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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-21192

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 25 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps have been taken so far to rejoin the (a) Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and (b) Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), as committed to in its Programme for Government 2023-24.

Question reference: S6W-21323

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 22 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the potential for again making available free COVID-19 testing to the general population, in light of recent reports of new variants and a potential winter rise in cases and mutations.

Targeted testing is in place to support clinical decision making and surveillance. We are working closely with Public Health Scotland, our clinical advisors and the other UK nations to routinely review our position and the clinical advice on COVID-19 in light of new variants. Evidence to date does not support a return to widespread community testing however we will continue to monitor the situation closely.

Question reference: S6W-21326

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 22 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its latest and revised best estimation is for the in-service delivery date for when the Glen Sannox ferry will be operable on the CalMac route, and the total estimated overall cost of the vessel upon delivery.

Question reference: S6W-21052

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 19 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure the safety of all road users and pedestrians, in light of Police Scotland figures revealing that there have been over 2,000 incidents involving e-scooters reported in the last year.

In Scotland it is illegal to ride an electric scooter on a public road, pavement, cycle paths, shared paths or any public place. Enforcement of this is an operational matter for the Chief Constable of Police Scotland, with oversight provided by the Scottish Police Authority.

More broadly, the Scottish Government is committed to making Scotland’s road travel safe for everyone. The Scottish Government published a Road Safety Framework to 2030 in 2021. The framework sets out a vision for Scotland to have the best road safety performance in the world by 2030 and an ambitious long term goal where no one is seriously injured or killed on our roads by 2050.

Question reference: S6W-21083

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 19 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to provide adult carers who live on islands with additional financial support, in light of it stating in its publication, Carer Support Payment: island communities impact assessment, that "the value of Carer Support Payment in real terms will be lower for island and rural carers".

Island and rural carers will benefit from the introduction of Carer Support Payment, which will replace Carer’s Allowance in Scotland, including through support from Social Security Scotland’s local delivery service and better signposting to wider support available to carers. Island communities will also continue to benefit from the extra support only available in Scotland from the Carer’s Allowance Supplement. By the end of this year, carers in Scotland continuously in receipt of the Carer's Allowance Supplement since its introduction in 2018 will have received over £3,300. The Carer Support Payment is being delivered in the context of wider cross-governmental work to positively impact rural and island communities, such as the commitments in the National Islands Plan to tackle the higher costs of fuel, transport and housing as well as to drive inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

Further planned improvements for Carer Support Payment are set out in the Scottish Government’s response to the consultation published on 24 March 2023. We will continue to engage with rural and island carers and organisations in developing Carer Support Payment and to ensure our plans to join carers to wider carer support services, such as income maximisation, meet the needs of island and rural carers.

Question reference: S6W-21082

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 19 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure a high rate of vaccination against diseases among young people, in light of UK Health Security Agency data revealing that 13% of new students are unprotected against four deadly types of meningitis.

The Scottish Government is working closely with Public Health Scotland (PHS), territorial Health Boards and other key partners to promote uptake of immunisation against vaccine-preventable disease in young people, including our student population.

PHS has targeted new students through a range of communications, highlighting the importance of ensuring that their vaccinations, particularly MMR and MenACWY, are up to date prior to arrival at college or university. These complement specific resources for new entrants arriving in Scotland, including new international students. Information about vaccines for new students can be found at Vaccines for students | NHS inform

( https://www.nhsinform.scot/campaigns/vaccines-for-students/ ).

Uptake of vaccinations among young people in Scotland remains high and is delivering lifesaving benefits.

Question reference: S6W-21041

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 19 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider closing the 35 schools in Scotland that were found to have been built with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, as has been done in other jurisdictions.

The Scottish Government has been actively engaging with local authority partners, who have statutory responsibility for school buildings in Scotland, for some time.

Those schools where RAAC has been identified are taking mitigation steps in line with guidance from the Institute of Structural Engineers which has not changed. Any local authority which deems it necessary to close a school in their authority, in whole or in part, is empowered to do so. For example, Riverside Primary School in West Lothian fully closed its building over the summer holidays and moved pupils in to alternative provision.

COSLA have confirmed that safety is the central consideration and there is robust guidance which is followed by every local authority to ensure these settings are safe for the pupils, staff and the public to be in.

Question reference: S6T-01548

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 September 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to introducing a ban on American XL bully dogs, in light of a series of reported attacks involving such dogs.

Question reference: S6W-21170

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Emma Roddick on 15 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of any properties that it has purchased in the last two years for the purpose of housing asylum seekers, including the cost of any such purchases, and the number of any asylum seekers who have been housed in each property.

The Scottish Government has not purchased any properties for the purpose of housing people seeking asylum.

Asylum is reserved to the UK Parliament and handled by the Home Office. This includes responsibility for providing accommodation to people seeking asylum who would otherwise be destitute while awaiting a decision on their asylum application from the Home Office. The Scottish Government has no control of these processes.

Question reference: S6W-20682

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 14 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will formally respond to the publication and recommendations of the final report of the UK Government's LGBT Veterans Independent Review, as it relates to Scotland, and, if so, when it plans to do so.

The Scottish Government released a statement responding to and welcoming Lord Etherton’s LGBT Veterans Independent Review on the day it was published. We said that the report made clear that from the many personal accounts within the review, that a grave injustice was done. Lord Etherton’s recommendations and suggestions will go some way to addressing that.

While the Armed Forces are a reserved matter, and the recommendations within the independent review are all for the UK Government to deliver, it did contain two suggestions for Scotland. These were around diversity and inclusivity policies and training for healthcare and housing providers, to ensure that veterans do not face any repeat of the homophobic policies they suffered whilst in the Armed Forces. The Scottish Government is committed to supporting LGBT veterans and is considering how to deliver on these suggestions.