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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: S6F-00220

Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 September 2021

To ask the First Minister what discussions the Scottish Government has had with ScotRail and the trade unions regarding industrial action on the network.

Question reference: S6F-00211

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 September 2021

To ask the First Minister what discussions the Scottish Government has had regarding the functioning of Corporate Travel Management.

Question reference: S6F-00206

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 September 2021

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-00207

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 September 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 September 2021

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-02151

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 6 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how (a) many flood defence schemes it has (i) commissioned and (ii) completed and (b) much it has spent on flood defences in each local authority area in the South Scotland parliamentary region in each year since 2011.

Local authorities are responsible for commissioning and delivering flood protection schemes. In recognition of the importance of reducing flood risk the Scottish Government has provided, since 2007, a total of £42 million a year through the General Capital Grant to local authorities to allow them to invest in flood protection schemes.

In 2012 an arrangement was agreed between the Scottish Government and COSLA whereby the flooding component of the General Capital Grant would be distributed to major projects according to an agreed set of eligibility criteria. Between 2012 and 2016, it was decided that 7 schemes were eligible for 80% Scottish Government grant funding, 2 of which were in the South of Scotland.

Scheme	Local Authority	Overall Cost (£m)	Completion Date
Galashiels	Scottish Borders Council	£3.6	2014
Selkirk	Scottish Borders Council	£31	2016

In July 2016 it was agreed by Scottish Ministers and COSLA that from 2016/17 there would be a change in the distribution of funding for flooding. 80% of the available £42 million flooding capital grant would be allocated to large-scale projects and distributed according to the prioritisation of flooding schemes and works set out in the 14 Flood Risk Management Strategies which were published by SEPA in December 2015.

In 2016 it was decided that 40 schemes, set out in the Strategies, were eligible for funding under the prioritisation process described above. 7 of these schemes, shown below, are in the South of Scotland and are at various stages of development. Grant funding for flood protection schemes is paid by the Scottish Government over a number of years as and when a scheme progresses.

Scheme	Local Authority
Hawick	Scottish Borders Council
New Cumnock	East Ayrshire Council
Whitesands	Dumfries & Galloway Council
Newton Stewart	Dumfries & Galloway Council
Langholm	Dumfries & Galloway Council
Haddington	East Lothian Council
Stranraer	Dumfries & Galloway Council

The remaining 20% of the £42m is allocated to all 32 councils to allow them to take forward other flood protection measures set out in the Strategies and local plans. Local authorities are also free to allocate additional resources to flooding from within the overall funding provided to them by the Scottish Government and from within their own resources. The Scottish Government does not collect figures showing how much a local authority spends on flood risk management in each year.

Question reference: S6W-02335

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 6 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether community policing training delivered by Police Scotland in Sri Lanka includes training on intelligence gathering or operating intelligence databases on communities; whether any technology or software relating to community policing has been transferred to Sri Lanka, and what functions that technology or software has.

Question reference: S6W-02641

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 6 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what research it has commissioned on the effects of windfarm development on tourism.

In line with our economic strategy, our aim for the Scottish tourism sector is to enable sustainable and inclusive growth. Whilst there has been no recent research into the effects of windfarm development on tourism in Scotland, VisitScotland research does however indicate that visitors are seeking to be more responsible, both in terms of their personal and environmental impact. VisitScotland's Trends 2020 Paper identified that travellers are now seeking to consciously off-set the carbon impact of their travel. The use of sustainable energy by local businesses may therefore appeal to this type of traveller and promote Scotland as an environmentally friendly and climate conscious country to visit.

Question reference: S6W-02337

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 6 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of recent media reports, whether it can confirm that Police Scotland has halted all training of Sri Lankan police, and under what circumstances such training would resume, and whether it will commit to publishing in full the outcome of the current review of Police Scotland’s training in Sri Lanka.

Question reference: S6W-02339

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 6 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether Sri Lanka is on Police Scotland’s International Development and Innovation Unit’s list of countries for which ministerial approval is required for training to take place there, and, if not, whether, for any other reason, ministerial approval is required for Police Scotland to provide training to Sri Lankan police.

Question reference: S6W-02342

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 19 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 6 September 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether Police Scotland being funded by the UK Government to train Sri Lankan police has compromised Scottish Government commitments on human rights.

Scotland has a strong and enduring commitment to securing democracy, the rule of law and human rights across the world. We expect all states to recognise fundamental human rights, comply with human rights legislation and condemn human rights abuses wherever they occur. Through International Engagement we will share our experiences, values and expertise in areas such as justice, education and climate change, with a view to seeing the human rights of people across the world fully realised.

The decision to enter into UK Government funded contracts to train police forces in countries such as Sri Lanka is a matter for the Chief Constable, who is operationally independent of the Scottish Government. The current training programme, provided by Police Scotland in Sri Lanka, is aimed at improving community policing and gender equality, with all training underpinned by equality and human rights. We understand that Police Scotland suspended the current training programme due to the coronavirus pandemic and that they will re-evaluate delivery of the programme when restrictions on foreign travel are lifted.