across the wider hospitality sector as Scotland recovers from Covid and beyond.

Question reference: S6W-05149

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 20 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 17 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that the views of people, who may be affected by the transition to net zero, will be heard by the Just Transition Commission.

The remit for the Just Transition Commission set by the Scottish Government tasks them with “undertaking meaningful engagement with those most likely to be impacted by the transition, hearing from a broad range of representative voices and advising on how to ensure these can shape and contribute to just transition planning work in Scotland.” The Commission is independent of Government and will be responsible for setting out a work plan that fulfils the remit they have been given.

To further ensure a range of voices are heard in the Commission’s work, the membership announced on 15 December brings together a broad range of expertise and experience. This includes those with a background in industry, trade unions and environmental organisations, with collective expertise in areas such as gender equalities, community empowerment, economic development and worker support.