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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-31954

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 17 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to develop training programmes to support digital literacy and telehealth usage.

Digital inclusion, of which literacy is one component, is being prioritised as part of the national Digital Health and Care Strategy and associated delivery plan. In March 2023, the Scottish Government launched the £2m Digital Inclusion Programme. Delivered through SCVO, it has developed a framework to support digital inclusion to enable people to access digital services across health and social care. The programme has funded projects in remote and rural areas (see map), supported provision of devices and developed Digital Champions Training to support local literacy advice and support.

The Scottish Government also recently published the Digital and Data Capability Framework to support the development of digital capabilities for everyone working in health and social care in Scotland. The framework identifies the skills, knowledge and behaviours that are essential for the workforce and will be used to improve individual and team learning requirements.

Near Me video consulting was recently highlighted in the Audit Scotland report as a good practice example of supporting inclusive service development. As part of our national digital skills commitment, the Near Me Team have worked in collaboration with NHS Education Scotland (NES) to produce resources, including two video consulting modules on the TURAS learning platform for professionals.

Question reference: S6W-31978

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 17 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of children’s hearings have been conducted (a) in person, (b) virtually and (c) in hybrid format in each of the last three calendar years, broken down by local authority area.

Question reference: S6W-32040

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 06 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 17 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that the recently announced £150 million of investment for the former Hunterston coal terminal in North Ayrshire delivers economic growth for the local region around it.

The Scottish Government welcomes the significant investment being made in the redevelopment of Hunterston marine yard to create a renewables hub, which it is anticipated could support thousands of jobs for the local community.

Peel Ports suggest that the site will be capable of hosting critical infrastructure, manufacturing, and fabrication facilities for the deployment of offshore wind. These will have the potential to boost local, regional, and national economies, creating employment opportunities in the local area and supporting local businesses.

The Scottish Government’s investment of up to £500m over five years to anchor our offshore wind supply chain in Scotland, is expected to leverage additional private investment of £1.5 billion in the infrastructure and manufacturing facilities critical to growing the sector.

Officials will continue to work closely with Peel Ports on the company’s plans for investment to maximise the benefits for the local region.

Question reference: S6W-31998

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 17 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the allocation in its draft Budget 2025-26 for free school meal expansion, whether it can provide an estimate of the costs of rolling out free school meals to all P6 and P7 pupils by April 2026.

Question reference: S6W-31996

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 17 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many properties in 2025-26 will be subject to the intermediate property rate, broken down by (a) industry sector and (b) local authority area.

Table 1 shows the number of properties liable for the Intermediate Property Rate by property class as at 1 October 2024. Table 2 shows the number of properties liable for the Intermediate Property Rate by council area as at 1 October 2024.

The Scottish Government does not hold property-level data on industry sectors. “Property class” is a classification used by Scottish Assessors to describe the type of property, but may not necessarily accurately reflect the actual use of a property.

Figures are rounded to the nearest 10, and may not sum due to rounding.

Table 1: Number of properties liable for the Intermediate Property Rate, by property class

Source: Scottish Assessors’ Valuation Roll, as at 1 October 2024

Property class	Number of properties
Shops	2,140
Public houses and restaurants	420
Offices	1,750
Hotels	380
Industrial subjects	2,430
Leisure, entertainment, caravans, etc.	480
Garages and petrol stations	200
Cultural	100
Sporting subjects	50
Education and training	720
Public service subjects	500
Communications	40
Quarries, mines, etc.	50
Petrochemical	10
Religious	90
Health and medical	260
Other	180
Care facilities	500
Advertising	20
Statutory undertaking	150
All	10,440

Table 2: Number of properties liable for the Intermediate Property Rate, by council area

Source: Scottish Assessors’ Valuation Roll, as at 1 October 2024

Council area	Number of properties
Aberdeen City	840
Aberdeenshire	480
Angus	120
Argyll and Bute	150
City of Edinburgh	1,510
Clackmannanshire	50
Dumfries and Galloway	220
Dundee City	320
East Ayrshire	150
East Dunbartonshire	110
East Lothian	130
East Renfrewshire	60
Falkirk	200
Fife	550
Glasgow City	1,660
Highland	590
Inverclyde	90
Midlothian	170
Moray	150
Na h-Eileanan Siar	50
North Ayrshire	160
North Lanarkshire	510
Orkney Islands	40
Perth and Kinross	270
Renfrewshire	320
Scottish Borders	180
Shetland Islands	60
South Ayrshire	170
South Lanarkshire	430
Stirling	200
West Dunbartonshire	130
West Lothian	400
Scotland	10,440

Question reference: S6T-02254

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 December 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Information Commissioner letter to it expressing "disappointment’" in the way that it complied with Decision 193/2024, regarding legal advice that it received.

Question reference: S6T-02250

Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 December 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the reported delay in the publication of the A96 Corridor Review document, three months after it was understood to be provided to the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, is acceptable.

Question reference: S6T-02253

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 December 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve the recruitment and retention of nurses, in light of recent reports that the number of students accepted onto nursing courses remains below its targets.

Question reference: S6F-03654

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Monday, 16 December 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 December 2024

To ask the First Minister what steps the Scottish Government is taking in response to the reported announcement that NHS Scotland's IT software supplier, INPS, has entered administration, in light of concerns that this could leave GPs without the digital infrastructure to maintain electronic health records.

Question reference: S6F-03642

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 December 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 December 2024

Question to be taken in Chamber.