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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-10886

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 September 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 30 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to amending the strategic guidance on the siting of salmon farms so that it recommends siting new farms in more suitable areas away from migratory routes, in light of recommendations 45 and 46 of the session four Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee's 9th Report (Session 5), Salmon Farming in Scotland (SP paper 432).

I refer the member to the answers to questions S6W-10883 and S6W-10888 on 21 September 2022. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

In addition, it is recognised that the migratory routes of wild salmon through the coastal zone are not fully understood and we are committed to filling these knowledge gaps. In December 2021, £400,000 of funding was announced to support The West Coast Tracking project, in collaboration with Fisheries Management Scotland and The Atlantic Salmon Trust, which will provide data on the routes salmon take as they migrate from rivers out to sea. The findings from this work will be used to inform future planning and policy decisions.

Question reference: S6W-11015

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 30 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will direct the Water Industry Commission for Scotland to only take regulatory actions that are compatible with Scottish Water being able to deliver levels of water charges that are acceptable to Scottish Ministers at a time of high inflation.

Question reference: S6W-11014

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 30 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider giving Scottish Water additional functions to (a) consult Consumer Scotland and have specific regard to its views on the affordability of water charges in advance of proposing a scheme of charges in any given year prior to submitting its annual scheme of charges to the Water Industry Commission and (b) advise Scottish Ministers of its considerations in this regard and publish them.

Consumer Scotland already has a statutory role and actively engages in the scrutiny arrangements underpinning the delivery of Scottish Water’s investment programme to ensure that Ministers’ objectives are being delivered. As a member of key strategic stakeholder groups Consumer Scotland advocates on behalf of customers on key industry policy issues, including on questions of affordability. Scottish Water’s Board must consider questions of affordability in finalising its Scheme of Charges; there are currently no plans to give Scottish Water additional functions in relation to charge setting.

Question reference: S6W-11010

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 30 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has issued specific policy requirements or explicit directions to the Water Industry Commission or Scottish Water to statutorily require the Commission to set, and Scottish Water to raise, a specific minimum amount of funds from charges during the 2021-27 regulatory period.

Question reference: S6W-10814

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 30 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of how the £25 million contract awarded to Atkins WSP Joint Venture for the A83 Rest and Be Thankful project will be spent.

Building upon the good work already undertaken, Atkins WSP Joint Venture will take forward the engineering and environmental assessments to determine the preferred options for the medium and long term solutions, developing the subsequent detailed designs in consultation with stakeholders. They will also assist in completion of the statutory processes including acquisition of land, and in the procurement and construction supervision activities. Given the number of potential solutions and variability of scope and length of each project stage, it is not possible to provide a meaningful breakdown of estimated costs at this stage in the process.

Question reference: S6W-10813

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 30 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £25 million contract awarded to Atkins WSP Joint Venture by Transport Scotland for the A83 Rest and Be Thankful project is allocated to the (a) medium-term and (b) long-term replacement route.

The £25m of Scottish Government investment represents an estimate of the contract value to Atkins WSP Joint Venture to undertake the design, promotion, procurement and construction supervision of both the medium and long-term solutions. Whilst there is no allocation of spend of this estimate to either the medium term or long term solutions, it is anticipated that the vast majority of spend will be on the long-term solution as all of the options require complex civil engineering.

Question reference: S6W-10760

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 30 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government which authority pays for the cost of providing pupils with free laptops, Chromebooks and tablets.

Question reference: S6W-11083

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 30 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of the ongoing effects of COVID-19 on Edinburgh festivals in 2022.

Question reference: S6W-11100

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 30 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what recent estimate it has made of any effect inflation will have on the cost of the Ardrossan harbour re-development project, should work start in early 2023.

Question reference: S6W-11018

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 September 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 30 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-10331 by Ivan McKee on 6 September 2022, whether support from the Circular Textiles Fund is available without capital expenditure requirements.