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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-07599

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 19 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the Starlink satellite service as a means of providing superfast broadband to hard-to-reach properties across Scotland.

Officials advise that Starlink's base level satellite internet service offers speeds of between 50Mbps and 150Mbps, but that Starlink's beta commercial service is currently only available at a latitude below 55 degrees. This means it is unavailable to the vast majority of premises in Scotland at this time.

Starlink has indicated that they have plans to make their service available above 55 degrees latitude in financial year 2022-23 – however, there is no firm date for further availability of the service.

Question reference: S6W-07565

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 25 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 19 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any Chinese state influence or interference in universities in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-07601

Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 25 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 19 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has had any discussions with Starlink satellite service regarding the pricing structure to ensure that the £5,000 main voucher portion of the Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme can be used to access this service.

As Starlink's satellite service currently costs £84 per month (set to rise to £94 per month from 9 May 2022), it does not meet the affordability requirement as set out in the R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (R100 SBVS) terms and conditions and, therefore, Starlink is unable to register as a supplier. As paragraph 2.6 of the beneficiary terms and conditions for the R100 SBVS sets out, vouchers are for one-off installation and set-up costs only. Vouchers cannot be used to subsidise service charges.

Question reference: S6W-07557

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 19 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to ensure that former Hong Kong residents who resettle in Scotland are successfully integrated into local communities.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting integration of former Hong Kong residents into our communities. We have published a dedicated British National (Overseas) welcome pack, in both English and Cantonese, on our website. On 9 February, we wrote with the Welsh Government to the UK Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Local Government requesting assurances that promised funding of £2.98m will be provided and that it can be carried forward to subsequent financial years in order to meet any current or future potential support needs. To date, no response has been received.

Question reference: S6W-07559

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 19 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made and action it has taken to ensure that former Hong Kong residents who resettle in Scotland are not subjected to racism or discrimination.

Question reference: S6W-07842

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 19 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to meet its renewable energy targets as part of National Planning Framework 4.

Our draft National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) was laid in the Scottish Parliament on 10 November, and at the same time published for consultation which closed on 31 March 2022. The draft NPF4 set out how our approach to planning and development will achieve a net zero, sustainable Scotland by 2045 and proposed a new policy which will ensure significant weight be given to the Global Climate Emergency in planning decisions. It also includes green energy policies which support renewable energy development other than in National Parks and National Scenic Areas, subject to an assessment of their impacts on a case by case basis. The draft NPF4 also proposes to designate a national development which would establish the need for a large increase in renewable energy generation and substantial reinforcement and expansion of grid infrastructure throughout Scotland.

We are pleased with the very wide interest shown in NPF4 from across society, befitting a document of its importance to our future. The Scottish Government is now taking some time to carefully consider the broad range of views shared with us before finalising NPF4 for Scottish Parliament approval.

Question reference: S6W-07845

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 19 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many care experienced young people have received a council tax exemption in each year since The Promise was introduced.

Question reference: S6W-07637

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 19 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what source or calculation it uses for the rate of inflation in relation to its spending decisions; what this rate of inflation currently is, and what it estimates the rate of inflation will be over the current financial year.

The Scottish Government takes the rate of inflation into account when making its spending decisions, but does not index or base all its spending decisions on a single specific measure of inflation.

The most frequently used measure of inflation is the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), prepared by the Office of National Statistics. The most recent data shows that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 7.0% in the 12 months to March 2022, up from 6.2% in February 2022.

Scottish Government's official forecaster is the Scottish Fiscal Commission, who in their December 2021 publication stated that CPI inflation for 2022 Q3 will be 3.9%. They will publish an updated forecast in May of this year.

Question reference: S6W-07534

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 19 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has plans to procure pre-exposure prophylactics (PrEP) as a COVID-19 treatment for severely immunocompromised patients, and, if so, when this will take place.

Question reference: S6W-07844

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 April 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 19 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of children living in unsuitable temporary accommodation have received a wellbeing assessment by each local authority in each year since the recommendation in the Ending Homelessness Together action plan was published.

While the Scottish Government collects data on the number of children living in unsuitable accommodation, it does not ask for returns from local authorities on any wellbeing assessments undertaken. This information would have to be requested directly from local authorities.

We are aware of a number of support assessments undertaken by local authorities as part of their housing assessment to record people’s needs. It is important, as part of this process and alongside the support provided to households experiencing homelessness, that the specific needs of children in the household are identified and met and their rights upheld.