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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: S6W-22865

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 November 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 23 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the reported increasing use of private contractors to deliver services that had previously been undertaken in-house by Scottish Water employees.

Over the last 5 years, Scottish Water’s workforce has remained broadly stable at around 4,500 employees. It supports thousands of additional jobs through its supply chain and provides information on this in its Annual Reports, available at www.scottishwater.co.uk/Help-and-Resources/Document-Hub/Key-Publications/Annual-Reports . In 2022-23, 75% of its supply chain was made up of SMEs and more than 90% of its spend was on organisations located in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-22864

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 November 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 23 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the full-time equivalent staffing levels in Scottish Water have been in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S6W-22778

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 23 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what review it has undertaken of the impact of Regulation 6 of the Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications) (Scotland) Regulations 2022, which provides planning authorities with the power to levy a surcharge of up to 25% on retrospective applications as a means of recovering the costs of undertaking enforcement investigations.

Question reference: S6W-22945

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 23 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had regarding the introduction of a legal age to buy spray paint.

Question reference: S6W-22818

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 23 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government which private sector companies have been contracted by Scottish Water in each year since 2007 for (a) construction projects and (b) maintenance, operation and repairs.

Question reference: S6W-22826

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 23 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6F-02515 by Humza Yousaf on 9 November 2023, whether it will detail the ministerial discussions that took place regarding approval for setting the remuneration in the current regulatory period of the chief executive of Scottish Water.

The remuneration of Scottish Water’s Chief Executive is set out in its Annual Reports. These can be found on Scottish Water’s website at www.scottishwater.co.uk/Help-and-Resources/Document-Hub/Key-Publications/Annual-Reports .

Ministers considered and agreed the salary limit for the new Chief Executive on 7 September 2022 ahead of the appointment process. This reflected the need to recruit very experienced personnel to run these vital services from a highly competitive market for such talent.

Question reference: S6W-22828

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 November 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 23 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when additional support for the new entrants to farming will be announced, in light of its commitment to announce additional support for new entrants later in 2023.

I can confirm that I announced the opening of the “Next Generation Practical Training Fund Pilot” at AgriScot on 22 November 2023. This fund will offer up to £500 per person for relevant practical land-based courses for new and young entrants.

The development of the fund has been spearheaded through the Farming Opportunities for New Entrants (FONE) Group, chaired by Henry Graham, and I am very grateful that he continues to provide his valuable time and effort to progress this work effectively with officials and industry stakeholders.

Question reference: S6O-02829

Asked by: Sandesh Gulhane, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 November 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with Glasgow City Council and Glasgow Life regarding the future provision of public services and facilities in the region, including the Glasgow National Hockey Centre.

Question reference: S6O-02828

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 November 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with East Lothian Council regarding the future of local public service provision in the area, including in relation to the Loch Centre in Tranent.

Question reference: S6O-02826

Asked by: Finlay Carson, MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 November 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what funding it is providing for regeneration and economic renewal projects in the south of Scotland.