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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: S6O-01514

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 November 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what further financial support it will provide to Argyll and Bute to help tackle depopulation of rural areas and islands.

Question reference: S6O-01515

Asked by: Edward Mountain, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 November 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether its proposed new Agriculture Bill will be introduced before 2024.

Question reference: S6O-01525

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 November 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what impact inflation is having on its affordable housing programme.

Question reference: S6O-01518

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 November 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what support is in place for people with Long COVID.

Question reference: S6W-11590

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 17 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 2 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Student Mental Health Action Plan, which is due to be published in 2023, will be underpinned by (a) sustained and (b) flexible levels of funding.

The Student Mental Health Plan is currently being developed in consultation with stakeholders via the Student Mental Health and Wellbeing Working Group, and is linked to the wider Mental Health & Wellbeing Strategy that is also under development. The Plan will be research and evidence informed.

Any future funding is subject to the annual budget process and Parliamentary approval of the Scottish Budget.

Question reference: S6W-11420

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 2 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to create through its agencies a capital funding stream for community services and community spaces.

The Scottish Government has no plans to create through its agencies a capital funding stream for community services and community spaces. It is for agencies to determine how best to apply allocated funding from Government, including capital and some of them do fund community oriented activity and infrastructure. Examples would include South of Scotland Enterprise Agency, Transport Scotland and Forestry and Land Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-11375

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 2 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when the procurement process will begin for the replacement of the incumbent contract novated from Abellio for a Ticket Issuing System for use by ScotRail, and what the timetable is for this process.

ScotRail novated several contracts for the provision of Ticket Issuing Systems, across all retail channels, to ensure continuity of service and a smooth transition from Abellio ScotRail to ScotRail Trains Limited.

At this time no definitive timetable for a future procurement exercise has been agreed. ScotRail Trains Limited will work with its holding company, Scottish Rail Holdings, to ensure services are procured as required to meet ScotRail’s needs going forward. I will raise this matter directly with SRT when we next meet.

Question reference: S6W-11817

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 2 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to introduce a Help to Buy scheme for veterans, to support veterans and their families when buying a home.

Question reference: S6W-11421

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 2 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what support is available for children and young people who are adopted, and their families, in the years following adoption.

The Promise made it clear that adoption has an important role in providing a permanent, loving nurturing home, and that an adoption placement should not be the conclusion of the help available to adoptive families.

The Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007 gives adoptive families the right to request support from their local authority that best meets the needs of their family at a time that is right for them. A local authority who is approached is required to carry out an assessment and provide assistance to address any needs identified.

The Scottish Government provided £98,000 in 2022-23 for Adoption UK Scotland’s Therapeutic Education Support Services in Adoption (TESSA) programme which provides support to adoptive families.

We have also committed to providing £500 million in Whole Family Wellbeing Funding, over the course of this Parliament, to help transform services that support families, include those who have adopted children and young people, to ensure that they can access the support they need, where and when they need it.

Question reference: S6W-11662

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 21 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 2 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what has been done to progress its fair work plans, including the expansion of Fair Work First criteria to include the Living Wage.

Payment of the real Living Wage has always been central to our Fair Work First approach; the policy has been applied to some £4bn of public sector funding since 2019.

As committed to in the Bute House Agreement, we will introduce a requirement on public sector grants to pay at least the real Living Wage, and provide appropriate channels for effective voice, subject to limits on devolved competence. Ministers will confirm the detail of the conditionality in the coming weeks.

Fair Work is more important than ever, and we will use all the levers we can to drive fair work practices. Public sector funding should leverage wider benefits, support the development of a sustainable economic recovery and a successful wellbeing economy. One example will be the future civil engineering framework (£600m over four years) that includes a requirement to pay at least the real Living Wage.

Fair Work, including fair pay, is vital in tackling the cost crisis, in-work poverty and child poverty.