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.

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Question reference: S6W-31391

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 15 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 28 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government on which meeting dates its representatives (a) have and (b) have not attended meetings of the Digital Economy Skills Group.

Question reference: S6W-31259

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 28 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many teachers are currently on zero-hours contracts.

Question reference: S6W-31247

Asked by: Lorna Slater, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 28 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what specific measures are in place to verify that third sector organisations meet fair work criteria once they receive public grants.

Question reference: S6W-31686

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Friday, 22 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 28 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on developing a register of ancient woodlands.

Question reference: S6W-31524

Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 28 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support individuals who are affected by the physical and mental side effects of prolonged methadone use or misuse.

The Scottish Government recognises the work being done by local services, including community and grass roots organisations, in supporting individuals affected by the physical and mental side effects of methadone use as an evidence-based first line treatment option.

To ensure local services are focused on the needs of people the Scottish Government continues to provide record levels of funding, particularly through our National Mission and through the implementation of our Cross-Government Plan which includes the implementation of the Medication Assisted Treatment standards and the launch in December of the Charter of Rights for people affected by substance use.

Question reference: S6W-31515

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 28 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to research by Carbon Tracker regarding the proposed power plant at Peterhead, including the findings illustrating alleged discrepancies in the environmental impact assessment.

Question reference: S6W-31495

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 28 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what advice it can give to people impacted by the Warmer Homes Scotland Scheme reportedly being put on hold due to funding constraints.

Warmer Homes Scotland remains open for referrals and has an allocated budget of £65m in 2024-25, its highest ever budget level. Anyone that is considering applying to the scheme should contact Home Energy Scotland in the usual way.

The Scottish Government has introduced a waiting process for people who have been accepted onto the Warmer Homes Scotland programme due to the scheme’s success and high levels of demand. This is a necessary step taken to ensure that people who have been identified as eligible for the scheme can still receive assistance.

We understand that some customers will be disappointed with the waiting times. However, our managing agent Warmworks, continues to work hard to minimise the impact of this process, keeping customers informed throughout and making sure they are supported and receive regular communication every step of the way.

Warmer Homes Scotland is a demand-led scheme and it is important that we take the necessary steps to ensure the scheme remains within its allocated budget. In instances where someone has a broken boiler or no heating, Home Energy Scotland will explore with the customer if any suitable alternative crisis funding options exist.

Question reference: S6W-31494

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 28 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many hectares of (a) land were given approval by Scottish Forestry for planting and (b) commercial forests and woodlands have been (i) blown down and (ii) harvested, in each of the last five years.

The following tables provide the data as currently held.

Table 1 – Area of approvals for planting by Scottish Forestry

Year (Nov to Oct)	Area of New Planting Approved (ha)
2023-24	9550
2022-23	12714
2021-22	9378
2020-21	9067
2019-20	12508
2018-29	12927

Table 2 – Estimated area of clearfell in coniferous woodland in Scotland, detected from combined Synthetic Aperture Radar and optical satellite imagery, source Forest Research.

Detection year	Estimated felled area (ha)	% Standard Error
Summer 2024	15,293	4.1
Summer 2023	16,107	4.2
Summer 2022	26,190	3.5
Summer 2021	16,197	4.1
Summer 2020	16,867	4.1

Scottish Forestry does not record annual areas of windblow, but is discussing a project with Forest Research to see if a reasonable estimate would be possible using remote sensing.

Question reference: S6W-31480

Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 28 November 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many control test inspection visits by the Agricultural Wages Enforcement Team involved the use of interpreters (a) on-site and (b) subsequent to the visit, in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S6O-04077

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 November 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to update planning guidance for battery energy storage systems.