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-12008

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 28 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason fewer than 10% of faults on the public electric vehicle (EV) charger network reportedly identified in a recent BBC investigation appeared in official logs.

The recent BBC investigation was heavily reliant on data sourced from third party websites and limited anecdotal evidence from a very small proportion of the network as opposed to comprehensive, consistent, verified data directly from the CPS operator. The third party website utilised in their investigation does not present accurate up-to-date information and should be treated with caution when used to form the basis of overarching claims about reliability.

CPS network reliability has consistently improved in the last year, with the entire network now up and running at around 95% of the time each month. Furthermore, the vast majority of faults are being closed swiftly and with minimal impact on driver experience with approximately 90% closed within 24-48 hours.

The CPS website now provides the public with ready access to detailed information on the performance of the public charging network, showing each charge point’s reliability levels, fault history and usage. CPS is also working closely with third party EV charging websites to ensure they have access to more up-to-date information.

Question reference: S6W-12034

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 28 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will engage with the ScotWind leasing round winners, Scottish Power Renewables, SSE Renewables, Falck Renewables, Vattenfall, Shell, DEME, Ocean Winds, BayWa, Offshore Wind Power, Northland Power and Magnora, to request that they co-operate with BP in the development of a common Offshore Support Vessel (OSV) new-build programme to be designed and built in Scotland.

Ministers remain fully committed to utilising every lever within their devolved competence to support and grow domestic supply chain which is why we are working to realise our ambitions for the offshore wind supply chain in Scotland through The Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council.

Our Collaborative Framework will help forge effective partnerships to deliver on supply chain potential. New ScotWind leaseholders have joined existing Scottish offshore wind developers in signing up to a Collaborative Framework Charter, agreeing to work jointly together to build a pipeline of supply chain work greater than the sum of its individual parts. 24 organisations, including representatives of all 17 ScotWind projects with signed lease option agreements, have agreed to work together in the development and delivery of this Collaborative Framework.

Question reference: S6W-11958

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 28 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the £6 million of reduced Buildings Standards expenditure identified on page 23 of the Emergency Budget Review was originally assigned to.

The budget allocated to the Cladding Remediation programme is £400 million in total, this includes the £6 million identified in the Emergency Budget Review. The focus of funding in this financial year has been on expanding our pilot towards 100 surveys, surveys cost less than remediation but are a key commitment and an essential step before remediation work can start. There has been no impact on projects or on the overall budget.

Question reference: S6W-11966

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 28 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what financial support it has provided to housing developers in order to identify and remediate unsafe cladding.

The Scottish Government is working closely with developers in the assessment of buildings in the Single Building Assessment pilot to identify and remediate unsafe cladding. The Scottish Government is not providing direct financial support to housing developers. We will work with developers to implement the Scottish Safer Buildings Accord which will set out the expectation that developers will make financial contributions to remediate their buildings.

Question reference: S6W-12104

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 28 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many new paramedics will be recruited as part of the £45 million that was committed to in the winter resilience plan.

Question reference: S6W-12164

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 14 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 24 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it anticipates additional funding will be needed for public sector pay settlements in 2022-23 beyond the £714 million that the Deputy First Minister announced as part of the Emergency Budget Review.

Question reference: S6W-12316

Asked by: Dr Alasdair Allan, MSP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 24 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what representations it can make to EE regarding the reported significant phone signal and broadband disruption for the area of Uig in the Isle of Lewis, which is now reportedly entering its second month of severe issues, and what consideration has been given to such recurring problems during the planning for the remainder of the R100 roll-out, in light of Uig not being expected to be reached by the scheme until 2028.

Despite the area of telecommunications being wholly reserved to the UK Parliament, the Scottish Government has asked BT and EE to do all it can to resolve the matter on Uig as quickly as possible, given the vital importance of reliable digital connectivity for island communities.

The R100 contracts will deliver a significant number of full fibre connections which will provide future proofed, resilient connectivity for decades to come. The R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme is also available to those who are unable to access a superfast connection currently, and who are not in commercial or R100 contract build plans, offering up to £5,000 to secure a superfast broadband connection.

Question reference: S6W-12137

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 14 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 24 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-11423 by Jenny Gilruth on 27 October 2022, in what circumstances would Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd have the ability to reject the vessel (a) MV Glen Sannox and (b) Hull 802 regarding (i) deadweight tonnage, (ii) speed and (iii) fuel consumption.

Question reference: S6W-12119

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 24 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when the independent report analysing the responses to the public consultation on the draft fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4) will be published, in light of the participation statement, published on 26 October 2021, which stated that the independent report would be published as soon as possible after the consultation closed.

Question reference: S6W-12162

Asked by: Jackie Dunbar, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 24 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with Scotland’s universities regarding the efficacy and any limitations of the UK Government’s graduate visa in relation to addressing skills shortages.

The Scottish Government regularly engages with universities on matters impacting the sector.

Whilst the reinstatement of the Graduate Route in 2021 was welcomed, it remains clear that the UK Government’s immigration policy does not address Scotland’s economic, demographic and social needs.

In absence of a UK Government equivalent, the Scottish Government is developing, and seeks to pilot, a student retention programme, aiming to reduce the flow of students outside Scotland once they have completed further/higher education.