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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: S5W-23520

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 5 June 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has allocated for citizens' assemblies; how many members will be on each assembly, and who will (a) compile the questions for and (b) oversee the assemblies.

The Scottish Government is committed to involving people in its work. Increasingly we are using approaches that enable us to hear clear feedback, crowdsource ideas and to undertake user research to make sure policies and services meet the needs of people in Scotland. These participative approaches, when used proportionately, can provide an efficient and cost effective means of achieving a shared understanding of the complex issues and developing effective options for delivery.

On 24 April the First Minister announced an intention to establish a Citizens’ Assembly to address the change Scotland needs in a way that aims to build agreement, to debate choices respectfully and in a way that seeks maximum areas of agreement.

The amount of funding required for the Assembly will depend on its design, which will also determine how many members will be needed.

The specific questions to be put to the Assembly will be developed as part of the design process, but the Scottish Government would like the Assembly to consider:

• What kind of country are we seeking to build?

• How can we best overcome the challenges we face, including those arising from Brexit?

• What further work should be carried out to give people the information they need to make informed choices about the future of the country?

The Scottish Government will establish and continue to provide support to the Assembly, but the specific issues to be debated and the operation of the Assembly more generally will be conducted separate from Government. This process will be open and transparent in line with established good practice for the conduct of such initiatives.

Question reference: S5O-03261

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 21 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to veterans.

This Scottish Government is firmly committed to supporting our Armed Forces and Veterans Community and ensuring that they are not disadvantaged when accessing services and support. An annual debate is held in Parliament, most recently in September 2018, to report on the work being taken forward across the Scottish Government to support our Armed Forces and Veterans Community in Scotland, including in areas such as health, housing and employability.

Examples of our support include work to respond to the recommendations of the Scottish Veterans Commissioner who continues to provide strategic advice and scrutiny; the Scottish Veterans Fund, now in its 12 th year, which has provided £1.4 million to charities and organisations, supporting over 150 veterans projects to date; and our work to take forward the Strategy for our Veterans which was launched across the UK last November.

Question reference: S5F-03352

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 20 May 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 May 2019

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to reports that around one in five of Scotland's free-to-use ATMs are expected to introduce charges to customers in the next 12 months.

Question reference: S5W-22968

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 16 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has encouraged local authorities to keep a register of people and groups that express an interest in self-build homes and, if so, what response it has received.

Question reference: S5W-22888

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 29 April 2019
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 13 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what the eligibility criteria will be for the recently-announced national pilot scheme to provide loans for first-time buyers, including whether these will be available for purchasing all homes or only new-builds, and from what budget line the £150 million required to fund the scheme will be drawn.

The Scottish Government will work with stakeholders to fully develop the eligibility criteria for the new scheme. The budget will be funded from financial transactions capital.

Eligible first-time buyers will be able to purchase homes sold on the open market, including new builds. Buyers will be required to fund a minimum of 5% of the value of their new house from their own funds and loans can be up to £25,000.

The scheme will open by the end of the year alongside our existing shared equity schemes to support those who want to buy a home and will help address generational fairness.

Question reference: S5W-22833

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 26 April 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 10 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what involvement it has in the running of the Construction Skills Certification Scheme for construction workers.

The Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) is a not-for-profit limited company whose directors are from a range of employer organisations and trades unions. CSCS cards provide proof that individuals working on construction sites have the required training and qualifications for the type of work they carry out. Although not a legislative requirement for the industry, Scottish Government policy is that all companies engaged in new public sector construction contracts must ensure that on-site staff are accredited under a competence scheme appropriate for the skills necessary to perform that contract, of which CSCS is one example.

Question reference: S5W-22835

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 26 April 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 10 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what scrutiny it undertakes of the operation of Construction Skills Certification Scheme accreditation cards for construction workers.

Question reference: S5W-22834

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 26 April 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 10 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides for trades people who have difficulty in paying for their Construction Skills Certification Scheme accreditation card.

Skills Development Scotland provides support for individuals to undertake Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) Training which is necessary to obtain the CSCS accreditation card. This support is offered either through Modern Apprenticeship Frameworks, which in some cases offer a CSCS accreditation card as part of the framework; or through support from Training Providers who, depending on the individuals needs and the accreditation card they require, offer support to obtain a card.

Question reference: S5W-22969

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 10 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on placing a statutory duty on local authorities to maintain a register of people and groups that have acquired service plots for self-build homes and for the councils to employ a named officer to take such interests forward, including by ensuring that there are enough plots to meet expected demand.

The Scottish Government has no plans to place a statutory duty on local authorities to maintain a register of people and groups that have acquired service plots for self-build homes. We support self-build and want to see this sector grow, providing more options for people to own their own home across Scotland. We are supporting the development of an online resource, Scotland's Self and Custom Build Portal , through funding from the Self and Custom Build Challenge Fund. The portal includes a plot finder function which lists sites suitable for self and custom build projects across Scotland.

It is for Councils to determine if they wish to employ a named officer to take forward local interests in self build including facilitating access to suitable serviced plots.

Question reference: S5W-22967

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 10 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many units have been constructed with support from the Scotland Self-Build Loan Fund, and what plans it has to expand the fund.

To date, 14 homes have been constructed with support from the Self Build Loan Fund pilot in the Highland Council area. Fund administrators, The Highlands Small Communities Housing Trust, has approved two loans from the national fund to a value of £265,000 and is currently considering a further eight applications with a loan value of £935,000.

Following feedback from applicants and to stimulate uptake of the fund, we have recently amended the fund criteria to allow current homeowners to apply to the fund and have removed the requirement to repay the loan with a mortgage.