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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-03997

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that Edinburgh City Council plans to move up to 700 residents living in unlicensed temporary accommodation this winter without suitable alternative accommodation being available.

Question reference: S6O-03999

Asked by: Willie Coffey, MSP for Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how it can make communities safer from the use and impact of fireworks.

Question reference: S6O-04002

Asked by: Elena Whitham, MSP for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to improve access to audiology services.

Question reference: S6O-04000

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with East Dunbartonshire Council regarding the condition of Milngavie Primary School.

Question reference: S6O-03998

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to reduce waiting times for dental extractions in rural NHS board areas.

Question reference: S6W-31039

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 13 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that the legal aid budget has reduced by 45%, allowing for inflation, over the last 10 years, whether it plans to restore it to the level that it would have been were it to have been uprated each year by inflation, or to otherwise increase it.

The Legal Aid Fund is demand-led and directly linked to application numbers and all eligible costs are met. The Scottish Legal Aid Board’s Annual Accounts and Report 2023-24 show that the total cost of legal aid has increased 12% on the previous year to £151 million, 16% higher than the pre-pandemic year of 2019-20 and just under £10 million above the Scottish Legal Aid Boards’s budget of £141.3 million. Indications for this financial year show that expenditure levels are predicted to rise to around £171 million which will be the highest ever recorded.

Fees were uprated in 2019 by 3% and in 2021 by 5% and a further 5% came into effect in April 2022. Fees were increased most recently in April 2023 implementing an £11 million package of legal aid reforms and an uplift worth 10.25%. The compound effect of these increases is just over 25% and is a year-on-year increase in expenditure and investment in legal aid.

The most recent increase came into force on 29 April 2023, taking the total additional funding in legal aid to £31 million since April 2021.

In addition to fee increases, other forms of investment have been delivered by the Scottish Government. In 2021 a further £9 million in funding was also made available to assist legal aid providers through the pandemic.

The Scottish Government also provided funding to establish 40 traineeships in legal aid firms during 2021. The total additional funding package for legal aid providers between 2021-22 was worth £20 million.

The Scottish Legal Aid Board’s Annual Accounts and Report 2023-24 can be found here: Annual Report and Accounts - Scottish Legal Aid Board (slab.org.uk).

Question reference: S6W-31059

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 13 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has given consideration to calls to introduce a mandatory and permanent field on a dog's microchip to record the breeder to improve traceability.

The Scottish Government continues to discuss with the other devolved administrations as part the Microchipping Devolved Administration Working Group ways to improve traceability of breeders.

With regards to current requirements to record breeder information, as part of The Microchipping of Dogs (Scotland) Regulations 2016 this Government made it compulsory for all dogs to be microchipped and for the following details be recorded

7 (d) where applicable, the fact that the keeper of the dog is also a breeder
7 (e) where applicable, the fact that the keeper of the dog is a person who holds a breeding licence granted under section 1(2) of the Breeding of Dogs Act 1973(7) and, if so —

(i) the name of the local authority which issued the breeder’s licence; and

(ii) the breeder’s licence number or code (if any);

Question reference: S6W-31019

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 13 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the suggestion in the Audit Scotland report, Alcohol and Drugs Services, that alcohol and drugs partnerships (ADPs) have focused on medication assisted treatment (MAT) standard compliance, leading to less focus on tackling alcohol harm.

The Scottish Government has fully committed to ensuring that treatment services are available for all forms of substance use. The MAT standards are an essential part of the National Mission on Drugs, to save and improve lives.

The National Mission focuses on actions and initiatives to address the harms associated with drugs, but these can and do support people affected by all substances including alcohol. For example, through an increase in residential rehabilitation places; initiatives to tackle the stigma directed by people affected by substance use; and an increased understanding of the co-occurring nature of problem substance use and mental health issues.

A National Specification for treatment and recovery services is also currently in development, which aims to provide clarity on the range of substance use support services that should be available in local areas. The Specification will help local services set out future strategic plans to deliver on their commitment to reduce alcohol and drug harms and deaths, improving the lives of those impacted by alcohol and drugs.

In addition, the Scottish Government is supporting the UK Government on reviewing and updating the UK clinical guidelines for alcohol treatment: consultation document - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) to introduce new approaches to treatment that will apply to a broad range of settings including primary care, hospital and justice settings.

Question reference: S6W-31058

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 13 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-26106 by Jim Fairlie on 19 March 2024, what (a) discussions it has had with the UK Government Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and (b) progress has been made regarding a UK-wide single point of search portal for dog microchipping information.

Scottish Government officials continue to engage and contribute to the Microchipping Devolved Administration Working Group and on 11 October I wrote to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Rt Hon Steve Reed OBE, MP expressing the Scottish Government’s support for the work being done by the Working Group towards a single point of search portal for all animals microchipped.

Question reference: S6W-31065

Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 13 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £10 million of funding provided over 2023 to 2025 for the work of the new Food and Drink Industry Strategy was spent in the Highlands and Islands, as set out in the Scottish Government’s National Islands Plan: Implementation Route Map 2024.