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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-07771

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 4 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many temporary accommodation places were available in Scotland on (a) 29 March 2022 and (b) 29 March 2019.

The Scottish Government collects information on the use of temporary accommodation (associated with homelessness applications). The HL2 data collection provides aggregate snapshot data on the number of households in temporary accommodation at the end of each quarter.

However, the Scottish Government does not collect data on the availability of temporary accommodation or stock in each local authority over and above what is in use. It is for local authorities to have an understanding of their stock, and that of their partners, which enables them to determine what could potentially be used as temporary accommodation when required.

The HL2 data is available for all local authorities from 2002 to 2021. Table 26 of the main tables associated with the most recent Homelessness in Scotland annual publication provides data for the number of households in temporary accommodation as at 31 March, by local authority, which will be a very close proxy for households in temporary accommodation on 29 March.

The bi-annual publication Homelessness in Scotland: update to 30 September 2021 provides additional quarterly figures from 31 st March 2019 to 30 September 2021 – Table 14 of the associated tables. This is the latest data available.

Data up to 31 March 2022 will be published on the homelessness statistics webpage in Summer 2022, although the publication date is not yet known.

Question reference: S6W-07812

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 4 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the commitment in the Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2022-26 to "mitigate the Benefit Cap as fully as we can", whether the mitigation will cover the full difference between a household's cap and its entitlement; how it plans to deliver this payment to households; what the timescale is for this to be fully implemented, and how many households will receive the payment.

The benefit cap is a UK Government policy that sets a limit on the total annual payment a household can receive from means-tested benefits. The Scottish Government cannot amend this policy but we can provide support to benefit-capped families through the discretionary housing payment system. Our aim is to mitigate the cap as fully as possible within the parameters set by UK legislation on discretionary housing payments.

We are working with local authorities to identify good practice in benefit cap mitigation and agree how to best support those affected. This additional funding will be rolled out as early as possible this year. Estimates show around 4,000 households are capped and we will work with local authorities to identify those.

Question reference: S6T-00680

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 May 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact on households and businesses in Scotland of the National Grid’s locational pricing system, in light of Scottish Renewables' reported assessment that Transmission Network Use of System charges make projects in Scotland almost 20% more expensive than equivalent projects in the south of England.

Question reference: S6T-00678

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 May 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the ruling of the Scottish Information Commissioner that it should release legal advice that it received regarding a second independence referendum.

Question reference: S6T-00671

Asked by: Foysol Choudhury, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 May 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 3 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is putting in place to ensure that Ukrainian families understand the conditions of its Super Sponsor Scheme.

Question reference: S6W-08054

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 3 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has met with Hourglass Scotland and, if this is not the case, whether it plans to do so, and, if it does, when this meeting will take place.

Question reference: S6W-07817

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 3 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how it determined the level of virus that is acceptable in a seed potato crop before it should be ordered to be destroyed.

The Seed Potatoes (Scotland) Regulations 2015 stipulate the disease tolerances for seed potato crops in Scotland, and all seed crops must comply with the requirements laid down in the Regulations to be certified as a seed crop.

The tolerance permitted for total virus in a seed crop is 0.8%, which includes a tighter tolerance of 0.4% combined for infection with the three most damaging viruses (PLRV, PVY and PVA). Seed crops are inspected at least twice during the growing season and monitored for disease and trueness to type. Leaf samples from all crops displaying virus symptoms are tested in the laboratory at SASA for 12 virus species to confirm the presence of virus infection in a crop. Crops that have a virus level that exceeds that permitted for a seed crop may be downgraded to ware.

A crop would only be destroyed if the virus levels were 4% or above and therefore posed an unacceptable plant health risk to other neighbouring potato crops.

Question reference: S6W-07899

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 April 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 3 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will confirm what its plans are for a post-implementation review of the Honey (Scotland) Regulations 2015.

There is currently no formal plan in place to conduct a post implementation review of the Honey Regulations (Scotland) 2015. However, as the body with policy responsibility for these regulations, Food Standards Scotland continues to monitor the effectiveness and suitability of the legislation through communication with its stakeholders, such as Local Authorities, businesses and consumers, as well as discussions with other Scottish and UK Government departments.

It should be noted that FSS and the wider Scottish Government have a responsibility to conduct a formal post-implementation review within 10 years of the respective regulations coming into force. With regard to the Honey Regulations this is due to be factored into business planning at a point up to and including 2025.

Question reference: S6W-07846

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 3 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made, regarding the testing available in Scotland, of the decision by NICE to approve placental growth factor (PlGF) testing for expectant mothers in England.

The Scottish Government expects women to receive high quality, safe care including in the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of pre-eclampsia.

We are working with the Scottish Perinatal Network to examine the adoption of PlGF testing for pre-eclampsia in Scotland. This will include consideration of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidance on PlGF (DG23) that is currently out for consultation and expected to be published in July 2022.

Question reference: S6W-07800

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 April 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 3 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the value of sporting shooting to the economy in Scotland.

As part of our work to take forward recommendations from the Grouse Moor Management Review Group, the Scottish Government also commissioned Scotland’s Rural College and the James Hutton Institute to undertake research into the biodiversity and economic impacts of grouse moors. The research found that grouse shooting enterprises were of local importance as an employer, and to the wider community and you can read more about the findings here .