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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-28026

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 20 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 31 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the school closures, what measures it has put in place to provide (a) access to meals, (b) internet access, (c) an appropriate space to (i) study and (ii) self-isolate, if required, and (d) other additional support for children in temporary homeless accommodation during the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Scottish Government is very grateful for the work that local authorities have already done in quickly putting measures in place to provide continuing support for vulnerable children and young people.

Local authorities will be able to use funds from the £70 million Welfare Food fund to continue to support all children and young people who receive free school meals. This fund is part of a wider £350 million package being made available by the Scottish Government to support vulnerable families.

We have also issued guidance to local authorities to support them with the ongoing provision of support to vulnerable pupils, including free school meals for all children and young people who are entitled to them. We are working with our local authority partners to ensure that this provision is continued to be delivered in a way that meets local needs and circumstances, as well as the latest health protection advice.

Teaching, learning and support will continue in different ways for different groups of children and young people and, for the majority, this will be through distance learning and online learning. Where appropriate, local authorities will ensure continued care and support for vulnerable pupils during the period of school closure. This might be through attendance at childcare and learning ‘hubs’ or through other direct contact.

As part of the £50 million Community Wellbeing Fund announced by the Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Local Government, we will provide support to people experiencing homelessness to help them to self-isolate. Work is currently underway to prioritise the movement of families with children away from shared accommodation and into self-contained accommodation.

Furthermore, our emergency legislation will ensure that there can be no evictions from the private rented sector or social rented sector for six months. This is particularly important at a time where housing, health and other public services are under acute and ongoing pressure.

Question reference: S5O-04288

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 March 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it takes to ensure that its labour market strategy protects the rights and pay of people in sectors perceived as undervalued or insecure.

Question reference: S5W-27561

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 21 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 3 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government when the guidance regarding the short-term lets licensing scheme will be published.

Question reference: S5W-27427

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 2 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of figures showing that the City of Edinburgh Council has not provided accommodation for homeless applicants on 1,405 occasions since January 2017, what its position is on the council’s Assurance Statement on Housing Services, which acknowledges existing failures on the use of unsuitable B&B accommodation but not its inability to meet its legal duty to provide temporary accommodation.

The City of Edinburgh Council recently experienced a technical problem, which meant it was unable to provide data on the number of instances where temporary accommodation was not provided. This problem had not been identified when the council submitted its Assurance Statement on Housing Services on 31 October 2019.

I met with the Housing Convenor and Chief Executive of Edinburgh Council on 21 January and made it clear that I expect local authorities to meet their statutory responsibilities to provide homeless people with appropriate accommodation and services. I also asked them to undertake an investigation into why this data error happened and requested the findings of the investigation be submitted to Ministers along with reassurance that this will not happen again.

Question reference: S5W-27491

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 2 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what it considers the primary purpose of the Scottish canal network is, and whether this includes it being navigable.

The Scottish Government set out its priorities for Scotland's canals in the policy document "Making the Most of Scotland's Canals". The document makes clear that we expect statutory and regulatory obligations to be met as a fundamental responsibility of Scottish Canals. This includes that proper resources are applied to ensure the safe navigation of the canals.

The shared vision is for Scotland’s canals to be a world-class waterway network with a thriving natural environment built upon 250 years of history that benefits people and communities who live and work near canals and people who visit the canals.

Question reference: S5W-27489

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 2 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what actions it is taking to support Scottish Canals to ensure that all canal bridges are operable and safe.

The Scottish Government announced in its draft budget that it will be providing £20.7m in grant-in-aid funding to Scottish Canals in 2020-21. The equivalent 2019-20 figure was £15m. This funding is provided to enable Scottish Canals to undertake all of their responsibilities including their statutory duties which are set out in the Transport Act 1968. The Scottish Government has regular discussions with Scottish Canals about the opportunities and challenges involved in maintaining the canal network. The Scottish Government provided additional funding of £1.625m in 2018-19 to enable repairs to the bridges at Twechar and Bonnybridge on the Lowland Canals.

Question reference: S5W-27490

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 2 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether dredging operations on canals are adequate to ensure that the whole canal network is navigable.

Question reference: S5O-04211

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 February 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in response to reports of an increase in the number of people who are entitled to carer's allowance not claiming it.

Question reference: S5F-03998

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 24 February 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 February 2020

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to COSLA's statement that the draft Budget proposals put the 2030 child poverty target at risk.

Question reference: S5O-04143

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 February 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that EU powers that related to devolved matters are devolved to the Scottish Parliament.