Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-37466

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 May 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 22 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to ensure that the year 2023-24 is dealt with as a transitional year for licensed self-catering operators when supplying annual data to the assessor.

Question reference: S6W-37310

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 May 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 20 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-10461 by Humza Yousaf on 20 September 2022, whether it will provide an update on the support it is giving to the development of the VLA15 vaccine for Lyme disease.

Question reference: S6W-36815

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 6 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-13059 by Keith Brown on 9 January 2023, whether it will provide an update on the Office of the Public Guardian in Scotland (OPG) backlog of power of attorney applications; how many cases are currently affected, and what funding is available to support the OPG to address this backlog.

Question reference: S6W-36402

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 2 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-30798 by Gillian Martin on 7 November 2024, whether the eight schemes stated as withdrawn and the one stated as no longer required were included in the 16 out of 33 remaining schemes marked as complete.

Question reference: S6O-04626

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 April 2025
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 May 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the First Minister's recent comments regarding the mothballing of nurseries, what systems are in place to ensure local authorities comply with national guidance.

Question reference: S6W-36405

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 24 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-30798 by Gillian Martin on 7 November 2024, for what reason more schemes have not been confirmed, or begun the legal notification process towards confirmation, in light of £570 million being assigned for the period 2016-26, and only £408.8 million estimated to date as final costs.

The £570 million referenced in the answer to question S6W-30798 on 7 November 2024 is provided by Scottish Government to local authorities to support a range of flood resilience actions, including cycle 1 Flood Protection Schemes. The development and delivery of Flood Protection Schemes is a local authority responsibility.

Cost estimates for completion of cycle one flood protection schemes are updated annually by local authorities in November so estimated costs have increased since question S6W-30798 was answered.

The Scottish Government/ COSLA Funding Working Group are considering new recommendations to put to Ministers and COSLA Leaders to improve certainty around the remaining cycle 1 flood protection schemes. This is necessary before commitment to new schemes outside cycle one.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Question reference: S6W-36404

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 24 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-30798 by Gillian Martin on 7 November 2024, whether it will meet all final costs, regardless of any increase compared with the initial estimate.

As outlined in the answer to question S6W-30798 on 7 November, since 2016, the Scottish Government has allocated £570 million to local authorities for flood protection schemes and flood resilience. In this period, the estimated costs of cycle one schemes eligible for funding has risen.

A joint Scottish Government/ COSLA Funding Working Group was established to make recommendations to Ministers and COSLA Leaders on how to improve the affordability of the remaining cycle one schemes. This has resulted in the removal of 6 schemes that failed to meet key progress deadlines from the funding programme.

The Funding Working Group are considering whether further recommendations are required to ensure the programme remains affordable.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Question reference: S6W-36403

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 24 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-30798 by Gillian Martin on 7 November 2024, where the annual reports required under section 52 of the Flood Risk Management Act (2009), can be accessed.

Flood risk management implementation reports are available on the Scottish Government's website. Some reports have been completed for single years and some for multiple years.

Relevant links are provided below:

Report for years 2015-2018: Implementation of the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009: report to the Scottish Parliament - gov.scot
Report for 2019: Implementation of the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009: report to the Scottish Parliament - 2019 - gov.scot
Report for 2020: Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 implementation: report to the Scottish Parliament - 2020 - gov.scot

A report covering the period 2021 to 2024 is under development.

Local authorities also produce regular mid cycle and end of cycle reports on the delivery of actions in the Flood Risk Management Plans.

Question reference: S6W-36406

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 24 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-32194 by Gillian Martin on 3 January 2025, where the minutes of meetings held between the Scottish Ministers and COSLA can be accessed.

The answer to S6W-32194 referred to a Scottish Government and COSLA funding working group set up to consider both the affordability of the 2015 flood protection scheme programme and use lessons learned to inform the future funding and governance model for flooding. This group is not attended by Ministers but by Scottish Government officials.

The majority of these minutes have previously been released by Scottish Government in response to an Environmental Information Regulations request - Flood Risk Management Working Group meeting minutes: EIR release - gov.scot.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Question reference: S6W-36409

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 April 2025
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 24 April 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-32194 by Gillian Martin on 3 January 2025, when it last met with COSLA.

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