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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-20871

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 26 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to reduce adult illiteracy rates.

Strong literacies skills help people fulfil their potential, achieve their goals, and take advantage of opportunities and the Scottish Government wants every citizen in Scotland to have the literacy capabilities necessary to bridge the poverty gap, to understand and shape the world they live in, and to enjoy the rich knowledge and benefits that being able to read, write and use numbers can bring.

Scotland has its own adult literacies guidance and action plan contained within Adult Literacies in Scotland 2020 which encompasses numeracy. Its impact will be reviewed as part of the Adult Learning Strategy for Scotland, this will produce recommendations on next steps for adult literacies within the context of the Adult Learning Strategy.

Question reference: S6W-20878

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 28 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 26 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with New College Lanarkshire regarding the reported proposed closure of its nurseries in Coatbridge and Cumbernauld.

It is for each individual college, and not the Scottish Government, to determine how best to secure its financial sustainability and therefore operational decisions reside within colleges themselves.

New College Lanarkshire has engaged with the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) over its decision to close its nurseries, which will remain open until 31 December 2023. The SFC approved the College’s voluntary severance scheme in May 2023 for some of the affected staff, with the College planning redeployment for the other affected staff members.

Question reference: S6W-20879

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 28 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 26 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to keep the New College Lanarkshire nurseries in Coatbridge and Cumbernauld open.

Question reference: S6W-21489

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 26 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will undertake a negotiation to construct electric arc furnaces at Clydebridge Steelworks, in light of the £500 million public investment package announced by the UK Government for the installation of electric arc furnaces to enable green steelmaking at Port Talbot steelworks in Wales.

I refer to recent answers regarding the Clydebridge site in Cambuslang, in particular my answers to written questions S6W-17169 on 4 May 2023 and S6W-17708 on 16 May 2023.

The Clydebridge site is not currently operational and no staff are currently employed at the site. The future of the site, including any plans for development, is an operational matter for Liberty Steel.

Scottish Government maintain an open dialogue with Liberty Steel and have a number of regular meetings with them. We are not aware of any plans to install an electric arc furnace at the Clydebridge site at this time.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Question reference: S6W-21390

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 26 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commit to implementing the recommendation in the recent Audit Scotland report, Adult mental health, for it to publish a costed delivery plan, as soon as possible, setting out the funding and workforce needed to establish and accommodate primary care mental health and wellbeing services across Scotland by 2026.

The Scottish Government thanks Audit Scotland for a thorough, clear and wide-ranging report on Adult Mental Health Services in Scotland. Ministers recognise how closely some of the content of the report mirrors our vision, outcomes and priorities that we set out in our Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

The Scottish Government recognises that as frontline practitioners, GPs and their wider practice teams are often the first port of call for those seeking mental health and wellbeing support. In recent years we have prioritised significant investment to build mental health capacity in primary care through Action 15 and the Primary Care Improvement Fund.

We will now take the time to carefully consider both the specific recommendations, and the wider substance of the report. We will publish the Delivery Plan for our Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy, together with our Workforce Plan, this Autumn, which will set out the actions we will take to address many of the issues set out by Audit Scotland, including those around mental health support in primary care.

Question reference: S6W-21217

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 26 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government on how many occasions Scottish Water has recorded rising groundwater entering pipes, in each year since 2016.

Scottish Water does not record groundwater levels or infiltration routinely, however, infiltration may be investigated where an issue is identified at any of their assets. This is due to complexities in how infiltration can be accurately captured on an ongoing basis, bearing in mind the length of the sewer network and number of variables involved.

New technology being trialled will give the company real-time insights into how its network is operating and enable it to be more proactive in how it responds to issues and solve problems before customers and the environment are affected.

Question reference: S6W-21193

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 26 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when the First Minister (a) last met and (b) will next meet with the president of COSLA.

The Scottish Government engages regularly with COSLA, both at official and Ministerial level, to discuss a wide range of issues as part of our shared commitment to working in partnership with local government to improve outcomes for the people and communities of Scotland.

As part of the Verity House Agreement, the First Minister has committed to meeting with the COSLA Presidential Team at least twice a year. Most recently this included a meeting on 30 August to discuss the forthcoming Programme for Government and 14 September to discuss progress on a range of topics.

Question reference: S6W-21227

Asked by: Michael Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 11 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 26 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, following the meeting of 20 July 2023, on which two further dates its Tax Advisory Group will meet in 2023.

Question reference: S6W-20686

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 28 August 2023
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 26 September 2023

The Public Bodies Climate Change Reporting 2021-22 Analysis Report , page 15, shows grid electricity consumed by around 180 public bodies which have reported annually since 2015-16 on compliance with their statutory climate change duties. Reporting years are 12 months to 31 March rather than calendar years.

Total grid electricity consumed by reporting public bodies is set out in the following table.

Year

2015-16

2016-17

2017-18

2018-19

2019-20

2020-21

2021-22

Grid electricity

consumed GWh

(Gigawatt hour)

3,147.79

3,070.41

2,981.08

2,850.84

2,779.86

2,579.81

2,702.83

As set out on page 18 of the report, greenhouse gas emissions from electricity use by reporting bodies have fallen from 1,550,894 tCO2e (tonnes of CO2 equivalent) in 2015-16 to 623,147 tCO2e in 2021-2022, a reduction of 59.8%, with the principal influence being decarbonisation of the electricity grid.

As set out on page 31 of the report, public bodies also generate renewable energy (electricity and heat) on their own estates.

Total renewable electricity generated by reporting public bodies is set out in the following table.

Year

2015-16

2016-17

2017-18

2018-19

2019-20

2020-21

2021-22

Renewable electricity

generated GWh

(Gigawatt hour)

103

105

103

113

Question reference: S6T-01555

Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 25 September 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 September 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to recent reports that treatment for ovarian cancer is a postcode lottery and has left some women with no option but to pay for private healthcare.