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: S6O-01564

Asked by: Annabelle Ewing, MSP for Cowdenbeath, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 November 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met NHS Fife, Fife Health and Social Care Partnership and Fife Council regarding winter pressures.

Question reference: S6O-01567

Asked by: John Mason, MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 November 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what role car clubs can play in reducing the number of private cars in Scotland's cities.

Question reference: S6O-01565

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 November 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has made an assessment of the impact of carbon offset schemes on rural depopulation.

Question reference: S6O-01566

Asked by: Marie McNair, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 November 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its progress with its plans to replace Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit.

Question reference: S6W-11841

Asked by: Fiona Hyslop, MSP for Linlithgow, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Dorothy Bain on 9 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what action is being taken within the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service to ensure that families are always notified of details of trials in which they are personally affected, before any such details are made public.

The Family Liaison Charter for bereaved families sets out our commitments on access to information and liaison with the Procurator Fiscal and applies to any death reported to COPFS since 1 September 2016.

Bereaved families are provided with the assistance of a Victim Information and Advice (VIA) officer who will offer a personal meeting initially followed by contact every 6 weeks to update or will otherwise communicate according to the needs and wishes of the family. This continues for the duration of the investigation. If at any stage there is a significant development, contact will be made immediately with the family to advise them unless this would be likely to prejudice any potential prosecution.

Bereaved families are entitled to expect COPFS staff who are involved in the process of investigation, preparation and prosecution of criminal proceedings to respond appropriately to their needs, to answer questions which they may have and to keep them informed of progress. Throughout the court process COPFS staff will do their best to ensure family members understand what is happening in court and in every homicide case we aim to invite families to meet with the allocated Advocate Depute and VIA officer prior to the case calling in court for a Preliminary Hearing. At that meeting we strive to share as much information as possible with the families whilst preserving the sanctity of the prosecution especially where family members are or may be witnesses. Our staff at court do their utmost to ensure families are contacted immediately with updates of relevant information before this becomes publicly available in the media.

In December 2021 at the Criminal Justice Committee of the Scottish Parliament I announced that COPFS would carry out a review of its VIA service to ensure COPFS can continue to deliver the high levels of support and advice to all victims and witnesses and their families and can advise that the VIA Modernisation programme which is led by a Deputy Crown Agent is ongoing and is seeking to identify and deliver improvements to our service.

Question reference: S6W-11599

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 9 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is considering providing any additional funding to Falkirk Council to prevent the reported closure of Falkirk Town Hall.

Falkirk Council took the difficult decision to close Falkirk Town Hall theatre following recommendations that funding the modernisation of the building did not represent best value in the current challenging financial environment.

While disappointing for many people, this decision is entirely a matter for the Falkirk Council as they have responsibility for managing local resources.

The Scottish Government is increasing funding for Falkirk Council by an additional £28.9 million in 2022-23 compared to 2021-22.

The Scottish Government has also agreed to contribute £40 million to the Falkirk Growth Deal to support local projects. This figure includes £3 million towards the planned new Falkirk Arts Centre, which intends to feature a 550-seat auditorium, workshop, studios and other facilities. A further £3 million has also been committed towards developing an Outdoor Art Park along the banks of the Forth and Clyde Canal. Timescales for both projects are being developed by the local partners.

Question reference: S6W-11896

Asked by: Dr Alasdair Allan, MSP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 9 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reported concerns over low blood stocks, whether the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service will consider resuming donations from the Western Isles which were suspended in 2017.

Blood stocks in Scotland are assessed as adequate to meet current clinical demand, but will continue to be monitored. The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service has no plans at present to resume providing blood donation sessions in the Western Isles, due to the cost and logistical difficulties associated with doing so. However, that does not in any way affect the availability of blood components to patients in the Western Isles.

Question reference: S6W-11832

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 9 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to publish the reported 926 responses received to the energy workers survey that was carried out in August 2022 as part of engagement regarding the Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan, and, if so, within what timescale.

Question reference: S6W-11725

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 9 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many times ministers have met with (a) owners and (b) representatives of Hinduja Global Solutions since 2007.

The former First Minister, Alex Salmond, met with Hinduja Global Solutions on 12 October 2010 in New Delhi and the Deputy First Minister met with the company in Bangalore on 28 November 2018.

On 9 February 2016, the former Minister for Youth and Women's Employment, Annabelle Ewing MSP, visited the company’s Selkirk office; the former Minister for Business Fair Work and Skills, Jamie Hepburn MSP visited the Selkirk office on 18 October 2018; and the Deputy First Minister visited the Selkirk office on 12 February 2019.

The First Minister met with Hinduja Global Solutions at the City of London Corporation and Scotland Finance and Investment Partnership Dinner held at Mansion House in London on 19 April 2022.

Question reference: S6W-11663

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 21 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 9 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will implement Living Wage uplifts to public grants and contracts to avoid any further financial pressure being placed on voluntary organisations.

The challenging funding landscape and difficult choices facing the Scottish Budget in coming years have only worsened since publication of the Resource Spending Review. As a result of inflation, the Scottish Government’s budget is now worth around £1.7 billion less than when it was published in December.

It is clear that Fair Work, including fair pay, is more important than ever in the context of the cost of living crisis, and we will use all the levers we can to support those most affected.

In the current economic climate, we recognise, most recently in the publication of the Emergency Budget Review, that there are a number of cost pressures on Scottish Government budget and associated contracts including inflation, energy costs and increases to the real Living Wage. We have undertaken a risk-assessment of our key current contracts and framework agreements and are working closely and sensitively with suppliers through this period to manage those contracts.

We understand the importance of fair and stable funding for the third sector and the benefit of this for longer term planning and development. As we continue to work through the impact of the recent and upcoming UK Government announcements on our ability to deliver the spending plans as set out in the Spending Review in May. We are also considering the appropriate level of detail and timing of financial information we can provide in the longer-term.