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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-25634

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 5 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of it approaching four years since the report of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review, First Do No Harm, was published, and that three years have nearly passed since the Scottish Government published its plan for delivering on its commitment to implement, in full, the recommendations of the review, whether it will (a) provide an update on its delivery plan and (b) confirm when it expects to implement the remaining recommendations of the review to improve the lives of those impacted by sodium valproate, Primados and mesh implants.

There has been progress in implementing the Scottish Government’s delivery plan:

the Patient Safety Commissioner for Scotland Act 2023 established a Parliamentary Commissioner on patient safety
the Glasgow Complex Mesh Surgical Service offers mesh removal surgery, and women can also choose an NHS England surgeon or an independent provider
25 women have had the costs of previously arranged private mesh removal surgery reimbursed
the NHS Scotland Scan for Safety Programme for implantable medical devices is planned to roll out across territorial boards by the end of March 2026
on valproate, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency introduced regulatory measures for the prescribing of valproate and we are working closely with the agency to support their implementation

The Scottish Government considers, further to the undertaking offered in 2021, that it is taking appropriate action to pursue the outcomes sought by all of the recommendations of the 2020 report insofar as they relate to devolved matters.

Question reference: S6W-25667

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Natalie Don on 5 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether all one- and two-year-olds in low-income families receive free early years education.

The Scottish Government funds delivery of 1140 hours of high quality funded Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) to all three and four-year-olds and around a quarter of families with an eligible two-year-old, who experience the most disadvantage, across Scotland. This entitlement is regardless of the working status of their parents - putting children first.

We recognise how important both early learning and school age childcare are for families, especially those experiencing poverty and that is why within this year’s Programme for Government we have committed to work with local government and partners in the ELC sector to expand our childcare offers.

We recognise that younger children have different needs to those aged three or four and therefore our new offer will be guided by what the evidence tells us about what is best for children and families depending on the age and stage of the child.

We also know that for children aged under three, how much they benefit from Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) is determined by crucial factors such as their family background, what age they start in ELC, the quality of services and the balance of hours they spend between care at home and in ELC settings. That is why we are committed to listening to families and to putting quality at the heart our work on both the Early Adopter Communities (EACs) and the expansion for two year olds.

We have recently completed and published two key pieces of research to help us understand and identify what models of ELC are best for younger children. The first is a summary of work to map current ELC provision for younger children in Scotland and the second a literature review undertaken by Public Health Scotland. Evidence from this early insights work supports taking a considered approach to policy development in 2024-25, so that we understand what is right for families with under three’s.

Over the next year we will continue to build on this early insights work by piloting new approaches via funding from the Whole Family Wellbeing Fund to test models of holistic family support and by engaging with the ELC sector to understand what is required to support an expansion.

We are already engaging with families through our work with EAC’s and are working to expand our reach to include Fife and Shetland and also to broaden the work to include younger children. This work will provide us with a clearer picture about what approaches deliver the greatest impact for families with younger children.

In parallel we will continue to work with local authorities and our partners in the sector to support up-take of the existing two-year-old offer, to ensure as many children as possible receive the benefits of high quality ELC, as well as planning for a further expansion.

Question reference: S6W-25230

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Claire Baker (on behalf of the SPCB) on 5 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, as an employer located in the zone, how it is preparing for the enforcement of the Edinburgh Low Emission Zone.

As an employer located in the Edinburgh Low Emission Zone (LEZ), there are several steps we are taking to prepare for its enforcement:

Understanding the LEZ regulations: We have familiarized ourselves with the specific regulations of the Edinburgh LEZ, including which vehicles are affected, emission standards, and any exemptions or grace periods. The SPCB as a body is not exempt and the basement car park can only be accessed by vehicles traveling through the LEZ , therefore all vehicles (except those exempted such as blue badge holders and emergency vehicles) using the Parliament car park will need to be compliant. Our car park is small compared to the number of people who access the Parliament each day with only 65 spaces, 47 of which are bookable (including 6 accessible bays and 6 electric charging spaces). More information about the LEZ is available on the City of Edinburgh Council website: Low Emission Zone – The City of Edinburgh Council.

Our fleet vehicle: The SPCB has one fleet vehicle used for visiting constituency offices. This vehicle has been identified as not compliant with the LEZ, so will be replaced with an electric van.

Promoting Sustainable Travel: The SPCB Sustainable Travel Plan available here encourages passholders and visitors to adopt sustainable travel patterns and details alternative ways such as public transport, walking, cycling and wheeling or carpooling, to commute and visit Holyrood. We have good rates of sustainable travel to the building, in 2022 21% of building users walked to work, 10% cycled and 45% came by public transport.

Hybrid working: Since the pandemic the Parliament operates flexible work arrangements with telecommunication facilities. This allows employees to work from home or adjust their work schedules to avoid peak traffic times, opening up more public transport options and reducing the need for commuting into the LEZ.

Communications Programme: We are planning a suite of communications in the run up to the start date of the LEZ (1^st June) which will inform passholders about the LEZ regulations and how they can comply. There will be communication to all those that book parking spaces in the car park at Holyrood and to the wider staff body that access the Parliament building.

By taking these proactive steps, the SPCB can ensure compliance with the Edinburgh Low Emission Zone regulations.

Question reference: S6W-25335

Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 February 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 5 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many battery energy storage system sites are (a) currently operational, (b) under construction and (c) scheduled for construction, broken down by local authority area.

The information can be extracted from the publicly available Renewable Energy Planning Database ( Renewable Energy Planning Database: quarterly extract - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) ). The following table draws out the number of battery projects planned across Scotland up to the end of December 2023.

Table 1: Extract from Renewable Energy Planning Database up to the end of December 2023 (published January 2024)

Local Authority	a) Operational	b) Under Construction	c) Awaiting Construction
Aberdeen City			2
Aberdeenshire	1	1	16
Angus		1	4
Argyll and Bute			1
Clackmannanshire			2
Dumfries and Galloway			7
Dundee City	2		2
East Ayrshire			4
East Dunbartonshire			1
East Lothian	1
East Renfrewshire	1
Falkirk			1
Fife		3	9
Glasgow City			2
Highland	1		7
Inverclyde
Midlothian
Moray		1	6
North Ayrshire			6
North Lanarkshire	1
Orkney Islands	1
Perth and Kinross		1	5
Renfrewshire			1
Scottish Borders			2
Shetland Islands	1
South Ayrshire			3
South Lanarkshire		1	5
Stirling			3
West Dunbartonshire
West Lothian	1		2
Scotland Total	10	8	91

Question reference: S6T-01835

Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the reported claims by the director of Shelter Scotland that it is "gaslighting" the country on housing when its budget "condemns 10,000 children to lives trapped in the homelessness system".

Question reference: S6T-01838

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what steps it is taking to resolve industrial action in the further education sector.

Question reference: S6T-01837

Asked by: Audrey Nicoll, MSP for Aberdeen South and North Kincardine, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 March 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the announcement by Aberdeen City Council that residents of approximately 500 homes in Torry face relocation as a result of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.

Question reference: S6F-02905

Asked by: Rona Mackay, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 March 2024

To ask the First Minister, in light of International Women's Day on 8 March, what steps the Scottish Government is taking to tackle gender-based violence.

Question reference: S6F-02904

Asked by: Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 March 2024

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to reduce waiting times for children referred for a neurodevelopmental assessment.

Question reference: S6F-02891

Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 March 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 March 2024

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government can take to help encourage children into sport and cultivate future world class athletes, in light of the recent successes of Josh Kerr and Jemma Reekie at the World Indoor Athletics Championships in Glasgow.