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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-18079

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 30 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when the Ferry Replacement Task Force will next meet.

Question reference: S6W-18081

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 30 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what follow-up engagement it has had with NHS Scotland and the Scottish Perinatal Network to ensure the implementation of placental growth factor (PlGF) based tests, further to its initial letter to NHS boards on 23 March 2023.

The Scottish Government expects all NHS Boards in Scotland to take note of the Scottish Health Technologies Group recommendations, published on 23 March 2023, and take steps to ensure that any woman who requires access to placental growth factor (PlGF) based tests as part of her maternity care can do so. We will continue to work with the Scottish Perinatal Network and will write to NHS Boards again in June to assess how implementation of PlGF testing is progressing.

Question reference: S6W-17941

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by George Adam on 30 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the additional junior ministers recently appointed, for what reason the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands is not supported by a junior minister to assist in the range of her expanded portfolio responsibilities, and whether the absence of a supporting junior minister represents a reduction in the importance of rural development as a priority area for the Scottish Government.

The recent Policy Prospectus confirmed the Government’s continuing, strong commitment to matters covered by the Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands portfolio, and set out actions that government is taking across a number of portfolios in order to create jobs, strengthen food production and food security, and support repopulation and green skills development in our rural communities – boosting the rural and coastal economy.

The Prospectus highlights a number of these commitments, including around Housing, where we will ensure that at least 10% of our 110,000 affordable homes target in remote, rural and island communities. We are also making available up to £25 million in a demand led fund targeted at affordable homes for key workers, such as those working in the public sector and emergency services; and the £30 million Rural and Island Housing Fund plays an important role in offering support to community groups.

The Rural Delivery Plan, that we will publish by the end of this Parliament, will further confirm how this Government is delivering for Scotland’s rural, island and coastal communities.

The composition of the ministerial team and the allocation of portfolio responsibilities are routinely kept under review by the First Minister and shift as a variety of factors require.

Question reference: S6W-17987

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 30 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee's meeting on 9 May 2023 and the response of the Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy to whether the Scottish Government will countenance new nuclear energy generation in Scotland, that "we believe that that is expensive technology with the safety and environmental impacts that come off the back of it", whether it will set out, fully, the calculations and considerations that the cabinet secretary referred to that led him to conclude that nuclear energy generation was "expensive"; against what benchmark or comparator he was measuring this cost assumption, and whether it will set out an exhaustive list of what the cabinet secretary was referring to when he said that nuclear energy generation had (a) safety and (b) environmental impacts.

The Scottish Government does not support the building of new nuclear fission power stations in Scotland under current technologies.

Under the current Contract for Difference (CfD) awarded by the UK Government to Hinkley Point C, the electricity that will be generated will be priced at £92.50 per megawatt hour (in 2012 prices). Wind is one of the cheapest forms of electricity - electricity generated from offshore wind is priced at £37.65 per megawatt hour in CfD allocation round 4 (in 2012 prices). Additionally, Hinkley Point C’s CfD will last for a 35-year term, which is not afforded to other technologies that only receive guarantees for 15 years.

The UK Government has committed over £700 million to cover 50% of the development costs of Sizewell C – evidence that nuclear can have significant up-front costs to the public purse before construction even begins.

Nuclear power stations require nuclear material for their operation and generate radioactive waste, both of which can involve hazardous radiation and require complex and expensive handling for security as well as public health and environmental protection.

Question reference: S6W-18056

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 30 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what discussions it is having with the UK Government regarding tackling human trafficking in Scotland, in light of reports that human rights organisations have claimed that the Illegal Migration Bill will increase the likelihood of human trafficking.

The Scottish Government is clear that the UK Government’s cruel and inhumane Illegal Migration Bill should be scrapped immediately. The Bill will cause significant harm to victims of human trafficking. It will facilitate even greater control by perpetrators as a consequence of its provisions which restrict access to vital support and assistance and will likely deter victims from reporting their situation for fear of removal.

The Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture wrote to the UK Minister of State for Immigration on 9 March setting out our position and this was followed by a further letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice on 25 April.

The Scottish Parliament rejected the UK Bill during a debate on 25 April. We set out our intent to lodge a legislative consent memorandum on two clauses within the Bill which alter the executive competence of the Scottish Ministers. We will recommend that Parliament withhold legislative consent to these provisions. We continue to monitor the Bill closely as it is considered by the House of Lords.

Question reference: S6W-18063

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 30 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many programmes it is providing funding to charities to deliver in the financial year 2023-24, and how many of these have yet to have final confirmation of funding.

Scottish Government expenditure is allocated across portfolios to various sectors, including the third sector, to improve a wide range of outcomes. Some Scottish Government funding will be issued through third sector intermediary organisations. Spending is not all specifically classified as to whether or not it is allocated to third-sector organisations to deliver services. Consequently the figures requested are not available.

Question reference: S6W-18052

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 30 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many schools are (a) eligible and (b) registered for the Equally Safe at School programme, as of May 2023.

Our Equally Safe strategy for preventing and eradicating violence against women and girls (VAWG) emphasises the importance of challenging the underpinning attitudes which enable such violence to take place.

The Equally Safe at School (ESAS) project, developed by Rape Crisis Scotland and Zero Tolerance, applies a whole school approach to inequality and gender-based violence in schools. Every secondary school in Scotland is eligible for ESAS. Rape Crisis Scotland have reported that currently 77 schools are registered with an ESAS account. Rape Crisis Scotland is continuing to work with local authority education leads, VAWG partnerships and other third sector partners across Scotland to encourage and support schools to engage with ESAS.

We also fund and support other education-based programmes and initiatives aimed at tackling violence against women and girls and the attitudes which perpetuate it such as; the Mentors in Violence peer education programme, the Gender Equality Taskforce in Education and Learning, the Gender-Based Violence in Schools Working Group and Rape Crisis Scotland’s national sexual violence programme for secondary schools.

Question reference: S6W-18082

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 30 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a progress update on the implementation of placental growth factor (PlGF) based tests for pre-eclampsia across the NHS in the next Women's Health Plan.

The Women’s Health Plan: A plan for 2021 – 2024 aims to reduce health inequalities and improve health outcomes for women and girls. This iteration of the Plan focusses on a specific set of priorities where there is particular evidence of inequalities (heart health) and where women have told us improvements are needed (menopause and menstrual health including endometriosis).

The priorities for any future Women’s Health Plan are not yet determined. Future aims and priorities will be developed in collaboration with women and girls, including our lived experience stakeholder group, clinical experts and relevant stakeholders alongside the most up-to-date evidence base.

The Scottish Government will continue to work with the Scottish Perinatal Network and will write to NHS Boards again in June to assess how implementation of PlGF testing is progressing.

Question reference: S6W-18575

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6W-17897

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 25 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-17395 by Shona Robison on 5 May 2023, how progress on its commitments will be reported to parliamentary committees.

Ministers are content to provide any updates on progress which parliamentary committees would find helpful as part of their normal ongoing engagement on progress within their portfolios.

As previously set out by the First minister, the Scottish Government is committed to ensuring the people of Scotland have the information they need to hold the Government to account for delivery of the three missions and will report routinely, regularly and transparently on performance against the aims and outcomes set out in the policy prospectus. This reporting will include an annual progress report which will be brought to the attention of relevant committees once published.