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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: S6O-00031

Asked by: Michelle Thomson, MSP for Falkirk East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland regarding the joint letter signed by the devolved children’s commissioners, which described the two-child cap as a “clear breach of children’s human rights”.

Question reference: S6O-00040

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support the arts and cultural sector in Glasgow, in light of the continued impact of COVID-19 restrictions.

Question reference: S6O-00038

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans for National Towns of Culture.

Question reference: S6O-00039

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what support and assistance it is offering to the organisers of this summer's Edinburgh festivals.

Question reference: S6O-00044

Asked by: Dr Alasdair Allan, MSP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve support for victims of crime.

Question reference: S6W-00273

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 9 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out regarding whether NHS dentistry patients have been placed at a disadvantage compared with those receiving private treatment because of the COVID-19 lockdown.

The Scottish Government has worked closely with NHS Boards and dental practices to ensure that patients receive the best possible NHS care subject to the constraints placed upon the sector during the period of the Covid pandemic.

At the start of the pandemic a comprehensive network of urgent dental care centres was established to ensure continuity of emergency dental care services. A carefully managed and evidence based process of gradually reintroducing routine dental care culminated in the availability of the full range of NHS dental services from 1 st November 2020. Private dental services are required to mirror these arrangements.

Question reference: S6W-00272

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 9 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason NHS dental practices have a limit of 10 appointments each day.

Dental practices are allowed to see as many patients as they safely can whilst ensuring that they adhere to current Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) guidance. The number of patients that a dental practice will see each day is based upon a risk assessment which takes account of factors such as the local environment, the type of procedure being undertaken and the urgency of the procedure.

NHS dental practice have not been set a limit of seeing 10 patients per day. PPE is being provided to dental practices on the PPE based upon providing care to 10 NHS patients per day per operational treatment room. The number of treatment rooms varies significantly across dental practices with an average of three treatment rooms per dental practice nationally. This PPE is funded by Scottish Government, and at no cost to the dental practice.

Question reference: S6W-00552

Asked by: Gordon MacDonald, MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 June 2021
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Graeme Dey on 9 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether COVID-19 funding for bus operators will be extended beyond 27 June 2021.

Today I am announcing up to £35.4 million in further funding to support bus operators maintain services between 28 June and 3 October. This is in addition to up to £61.4 million that the Scottish Government has already made available in 2021-22, and up to £191.3 million that was available in 2020-21. This funding is subject to regular reconciliation to ensure we are not over or under paying operators and actual spend in 2020-21 is forecast at £119.5 million. Funding only covers the gap between additional Covid-19 operational costs and lost fare revenue due to physical distancing.

Question reference: S6W-00420

Asked by: Dean Lockhart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 9 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans to increase the availability of social housing for rural communities.

Through the Rural and Islands Housing Fund and the wider Affordable Housing Supply Programme, over 4,800 affordable homes were delivered between 2016-17 and 2019-20 in rural and island communities across Scotland.

Housing to 2040, published in March 2021, includes an ambition to deliver a further 100,000 affordable homes across Scotland up to 2032, that will continue to deliver for rural communities, with at least 70% of these for social rent, once the current 50,000 affordable homes target has been delivered.

We will invest £3.5 billion in housing in this Parliamentary term, £3.44 billion of which will deliver more social and affordable homes in urban and rural areas across Scotland.

In November 2020, we announced that the demand-led Rural and Islands Housing Fund, which aims to increase the supply of affordable housing across all tenures, would continue beyond March 2021 with up to £30 million being made available as part of the Affordable Housing Supply Programme.

Question reference: S6W-00254

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 9 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will remove all remaining exemptions to Unsuitable Accommodation Orders at the end of June 2021.

Legislation was laid on 27 May 2021 to extend the temporary exceptions of the Unsuitable Accommodation Order for a further three months until 30 September 2021.

Our priority is to keep people safe so we are extending these measures while the path of the pandemic remains uncertain, and we will keep the situation under review.

Our ambition is for all households to have a decent temporary home and to move into settled accommodation as quickly as possible. We will continue to work with councils to help them overcome any barriers as we shift to a new way of dealing with homelessness.

We are doing all we can to ensure that people experiencing homelessness are not housed in unsuitable accommodation for any longer than is necessary. However, it is crucial that we help local authorities to keep people safe during the pandemic.

We are extending these measures while the path of the pandemic remains uncertain, and will keep the situation under review. We will continue to work with councils to ensure they are supporting people from temporary accommodation into permanent settled accommodation.