- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 12 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 21 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has provided to businesses to enable them to pilot a four-day week in the current parliamentary session to date, and how much it estimates it will have provided in total by the end of the current parliamentary session.
Answer
No funding has been provided to any private business this parliamentary session to pilot a 4 day working week and there is currently no planned funding for Private Sector Pilots. The Scottish Government recognises the environmental, health and wellbeing benefits, and efficiency gains that a four-day working week could bring and have taken forward unique pilots in public sector organisations in Scotland.
- Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 21 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-35303 by Gillian Martin on 12 March 2025, what consideration it has given to the (a) application and (b) enforcement of the national minimum wage on (i) Inch Cape and (ii) other offshore wind farms leased by Crown Estate Scotland with the UK Government.
Answer
As stated in the answer to S6W-35303, employment legislation is reserved to the UK Parliament and there have been no discussions to date specifically on enforcement of the national minimum wage for Inch Cape or other offshore wind farms. As long as employment legislation remains reserved, the Scottish Government will continue to use our Fair Work policy to drive up labour market standards for workers across the Scottish labour market, including in the offshore wind sector. We welcome the UK Government’s Employment Rights Bill and continue to work closely with them to ensure its positive application, whilst being clear that the best way to protect Scotland’s workers is to devolve employment law.
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
- Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 21 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the cumulative impact of (a) existing, (b) consented and (c) proposed wind farm developments on (i) kittiwake, (ii) gannet, (iii) white-tailed eagle and (iv) hen harrier populations, and whether it will publish any underlying data modelling.
Answer
For offshore wind, as part of the environmental assessment processes undertaken for the updated Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy, a cumulative assessment considering existing, consented and proposed impacts on protected seabird species is being undertaken and will published for consultation this Spring.
For onshore wind, at present, a full cumulative impact assessment across all onshore wind farm developments has not been undertaken.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 21 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish a full list of current government-funded initiatives and training materials that contain an interpretation of sex based on gender identity, and not only on biological sex.
Answer
The Scottish Government has set up a short life working group to consider existing policies, guidance and legislation which may be impacted by the judgment. This work will position us towards a state of readiness to take all necessary steps when the EHRC’s revised Statutory Code of Practice on services, public functions and associations and updated guidance are published.
- Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 20 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether local authorities have the power to prescribe or restrict the type of vehicular traffic that can use a particular road.
Answer
Roads Authorities in Scotland, such as local authorities and Transport Scotland can, under existing legislation, restrict the type of vehicular traffic that can be used on roads within their remit.
The Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 allows for the making of Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) for specific reasons and these can have various types of restrictions such as access restrictions, time-limited restrictions or vehicle class based restrictions.
It is for each Road Authority to ensure their TROs are appropriate and fit for purpose.
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 20 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in response to reports of record food bank use, particularly among families, despite measures that have been taken to tackle poverty.
Answer
Food insecurity is driven by insufficient and insecure household income. No one should have to compromise on food or other essentials.
Mid-year statistics published by Trussell on 20 November 2024 highlighted a 6% decrease in the food parcels distributed in Scotland compared to the same period the previous year (1 April 2023 to 30 September 2023) and a 5% drop in the number of parcels distributed for children.
Our “Cash-First: Towards Ending the Need for Food Banks in Scotland” Plan sets out the nine actions we are taking to achieve our ambition to improve the response to financial hardship and to reduce the need for emergency food parcels. The actions include the Cash-First Programme, which provides ready access to emergency income when someone has no money for food delivered alongside welfare rights and income maximisation advice and support to prevent future hardship. This Cash-First approach enables people to choose the essentials they need whilst maintaining dignity. An independent evaluation of the Cash-First Programme is ongoing with the final evaluation report expected by April 2026.
However we know more needs to be done and recognise the pressure on household budgets which is why in 2025-26 we will continue to allocate over £3 billion a year to policies which tackle poverty and the cost of living.
- Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 20 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government when it will review and update its social security uptake strategy.
Answer
The Scottish Government has a legal duty to review and update its Benefit Take-Up Strategy by October 2026. This is in line with regulation 9(c) of the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018, which states that a new strategy must be produced within 5 years of the last strategy being laid in Parliament.
- Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 20 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it or its relevant agencies have the power to prescribe or restrict the type of vehicular traffic that can use a particular road.
Answer
Roads Authorities in Scotland, such as local authorities and Transport Scotland can, under existing legislation, restrict the type of vehicular traffic that can be used on roads within their remit.
The Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 allows for the making of Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) for specific reasons and these can have various types of restrictions such as access restrictions, time-limited restrictions or vehicle class based restrictions.
It is for each Road Authority to ensure their TROs are appropriate and fit for purpose.
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 20 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to introduce a new alcohol strategy, and, if so, what the timescale is for its delivery.
Answer
The Scottish Government will set out its future approach to alcohol and drugs before the end of this parliamentary term.
To develop this plan we are engaging with partner organisations, including delivery bodies and the voices of those with lived and living experience, over the summer to identify actions that will help develop and deliver a strategic plan that covers alcohol.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 08 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 20 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the potential introduction of a statutory mechanism to ensure that all local authorities contribute to the asylum dispersal programme on an equitable basis.
Answer
The Scottish Government has not had any discussions with the UK Government regarding a statutory mechanism for asylum dispersal.