Seòmar agus comataidhean

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

Criathragan Hide all filters

Displaying 48973 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6W-18977

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 23 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken to raise awareness among event organisers and the public about the importance of selecting safe and responsible first aid providers to cover events.

Scottish Government has developed guidance on Protective Security at Publicly Accessible Locations. The aim and purpose of the document is to increase knowledge of what counter terrorism products are available, and it includes first aid provisions and the hyperlinks to access them. This guidance was issued to key stakeholders in June 2023.

The UK Government in partnership with the National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO) developed a website “Protect UK”, which is available to members of the public and organisations. This website includes guidance on First Aid preparedness for organisations. This was in response to the Manchester Arena Inquiry recommendations to create a central library for guidance and advice that organisations and members of the public could access.

Scottish Government has promoted the use of the guidance and advice available through this platform to all relevant Scottish stakeholders.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) also provides dedicated guidance on first aid and on events, which is available on the HSE web site.

Question reference: S6W-18937

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 09 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 23 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide emergency approval for the use of asulam for bracken control, in light of reported concerns by farmers that Lyme disease will spread in Scottish hillsides if it is not approved.

Scottish Ministers have agreed to HSE refusing the 2023 emergency authorisation application for the use of Asulox, to control bracken, because of the risks it poses to the environment and human health.

This follows existing precedent for decisions over pesticide approvals being exercised on behalf of Scottish Ministers by HSE. Independent advice from the Chief Scientific Adviser for Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture and the UK Expert Committee on Pesticides supported the Health and Safety Executive’s recommendation to not give Asulox an emergency authorisation.

The Scottish Government is acutely aware of the risks associated with uncontrolled bracken and did not take this decision lightly. The Scottish Government is committed to science based decision making, and follows well established and evidence based process in relation to the authorisation of chemicals.

As highlighted by the Scottish Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser for Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture, Asulox has been used on 2,000-3,000 ha of land in Scotland each year, around 2% of the total bracken area. Thus Asulox is not currently, nor can likely ever be, a tool for a national bracken control programme.

The Scottish Government will continue to work closely with stakeholders and NatureScot to consider options for sustainable bracken management.

Question reference: S6W-19011

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 12 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 23 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many Maritime and Coastguard Agency approved medical assessors there are in Scotland, who are able to assess seafarers for an ML5 certificate, broken down by NHS board.

Question reference: S6W-19054

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Monday, 12 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 23 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to fund the prevention of fractures as a result of osteoporosis through fracture liaison services.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of the Fracture Liaison Service audit and, have provided Public Health Scotland with funding to undertake a provisional organisational audit and scoping exercise.

Following completion of this scoping exercise the Scottish Government has advised the Royal Osteoporosis Society that the funding will be made available for a national fracture liaison service audit. The reporting timescale is expected to be finalised soon.

Question reference: S6W-19131

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 23 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many people who worked in the oil and gas industry have transitioned to the renewables or net zero sectors in each year for which data is available.

The Scottish Government is working with the energy sector to plan for a multi-skilled workforce, one that can benefit from opportunities across the energy system. Our oil and gas workers, and their vital skills, will be essential to the transition. Workers, and trade unions, will be at heart of everything we do.

Scotland’s green jobs revolution is underway and a recent report from the Universities of Strathclyde and Warwick provided an initial estimate that up to 100,000 roles are ‘new and emerging’ green jobs in Scotland. Although the researchers regard this as an upper estimate, it is encouraging to see a strong indication of green jobs in Scotland.

While we do not hold data on job flows from the oil and gas sector to the renewables sector at present, the Office for National Statistics undertakes an annual Low Carbon and Renewable Energy Economy survey. This provides estimates of renewable FTE employment statistics in Scotland.

As the table below shows, there were 28,300 full time equivalent jobs in Scotland in the low carbon and renewable energy sectors in 2021.

	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
Low Carbon Full Time Equivalent Employment in Scotland	23,200	22,800	24,000	21,800	22,300	21,900	20,700	28,300

Source: ONS

As these estimates are subject to uncertainty, due to the relatively small sample size, the level of increases during the period are not statistically significant. Therefore, this data shows that direct FTE employment in renewables in Scotland has remained relatively stable over the period.

ONS are also exploring a methodology of measuring green jobs separately. They have launched a consultation and expect to produce estimates around mid-2023.

Additionally, research from RGU (2022) highlighted that a majority of offshore workers could be delivering low carbon energy by 2030 and that more than 90% of the UK’s oil and gas workforce have medium to high skills transferability – they are well positioned to work in adjacent energy sectors.

Question reference: S6W-19135

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 23 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has provided for dementia research in each year since 2007.

The following table provides a breakdown of CSO funding in dementia research through project/fellowship funding and the annual funding provided to the NRS Dementia and Neuroprogressive Disease research network. Project and fellowship funding is allocated to the year in which the funding commitment was made. Data was extracted from the CSO database and covers research on Alzheimer’s Disease, other cause dementia and studies on cognitive ageing / decline. CSO’s research project funding panels were paused during 2020 due to COVID-19 related pressures but have since reopened.

Breakdown :

Year	Project / fellowship funding	NRS Network	Total
2022-23	£592,437	£566,000	£1,158,437
2021-22	£260,978	£527,000	£787,978
2020-21	£62,461	£506,000	£568,461
2019-20	£123,394	£506,000	£629,394
2018-19	£543,351	£506,000	£1,049,351
2017-18	£595,219	£496,000	£1,091,219
2016-17	£25,876	£491,000	£516,876
2015-16	£59,834	£486,000	£545,834
2014-15	£136,950	£486,000	£622,950
2013-14	£443,424	£481,000	£924,424
2012-13	£224,536	£481,000	£705,536
2011-12	£183,011	£475,754	£658,765
2010-11	£48,085	£395,661	£443,746
2009-10	£44,134	£340,330	£384,464
2008-09	0	£170,455	£170,455
2007-08	£156,248	N/A	£156,248

Question reference: S6W-19132

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 23 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-18198 by Jenny Gilruth on 7 June 2023, which states that it will provide a total of £205 million in 2023-24 to help meet the costs of the final March 2023 pay deal, in light of its officials stating in the Education, Children and Young People Committee meeting on 17 May 2023 that the total cost for the 2023-24 financial year was £188 million, whether it will confirm what the total cost of the teachers' pay settlement is in the 2023-24 financial year.

The total cost to the Scottish Government, in the 2023-24 financial year of the teachers’ pay deal agreed in March 2023 is £205 million.

The figure of £188 million quoted by officials at the Education, Children and Young People Committee meeting on 17 May 2023 represents the cost to the Education and Skills Portfolio of funding overall teachers’ pay costs in 2023-24. This figure also includes recurring costs relating to the 2021-22 teachers’ pay deal but does not include the proportion of costs relating to the teachers’ pay deal agreed in March 2023 that are being met directly through the local government finance settlement, as these costs do not sit within the Education and Skills Portfolio budget.

Question reference: S6W-19133

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 23 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-18198 by Jenny Gilruth on 7 June 2023, whether it can confirm that only £50 million has been allocated to fund the teachers' pay settlement and that the remaining £155 million is still to be found within the education and skills budget for 2023-24.

Question reference: S6W-19129

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 June 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 23 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what reprofiling of new NHS construction projects it has undertaken, and which projects have been considered.

Following publication of the Capital Spending Review and a subsequent review of the health portfolio’s capital programme, all projects that were in construction at the time of the review have continued to be progressed, including:

National Treatment Centres at Forth Valley, Golden Jubilee (Phase Two), Fife and Highland Health Boards
The Baird Family Hospital and ANCHOR Centre project
The upgrade of the Edinburgh Cancer Centre and the new national secure adolescent inpatient service in Irvine
The Glasgow Primary Care Hub project

The review also included a commitment to a doubling of expenditure on maintenance for the health capital programme, in line with the recommendations of the Infrastructure Commission for Scotland.

The Scottish Government’s Medium Term Financial Strategy will be reviewed in Summer 2023 to deliver an overall, affordable prioritisation of the capital programme to 2026-27. The outcome of this review will inform any reprofiling of capital projects for health and social care infrastructure.

Question reference: S6O-02435

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 June 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 June 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to Police Scotland’s latest quarterly performance report, which found that there were 1,928 recorded crimes of online child sexual abuse during 2022-23.