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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: S6O-02884

Asked by: Fulton MacGregor, MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 December 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with Transport Scotland in relation to the Shawhead flyover junction in Coatbridge

Question reference: S6O-02867

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 December 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with GMB to discuss the future of the Ferguson Marine yard.

Question reference: S6O-02864

Asked by: Sue Webber, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 December 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is planning any new infrastructure investments in the next financial year in connection with City and Regional Growth Deals.

Question reference: S6W-23262

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 6 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of all the stakeholder groups that it engaged with when producing its paper, Our marine sector in an independent Scotland.

The Scottish Government engages with a wide range of stakeholders on the future of the marine sector on a very regular basis. This has included, for example, detailed engagement with Scottish seafood stakeholders on Brexit and the new costs and barriers it has created for exporting to the EU, and our shared concerns about post-Brexit UK immigration policy, and how these can be mitigated or overcome.

“Our marine sector in an independent Scotland” is informed by our continuous engagement with the marine sector.

Question reference: S6W-23076

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 6 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) capital and (b) recurrent funding it has committed to support the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships, and what the business case is for the return on any such investments.

The Scottish Government is continuing to work in partnership with partners and World Athletics following confirmation of the successful bid to host the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow.

In total the Scottish Government will provide £1.15 million of support for the event from the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture Portfolio, with VisitScotland providing a further £350,000 of support from its core budget. None of this funding is capital. This financial support is profiled across a number financial years, reflecting the long lead in time to prepare for an event of this size. UK Sport and Glasgow City Council are also providing funding.

The bid was carefully considered by all partners and this event has the potential to generate economic and societal benefits for areas of Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-23240

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Monday, 27 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 6 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a list of all engagements that (a) cabinet secretaries, (b) ministers and (c) civil servants have had with representatives of Ineos and/or Petroineos in 2023 to date.

Ministers and civil servants engage regularly with INEOS and Petroineos as a matter of course, given the strategic importance of the assets at Grangemouth.

Recent engagements include two site visits in at Grangemouth to discuss INEOS’ net zero roadmap, which were attended by the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Net Zero and Just Transition and both the Energy Minister and myself in April and June.

I also met representatives of Petroineos’ Joint Ventures Partners in June 2023 as part of the Scottish Government’s regular engagement with the business.

The First Minister and I also spoke to senior management at the refinery on 23 November 2023, during which we outlined our expectation that the business should explore every possible option to extend refining operations beyond the conclusion of import terminal infrastructure construction.

Question reference: S6W-23258

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 6 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government in what ways it considers its agencies can better inform the Met Office of possible landslips in the event of adverse weather conditions.

The Scottish Government doesn’t inform the Met Office about landslips, as this is not an operational requirement of this UK Weather Agency. The role of the Met Office is to make meteorological predictions across all timescales from weather forecasts to climate change.

It should be noted however, The Met Office is one of a number of stakeholders the Scottish Government liaise with in the course of preparing responses to resilience and weather related events. The Met Office provide weather related advice to the Scottish Government, which in turn serves to inform our wider resilience response, including consideration of landslip risk in areas such as the A83, Rest and be Thankful.

Question reference: S6W-23611

Asked by: Clare Haughey, MSP for Rutherglen, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 December 2023
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Michael Matheson on 6 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its report, NHS Recovery Plan 2021-2026 Annual Progress Update 2023.

I am pleased to confirm that the report ‘NHS Recovery Plan 2021-2026 Annual Progress Update 2023' is being published today.

NHS Recovery Plan: annual progress update 2023 - https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781835214251

We remain committed to delivering on the actions set out in the NHS Recovery Plan, and this report sets out the significant progress we have made. However, it is also important to recognise how much has changed since it was first published, and we are also supporting the ongoing recovery of our health and social care services with refreshed commitments as set out in the First Minister’s “Equality, opportunity, community: New leadership - A fresh start” which was published in April this year, and our ‘Programme for Government 2023/24’.

Looking ahead, in the coming months we will be working with partners across the health and social care system, Local Government and wider stakeholders, to set out our shared long term planning for population health and integrated health and social care services development.

Question reference: S6W-23610

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 December 2023
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Shona Robison on 6 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the proposed Wellbeing and Sustainable Development Bill and Future Generations Commissioner.

We have today launched our consultation on the proposed Wellbeing and Sustainable Development Bill, including the potential role of an Independent Commissioner for Future Generations. The consultation will run until 14 February 2024 and can be accessed at https://consult.gov.scot/national-performance-framework-unit/wellbeing-and-sustainable-development-scotland .

We committed in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 Programmes for Government to explore the development of a Wellbeing and Sustainable Development Bill, and we are now at the stage of seeking views on how this legislation could best ensure that wellbeing and sustainable development are embedded into public sector decision making and that future generations are considered in decisions made today.

We are seeking views on providing legislative definitions of “sustainable development” and “wellbeing”, strengthening duties on public bodies to consider the National Outcomes in decision making, and extending these duties to Scottish Ministers. We are also asking for views on how best to ensure that the necessary accountability and support for these duties is in place, including the potential role of an Independent Commissioner for Future Generations. I look forward to receiving a range of views on these matters.

I have also written to the Finance and Public Administration, Net Zero and Transport, Economy and Fair Work and Rural and Islands Committees to inform them of the consultation launch.

Question reference: S6W-23127

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 6 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to its four-day working week public sector pilot, how much money has been (a) allocated to support this and (b) spent to date, and whether it will provide a breakdown of these costs.