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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-08120

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 4 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what processes are in place to assess the suitability of properties in Scotland that have been listed in an application for the Homes for Ukraine scheme.

The Scottish Government is working closely with local authorities and COSLA to ensure that all appropriate checks are carried out on properties. These checks include an enhanced disclosure process, a local authority systems check and a property check to ensure there are no known safeguarding or visible accommodation issues.

The visits will ensure the accommodation provided is of an approved standard, meets the minimum requirements to live in, and there are no concerns of overcrowding. More information about home visits, including what is being checked, can be found on the Super Sponsor Scheme and Homes for Ukraine guidance for local authorities website.

Question reference: S6W-07873

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 4 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the announcement that its revised Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan will not be published until Autumn 2022, whether the strategy will still be "refreshed", or fully updated, in light of this extended timescale.

The Energy Strategy and Just Transition plan will refresh the 2017 Energy Strategy, and deliver Scotland’s first Just Transition Plan. It will take a whole-system view of how the sector must evolve to drive our transition to net zero, with a specific focus on actions needed to meet our 2030 interim target. The revised timeline will allow robust evidence and analysis to be produced and take account of ongoing projects, which are progressing at pace in response to the rapidly evolving global energy environment. It will also allow time for us to engage meaningfully with stakeholders in line with our wider approach to just transition.

Question reference: S6W-08140

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 4 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the total funding available from the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) for an Occupational Therapy Masters is reportedly £10,000 when the tuition fees for the two-year course at Queen Margaret University amount to £20,000, plus living expenses, in light of reports that, in England, students are offered a £10,000 grant from the NHS learning support fund in addition to a loan of over £11,000 and funding for accommodation and travel costs incurred whilst on placements.

The current full time postgraduate student support package offers a loan of up to £10,000 (comprising £5,500 for fees and £4,500 for living costs). Students whose tuition fees are above the maximum available to them from SAAS have to make their own arrangements for the balance. This applies to all eligible postgraduate courses.

The current student support package has been designed to support students with the costs incurred during their time studying at university, and the support now available in Scotland is at its highest level.

A review of postgraduate funding was part of this Government’s manifesto commitments. This is underway and will include consideration of the overall level of funding available to students.

Question reference: S6W-08143

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ash Regan on 4 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many local authorities have developed their own multi-agency, collaborative missing persons strategy and protocols to respond to and track missing children.

Through the National Missing Persons Framework for Scotland, which was launched in 2017, the Scottish Government has developed and strengthened local multi-agency partnerships. A survey in 2020 by the Working Group for Missing People in Scotland showed that there are now multi-agency groups in 27 local authority areas and we aim to work with all areas to implement them by 2025.

The Scottish Government has funded the Missing People charity to deliver a Framework Implementation Project; and funds a National Coordinator to deliver a programme of consultancy, training and best practice sharing in local areas in Scotland.

Since 2019 the Implementation project has worked with local partners in Edinburgh, Fife, Dundee, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, Moray, Dumfries and Galloway, East Dunbartonshire, North Ayrshire, Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire to develop their multi-agency partnerships, protocols and strategies. A further seven local authority areas will be engaged with the project in 2022-23.

Thankfully, the overwhelming majority of children who go missing in Scotland return home safely – but, any child who goes missing is one too many. Through these actions, Police Scotland, the lead agency for tracking missing people, is working more closely with families, friends and statutory bodies to track and safely return those children who go missing.

Question reference: S6W-08125

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 4 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it has published for local authorities on the Homes for Ukraine scheme.

Question reference: S6W-07571

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central 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 what is meant by living in the acquired gender, in the context of the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill.

Living in the acquired gender’ is the gender in which a person is living when an application for a Gender Recognition Certificate is made.

It is an existing requirement under the Gender Recognition Act 2004. The Gender Recognition Panel who is currently responsible for handling applications advises in guidance for applicants that this may include, for example, having changed the gender marker on your passport and driving licence.

The Scottish Government will work with National Records of Scotland to provide guidance to applicants on the application process.

Question reference: S6W-08228

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 4 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take to increase awareness of the Warmer Homes Scotland scheme, in light of the cost of living crisis.

The Scottish Government recognises the acute pressure that is felt by people due to the cost of living crisis and will be pulling forward planned marketing activity to promote the advice and support that is in place for them.

The Scottish Government directs people towards its fuel poverty and home energy schemes, including Warmer Homes Scotland, via the Home Energy Scotland Advice Service. This makes it easier for people in Scotland to access all the support they are eligible for in one place and acts as the referral mechanism for the schemes.

In addition to the forthcoming activity, the Home Energy Scotland marketing campaign for winter 2021-22 concluded on 6 March 2022. The campaign ran over TV, digital and press advertising in two bursts of activity from 1 November 2021 to 12 December 2021 and from 5 January 2022 to 6 March 2022. An evaluation is currently being compiled which will inform future activity.

As committed to in the Scottish Government’s Heat in Buildings Strategy, we are now also developing a Public Engagement Strategy and early engagement activities to raise the profile of the heat decarbonisation agenda, including the changes that people will need to make and the co-benefits that can be delivered. Through this work we will also promote increased awareness of existing and future support as part of ensuring a fair and just transition, reflecting and building on the principles set out in our broader Climate Change Public Engagement Strategy.

Further details will be made available in due course.

Question reference: S6W-08001

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ash Regan on 4 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address antisocial behaviour, in particular in relation to repeat offenders.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that police and local authorities continue to have the powers and resources needed to address antisocial behaviour in our communities. This includes investing in prevention and early intervention.

No single approach will tackle all antisocial behaviour and that is why we support a range of activities which includes the use of Antisocial Behaviour Orders (ASBO’s) and Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN’s) alongside diversionary and early intervention activities in appropriate circumstances. We encourage agencies to work in partnership to address the issues being faced by communities and work with them to address these issues, including dealing with those who are persistent offenders.

Question reference: S6W-07115

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 4 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the recent YouGov Polling, commissioned by British Glass, that reportedly highlights the will of consumers to keep glass recycling kerbside, rather than in a Deposit Return Scheme, and, in particular, what its response is to the reported findings that 90% of adults already recycle most of the time, and that 66% of adults have either never heard of the Deposit Return Scheme or do not know much about it.

We do not believe an enhanced kerbside scheme could deliver the level or rate of improvement that we will see through Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). Packaging recycling rates have stalled, including for glass, and the current producer responsibility system is not driving improvement.

In terms of public awareness, now that the implementation date of 16 August 2023 has been confirmed by the Scottish Parliament, we will work closely with Circularity Scotland Ltd to ensure that there is widespread understanding of DRS before the scheme is implemented.

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.