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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: S6O-00738

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 February 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure that children living in temporary accommodation have access to permanent homes.

Question reference: S6O-00733

Asked by: David Torrance, MSP for Kirkcaldy, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 February 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is giving to local authorities to help tackle homelessness.

Question reference: S6O-00749

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 February 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government for what reasons school pupils taking examinations in some subjects, such as business or geography, will reportedly receive advance notice of what content will or will not be assessed, while those taking other subjects, such as chemistry, will receive no advance notice.

Question reference: S6O-00751

Asked by: Natalie Don-Innes, MSP for Renfrewshire North and West, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 February 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress regarding free early learning and childcare provision for all one- and two-year-olds.

Question reference: S6O-00752

Asked by: Ruth Maguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 February 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to identify perpetrators of human trafficking and disrupt their activity.

Question reference: S6O-00753

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 February 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when it expects college and university students to be able to return to full-time face-to-face learning.

Question reference: S6O-00748

Asked by: Paul McLennan, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 February 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what support is available to maximise the growth opportunities for the renewables sector in East Lothian.

Question reference: S6O-00750

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 February 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the provision of new ferries in light of the publication of the Strategic Transport Projects Review 2.

Question reference: S6O-00754

Asked by: Dr Alasdair Allan, MSP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 February 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to ensure that energy companies do not discriminate against island residents in relation to the installation of smart meters in residential properties.

Question reference: S6W-05999

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 2 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commit to ensuring that private sector solutions incubators for low-carbon and net zero projects will be fully resourced and mandated by the end of 2022.

In CivTech, the Scottish Government is already resourcing an outstanding accelerator/incubator programme that is delivering in the low-carbon and net zero areas.

The Scottish Government’s CivTech programme is the world’s first successful public sector focused accelerator programme, with a mission to drive daring and innovation in the public sector by collaboratively solving challenges to make people’s lives better – and in doing so create generations of sustainable, high growth potential businesses. Its collaborative approach to incubation combines public sector ‘domain expertise’ with private sector innovation and citizen engagement to produce innovative solutions. More than 90% of the private sector applicants to the CivTech Accelerators are SMEs, many early stage. Combining open challenges and ‘Silicon Valley best practice’ repurposed for public benefit, it is very highly regarded as an accelerator/incubator [it has been described as the ‘gold standard’ in innovation drivers] and over the past six years it has delivered more than 60 Challenges across the National Performance Framework and Scottish Government priorities.

One of these priorities is the climate emergency, and working closely with organisations including NatureScot, SEPA and Forestry and Land Scotland, CivTech has delivered climate related projects since its inception. These include award-winning products and technologies to help us meet tree planting targets, and mitigate the effects of climate change through community based flood warning systems. This year’s CivTech 6 programme includes three Challenges in the Net Zero and Low Carbon areas, focused on the decarbonisation of the manufacturing supply chain, more effective peatland restoration, and help for land managers making informed land-use decisions to increase carbon capture and storage.

One of the great advantages of the CivTech model is that it delivers Challenges across a wide range of disciplines: the ‘cross collateralisation’ of knowledge, knowhow, skills and experience this produces is an acknowledged, core driver of innovation, and avoids the ‘siloed’ approach of many single-focus incubators/accelerators. CivTech is clearly delivering very positive results and the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government of September 2021 included a significant commitment to scale CivTech and investment in its Challenges. With CivTech’s focus on government priorities, this will offer a significant increases in opportunities and funding for private sector innovators to develop technologies which tackle the climate crisis.

Scotland’s strength in public accelerator climate technologies was recognised during CoP 26 when the CivTech Alliance, an international collaboration of public sector accelerator programmes, demonstrated climate technologies from across the world. This included companies from Scotland, and offered a showcase opportunity for companies that came through the CivTech programme.