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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: S6F-01849

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 February 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 March 2023

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-14356

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 27 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) commissioners and (b) ombudsmen for which it is responsible there are; how (i) much funding and (ii) many staff each has in 2022-23, and in which year each was established.

There are 7 commissioners and ombudsmen. The following table with commissioners and ombudsmen contains year of establishment, funding and staff numbers.

In the case of Commissioners and Ombudsmen they are classed as Parliamentary Bodies and as such, are accountable directly to the Scottish Parliament with the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body conducting a sponsorship function.

Public Body	Year of establishment	Funding 2022-23	Staff numbers Q3 2022
Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life	2013	£0	11
Scottish Biometrics Commissioner	2021	£400,000	3
Scotland's Commissioner For Children and Young People	2004	£0	15
Scottish Human Rights Commission	2008	£65,000	12
Scottish Information Commissioner	2005	£0	20
Scottish Public Services Ombudsman	2002	£0	84
Standards Commission for Scotland	2000	£0	4

Question reference: S6W-14541

Asked by: Jamie Halcro Johnston, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 27 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether there have been any design changes to the two vessels that CMAL has ordered from the Cemre Marin Endustri yard to serve on the Uig to Lochmaddy and Uig to Tarbert ferry routes.

Question reference: S6W-14353

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 27 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many non-departmental bodies there are; how (a) much funding and (b) many staff each has in 2022-23, and in which year each was established.

There are 3 categories of non-departmental public bodies: executive non-departmental public bodies, advisory non-departmental public bodies and tribunals. There are 45 executive non-departmental public bodies, 9 advisory non-departmental public bodies and 3 tribunals. The following tables for each of these categories, contain year of establishment, funding and staff numbers.

Executive non-departmental public bodies

Public Body	Year of Establishment	Funding 2022-23	Staff numbers Q3 2022
Accounts Commission for Scotland	1975	£0	0
Architecture and Design Scotland	2004	£1,490,000	30
Bòrd na Gidhlig	2006	£5,125,000	24
Cairngorms National Park Authority	2003	£7,067,000	104
Care Inspectorate	2011	£25,389,000	624
Children’s Hearings Scotland	2013	£5,029,000	46
Community Justice Scotland	2017	£2,924,000	46
Creative Scotland	2010	£32,582,000	132
Crofting Commission	2012	£3,900,000	55
David MacBrayne Ltd	2006	£0	46
Ferguson Marine (Port Glasgow) Ltd	2019	£33,400,000	359
Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd	1995	£61,857,000	702
Highlands and Islands Enterprise	1991	£62,245,000	274
Historic Environment Scotland	2015	£67,100,000	1,488
Independent Living Fund Scotland	2018	£53,300,000	63
Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Authority	2002	£10,294,000	195
National Galleries of Scotland	1906	£22,050,000	404
National Library of Scotland	1925	£17,605,000	331
National Museums of Scotland	1985	£27,574,000	485
NatureScot (replaced Scottish Natural Heritage)	1992	£47,411,000	779
Police Investigations and Review Commissioner	2013	£5,824,000	87
Quality Meat Scotland	2008	£0	28
Redress Scotland	2021	£5,000,000	27
Risk Management Authority	2005	£1,835,000	24
Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh	1985	£26,170,000	285
Scottish Agricultural Wages Board	1949	£0	0
Scottish Canals	2012	£22,700,000	316
Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration	1996	£26,860,000	503
Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission	1999	£1,219,000	10
Scottish Enterprise	1991	£251,220,000	1,047
Scottish Environment Protection Agency	1996	£36,106,000	1,220
Scottish Funding Council	2004	£1,946,622,000	117
Scottish Futures Trust	2008	£3,800,000	73
Scottish Land Commission	2017	£1,550,000	17
Scottish Legal Aid Board	1987	£151,300,000	356
Scottish Legal Complaints Commission	2008	£0	56
Scottish National Investment Bank	2020	£214,900,000	67
Scottish Qualifications Authority	1996	£24,131,000	1,033
Scottish Rail Holdings Ltd	2022	£0	17
Scottish Social Services Council	2001	£16,035,000	328
Skills Development Scotland	2008	£224,200,000	1,635
Sportscotland	1971	£33,600,000	348
South of Scotland Enterprise Agency	2020	£36,003,000	145
VisitScotland	1969 - as Scottish Tourist Board	£46,712,000	593
Water Industry Commission for Scotland	2005	£0	28

Advisory non-departmental public bodies

Public Body	Year of Establishment	Funding 2022-23	Staff numbers Q3 2022
Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland	2009	£436,000	7
Boundaries Scotland	1973	£437,000	6
Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland	2002	£170,000	12
Poverty and Inequality Commission	2019	£317,296	0
Scottish Advisory Committee on Distinction Awards	1998	£74,393	0
Scottish Commission on Social Security	2019	£340,000	6
Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel	2022	£150,000	2
Scottish Law Commission	1965	£1,055,000	16
Scottish Local Authorities Remuneration Committee (stood down in 2013)	2004	£25,318.16	0

Tribunals

Public Body	Year of Establishment	Funding 2022-23	Staff numbers Q3 2022
First - tier Tribunal for Scotland	2016	£0	112
Parole Board for Scotland	1968	£2,944,000	26
Upper Tribunal for Scotland	2016	£0	2

Question reference: S6W-14554

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 27 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what impact Low Emission Zones have had on air quality in Scotland’s cities, in light of reported figures published by Friends of the Earth Scotland.

I welcome these positive achievements on air quality, which show that our actions to tackle air pollution are delivering for the people of Scotland.

The modelling undertaken by each of the cities shows that the Scottish LEZs are capable of delivering significant improvements in air quality. LEZ enforcement will begin in June 2023 in Glasgow, it is therefore too early to say with any certainty what the impact of Low Emission Zones has been.

The four cities introducing LEZs are required to report on air quality annually, and specifically on the performance of the LEZs one year after enforcement starts. I look forward to reviewing these reports when available.

Question reference: S6W-14354

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 27 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many other agencies, organisations and public bodies there are that it is responsible for which are not public corporations, non-departmental bodies, executive agencies or tribunals; how (a) much funding and (b) many staff each has in 2022-23, and in which year each was established.

There are 18 other significant public bodies. The following table for other significant public bodies contains year of establishment, funding and staff numbers.

Public Body	Year of Establishment	Funding 2022-23	Staff numbers Q3 2022-23
Audit Scotland	2000	£11,600,000	330
Convener of School Closure Review Panels	2010	less than £400,000	0
Court of Lord Lyon	1867	£100,000	0
Drinking Water Quality Regulator	2002	£963,000	12
HM Inspector of Constabulary in Scotland	2012	£1,798,000	0
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons in Scotland	1981	£1,035,000	0
HM Chief Inspector of Prosecution in Scotland	2003	£425,000	0
HM Fire Service Inspectorate in Scotland	2013	£732,000	0
Justices of the Peace Advisory Committee (6 bodies, the breakdown is the following):	administered by the Local Authority
Glasgow and Strathkelvin		£0	0
Grampian, Highlands and Islands		£0	2
Lothian and Borders		£0	2
North Strathclyde		£0	2
South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway		£0	0
Tayside, Central and Fife		£0	2
Office of the King’s Printer for Scotland	1998	£116,000	0
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service	2013	£326,707,000	4,633
Scottish Police Authority	2013	£1,291,282,000	6,163
Scottish Road Works Commissioner	2007	£300,000	6

Question reference: S6W-14565

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 30 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 27 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether the proposed reduction in the Major Public Transport Projects budget for 2023-24 will have any impact on jobs and staffing across Network Rail Scotland, contractors and the wider supply chain.

Network Rail is ultimately accountable to the UK Government, however, Scottish Ministers have made it clear that any decisions it makes in relation to staffing and staffing levels must be in line with the Scottish Government’s Fair Work principles.

The security offered by the Scottish Government’s continued funding of Scotland’s Railway will assist with Network Rail’s future planning and work-banks for the supply sector.

Question reference: S6W-14545

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 30 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 27 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what communications it has had with local authorities on the Community Bus Fund.

Question reference: S6W-14357

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 27 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many organisations there are that aim to safeguard, maintain and improve the quality of care provision, and how (a) much funding and (b) many staff each has in 2022-23, and in which year each was established.

From Scottish Government’s (SG) perspective, there are four organisations that aim to safeguard, maintain and improve the quality of care provision.

The specific details you have requested in relation to these organisations for the year 2022-23 are listed in the following table:

Organisation	Year Established	SG Funding in 2022-23 (£)	Number of Staff in 2022-23 (FTE)
Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS)*	2011	38,300,000	600
Mental Welfare Commission (MWC)	1962	6,086,000	47
Care Inspectorate (CI)	2011	28,705,000	648
Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO)	2002	NIL	85

It is worth highlighting that Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) and Scottish Police Authority (SPA) are not included in the above table because these organisations conduct reviews of health care in custody settings in partnership with the inspectorates above.

* HIS was established by the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010, taking over the work of QIS and the regulatory functions in regard to independent healthcare provision. NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (NHS QIS) was established on 1 January 2003 as a special health board with a remit to improve the quality of healthcare in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-14355

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 January 2023
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 27 February 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many public corporations there are; how (a) much funding and (b) many staff each has in 2022-23, and in which year each was established.