Chamber and committees

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-03963

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 25 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 4 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it remains committed to ensuring that all of the loans it has made to Glasgow Prestwick Airport are repaid in full by the new owner, should the airport be sold.

Question reference: S6W-03966

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 25 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 4 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether there is a bid in place for the purchase of Glasgow Prestwick Airport, and if so, whether it is lower in value than previous bids made.

Question reference: S6W-03964

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 25 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 4 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether the sale of Glasgow Prestwick Airport will be subject to a requirement that commercial passenger flights from the airport must continue.

Question reference: S6W-03965

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 25 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 4 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the criteria, that the new owner of Glasgow Prestwick Airport must maximise the employment potential of the airport, will ensure there will be no immediate redundancies, should the airport be sold.

Question reference: S6W-03961

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 25 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 2 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support the use of non-animal alternatives in research and testing that currently uses animals.

The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 regulates the use of animals in scientific procedures in the UK. This is a reserved area of legislation.

The Scottish Government asks the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) to liaise with research institutes and outline their responsibilities.

The SFC have advised that they require institutions to comply with the Concordat to Support Research Integrity. The Concordat sets out principles and commitments to ensure that research produced by or in collaboration with UK universities is underpinned by the highest standards of rigour and integrity and that the public, government, business, and international partners can continue to have confidence in that research.

Question reference: S6T-00241

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 01 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to businesses and residents affected by recent flooding.

Question reference: S6W-03449

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 1 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how much active travel funding it has provided to each local authority in each of the last three years, also broken down by support from the (a) Spaces for People and (b) Places for Everyone Fund.

Our active travel funding is predominantly provided to local authorities through national enabling bodies who have the expertise and manpower to appraise and work with them and other community partners to deliver local projects.

In this financial year two of our largest funds are being delivered by Sustrans, with over £55 million provided through the Places for Everyone programme, and over £6 million through the Spaces for People programme.

In addition to this, £23.9 million is being provided directly to local authorities, on a pro rata basis, through the Cycling Walking and Safer Routes programme.

These three major programmes together account for around 75% of the total
‎ 2020-21 Active Travel budget of £115.5 million. A breakdown of this funding, by local authority and for each of the last three financial years, has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. 62827).

The remaining 25% of the budget is provided through partners who deliver projects across many or all of the local authorities. This funding information broken down by local authority area may be held locally by some of these delivery partners, but it is not centrally collated by the Scottish Government.

Question reference: S6W-03448

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 29 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on extending the National Cycle Network Route 73 between Stranraer and Cairnryan, and whether it has taken any steps to carry this work out.

The Scottish Government provides Sustrans with funding to maintain and extend the National Cycle Network (NCN) in Scotland, with £4.065 million this financial year alone. And where the NCN interacts with the trunk road network, Sustrans and Transport Scotland work in partnership to ensure the best possible outcome is achieved for specific projects. Intentions to explore improvements to the National Cycle Network in the south west are included within Sustrans Scotland’s 30 year National Cycle Network Plan. See link: Paths for Everyone - Sustrans.org.uk

Also, the South West Scotland Transport Study, published in January 2020, included a recommendation to develop the Strategic Active Travel Network in the South West of Scotland. This option included proposals to better connect communities to key destinations, including cycle paths parallel to trunk roads and improvements to the National Cycle Network. This intervention is currently subject to detailed appraisal as part of Phase 2 of the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2).

Once complete, STPR2 will inform strategic transport investment in Scotland for the next 20 years, including decisions on new active travel infrastructure. STPR2 will conclude later this year, with publication of recommendations for investment and be followed by the appropriate statutory consultation period.

Question reference: S6W-03960

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 25 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 29 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what representations it has made to the UK Government regarding ending the use of animals in research and testing.

Question reference: S6O-00301

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 October 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 28 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its engagement with trade unions across all portfolio areas, including in relation to any upcoming industrial action.

A progressive approach to industrial relations and trade unionism is at the heart of a fairer, more successful society. The Minister for Fair Work meets regularly with our trade union partners and values this regular, open and constructive dialogue. Indeed, he chairs a regular roundtable with the STUC and affiliate unions where issues relating to industrial action have been raised and of course subsequently discussed Ministerial colleagues, who in turn have their own direct engagements.

With regards to planned industrial action, we remain firmly committed to supporting all parties to agree an appropriate resolution to current disputes, before such action is taken.