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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-11182

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 23 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 6 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to housebuilding organisations in order to build net zero housing.

Transforming our homes and buildings to be net zero carbon is one of the most important steps we can take to help end Scotland’s contribution to climate change and will require action from all of us.

New homes currently delivered through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) are required to meet Scottish building regulations which set high levels of energy efficiency and the installation of heating systems that produce zero direct emissions at the point of use is encouraged through the AHSP.

We are actively working with the construction and house building sectors to identify and support good practice and to help ensure that new regulations enforced from 2024 are achievable and effective. The Scottish Government is currently seeking views through the New Build Heat Standard (Part II ) consultation , open until 20 October 2022.

Question reference: S6W-11158

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 23 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 6 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will review the 4.5% pay offer to doctors, in light of a British Medical Association (BMA) survey finding that 78% of respondees would be willing to take some form of industrial action in order to deliver improved pay.

The Scottish Government along with the BMA and other stakeholders provide evidence to the Doctors and Dentist Review Bodies (DDRB) who make an independent recommendation on pay uplifts for medical and dental staff across the UK.

We take part in this process in good faith and in the knowledge that the DDRB make independent recommendations which can be above or below what participants are seeking. This year, the DDRB have recommended a pay award which we have implemented in full for all Medical and Dental staff.

Question reference: S6W-11162

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 23 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 6 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the British Medical Association's (BMA) reported view that 10% of the GP workforce could retire by the end of 2022 due to the "punitive" pension system in Scotland.

The Scottish Government is aware of the impact that the UK Government’s pension annual and life time allowances policy is having on the GP workforce in Scotland. There is limited action we can take to mitigate the impact as issues relating to pensions are a reserved matter. We have written to the UK Government on a number occasions to urge them to take action, and we have highlighted our concerns about the risks to delivering in-hours general practice as well as out of hours services.

Question reference: S6W-11165

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 23 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 6 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what specific actions NHS boards can take to respond to and manage closures of pharmacy branches.

Health boards can take a range of actions in response to any breach of terms by a pharmacy contractor. Community pharmacy contractors are required to meet the Terms of Service as set out in Schedule 1 of the National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services) (Scotland) Regulation 2009. Should, in the opinion of the Health Board, a community pharmacy contractor breach the Terms of Service, they can consider taking any appropriate action in line with the noted Regulation and the National Health Service (Discipline Committees) (Scotland) Regulations 2006.

Question reference: S6W-11168

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 23 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 6 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will empower the Care Inspectorate to regulate the business behaviour of companies that operate community pharmacies, including in relation to their premises, staffing levels, safety and treatment of patients.

Question reference: S6W-11166

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 23 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 6 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to increase the range of actions that NHS boards can take when pharmacy branches close without an adequate reason for doing so.

Question reference: S6W-11030

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 23 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 6 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of any discussions involving Scottish Ministers or officials that may have taken place regarding the contents of a note reportedly submitted to the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry by John Halley on 1 April 2019 in relation to the Edinburgh Tram Inquiry.

Question reference: S6W-11172

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 23 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 6 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether policy in relation to the effects of perimenopause will be included within the development of the menopause and menstrual health workplace policy.

Question reference: S6W-10981

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 6 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S6W-08907 and S6W-08908 by Michael Matheson on 15 June 2022, how it reconciles the answer given by the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport in the Parliament on 18 May 2022 that Scottish Water's cash balance is “substantially allocated at any time to investment projects” with the information in the written answers that, during the 2015-21 regulatory period, after spending £348 million from reserves held at the beginning of the 2015-21 regulatory period on projects not delivered in the preceding regulatory period, reserve levels grew to £400 million and, on average, investment spending from reserves was 20% of annual reserves held in any one year.

Any large infrastructure organisation that provides an essential service requires significant access to cash to maintain its activities and to respond to unforeseen events. Scottish Water’s cash balances each year are largely a function of when the business borrows from the Scottish Government relative to when capital investments are made; unlike similar infrastructure businesses, Scottish Water does not have access to any other credit facilities. Some of that capital investment will be on projects not delivered in the preceding regulatory period. Furthermore, at any point in time Scottish Water has on-going investment projects and hence has contractual commitments with its delivery partners and it must ensure it has sufficient funds to meet those contractual commitments. At 31 March 2022 Scottish Water had contractual capital commitments of £455.6m and at 31 March 2021 this figure was £541.4m, hence my comments in the Scottish Parliament on 18 May 2022 that Scottish Water's cash balance is ''substantially allocated at any time to investment projects''.

Question reference: S6W-11164

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 23 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 6 October 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has been approached by any director of pharmacy in relation to amending regulations to make it easier to withhold remuneration from pharmacies that opt to close without an adequate reason for doing so.