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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: S6O-02460

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 August 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to support the tourism sector.

Question reference: S6O-02478

Asked by: Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 August 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how its action to achieve net zero will be supported by the recently agreed partnership between Skills Development Scotland and Built Environment – Smarter Transformation.

Question reference: S6O-02456

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 August 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how the Fuel Insecurity Fund is supporting residents in the Cunninghame South constituency.

Question reference: S6W-20313

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Monday, 31 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 30 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice has had with the (a) Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Net Zero and Just Transition and (b) Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy regarding carbon reduction policies and their potential impact on disabled people.

The impact of climate change policies on disabled people is a key consideration in just transition planning. We are currently engaging widely on priorities for our Just Transition Plans to ensure the transition to net zero and climate resilience reflects the needs of everyone across Scotland before developing the specific policies and engaging in bilateral meetings at Cabinet Secretary level. We are currently working with several disabled people’s organisations to enable them to engage with their members on our behalf and ensure that the needs of disabled people are reflected both in the Plans, and in wider Scottish Government policy.

Question reference: S6W-20567

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don on 30 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many kinship carers there currently are in each local authority area.

Question reference: S6W-20734

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 30 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers the definition of adultery to include homosexual relations outside of marriage for the purposes of divorce proceedings.

No. The Scottish Government understands that, for the purposes of the law of divorce, adultery is defined in the common law (case law) as voluntary heterosexual intercourse between a married person and a person who is not their spouse.

The issues relating to the legal definition of adultery were considered by the Scottish Government when the legislation introducing same sex marriage was prepared: Marriage and Civil Partnership Bill Policy Memorandum (paragraphs 127 to 143) .

The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014 inserted section 1(3A) of the Divorce (Scotland) Act 1976 so that adultery has the same meaning for same sex marriages as for mixed sex marriages.

Our position remains unchanged: we have no plans to bring forward legislation to extend the definition of adultery.

A spouse seeking a divorce because of sexual infidelity which is not covered by the current legal definition of adultery can cite unreasonable behaviour or non-cohabitation to demonstrate the irretrievable breakdown of their marriage.

Question reference: S6W-20419

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 30 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown for each financial year that the Agri-Environment and Climate Scheme has been in operation of how many applications to the scheme have been (a) received and (b) rejected, and, in relation to any rejected applications, what the annual cost (i) to NatureScot of processing and (ii) incurred by applicants of making these applications was.

Applications are categorised as ‘Rejected’, ‘Unsuccessful’ or ‘Successful’. ‘Rejected’ applications are those that were ineligible due to failing the initial eligibility checks. As such, these applications do not progress on to be fully assessed. ‘Unsuccessful’ applications will have passed the initial eligibility checks and will have been fully assessed but failed to achieve the scoring threshold for approval.

Since 2015, 7,429 applications have been received to the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) to date, of which 897 were rejected and 792 have been unsuccessful. A breakdown of these figures for each year since the scheme has been in operation is set out in the following table:

Year	No. Applications Received	No. Rejected	No. Unsuccessful
2015	977	234	100
2016	1,333	193	79
2017	1,022	138	44
2018	923	97	199
2019	724	72	131
2020*	N/A	N/A	NA
2021	780	86	37
2022	1,027	75	202
2023**	643	2	N/A
Total	7,429	897	792

*The 2020 AECS Round consisted of a one-year extension of management Options ending in 2020, and therefore no new applications were invited.

**At this time, only Slurry Store applications have been fully assessed and awarded. The remaining applications from the 2023 Round are currently being assessed.

NatureScot do not record staff time spent on processing AECS applications, which could vary greatly depending on the complexity of each case assessed by them.

The Scottish Government does not hold data on the total costs incurred by applicants of submitting an application to the scheme. However, financial assistance is available towards the following assessments and plans:

Farm Environment Assessment claims can range from £200-600 depending on the hectarage covered
Moorland Management Plans claims can range from £100-600 based on the area covered by the Plan
Lowland Bog Plan claimants can receive £300 for land that is 10 hectares or greater.

Question reference: S6W-20621

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 14 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 30 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it anticipates it will publish the outcome of its consultation, Enhancing the accessibility, adaptability and usability of Scotland's homes.

Question reference: S6W-20559

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 30 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to evaluate the decision to return to full exam coursework following the release of 2022-23 student exam results.

As a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB), SQA operates at arm’s length to ministers and is responsible for its own operational decisions, including decisions relating to course assessments.

SQA’s decision to return to full course assessments for the National Qualifications in 2023-24 was made following engagement with the National Qualifications Group and wider education community, informed by extensive feedback gathered as part of their evaluation of the 2022 arrangements.

I discussed these matters directly with the Chief Examiner, including feedback from the SSTA and other teachers, and received assurance that the impact of the removal of modifications will be carefully considered in the grading process in 2024.

Question reference: S6W-20622

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Monday, 14 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 30 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it anticipates it will permit the creation of Licensed Legal Services Providers under the Legal Services (Scotland) Act 2010 before the end of 2023, and what it is waiting for before permitting such creation to begin.