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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-08864

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 21 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address the issue of bus cancellations across South and East Ayrshire due to reported driver shortages.

There is currently a shortage of drivers for bus and lorries due to the COVID pandemic, creating a backlog in processing applications and testing which is being compounded by the consequences of BREXIT, as it prevents people from the EU coming here to work freely. We have repeatedly sought a formal role in determining what occupations are in shortage in the devolved nations, but the UK Government has denied this. As such, bus drivers are not included in the Shortage Occupations List (SOL). I understand that the UK Government will be reviewing this later this year and we have asked for full involvement in that process.

The problem is clearly causing issues for local and national bus services across Scotland. To address the workplace issues, my officials are working with bus operators and our partners across the public sector to promote the bus sector as a place to work while recognising that many of the levers are reserved to the UK Government. We have provided up to £210 million in funding to support bus services during the pandemic and an additional £40 million to support recovery this year. My predecessor also wrote to the UK Government about the consequences of the delays affecting the recruitment and training of potential drivers, which continues to be a concern for the bus industry.

I know that the majority of bus services in Scotland are operated on a commercial basis by private bus companies. But I would strongly encourage operators and local authorities to work together to ensure that connectivity is protected and maintained.

Question reference: S6W-08857

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 21 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how it has supported asylum seekers from Hong Kong who have resettled in Scotland.

Asylum and immigration are matters reserved to the UK Parliament and handled by the Home Office. This includes decisions relating to refugee resettlement programmes, UK visa routes and the operation of the UK asylum system. The Scottish Government has no control over these processes.

There is no provision in UK Immigration Rules for someone abroad to be given permission to travel to the UK to seek asylum. There is therefore no resettlement route for people seeking asylum from Hong Kong. The UK Government has established refugee resettlement routes and visa routes, including the Hong Kong BN(O) visa route. Decisions about eligibility criteria for refugee resettlement and visa routes are made by the UK Government.

Scotland’s approach to supporting refugees and people seeking asylum is set out in the New Scots refugee integration strategy. Developed and led in partnership by the Scottish Government, COSLA and the Scottish Refugee Council, New Scots provides a clear framework for all those working to support integration and assists the work of partners across local authorities, public services, the private sector, third sector and community organisations. The key principle of New Scots is that refugees and asylum seekers should be supported to integrate into communities from day one of arrival.

Question reference: S6W-08858

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 21 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-07560 by Shona Robison on 19 April 2022, whether it will provide further details of the steps that it has taken to meet with former Hong Kong residents who have resettled in Scotland who (a) are asylum seekers and (b) hold British National (Overseas) visas, in order to collect feedback on their experiences.

Scottish Government officials have spoken with people seeking asylum as part of ongoing engagement and our work to deliver the New Scots refugee integration strategy. However, this is not done on the basis of people’s nationality but their experience living in Scotland while seeking asylum, wherever they are from. We also regularly engage with partners who provide direct support to people seeking asylum. Officials have ongoing engagement with people relocating to Scotland from Hong Kong, as part of wider stakeholder engagement.

Question reference: S6W-09029

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 20 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government by what date it will publish its response to the recommendations of the National Partnership for Culture.

As referred to in response to PQs S6W-08593 and S6W-08594 on 1 June 2022, we were pleased to receive the report and recommendations from the National Partnership for Culture on 28 February 2022. Scottish Government officials are working together across portfolios to review the recommendations. Our response to the National Partnership for Culture recommendations will be published shortly.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Question reference: S6W-08859

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 17 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-07763 by Jamie Hepburn on 28 April 2022, what action it can take in response to reports of Chinese state influence and interference at (a) the University of Edinburgh and (b) other universities in Scotland.

Our universities are autonomous institutions and the alliances they forge across global academic networks are a matter for them and their governing bodies.

We expect all our universities to understand and manage the reputational, ethical and security risks associated with international partnerships. This includes conducting appropriate due diligence before entering into new international partnerships and monitoring existing partnerships. Guidance to support universities has been published by Universities UK.

Question reference: S6O-01278

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 June 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is putting in place to mitigate the impact of industrial action by rail workers, including on the night-time economy.

Question reference: S6W-08828

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 15 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) fatal and (b) non-fatal accidents involving (i) HGVs and (ii) other vehicles on the A77 there (A) were in 2021 and (B) have been in 2022, also broken down by section of the road that passes through South Ayrshire.

The following tables provide the provisional number of injury road accidents on the A77 in 2021 broken down by severity. Final figures for 2021 will be published in October 2022. Figures for 2022 are still being collected and verified and are therefore not currently available.

	A77 accidents within South Ayrshire Local Authority area
	HGV accidents	Other accidents	Total
Fatal	0	0	0
Non-fatal	0	11	11
Total	0	11	11

	A77 accidents within other Local Authority areas
	HGV accidents	Other accidents	Total
Fatal	1	1	2
Non-fatal	0	23	23
Total	1	24	25

	A77 Total accidents
	HGV accidents	Other accidents	Total
Fatal	1	1	2
Non-fatal	0	34	34
Total	1	35	36

Question reference: S6W-08829

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 14 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-03585 by Jenny Gilruth on 26 October 2021, how much of the £250,000 provided to the Humanitarian Emergency Fund in relation to the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan has been spent.

In September 2021, the Scottish Government announced £250,000 from the Humanitarian Emergency Fund (HEF) for Afghanistan. However, given the acute need and deteriorating conditions, this was subsequently increased to £360,000. £120,000 was awarded to Tearfund while £240,000 was awarded jointly to Christian Aid and Islamic Relief. These projects have now concluded and a report on their outcomes and results will be made publicly available in due course.

The Scottish Government subsequently awarded a further £240,000 from the HEF to the Disasters Emergency Committee for their Afghanistan appeal launched on 15 December, bringing our total commitment to Afghanistan to £600,000.

Question reference: S6W-08839

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 14 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what work is taking place to reduce the cultural attendance gap between adults in the highest Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) quartile and the lowest.

A Culture Strategy for Scotland highlights the Scottish Government commitment to ensuring everyone has an equal opportunity to experience culture’s empowering and transformative potential. We want to ensure that everyone in Scotland can take part in culture throughout their lives and that culture in, and from, Scotland enriches the lives of people and communities across the country.

The innovative Creative Communities programme, Creative Communities - Inspiring Scotland , was launched following the publication of the Culture Strategy in 2020 which supports and empowers individuals and communities to further develop their own cultural activity.

The Culture Strategy sets out that those who engage in cultural activity as children are more likely to participate and attend when they are adults, regardless of parental background, wealth or poverty. Our long-standing Youth Music Initiative offers a year’s free music tuition to all children before they leave primary school, as well as targeted opportunities for out of school participation in music for children and young people who may not otherwise have these opportunities. Additionally, our Youth Arts Emergency Fund offered similar targeted opportunities across a range of art forms.

Question reference: S6W-08991

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 14 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on the (a) Women's Scholarship and (b) Children's Scholarship programmes in Pakistan, in each year since 2017.

Women and Girls face the largest barriers to accessing secondary and undergraduate education in Pakistan. Since the scholarships were first launched in 2013, over 1,400 young women have been supported to study at University through the Scotland Pakistan Scholarship Scheme. In addition, over 13,000 children have been supported to go to school. The Scottish Government is proud to fund the scholarships.

The amounts the Scottish Government has spent on Women’s Scholarship in Pakistan each year since 2017 are as follows: £175,000 in 2017-2018; £175,000 in 2018-2019; £200,000 in 2019-2020; £200,000 in 2020-2021; and £200,000 in 2021-2022.

The amounts the Scottish Government has spent on Children’s Scholarship in Pakistan each year since 2017 are as follows: £150,000 in 2017-2018; £150,000 in 2018-2019; £200,000 in 2019-2020; £200,000 in 2020-2021; and £200,000 in 2021-2022.