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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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S6W-16313

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 11 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting Historic Environment Scotland in its efforts to preserve historic buildings.

Question reference: S6W-16272

Asked by: Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 11 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential economic impact on Scottish businesses of a reduction in the total Scottish Enterprise budget for 2023-24 compared with 2022-23.

Question reference: S6W-16342

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 11 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how it will work with the Scotch whisky industry to restore Scotland's peatlands.

Question reference: S6W-16295

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 11 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance has been issued to local authorities on planning for the implementation of a National Care Service.

Local authorities are important partners in delivering social care and will remain so as we develop new ways to deliver improved care across the country. At this stage, as the policy is still undergoing co-design with a range of stakeholders, it would not be appropriate to issue guidance to local authorities for the implementation of the National Care Service, therefore guidance will be issued in due course. I would further encourage local authorities to engage with us to ensure the development of the effective and responsive care system the people of Scotland have called for.

To support the transition towards the National Care Service and in acknowledgement of the high portion of social care service supports currently procured, we published Preparing to transition towards a National Care Service for Scotland: SPPN 7/2021 on 6 December 2021.

Question reference: S6W-16265

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 11 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to implement a similar model to the Norwegian mobile seal capture unit in order to manage seal populations in Scotland.

Translocation of seals is not a regularly used tool for seal population management within Scottish waters. Where sick or injured seals are taken to rehabilitation centres, they will be returned to the wild within the same seal management area that they were found. This ensures that population levels and the genetic diversity of seal management areas are maintained. Advice received from the Special Committee on Seals is that rehabilitated seals typically behave like wild seals shortly following release.

Question reference: S6W-16380

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its latest estimate is of the number of (a) dentists, (b) dental practices in total and (c) dental practices carrying out NHS procedures, in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-16324

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 11 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has invested in social care in each year since 2016.

Scottish Government has provided additional funding for social care and integration as set out in the following table.

	£m
2015-16	130
2016-17	380
2017-18	487
2018-19	551
2019-20	711
2020-21	811
2021-22	884
2022-23	1,603

In addition, the Scottish Budget for 2022-23 included a further £125m of social care investment that had been included as part of the Care, Support and Rights lines in previous budgets.

This funding is in addition to funding provided through the Scottish Government's annual local government settlement. The vast majority of funding through the settlement is provided by means of a block grant which cannot be separated into individual service allocations, including social care.

Question reference: S6W-16256

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the average number of NHS patients per dentist has been in NHS (a) Highland, (b) Orkney, (c) Shetland and (d) Western Isles, in each of the last 10 years.

Question reference: S6W-16123

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 11 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-15236 by Neil Gray on 1 March 2023, what support it will provide to Aberdeen City Council, in light of the announcement that it proposes to close six libraries by the end of March 2023.

We are aware of Aberdeen Council’s decision and acknowledge how difficult this is for the libraries, their staff and the communities they serve. The Scottish Government places great importance on public libraries and we believe everyone should have access to library services. As set out in response to S6W-16124 , l ibrary policy is devolved to local authorities, who have a statutory duty to ensure there is adequate provision of library services for their residents.

We recognise the financial challenges that local government are facing and the difficult choices they had to make to balance their budgets. In the most challenging budget settlement since devolution the Scottish Government is providing nearly £13.5 billion in the 2023-24 Local Government Settlement. Following the flat-cash position set out in the Resource Spending Review, we have listened to councils and are now increasing the resources available to Local Government next year by over £793 million.

In 2023-24, Aberdeen City Council will receive £436.9 million to fund local services, which equates to an extra £27.1 million to support vital day to day services or an additional 6.6 per cent compared to 2022-23.

Question reference: S6W-16089

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 11 April 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-15590 by Keith Brown on 14 March 2023, whether it will provide the data that it holds on forced marriage-related offences in Scotland in each year since 2016.

	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22
Forced marriage under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014	0	0	0	0	3	0	1
Breaching a forced marriage protection order	0	0	0	0	0	0	0