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 48968 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6W-19934

Asked by: Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 7 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the £540.8 million combined revenue and capital expenditure that it plans to spend on the Scottish Prison Service, broken down by each individual prison.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

The following table provides a breakdown of the £540.8 million combined revenue and capital expenditure broken down into prisons:

SPS Budget 23-24

ESTABLISHMENTS:
Barlinnie	31,837,204
Dumfries	7,894,850
Greenock	10,002,423
Low Moss	19,588,811
Shotts	19,206,262
Edinburgh	25,409,513
Glenochil	21,049,160
Inverness	6,048,759
Perth	19,027,948
Polmont	21,750,779
Grampian	17,312,256
Castle Huntly	6,814,047
Stirling	9,736,600
CCU Bella	1,928,179
CCU Lilias	1,958,057
Establishment Total	219,564,848

Private Prisons	90,528,000

HQ (Note 1)	88,507,152	Note 1: Includes budgets that will be allocated to Establishments at Spring Budget Revision (SBR).

Total Resource Budget	398,600,000

Capital Budget
Prison Replacement Programme	84,900,000
Digital Capital spend	1,750,000
Estates Infrastructure Works	10,350,000
Total Capital Budget	97,000,000

Depreciation Total (Note 2)	46,348,000	Note 2: Depreciation costs for SPS Assets held centrally

TOTAL SPS Budget 23/24	541,948,000

Question reference: S6W-19880

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 7 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many Preference Waiver Payments have been made to student teachers completing their probation year in the North East Scotland region in each of the last three years.

Question reference: S6W-19898

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 7 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the most recent known level at which business rates begin to be paid for the rateable value of individual properties is in Scotland, and what information it has on how this compares with the level in (a) England and (b) Wales.

The Scottish Budget delivered a package of reliefs for 2023-24 worth £749 million, including the Small Business Bonus Scheme which offers up to 100% relief for eligible individual properties in Scotland with a rateable value of up to £20,000.

To improve the design of the scheme, the Scottish Government expanded the upper eligibility threshold for the Small Business Bonus Scheme from £18,000 to £20,000 and made the relief more progressive by introducing a taper for properties with a rateable value between £12,001 and £20,000. The Small Business Bonus Scheme remains the most generous scheme of its kind in the UK, and continues to take 100,000 properties out of rates altogether. Table 1 provides a comparison of small business rates reliefs in Scotland, England and Wales.

Table 1: Small Business Rates Reliefs in Scotland, England and Wales in 2023-24

Scotland

England

Wales

Small business 100% relief threshold (rateable value) *

The relief is 100% for properties with a rateable value up to £12,000.

The relief is 100% for properties with a rateable value up to £12,000

The relief is 100% for properties with a rateable value up to £6,000.

Small business relief thresholds (rateable value) for relief less than 100% *

The relief tapers from 100% to 25% for properties with rateable value from £12,001 to £15,000.

The relief tapers from 25% to 0% for properties with a rateable value from £15,001 to £20,000.

The relief tapers from 100% to 0% for properties with a rateable value from £12,001 to £15,000.

The relief tapers from 100% to 0% for properties with a rateable value from £6,001 to £12,000.

Small business relief cumulative rules for ratepayers with multiple properties.

The relief may also be available for ratepayers with multiple properties where the total rateable value of all of the properties does not exceed £35,000.

Where the total rateable value is £12,000 or less, the relief is 100%.

Where total rateable value is between £12,001 to £35,000:

The relief is 25% for properties with an individual rateable value of £15,000 or less.

The relief tapers from 25% to 0% for properties with an individual rateable value of £15,001 to £20,000.

The relief is available for ratepayers with only one property.

If a ratepayer occupies a second property, the relief continues to be available on the existing property for 12 months before expiring, unless the rateable values of both properties are less than £2,900 and the total rateable value is less than £20,000 (£28,000 in London).

The relief is limited to two properties per business in each local authority.

*Note: A property is required to meet eligibility criteria other than rateable value in order to be eligible for the relief. For example, in Scotland properties used for the purposes of payday lending or betting shops are not eligible. Similarly, there are eligibility restrictions for ratepayers occupying multiple properties as shown in the table.

Question reference: S6W-19894

Asked by: Stephanie Callaghan, MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 7 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on the latest known levels of people in the 25- to 64-year-old population who have been educated to tertiary level in Scotland, and on how this compares to the levels in (a) England and (b) Wales.

Information on the share of population 25 to 64 years old with tertiary education is published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and is available here.

	2020	2021	2022
Scotland	55.7	55.2	57.9
Wales	43.4	44.3	46.3
Northern Ireland	44.1	48.8	42.3
North East England	38.1	39.7	39.3
North West England	44.0	44.0	47.0
Yorkshire and The Humber	41.4	44.4	45.0
East Midlands	43.8	42.6	43.8
West Midlands	43.1	44.2	45.1
East of England	44.6	45.2	47.1
Greater London	68.4	69.8	69.9
South East England	51.8	51.6	54.1
South West England	47.2	48.0	48.4
United Kingdom	49.4	50.1	..

Source: OECD Regional Education, July 2023

.. Not currently available

Question reference: S6W-19993

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 17 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 7 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the revised number of patients is that will be treated in the National Treatment Centre Lothian, and how this compares to the targets set out in its NHS Recovery Plan.

Question reference: S6W-19896

Asked by: Clare Haughey, MSP for Rutherglen, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 7 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the most recent level of health spending per person is in Scotland, and what information it has on how this compares with spending in (a) England and (b) Wales.

Based on HM Treasury’s Country and Regional Analysis (2021-22), frontline Health spend per head in Scotland is £3,377, which is £323 (10.6%) higher than in England and £74 (2.2%) higher than in Wales. Proportionally, this equates to almost £1.8 billion more spending on frontline health services in Scotland compared to England, and almost £405 million more compared to Wales – equivalent to around 44,000 and 10,000 nurses, respectively.

Question reference: S6W-19986

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 17 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 7 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the 1,500 new clinical and non-clinical staff, committed to in its NHS Recovery Plan, will be based in the National Treatment Centre Ayrshire and Arran.

National Treatment Centres (NTCs) require an appropriate mix of new and experienced staff to operate safely and efficiently. While initial modelling of projected workforce requirements was undertaken to inform earlier phases of our planning for the National Treatment Centre programme, detailed plans relating to the size and composition of the workforce for NTC Ayrshire and Arran will be developed by the Board and submitted to the Scottish Government as part of the wider planning and approval process for the site in question.

Question reference: S6W-19997

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 17 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 7 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the revised number of patients is that will be treated in the National Treatment Centre Lanarkshire, and how this compares to the targets set out in its NHS Recovery Plan.

Question reference: S6W-19998

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 17 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 7 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the 1,500 new clinical and non-clinical staff, committed to in its NHS Recovery Plan, will be based in the National Treatment Centre Lanarkshire.

National Treatment Centres (NTCs) require an appropriate mix of new and experienced staff to operate safely and efficiently. While initial modelling of projected workforce requirements was undertaken to inform earlier phases of our planning for the National Treatment Centre programme, detailed plans relating to the size and composition of the workforce for NTC Lanarkshire will be developed by the Board and submitted to the Scottish Government as part of the wider planning and approval process for the site in operation.

Question reference: S6W-19971

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 17 July 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 7 August 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what the original cost was for the planned National Treatment Centre Highland, and what the revised cost is as of 30 June 2023.

	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24	Total
Aberdeen City	7	11	17	35
Aberdeenshire	4	12	9	25
Moray	30	50	31	111