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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-28968

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 19 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the First Minister's statement during the debate on motion S6M-11342 on 21 November 2023, what action it has taken following the publication of the revised Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights database of companies involved in certain activities relating to settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, regarding any companies that have a relationship with Scottish public bodies.

The constraints under which the Scottish Government operates in this area limit what we can request Scottish public bodies or businesses to do. We cannot lawfully impose a blanket ban on companies based solely on the fact that they are on the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights database (“UN Database”). Specifically with regard to public contracts, any action we take must be compliant with national UK and international law such as the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement, of which Israel, like the UK, is a signatory.

What we can do – and have done for the original UN Database - is instruct public bodies to take the UN Database into account in their case by case due diligence. The Scottish Government wrote to Scottish Public Bodies at the time of the publication of the original UN Database, instructing them to take it into account when carrying out their routine human rights due diligence and asking them to provide information on any relationships they had with companies on the Database. The then Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise subsequently wrote to identified companies in June 2022, asking what they were doing to cease the specific activities which had led to their inclusion on the Database.

Following the publication of the revised Database, the Scottish Government has been assessing the options available to it. The revised Database did not add any new companies, and none of the small number of companies identified by Public Bodies through the previous exercise were removed.

Prior to the UK General Election, it was expected that the already tight legal constraints affecting the Scottish Government and Public Bodies in this area would increase, due to the then UK Government’s Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) (EAPB) Bill.

However, a definitive view could not be taken at that time as the Bill was still subject to amendment. The Bill subsequently fell following the announcement of the General Election. The Bill falling, however, does not change the fact that the Scottish Government is still very constrained in what action we can take, and we are currently considering next steps.

Question reference: S6W-28973

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 19 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government which companies that have a relationship with Scottish public bodies that are listed on the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights database of companies involved in certain activities relating to settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory it has contacted to ask what they are doing to cease the activities that led to their inclusion.

Question reference: S6W-28974

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 19 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish any correspondence that it has had with companies that have a relationship with Scottish public bodies that are listed on the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights database of companies involved in certain activities relating to settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in which the Scottish Government has asked what they are doing to cease the activities that led to their inclusion.

The Scottish Government’s response to FOI 202200290245, on 24 March 2022, sets out the responses from, and any potential issues identified by, the Public Bodies who responded to Scottish Government correspondence asking them to consider the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Database of companies involved in certain activities relating to settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (“UN Database”) in carrying out their human rights due diligence.

The Scottish Government’s response to FOI 202200334471, issued on 9 February 2023, provides the correspondence between the Scottish Government and all companies identified as having a relationship with a Scottish public body, in relation to what they were doing to cease the activities that had led to their inclusion in the UN Database.

Question reference: S6W-29569

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 September 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 19 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-26007 by Shona Robison on 13 March 2024, whether it will provide an update on how much of the reported £756 million that it received in option fees through the 2022 ScotWind leasing round it spent in 2023-24; how much it projects that it will spend in (a) 2024-25, (b) 2025-26 and (c) 2026-27, and by what date it anticipates that all of the funding will have been spent.

£756 million of ScotWind option fees were received, of which £96 million was used in 2022-23 to support the overall financial position. No ScotWind Revenues were utilised in 2023-24.

£200 million of ScotWind Revenues were profiled as required to support the funding position in the original Scottish Budget for 2024-25. As was set out in the Fiscal Statement to parliament on 3 September current planning is on the basis of utilising up to £460 million of additional ScotWind revenue funding in the current financial year, the entirety of the remaining Scotwind option fee funding.

The statement made clear the intention to reduce this down as far as possible depending on the final financial position, with an update on the in-year consequential position expected at the UK Budget on October 30th. Decisions on the future utilisation of ScotWind Revenues will be taken in due course.

Question reference: S6W-28972

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 19 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has identified any companies that have a relationship with Scottish public bodies that are on the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights database of companies involved in certain activities relating to settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and, if so, which companies.

Question reference: S6W-28970

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 19 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish any correspondence that it has sent to public bodies regarding the need for them to consider the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights database of companies involved in certain activities relating to settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory in their human rights due diligence; whether any public bodies have responded to any such correspondence identifying any potential issues, and, if so, whether it will publish these responses.

Question reference: S6F-03353

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 16 September 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 September 2024

To ask the First Minister when the Cabinet will next meet.

Question reference: S6W-28632

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 5 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-28252 by Ivan McKee on 12 July 2024, who has been consulted as part of its collaborative cross-sector work to update the counter fraud strategy Protecting Public Resources in Scotland, and whether it will provide details of the membership of (a) the cross-government Integrity Group and (b) any other stakeholder groups that have been involved.

The Scottish Government Integrity Group permanent membership, as per its Terms of Reference, is as follows:

The Head of Counter Fraud Profession (Chair)
Strategic Lead, Risk, Control & Assurance Division
Propriety and Ethics
The Head of Finance Programme Management
The Chief Information Security Officer
A nominated HR representative
A nominated Scottish Government Legal Directorate (SGLD) advisor
A nominated Internal Audit representative.

The strategy, Protecting Public Resources in Scotland, is due to be updated with the 2024-25 objectives for planned continual improvement in Counter Fraud within Scottish Government and the public sector. The strategy remains extant in its current form. Current collaboration and engagement includes the following stakeholders/partners:

The Public Sector Fraud Authority – UK Government
The International Public Sector Fraud Forum
The Government Counter Fraud Network – Scotland
The Commonwealth Fraud Prevention Centre
Audit Scotland
NHS Counter Fraud Service
Social Security Scotland Fraud & Error Resolution Unit

During the wider engagement for Protecting Public Resources in Scotland in 2015, the following stakeholders were involved and endorsed the strategy:

Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service
Student Awards Agency Scotland
Audit Scotland
The Department for Work and Pensions
NHS National Services Scotland
NHS Counter Fraud Services
COSLA
Serious Organised Crime Task Force
Police Scotland
Scottish Business Resilience Centre
Scottish Public Pensions Agency
Scottish Local Authority Investigators Group
Scottish Local Authorities Chief Internal Auditors Group
Revenue Scotland

As part of the planned update to the strategy, the Scottish Government will again engage with a broad stakeholder group to ensure that the strategy reflects the wider public sector and current counter fraud strategy and best practice.

Question reference: S6W-28634

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 August 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 5 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its work on the prevention and detection of public sector fraud and corruption, what its definition is of (a) fraud and (b) corruption.

The Scottish Government’s (SG) definition of fraud is found within the Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM), under the section titled ‘Fraud’. The term ‘fraud’ is used to describe a wide variety of dishonest behaviour such as deception, forgery, false representation, and concealment of material facts. It is usually used to describe the act of depriving a person of something by deceit, which may involve the misuse of funds or other resources, or the supply of false information. Computer fraud covers the use of information technology equipment to manipulate programs or data dishonestly (e.g. by altering, substituting or destroying records, or creating spurious records), or where the use of an IT system was a material factor in the perpetration of a fraud.

The Scottish Government does not use a separate definition for ‘corruption’, as it is covered by its description of fraud. The general definition of ‘corruption’ describes actions that are fraudulent and carried out by those in a position of authority or control, often involving bribery. The SG has a definition for ‘bribery’, also contained with the SPFM, which aligns to the legal definition as contained within the Bribery Act 2010.

Question reference: S6O-03653

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 August 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 September 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether its decision not to make survivors of abuse at Fornethy House eligible for Scotland's Redress Scheme was due to budgetary pressures.