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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-24772

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 1 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when its first meeting with representatives of the trade unions to discuss a potential Teckal-compliant direct award of the CHFS3 public ferry contract is due to take place.

Question reference: S6W-24770

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 1 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-23732 by Fiona Hyslop on 4 January 2024, whether it has discussed the direct award of public contracts for Scottish ferry services with any departments of the UK Government in the last four years.

Question reference: S6W-24774

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 1 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-23734 by Fiona Hyslop on 4 January 2024, whether it will provide a list of the officials who are providing internal specialist support on legal, financial and subsidy control issues.

Question reference: S6W-24775

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 1 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-23734 by Fiona Hyslop on 4 January 2024, whether the “external specialist technical, legal and financial advisors” worked on the design of the consultation document for the next Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services contract, which was published on 15 December 2023.

Question reference: S6W-24779

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 1 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-23728 by Fiona Hyslop on 8 January 2024, whether it will set out details of the re-profiling of the budget for the small vessel replacement programme from 2023-24 to 2027-28, and whether it can confirm if this accounts for any capital expenditure required to upgrade shoreside refuelling facilities.

Question reference: S6W-24778

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 1 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-23728 by Fiona Hyslop on 8 January 2024, when it expects to complete the outline business case process, and when it will consult trade unions regarding the design of the new small vessels.

Question reference: S6W-24776

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 1 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-23731 by Fiona Hyslop on 4 January 2024, how many members of staff in the subsidy control team will work on exploring the case for the direct award of the CHFS3 contract to CalMac in the period up to 31 August 2024.

Question reference: S6O-03076

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 January 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 February 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what criteria it plans to use to assess how successful the ScotRail peak fares removal pilot has been.

Question reference: S6O-03025

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 January 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 31 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the potential impact on health and wellbeing of people in Scotland, what action it can take in response to reported calls for free-to-air broadcasting of Scotland's national team football matches.

Question reference: S6W-24424

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 12 January 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 22 January 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many closed containment fish farms currently operate in Scotland, broken down by (a) the managing company and (b) location, and what action it is taking to encourage a move towards closed containment fish farms in Scotland.

The Scottish Government is committed to exploring increasing the Scottish aquaculture sector’s adoption of new and innovative technologies which achieve both positive environmental and health and welfare outcomes, including the potential use of semi and closed containment systems, as stated in our Vision for Sustainable Aquaculture , published in July 2023.

In 2021 the Scottish Government, via the Marine Fund Scotland, awarded £2 million to a four-year project led by Bakkafrost Scotland (the then Scottish Salmon Company) to apply research and development as well as innovative husbandry to the rearing of larger salmon smolts in Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS). This underlines our commitment to supporting innovation and also promoting advances in areas which will contribute to the sector’s sustainable growth. These and similar developments will create new rural jobs and benefit local and wider economies.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) encourages new innovative techniques to reduce overall fish farm emissions through its application charging scheme. For example, where an operator shows the new site will reduce emissions by 80%+ then the application charges will be reduced by 50%.