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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-14231

Asked by: Collette Stevenson, MSP for East Kilbride, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 1 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the (a) total spend to date on, (b) costs in the financial year 2021-22 for and (c) expected costs in the financial year (i) 2022-23 and (ii) 2023-24 for, the repayment of Private Finance Initiative/Public Private Partnership (PFI/PPP) debts, including the (A) overall cost to (1) the NHS, (2) local government, (3) justice portfolio bodies, (4) net zero, energy and transport portfolio bodies and (5) any other public sector organisations in Scotland and (B) cost to each individual (aa) NHS board, (bb) local authority and (cc) other regional authority.

Question reference: S6W-13832

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 13 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 1 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether any assessment has been conducted and will be published regarding its support to Scottish industry in relation to the research and development, manufacturing of, and the required skills to ensure the long-term maintenance of wind turbines.

Our draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan set out a series of actions, including the development of a refreshed Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan by the end of 2023.

Alongside this, as part of the ScotWind leasing round, developers were required to complete a Supply Chain Development Statement (SCDS). The SCDS outlines the supply chain activity that each project is committing to undertake within Scotland, the UK and overseas. These commitments amount to billions of pounds of investment in the Scottish supply chain and economy, with initial projections showing an average spend of £1.4bn across each of the 20 ScotWind projects.

Our Enterprise Agencies, including Scottish Development International, are engaged with a number of leading businesses that have the products, technology, skills and know-how to support robust supply chain development. We are encouraging developers to work with our Agencies and partners to identify how best to support and anticipate business needs as well as operational challenges to delivery of these projects.

We are already starting to see examples of companies establishing Operations and Maintenance (O&M) bases for their offshore wind farms in Scotland. In addition to the vast potential opened up by ScotWind, the Neart na Gaoithe O&M base was officially opened by the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport on 25 January. This base will bring up to 50 high quality jobs to the Eyemouth area for the 25-year lifespan of the wind farm. The base is also large enough to handle potential staff expansion in summer months when the weather is calmer and maintenance can be increased.

Question reference: S6W-14429

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 27 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Elena Whitham on 1 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to allowing licensing boards to charge more than £10 for an occasional licence where the cost of administering the licensing is significantly higher than £10.

The purpose of the occasional licence is to cater for the multitude of events which take place on premises which are not 'fully' licensed but feature the sale of alcohol. These can often include events arranged for the benefit of local communities such as local community fetes, gala day celebrations, wedding receptions and arts events. Occasional licences offer a flexible regime for the hospitality and entertainment sector to provide alcohol at events outside licensed premises.

The Scottish Government previously consulted on whether the current £10 occasional licence fee should be reviewed, and also whether the Scottish Ministers should make regulations setting limits on the number and duration of occasional licences granted. This follows concerns that occasional licences can be used in a manner designed to avoid the consequences of a permanent alcohol licence. Work in relation to this consultation was paused as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic.

Having reflected carefully on this matter, the Scottish Government is minded to bring forward regulations which will put in place “occasional licence limits” in terms of the number of occasional licences, or the number of days on which occasional licences have effect, in relation to the same applicant or premises in any 12 month period.

The Scottish Government is also planning fresh engagement with licensing stakeholders to consider the level of fee currently charged for an occasional licence.

The approach of the Scottish Government will seek to balance the need for the cost and burden of occasional licences to be met by those seeking them while avoiding any undue impact on important local community events such as gala days and fetes. Any draft regulations would be subject to a targeted consultation and ultimately it will be for the Scottish Parliament to consider and approve.

Question reference: S6W-14063

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 January 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 1 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) annual and (b) average rate of landlord registration has been since 2010, broken down by local authority area.

Question reference: S6W-14348

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 31 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many homes have been built through the Islands Housing Fund in each year since 2016-17.

The number of homes built through the Rural and Islands Housing Fund in each year since 2016-17, broken down by rural (mainland) and islands is provided in the following table. There are also a further 141 units through the fund that have been approved or are on-site. The Rural and Island Housing Fund plays an important role in offering support to community organisations and others to deliver affordable homes, while complementing the delivery through our mainstream programme by Councils and Registered Social Landlords. More than 6,000 homes have been delivered over the course of the previous Parliament in rural and island areas.

	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23
Rural	2	21	1	37	16	45	24
Islands	-	4	-	3	4	8	8
Total	2	25	1	40	20	53	32
Note: 2022-23 is based on provisional programme management information to end December 2022 and could be subject to change.

Question reference: S6W-14275

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 January 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Elena Whitham on 31 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how much each fire safety check carried out by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service as part of short-term let licensing applications costs the service.

Question reference: S6W-14181

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 20 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 31 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out on young people's use of vapes.

The Scottish Government has undertaken the following analysis on young people’s use of vapes:

The Scottish Government is currently funding a longitudinal study carried out by ScotCen Social Research called Growing Up in Scotland (GUS). Two reports have been published that include vaping data on children aged 12 and 14 ( https://www.gov.scot/publications/life-age-12-initial-findings-growing-up-scotland-study/pages/6/ and 6. Risky behaviours - Life at age 14: initial findings from the Growing Up in Scotland study - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) )

The Scottish Government also commissioned collection and analysis of vaping data via the Scottish Schools Adolescent Lifestyle and Substance Use Survey (SALSUS) which ran between 2002 and 2018 ( Scottish Schools Adolescent Lifestyle and Substance Use Survey (SALSUS) - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) ).

Question reference: S6W-14172

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 20 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 31 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government which routes will see peak fare rail prices removed as part of the trial from April 2023.

Question reference: S6W-14017

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 31 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recommendations in the Inland Waterways Association 2022 report, Waterways for Today.

The Scottish Government notes the recommendations included in the Waterways for Today report and recognises the importance of the issues raised by the Inland Waterways Association. The report highlights some of the positive work that Scottish Canals has undertaken in recent years, including the groundbreaking Glasgow Smart Canal.

Scottish Canals has benefitted from significant increases in Grant in Aid awards in recent years. Since 2019, the Organisation has received an annual uplift in resource funding from the Scottish Government and substantial increases to the capital grant allocation. This highlights the value that the Scottish Government places on Scotland’s canal network.

Question reference: S6W-14040

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 31 January 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-13609 by Maree Todd on 17 January 2023, whether it has gathered data on how many women access free contraception from each of the sources listed, and, if so, what the figures are for each year since 2007.