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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-03081

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 26 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government on (a) reforming family reunion rules to enable child refugees in Europe to settle with family members already resident in Scotland and (b) establishing a new UK-wide scheme to enable child refugees in Europe to be resettled in the UK, including in Scotland.

Asylum is reserved to the UK Parliament and handled by the Home Office. This includes family reunion and the establishment of refugee resettlement schemes. UK immigration rules currently only allow for the reunion of dependent children under 18 and spouses, or long term partners, with refugees already living in the UK.

The Scottish Government has repeatedly urged the UK Government to review its family reunion policy and to consider expanding eligibility so that more people can be reunited safely with their family in the UK. Most recently, I raised concern about the impact of the Nationality and Borders Bill on family reunion rights in my letter of 1 September to the Home Secretary. The Minister for Justice and Tackling Illegal Migration replied on 19 October. He responded on some of the points raised and indicated further discussion with Scottish Ministers should follow. The Scottish Government will continue to press the UK Government for clarity on the implications of this legislation for Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-03367

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 26 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it expects all relevant businesses to fully support and comply with the Deposit Return Scheme from the launch day onwards.

Question reference: S6W-03332

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 26 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the comment by the Minister for Transport on 23 September 2021 that there is a plan in place to provide 30,000 electric vehicle charge points by 2030, which is “evolving”, whether it will publish this plan, and by what date the fully-completed final plan will be published.

Transport Scotland, recently published a joint report with Scottish Futures Trust setting out the opportunities to grow Scotland’s public electric vehicle charging network and the conditions that will be needed to facilitate this over the next few years. The report makes reference to Climate Change Committee data which indicated that the UK as a whole may require 280,000 public charge points by 2030, implying the need for 30,000 in Scotland which in turn equates to approximately 4000 each year. Importantly, the report also highlighted that the number of charge points required will be influenced by a range of factors including development of battery and charging technologies and that significant commercial investment through public and private partnerships would likely be needed to develop the network as demand grows.

The Scottish Government has invested over £45m in developing the ChargePlace Scotland network, which now has over 1900 charge points, and is continuing to support network growth. Transport Scotland is working closely with Scottish Futures Trust to consider the most appropriate structures and approach to growing and developing charging infrastructure in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-03305

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by George Adam on 26 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether (a) the Deputy First Minister and (b) any of its (i) special advisers and (ii) civil servants have breached any codes of conduct by failing to provide to the Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints information that has since made it into the public domain.

Question reference: S6W-03383

Asked by: Dr Alasdair Allan, MSP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 26 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what support is available to townships that are trying to improve the condition of their primary road to a point where it can be adopted by the local authority.

Question reference: S6W-02606

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 26 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to introduce or reintroduce any empty homes grants that aim to bring properties back into the social rental sector.

Question reference: S6F-00388

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 25 October 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 October 2021

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s position is regarding the use of facial recognition technology in schools.

Question reference: S6F-00377

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 October 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 October 2021

To ask the First Minister, in light of COP26, what action the Scottish Government is taking to showcase the role that Scottish agriculture can play in reducing carbon emissions.

Question reference: S6F-00378

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 25 October 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 October 2021

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government anticipates the impact of COP26 will be on Glasgow’s healthcare services.

Question reference: S6F-00368

Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 October 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 October 2021

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the UK Budget.