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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: S6T-00329

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 29 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that people are shutting down their electric and rationing their energy use in the face of rising charges.

Question reference: S6T-00328

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 29 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the reported number of deaths of homeless people in 2020.

Question reference: S6W-04426

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 29 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what the community alarm charge is in each local authority area.

The community alarm/telecare charging amounts are set out below by Local Authority. The rate of charging varies depending on a range of factors including what technology offering they receive. This can be a standard community alarm package to more advanced technologies such as sensors to prevent a fall and other adaptations depending on individual circumstances. Figures are regularly collated by COSLA but charging rates do change in some areas quite regularly and are often means tested. Some Local Authorities will charge more than the figures stated based on any additional offering provided.

LOCAL AUTHORITY	From Local Government return, Feb 2021
ABERDEEN CITY	£3.65
ABERDEENSHIRE	£3.50
ANGUS	£5.05
ARGYLL & BUTE	£5.46
BORDERS	£4.80
CLACKMANNANSHIRE	£3.50
DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY	£3.60
DUNDEE	£3.60
EAST AYRSHIRE	£4.31
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE	Flat Yearly Rate £241.45
EAST LOTHIAN	£4.05
EAST RENFREWSHIRE	£2.60
EDINBURGH	£5.80
FALKIRK	£3.65
FIFE	£2.80
GLASGOW	£3.53
INVERCLYDE	£2.80
MIDLOTHIAN	£4.00
MORAY	£18.50 per quarter
NHS HIGHLAND	£6.35
NORTH AYRSHIRE	£4.83 per week (mainland) £2.36 per weeks (islands - limited service).
NORTH LANARKSHIRE	£3.40
ORKNEY	£0
PERTH & KINROSS	£4.62*
RENFREWSHIRE	£3.55
SHETLAND	£1.55
SOUTH AYRSHIRE	£4.41
SOUTH LANARKSHIRE	£1.63
STIRLING	£3.70 *
WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE	£5.40
WEST LOTHIAN	£3.02
WESTERN ISLES	£1.50

* Shows latest known figure provided, prior to the aforementioned Feb 2021 date

Question reference: S6W-04482

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 29 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-03664 by Humza Yousaf on 18 October 2021, what its response is to reports that a significant number of GP surgeries in England are using outsourced remote services to provide phone and online consultations for their patients, and whether surgeries in Scotland will use outsourced remote services for such consultations.

Question reference: S6W-04491

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 29 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many individuals have received funding through an Individual Training Account since 1 January 2020.

Question reference: S6W-04456

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 29 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding the (a) weight and (b) carbon impact of the single-use (i) plastic cutlery, (ii) plastic plates, (iii) plastic straws, (iv) plastic beverage stirrers and balloon sticks, (v) food containers made of expanded polystyrene and (vi) cups and other beverage containers made of expanded polystyrene, including their covers and lids, that have been used in Scotland in each of the last five years.

The Scottish Government commissioned an Environmental Report as part of a comprehensive consultation process prior to the creation of the Single-use Plastic Regulations recently laid before the Scottish Parliament.

This report is published on the Scottish Government’s website here and shows the following estimated yearly figures used in Scotland for the products requested:

Product	Number used in Scotland	Weight	Carbon impact (CO2 equivalent)
Single-use plastic cutlery	276 million	720 tonnes	3,540 tonnes
Single-use plastic plates (including bowls and trays)	50 million	500 tonnes	2,460 tonnes
Single-use plastic straws	300 million	170 tonnes	810 tonnes
Single-use plastic beverage stirrers	9.9 million	10 tonnes	30 tonnes
Single-use plastic balloon sticks	1.7 million	10 tonnes	40 tonnes
Expanded polystyrene food containers	66 million	330 tonnes	2,140 tonnes
Expanded polystyrene drinks containers	45 million	120 tonnes	680 tonnes

Question reference: S6W-04383

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 29 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the process for applying to the Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund 2021, what provision was made to allow registered social landlords to consult their tenants about carrying out any work, and whether it will accept late applications in cases where the landlord chose to consult tenants and this delayed their application to the Fund.

The Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund asks social landlords to provide evidence of tenant engagement as part of the funding application process and encourages consultation with tenants before any work begins.

The fund, which will support the social housing sector over the next 5 years, reopened this August and welcomes applications from social landlords who want to upgrade their existing housing stock. The fund remains open throughout the year. Applications can be submitted at any time and are assessed on a quarterly basis.

Question reference: S6W-04457

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 29 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-04048 by Lorna Slater on 12 November 2021, what its position is on whether sufficient data exists to apply the carbon metric to municipal waste collected by local authorities, and how their recycling performance compares between carbon and weight-based metrics for each available year.

Zero Waste Scotland’s report The Carbon Footprint of Scotland's Household Waste summarises the carbon impacts of Scotland’s household waste using the latest Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) published waste data. This report provides information on the relative carbon and weight-based impacts of Scotland’s waste generated and managed. The most recent data shows that in 2019 the carbon impacts of Scotland’s household waste fell to the lowest on record, 16% below 2011 levels. Further information is available at https://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/our-work/carbon-metric-publications .

Data on local authority household recycling rates is published by SEPA and available at https://www.sepa.org.uk/environment/waste/waste-data/waste-data-reporting/household-waste-data/ .

Question reference: S6W-04480

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 29 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether projects located in the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic are eligible to apply for funding through its Climate Justice Fund.

Question reference: S6W-04323

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 29 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what is being done to ensure that the roll-out of 1,140 hours of funded early learning and childcare allows for flexibility in order to meet the individual needs of every child.

All local authorities are now offering 1140 hours of funded early learning and childcare (ELC) to all eligible children. Figures published in October 2021 by the Improvement Service show that at the end of August 2021, nearly 91,000 children in Scotland were accessing funded early learning and childcare. Of these 91,000 children, 97% are accessing expanded provision, and 87% - nearly 80,000 children – are choosing to take up the full 1140 hours on offer.

Each local authority is responsible for developing a local ELC offer that meets local people’s needs and circumstances, working in partnership with providers, and they have a statutory duty under the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 to consult with parents every 2 years on how they provide these services.

This will help local authorities to ensure that there is an appropriate mix of providers and patterns of delivery within each authority area, and that is delivered in a way which is responsive to parental demand.

In each local authority area parents should be able to choose from a range of types of setting, offering different patterns of provision, and which meet the National Standard, but we do not expect every setting to offer every possible pattern of provision that a parent may request.

Local authorities have worked incredibly hard with their partners to introduce the expanded ELC offer while dealing with the challenging circumstances and impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Local ELC offers will continue to evolve in response to patterns of demand and local circumstances.