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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: S6W-04751

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 17 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to extend the concessionary travel scheme to include free rail travel for under-22s as part of the nationalised ScotRail fares strategy.

Question reference: S6W-04810

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 03 December 2021
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 17 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) target and (b) actual average timescale has been for assessing applications for grant assistance to deliver affordable housing above Affordable Housing Investment Benchmark level, in each quarter since Q1 2016.

The Scottish Government does not set a target timescale for assessing applications for grant assistance to deliver affordable housing above the applicable affordable housing investment benchmark level.

Using information from our Housing and Regeneration Programme system (HARP), we have compiled the following table showing the average calendar days from the initial tender application submission date to the actual tender approval date for those projects submitted at above benchmark level over the period Quarter 3 2017-18 to Quarter 2 2021-22. It should be noted, however, that while we encourage early engagement on likely project costs prior to tender applications being submitted, there can be instances where applications have missing information or require further, more detailed work by the grant applicant before they can be fully assessed.

Financial year quarter	Total projects approved above the applicable benchmark	Average time between the initial tender submission and the actual approval date
Financial year quarter	Total projects approved above the applicable benchmark	(calendar days)
2016-17 Q1	5	Data not available
2016-17 Q2	7	Data not available
2016-17 Q3	20	Data not available
2016-17 Q4	45	Data not available
2016-17 Total/ Average	77	Data not available
2017-18 Q1	16	Data not available
2017-18 Q2	14	Data not available
2017-18 Q3	14	22
2017-18 Q4	41	19
2017-18 Total/ Average	85	20
2018-19 Q1	10	41
2018-19 Q2	13	30
2018-19 Q3	22	33
2018-19 Q4	47	26
2018-19 Total/ Average	92	30
2019-20 Q1	19	31
2019-20 Q2	14	38
2019-20 Q3	35	25
2019-20 Q4	82	25
2019-20 Total/ Average	150	27
2020-21 Q1	9	19
2020-21 Q2	16	44
2020-21 Q3	17	27
2020-21 Q4	30	29
2020-21 Total/ Average	72	31
2021-22 Q1	12	21
2021-22 Q2	21	42
2021-22 Total/ Average	33	35

Data on tender submission dates from Quarter 1, 2016-17 to Quarter 2, 2017-18 is not available as this pre-dated our HARP system and the historic information was not migrated to HARP.

Question reference: S6W-04812

Asked by: Gillian Mackay, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 17 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-04467 by Maree Todd on 30 November 2021, whether gamete storage is provided by the NHS to people who are considering or undertaking gender transitioning.

Question reference: S6W-04817

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 17 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many people in Scotland have registered a donation decision with the NHS Organ Donor Register.

Question reference: S6W-04818

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 17 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that people in Scotland who have not yet registered a donation decision with the NHS Organ Donor Register are able to do so.

The Scottish Government takes action to ensure that people in Scotland who have not yet registered a donation decision with the NHS Organ Donor Register are able to do so as follows:

An annual summer public awareness campaign using TV, radio, newspaper, social media, posters in pharmacy windows and on bus shelters and partnership with Health Boards, stakeholder organisations and employers.
Participation in UK national Organ Donation Week in September each year using radio, newspaper, social media and partnership with third sector organisations and employers.
Ongoing partnership with Kidney Research UK, who train peer educators to raise awareness of donation in south Asian communities in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Letters to young persons reaching aged 16 to inform them of the law on donation and how to make a donation decision.
The Organ Donation Scotland Website, which provides information on deceased and living donation including information in accessible formats and languages and on faith and donation
Ongoing social media and additional newspaper media throughout the year using case studies, for example a focus on living kidney donation in the lead up to Christmas.

Question reference: S6W-05251

Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Withdrawn

Question reference: S6O-00555

Asked by: Gillian Mackay, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Ash Regan on 16 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish a timeframe for the implementation of the Scottish dog control database.

The Scottish Dog Control Database Order 2021 comes into force on 31 December 2021 and provides for the establishment of the database.

Technical development of the database will be complete by 31 December; January and the first half of February 2022 will involve security testing of the database, and for users of the database to receive training.

From mid-February 2022, it is planned the database will be available as a live operational database.

Question reference: S6W-04569

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 16 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-02681 by Richard Lochhead on 22 September 2021, whether it will provide the information that was requested regarding the budget stream(s) from which the 10-year £500 million Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray will be drawn.

Question reference: S6W-05194

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 December 2021
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Michael Matheson on 16 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its response to Scotland’s Climate Assembly’s recommendations.

I am pleased to inform Parliament that the Scottish Government has today laid its response to Scotland’s Climate Assembly.

The Assembly has been a truly historic process resulting in recommendations which are already guiding the future of our country. Our response has been a cross-Government effort and we have set out the actions that we are taking in response to each recommendation.

These actions include the roll-out of support for a new network of sharing libraries across Scotland, work with Scottish landowners to increase woodland creation and peatland restoration, and integrating emissions and emission reduction topics into education programmes across the country, ensuring people of all ages are supported to learn about and act on climate change.

We have been clear where action is already underway, and where we need to explore the feasibility of proposals or consult further. As we work towards net zero, we will ensure the Assembly's recommendations continue to guide decision-making. We will also take relevant recommendations to the UK Government to urge them to act in areas that would enable Scotland to reach its full emissions reduction potential.

As you will know, the Climate Assembly worked closely with the Children’s Parliament, ensuring that for the first time, children have directly been involved in such a process. The responses to their calls to action have been integrated into our main response. Additionally, we will respond directly to the Children’s Parliament.

I look forward to hearing the outcome of the eighth and final meeting of the Assembly and will make a statement to Parliament following this.

Scotland’s Climate Assembly, as representatives of our nation, told us what they want to see to meet net zero, and I am delighted to support this package of recommendations.

Question reference: S6W-04897

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 16 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-33611 by Mairi Gougeon on 4 December 2020, whether it will provide the information for (a) 2020-21 and (b) 2021-22 to date regarding the number of offences recorded by Police Scotland under the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953.

Information on the number of offences recorded by Police Scotland under the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953 is provided in the following table.

Table 1. Offences of Protection of livestock from dogs, by local authority, 2012-13 to November 2021.

	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	April-Nov 2021*
Aberdeen City	0	1	2	6	6	3	1	0	2	2
Aberdeenshire	24	9	10	15	16	21	20	14	11	6
Angus	3	1	2	6	1	2	2	0	1	6
Argyll & Bute	11	3	5	8	11	7	11	11	18	8
Clackmannanshire	1	2	0	4	2	2	0	0	2	2
Dumfries & Galloway	5	6	6	12	7	21	13	9	16	16
Dundee	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
East Ayrshire	1	2	1	8	3	9	5	6	3	5
East Dunbartonshire	1	3	0	4	0	3	1	1	2	0
East Lothian	0	3	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
East Renfrewshire	0	0	0	1	1	1	0	2	1	0
Edinburgh City	2	3	3	2	7	4	5	2	3	8
Falkirk	8	0	3	4	3	2	4	0	2	0
Fife	9	6	7	4	8	6	7	5	12	2
Glasgow City	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
Highland	15	10	15	23	23	20	19	14	16	8
Inverclyde	1	0	0	1	2	1	2	1	1	0
Midlothian	6	5	5	4	10	8	7	10	17	2
Moray	2	3	5	4	5	3	4	8	5	2
Na h-Eileanan Siar	7	3	8	5	8	6	7	1	3	3
North Ayrshire	1	2	3	4	0	2	3	3	7	2
North Lanarkshire	0	1	4	6	11	3	9	9	5	2
Orkney Islands	4	1	2	7	2	3	1	0	0	1
Perth & Kinross	2	2	3	7	14	11	6	7	6	3
Renfrewshire	2	1	0	4	4	2	2	1	0	1
Scottish Borders	4	8	10	7	7	4	8	19	13	9
Shetland Islands	2	0	0	3	0	0	1	0	0	1
South Ayrshire	0	3	0	1	1	3	2	3	5	1
South Lanarkshire	2	2	2	8	12	13	10	9	7	2
Stirling	8	8	8	7	8	4	12	7	3	8
West Dunbartonshire	1	3	1	2	1	1	1	2	0	1
West Lothian	3	7	2	7	2	4	4	7	2	2
Scotland	125	98	109	174	175	170	168	151	163	103

Note:

* Data for 2012-13 to 2020-21 inclusive is sourced from the annual Recorded Crime in Scotland National Statistics. Data for April to November 2021 does not cover a full year and is sourced from monthly Recorded Crime in Scotland Official Statistics, and is therefore not directly comparable. The full 2021-22 reporting year will be published in 2022.