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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-04838

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 20 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has spent money on saving the capercaillie, and, if so, what the outcomes were.

Significant financial and non-financial investment has been made in capercaillie conservation by Scottish Government, its partners and agencies, NGOs, landowners, communities and individuals. While the status of the capercaillie population in Scotland remains vulnerable, without the investment that has been made it is likely that we would have lost capercaillie from Scotland.

Support has included funding from NatureScot towards research and conservation of capercaillie in Scotland since 2011 as well as funding via the Forestry Grant Scheme specifically to support capercaillie populations.

Other Scottish Government funding in support of habitat management is likely to have benefited capercaillie but where not specifically provided for this species no breakdown is available.

Question reference: S6W-04839

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 20 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on saving the capercaillie in the last 10 years.

The Forestry Grant Scheme, delivered through the Scottish Rural Development Programme and Scottish Forestry, will provide £307,759 of support specifically for capercaillie between 2016 and 2025. Prior to this, the Scottish Government paid out £781,452 through the Rural Priority (RP) Scheme’s Capercaillie Package between 2008 and 2019.

NatureScot, (formerly Scottish Natural Heritage), made payments of £544,705 towards the research and conservation of capercaillie in Scotland during the period December 2011 – December 2021.

Other Scottish Government funding in support of habitat management is likely to have benefited capercaillie but where not specifically provided for this species no breakdown is available.

Question reference: S6W-04697

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 14 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how much additional funding it will allocate to NHS Ayrshire and Arran to manage drug-related hospital stays, in response to recent Public Health Scotland statistics, which state that the NHS board had the highest rate of drug-related hospital stays in 2020-21.

Integrated Joint Bodies are best placed to decide how funding can be used to best respond to local needs in their own communities. To allow them to do so, Scottish Government funding to support Alcohol and Drug Partnership projects is transferred to the NHS Boards via their baseline allocations for onward delegation to Integration Authorities. This year NHS Ayrshire and Arran received £6,779,624.

That funding has increased dramatically as part of the national mission to tackle the drug deaths emergency in Scotland: we are allocating an additional £250 million over the next five years to improve and increase access to services for people affected by drug addiction.

We are clear that any opportunities to engage with people in crisis, including those who have experienced near-fatal overdose, should be explored in order to encourage access to appropriate treatment. The implementation of the new Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) standards will ensure that anyone identified through hospital admission as being at risk of drug-related harms or near-fatal overdose will be identified, prioritised and supported into the treatment that is right for them.

Question reference: S6W-04696

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 13 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how much funding has been allocated for road improvements on the A77 in its budget for the year 2021-22.

Question reference: S6W-04698

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 29 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 13 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the introduction of the named person scheme.

Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC) lies at the heart of Scottish Government policies and the services that are available to support children, young people and families. For over a decade, GIRFEC has shaped the way children’s services are planned and delivered in Scotland, and it is well-embedded in policy and practice.

One of the core components of Getting it right for every child is a named person or equivalent role, who is a clear point of contact for children, young people and parents to go to for initial support and advice. Children and families should be made aware of the help and support that is available, including named person, however there is no requirement to accept the help offered.

Whilst there is an intention to repeal Parts 4 and 5 of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014, on named person and child’s plans (which were never implemented and are therefore not currently in force), the commitment remains to deliver these core components of GIRFEC within existing law.

Question reference: S6W-04699

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 9 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many Police Scotland officers in U Division have been routinely deployed in the Ayrshire area in each month since January 2018.

The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. The recruitment and deployment of Police Officers and Police Staff is a matter for the Chief Constable of Police Scotland.

Scottish Government statistics show that we have a higher number of officers than at any time during the previous administration. We currently have 17,232 officers, with Scotland having around 32 officers per 10,000 population compared to around
‎ 23 per 10,000 population in England and Wales.

The Chief Constable regularly reviews the size and shape of the policing workforce in light of changing demands. Local police divisions have a core complement of officers who are always dedicated locally to community and response policing, and they can additionally draw on specialist expertise and resources at a regional and national level – providing the right people in the right place at the right time to keep people safe and to meet the needs of our communities.

Question reference: S6O-00506

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 December 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the rural affairs secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding cross-government action to improve connectivity for Scotland’s island communities.

Question reference: S6W-04547

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 22 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 1 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on establishing a mechanism for members of the public to make representations regarding licensing applications under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Scotland) Regulations 2021.

The Scottish Government does not believe there is a need to establish a mechanism for members of the public to make representations on applications submitted under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Scotland) Regulations 2021. Whilst no formal mechanism exists, members of the public can at any time raise concerns with a local authority about persons engaged in or seeking to engage in any statutory licensable activity covered by the aforementioned legislation and local authorities can, if they consider such action to be warranted, investigate or take into consideration any representations made. The 2021 Regulations place a duty on the local authority to consider as part of the application process whether any applicant for a licence is a fit and proper person to hold a licence.

Question reference: S6W-04500

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 30 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-03367 by Lorna Slater on 26 October 2021, whether the Deposit Return Scheme will have a phased introduction or will apply to all businesses affected on the same date.

Question reference: S6W-04377

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 25 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many secondary school teachers have stopped teaching as a career in each year since 2017-18, broken down by subject taught.