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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.

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Question reference: S6W-18644

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 16 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Age Scotland report, Making Adaptations Work for Older People in Scotland, and its recommendations, which was published in May 2023.

I had the pleasure of attending the launch event for this important report. The Scottish Government welcomes the Age Scotland report and recognises that living in the right home with the right support, including housing adaptations, can be the key to enabling older people to live safely and independently at home.

We know that there are issues with the way in which adaptations are being accessed and delivered locally, so we are considering how the process can be streamlined and made easier for people who need adaptations.

We are also working to increase the supply of accessible and adapted homes. Whenever possible, all new affordable homes are built to Housing for Varying Needs accessibility standards. Housing for Varying Needs offers good practice in the design of homes to help them achieve a good standard of accessibility and flexibility so that they meet people’s needs as they change over time.

We plan to launch a formal consultation on proposals to update the Housing for Varying Needs design guide, and on proposals for introducing the Scottish Accessible Homes Standard, over the coming weeks.

Question reference: S6W-18641

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 16 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress on its plan to provide free bikes for all children of school age who cannot afford them, and how many bikes have been purchased for school children in each year since 2021.

The pilot period for the commitment ran from August 2021 to August 2022, and a final evaluation report has been published on the Transport Scotland website . Support was provided to delivery organisations to continue activities until 31 March 2023.

The total number of bikes issued during the pilot period was 2600, the total figure until March 2023 was 3800 and the final figure is due to be calculated next month.

Cycling Scotland, in collaboration with a number of community cycling organisations and national charities representing young people, have developed a programme for 2023/24 that has received £900,000 to continue offering cycles to young people facing financial barriers. As part of this years programme, they will work with Circular Communities Scotland to continue refining the model for delivery to ensure we can make the most out of reconditioned and recycled bikes and ensure as little waste as possible.

Question reference: S6W-18626

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 16 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether the menu of food and drink sold on ScotRail’s onboard trolley services is consistent with Food Standards Scotland advice on nutrition and healthy eating, and for what reason calorific information is not listed on ScotRail’s onboard trolley services menu as it appears on ScotRail’s website.

Question reference: S6W-18627

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 16 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many downloads there have been of the ScotRail app since 2019, and whether it can provide statistics on usage data for the app, such as the average time spent on the app.

The current ScotRail mobile app went live on 1 July 2019 and the following data, as provided by ScotRail, is relevant from that date until the present day:-

- App downloads: 1.4 million (this figure includes re-installs which ScotRail is unable to differentiate)

- Average users per month: 619,000 (average across last three months)

- Average sessions per user per month: six (average across last three months)

- Average session length: one minute, five seconds (average across last three months)

Question reference: S6W-18615

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 16 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much revenue the Scottish Prison Service has received through charging inmates for access to telephones or telephone usage in each year for which data is available.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

The following table provides detail on the revenue generated from telephone usage over the last 10 years within public prisons, measured against the expenditure associated with operating the prisoner PIN telephone system which is inclusive of contracted maintenance costs, line rental and call charges across all 13 public sector prisons. The detail below does not include any costs for prisoner mobile phones.

Year	Revenue	Expenditure	Contribution
2022-23	£437,236.41	£505,530.80	-£68,294.39
2021-22	£509,405.02	£516,412.59	-£7,007.57
2020-21	£844,075.00	£561,838.50	£282,236.50
2019-20	£1,097,852.35	£578,160.04	£519,692.31
2018-19	£1,104,825.69	£556,613.13	£548,212.56
2017-18	£1,146,572.54	£522,903.03	£623,669.51
2016-17	£1,152,647.55	£584,778.16	£567,869.39
2015-16	£1,177,615.60	£588,928.21	£588,687.39
2014-15	£1,131,496.42	£570,991.50	£560,504.92
2013-14	£1,113,667.12	£581,483.14	£532,183.98
2012-13	£1,089,660.33	£552,194.44	£537,465.89

Question reference: S6W-19015

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 12 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 16 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, following the publication of its Marine and Fisheries Compliance reports, how many vessel boardings conducted by Marine Scotland in the last 12 months resulted in (a) a fixed penalty notice being issued and (b) other prosecution.

Question reference: S6W-18684

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 14 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its progress towards implementing the recommendations in the Final Report of the Women in Agriculture Taskforce.

We are continuing to progress the implementation of the recommendations of the Women in Agriculture Taskforce. As part of this we continue to deliver solutions that deliver positive change for women living and working in Scottish agriculture through the Women in Agriculture Development Programme.

This financial year (2023-24) we are providing £500,000 to support further activity and opportunities for women in agriculture. We also remain committed to increasing our funding to £600,000 per year over the course of this Parliament.

Question reference: S6W-18439

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 14 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the average processing time, in days, has been for non-urgent licence applications to NatureScot in each month since 2020.

Question reference: S6W-18438

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 14 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the current average response time is for NatureScot to respond, via call back, to voicemails left on the licensing helpline, and what the current average response time is to emails sent to the licensing email address.

Question reference: S6W-18437

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 14 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the licensing news on the NatureScot website, whether NatureScot is accepting posted mail, as opposed to only email correspondence; what advice it provided to people who were unable to email or did not have access to the internet, and, if posted mail is being accepted again, when this policy was reinstated.