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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-12545

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 8 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how many Ukrainian refugees, who were initially residing on the MS Victoria, have since been moved to long-term accommodation.

The Scottish Government’s priority is to ensure that displaced people from Ukraine are able to stay in appropriate temporary accommodation and get the right support ahead of moving into safe, sustainable longer-term accommodation.

We do not want people to spend any more time than absolutely necessary in temporary welcome accommodation. That is why, we are taking action to match those on board the ships to longer-term accommodation and private host homes, with matching teams operating on board both ships. We are also supporting guests to secure longer-term accommodation through other means, such as private rental.

At present, the MS Victoria I is accommodating around 1,250 displaced people from Ukraine, including families and children. Further to this, the ship has accommodated many more people over the past four months who have now been matched to longer-term accommodation or supported to make alternative decisions about where they would like to live. More detailed data on the number of people who have moved on from the MS Victoria I will be provided as part of our Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme in Scotland: statistics publication in due course.

Question reference: S6W-12596

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 8 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many times the Scottish Ministers have used their powers to make tree preservation orders in each year since 2011.

Both Scottish Ministers and the planning authority have a duty to ensure, whenever appropriate, that in granting permission for any development adequate provision is made for the preservation or planting of trees. In addition, a planning authority or the Scottish Ministers may make a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) if it appears to them to be expedient to do so and where relevant statutory tests are met.

The general principle under which the planning system operates in Scotland is that decisions should be taken at the most local administrative level unless there are compelling reasons for taking them at a higher level.

In line with this approach, Scottish Ministers will only use their powers with regards to tree preservation orders (TPOs) in exceptional circumstances where national issues of importance are raised. As such, we have no record of any TPOs made by Scottish Ministers since 2011.

More detail about tree preservation orders is available in Circular 1/2011: Tree Preservation Orders at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2011/01/28152314/0 .

Question reference: S6W-12421

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is the case that only 70% of the 2022-23 funding for the treatment of Long COVID has been made available to NHS boards, and, if this is the case, when it will provide the remaining 30%.

Question reference: S6W-12440

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 8 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £574 million allocated to the NHS Territorial and National Boards Capital Investment in its 2022-23 budget, which was announced on 9 December 2021, has been (a) allocated and (b) spent to date, broken down by expenditure.

The capital budget of £574 million will be allocated in full to NHS Territorial and National Boards and it is expected that the budget by the year end will be fully invested and spent. This will cover basic maintenance, replacement of essential medical equipment, developing the National Treatment Centre Programme, delivering the Baird and ANCHOR centre in Aberdeen, the Parkhead Health and Social Care Centre in the East End of Glasgow and numerous other vital capital projects.

Question reference: S6W-12655

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 8 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, following the announcement that the MV Glen Sannox will initially operate using a single diesel fuel system, as opposed to the planned dual-fuel LNG system, how much is expected to be saved as a result in (a) design, (b) manufacture and build and (c) ongoing fuelling costs, and how will any money saved now be spent.

On 28 October 2022, Ferguson Marine wrote to the Net Zero, Energy & Transport Committee to inform them of a technical design issue with the Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) system on MV Glen Sannox.

In the letter Ferguson Marine set out their proposed approach to rectify this issue with the caveat that this will require agreement from Scottish Government, CMAL and CalMac. When an agreement is reached Ferguson Marine will update Parliament.

Question reference: S6W-12635

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ben Macpherson on 8 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many incidents of suspected fraud have been referred to Scottish Courts by Social Security Scotland since the organisation became operational, broken down by (a) year and (b) benefit.

Social Security Scotland carefully considers the information on counter fraud activity that can be placed into the public domain to ensure that any information released does not undermine the ability of Social Security Scotland to prevent and detect crime. We consider that releasing figures for referrals to the Crown Office Procurator Fiscal could be prejudicial to ongoing investigations.

Social Security Scotland regularly publishes information on detected suspected fraud in its Annual Report and Accounts. The most recent Annual Report and Accounts covering the period 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022, were laid before the Scottish Parliament on 7 November 2022 and were also published on Social Security Scotland’s website: Social Security Scotland - Annual Report 2021-2022 .

Question reference: S6W-12657

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 8 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether there are any plans to remove any Hikvision cameras that are currently being used within the Police Scotland estate.

Question reference: S6W-12640

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 8 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-12081 by Mairi McAllan on 24 November 2022, when it will issue the release on its attendance and expenses incurred at COP27.

Question reference: S6W-12372

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 8 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of primary schools are signed up to the Daily Mile scheme, broken down by (a) local authority area and (b) Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation data zones.

The Scottish Government does not hold data broken down by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation, however, the data is set out below highlighting what percentage of primary schools are signed up to the Daily Mile initiative.

Aberdeen City	38%
Aberdeenshire	40%
Angus	53%
Argyll and Bute	39%
City of Edinburgh	54%
Clackmannanshire	76%
Dumfries and Galloway	56%
Dundee City	86%
East Ayrshire	38%
East Dunbartonshire	39%
East Lothian	44%
East Renfrewshire	71%
Falkirk	37%
Fife	20%
Glasgow City	52%
Highland	51%
Inverclyde	41%
Midlothian	53%
Moray	29%
Na h-Eileanan Siar	86%
North Ayrshire	26%
North Lanarkshire	53%
Orkney Islands	32%
Perth and Kinross	50%
Renfrewshire	39%
Scottish Borders	25%
Shetland Islands	50%
South Ayrshire	77%
South Lanarkshire	23%
Stirling	34%
West Dunbartonshire	69%
West Lothian	52%

Question reference: S6O-01707

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 December 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the next steps are in implementing buffer zones outside abortion clinics in Scotland, in light of the UK Supreme Court judgement on this issue handed down on 7 December 2022.