Chamber and committees

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

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 42727 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6W-28073

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 18 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government which emerging medical technologies it considers to have the most potential to improve the treatment of glaucoma over the next five years.

The Scottish Government is investing £250,000 including VAT, in a Small Business Research Initiative focused on Home Glaucoma Monitoring. The innovation challenge is to develop and validate the tools needed for home (or near-patient) glaucoma assessment, including home tonometry and home assessment of visual function, and potentially even optic disc imaging.

Priority areas:

? Development and validation of an affordable tool for home perimetry for monitoring glaucoma.

? Development and validation of an affordable tool for home perimetry for detecting glaucoma.

? Development of method of secure data storage, analysis, and transfer (or integration) with NHS electronic patient records.

? Development of tools for home tonometry and /or home optic disc / retinal imaging, in addition to methods for integrating results from these tests with NHS electronic patient records.

The challenge was launched in 2022 and attracted a high number of applications. Three companies successfully completed 4-month Phase One feasibility projects in June 2023. Following a competitive application, two companies have embarked on their Phase 2 prototyping and validation projects.

Question reference: S6W-28055

Asked by: Pam Gosal, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 18 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to increase the number of computer science teachers in secondary schools.

While local authorities are responsible for the recruitment and deployment of teachers, the Scottish Government is committed to maximising the number of jobs available in a range of subjects, including computing science.

The Teaching Bursary Scheme offers a £20,000 payment to career changers who are looking to undertake graduate teacher training in hard-to-fill STEM subjects, including computing science.

In addition, the Strategic Board for Teacher Education is considering issues around the recruitment and retention of teachers in Scotland in detail, together with work to improving the promotion of teaching as a valued career.

We are also offering local authorities £145.5 million in this year’s budget to protect teacher numbers more widely.

Question reference: S6W-28074

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 18 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the current deployment of combined cataract and glaucoma procedures.

Question reference: S6W-28057

Asked by: Ross Greer, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 18 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether carbon budgeting or compatibility with its emissions targets and wider climate and nature ambitions will form part of the criteria for awarding Scottish Government support to start-up businesses, as recently announced by the Deputy First Minister.

Question reference: S6W-28039

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 18 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the publication of a "progress report on delivery" of the recommendations that are set out in the paper, Investor Panel: Scottish Government Response to Investor Panel Recommendations.

Question reference: S6W-28028

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 18 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to any (a) current and (b) future mineral mining exploration and related activities in Scotland, what plans it has to ensure that just transition principles are applied to support any communities in Scotland that are affected by such activities.

The Scottish Government is committed to delivering a just transition to net zero for all communities in Scotland, working with those most impacted to provide a fairer, greener future for all. Our approach is therefore being informed by communities, businesses, workers and their trade unions across Scotland.

Where new development proposals come forward, Policy 33 of National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) sets out that development proposals for the sustainable extraction of minerals will only be supported by that policy where relevant criteria are met. This includes where it is demonstrated that there are no significant adverse impacts on nearby homes and local communities, provision of an adequate buffer zone between sites and settlements, and the inclusion of schemes for a high standard of restoration and aftercare.

Where any mineral extraction takes place, relevant environmental permitting and licensing requirements will apply ensuring continuing environmental protection.

Question reference: S6W-28035

Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 18 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement NatureScot has had with the Bat Conservation Trust regarding the protection of bat species from the loss of roost sites.

NatureScot considers bat surveys submitted as part of a licence application against the Good Practice Guidelines developed by the Bat Conservation Trust. NatureScot also contributed to the creation of these guidelines. The guidelines ensure that bat roost sites are appropriately surveyed to inform species licensing decisions and allow NatureScot to assess what is the appropriate level of mitigation and compensation to protect bat species.

Question reference: S6W-28120

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 18 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many complaints regarding unlicensed short-term let operators have been investigated by Police Scotland since the introduction of the short-term let licensing scheme.

Question reference: S6W-27421

Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 18 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it still plans to add the data from 134,000 children gathered in the Health and Wellbeing Census to the Administrative Data Research Scotland system; what its position is on whether the data was captured ethically and legally, and whether it will implement measures to mitigate any risks of being able to link the data back to the respondents, in light of the Information Commissioner's Office advice to the Scottish Government in August 2023 that the arrangements for processing the data did not meet requirements of Article 4(5) of the UK GDPR around pseudonymisation, and Article 25 around Data Protection by Design and Default.

The Scottish Government is fully committed to making best use its data, including making this available for further statistical analysis and research, subject to data protection legislation. The 2021-22 Health and Wellbeing Census data was added to Administrative Data Research Scotland (ADR-S) in May 2024. Further information on ADR-S can be found here: ADR Scotland - ADR UK

The HWB Census underwent an Ethics Peer Review in line with the Scottish Government social research: protocols and guidance. Scottish Government social research: protocols and guidance - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Data provided into the ADR-S infrastructure does not include the Scottish Candidate Number (SCN). The SCN is replaced with a pseudonym for this purpose.

In light of the ICO's recommendations, the Scottish Government is introducing enhanced technical and organisational measures to ensure that any data which contains the SCN and is processed for statistical and research purposes will have a pseudonym created. The SCN and the method of pseudonymisation will be held separately. These enhanced measures have been agreed with the ICO.

Question reference: S6W-27938

Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Alba Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 June 2024
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 18 June 2024

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-24385 by Shona Robison on 22 January 2024, whether it will provide an updated list of any current (a) ministerial taskforces, (b) Cabinet committees, (c) Cabinet sub-committees, (d) ministerial working groups and (e) other ministerial committees.

Kate Forbes: Information on Cabinet and Cabinet Sub-Committees is available on the Scottish Government website here; any change to these structures would be updated on these pages:

Cabinet and Ministers - gov.scot ( www.gov.scot )

Cabinet sub-committees: factsheet - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

There is also a range of other Ministerial groups and taskforces that are co-ordinated by individual portfolios. These are developed as required and change over time, therefore a comprehensive list of such groups is not available.