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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-00820

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Christine Grahame (On Behalf of the SPCB) on 10 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) whether the business case for the new Scottish Parliament website was presented to, and signed off by, the SPCB in the previous parliamentary session.

The project to put in place the new Parliament website was a significant and complex change project.

The business case for the project was considered and agreed by officials on the Digital Strategy Board. This is the usual governance for digital projects undertaken in the Parliament.

The budget for the project was included in the SPCB’s budget process in each of the financial years that the project was running.

Question reference: S6W-06981

Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 10 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with JDH Exploration Ltd regarding licensing for mineral exploration across south west Scotland, and whether it is aware of any mineral exploration by JDH Exploration Ltd in that area.

The rights to naturally occurring gold and silver in this area are managed by Crown Estate Scotland, not by the Scottish Ministers. The Scottish Government is aware that Crown Estate Scotland have issued two Mines Royal Options to JDH Exploration Ltd within Dumfries and Galloway for gold and silver exploration. Crown Estate Scotland do not manage the rights to the land or any other minerals in these areas and an option holder must obtain all other relevant permissions for its activities.

Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) has subsequently granted access (only) permissions for metalliferous mineral prospecting to JDH Exploration Limited for an area of ground on Scotland’s national forests and land, South West of Loch Dee in Dumfries and Galloway.

These access permissions are not for mineral extraction.

The access permissions issued by FLS allow for a limited amount of ground survey work, including soil sampling using hand tools (e.g. hand auger) and aerial surveys within a defined area of Scotland’s national forests and land.

Question reference: S6W-06732

Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 10 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how it assesses public value for money of woodland and moorland schemes in terms of achieving (a) biodiversity, (b) climate change and (c) rural employment targets.

All Forestry Grant Scheme applications are assessed according to the criteria set out in the guidance available at Scoring criteria and clearing process (ruralpayments.org)

This includes value for money and compliance with the UK Forestry Standard, the governments’ approach to sustainable forestry, which recognises that forests have environmental, economic and social objectives and sets out how these can be achieved.

Question reference: S6W-06815

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 10 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many housing officers have been employed by each local authority in each year since 1999.

Question reference: S6W-06770

Asked by: Michelle Thomson, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 10 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it provided to Falkirk Council for housing in each year from 2000-01 to 2020-21, and how much it projects it will provide in each year from 2023-24 to 2025-26.

The following table shows the Scottish Government funding provided to the Falkirk Council area in each year from 2000-01 to 2020-21, and specifically within that, the funding provided directly to Falkirk Council to deliver council homes:

Financial Year	Total Spend Falkirk Council Area	Falkirk Council Spend on Council Homes
	(£m)	(£m)
2000-01	2.992	0.000
2001-02	2.532	0.000
2002-03	2.142	0.000
2003-04	0.919	0.000
2004-05	0.879	0.000
2005-06	1.894	0.000
2006-07	4.350	0.000
2007-08	4.063	0.000
2008-09	4.966	0.000
2009-10	9.139	0.000
2010-11	5.865	0.000
2011-12	3.511	2.400
2012-13	4.900	1.992
2013-14	6.729	3.821
2014-15	4.835	2.116
2015-16	4.142	2.315
2016-17	5.917	4.077
2017-18	6.321	4.125
2018-19	6.872	4.524
2019-20	9.531	5.484
2020-21	11.142	4.033
Total	101.241	34.887

With regard to future funding, the Scottish Government has allocated Resource Planning Assumptions for the full five-year period 2021-22 to 2025-26, and the following table sets out the funding allocated to the Falkirk Council area:

Financial Year	Resource Planning Assumption (£m)
2021-22	14.601
2022-23	12.586
2023-24	12.550
2024-25	12.594
2025-26	12.802
Total	65.133

Question reference: S6W-06777

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 10 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported global manufacturing slowdown as a result of COVID-19, what action it is taking to mitigate any delays in the construction of accessible social housing, in order to ensure that disabled and older people have access to suitable properties.

The Scottish Government continues to work closely with the construction sector, through the Construction Leadership Forum (CLF), to assess shortages of both materials and labour facing parts of the construction sector, including the manufacturing slowdown, and continue to be advised of developments in this regard.

We continue to work closely with our social and affordable housing delivery partners and to monitor progress on a project by project basis across the country through our network of area teams. This is a constantly changing position and we are working together to deliver warm affordable homes for the people who need them, including accessible social housing for disabled and older people, as quickly as it is possible to do so, and to make full use of the £3.6 billion five-year funding already secured to support the delivery of social and affordable housing across Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-06685

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 10 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on providing ferry services in Scotland without government intervention.

Question reference: S6W-06821

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 10 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding (a) local authorities and (b) integration joint boards have received to tackle homelessness in each year since 1999.

The Scottish Government’s policy towards local authorities’ spending is to allow local authorities the financial freedom to operate independently. As such, the vast majority of homelessness funding provided to local authorities in the annual local government finance settlements since 1999 has been included in the block grant and is therefore not separately identifiable. It is therefore not possible to determine how much of the local government finance settlement each year supports work to tackle homelessness in any year.

However, the unquantified amounts within the block grant have been supplemented in recent years through identifiable sums added to the block grant, which are enhanced or reduced by the overall annual changes in the local government finance settlement. The additional resource, set out in the table below, was allocated to local authorities for the development and implementation of rapid rehousing transition plans and for preventing and responding to homelessness.

Financial year	Rapid Rehousing Transition Plans	Homelessness Support
2017-18	£0m	£22.5m
2018-19	£2m	£23.5m
2019-20	£8m	£23.5m
2020-21	£8m	£23.5m
2021-22	£8m	£23.5m
2022-23	£8m	£23.5m
Total	£34m	£140.0m

In addition, a £50 million Ending Homelessness Together Fund for 2018-23 was announced in September 2017 to transform homelessness services. In 2021, we agreed to invest a further £50 million in the Ending Homelessness Together Fund over the current parliamentary term, bringing total investment in the Ending Homelessness Together Fund to £100 million to 2025-26. As local authorities are our key partner for delivering our homelessness strategy, to date, a large majority of the Ending Homelessness Together Fund has been allocated to councils.

Decisions as to whether the responsibility for homelessness services are delegated to the local authority or the integration joint boards are made locally, and the Scottish Government does not influence this.

Question reference: S6W-06687

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 10 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will list all ferry operators in Scotland and the collective bargaining arrangements in place at each company.

CalMac Ferries Ltd and NorthLink Ferries Ltd, who operate public service ferry contracts on behalf of the Scottish Government, are required to comply with UK employment legislation. In addition, employment terms and conditions of staff reflect the principles set out under the Scottish Government’s Fair Work Framework.

The arrangements in place at other commercial and local authority ferry operators are a matter for the relevant employer and employees.

Question reference: S6W-06682

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 24 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 10 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many local authorities have a (a) sustainable exhibitions and (b) events and exhibitions officer in place.