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-12584

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 12 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many staff absences due to mental health reasons were recorded by (a) 999 and (b) 101 call centre staff, in each year since 2014.

The Scottish Government welcomes initiatives being undertaken by Police Scotland to support its workforce through the “Your Wellbeing Matters” programme which covers psychological, physical, social and financial wellbeing.

The Scottish Government does not collect information on staff absences due to mental health reasons. Delivery of call handling services and associated staffing issues are a matter for the Chief Constable under the oversight of the SPA.

Question reference: S6W-12609

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 12 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government which local authorities have indicated that they plan to delay the introduction of short-term lets regulations.

Question reference: S6W-12490

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 12 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the reported recommendations by the NICE medical technologies advisory committee for England and Wales that AposHealth footwear should be available for people (a) with osteoarthritis if their standard surgical care has produced a sub-optimal result and (b) who are eligible for total knee replacement surgery but are unable or would prefer not to undergo this procedure.

AposHealth for osteoarthritis of the knee is being reviewed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and their draft guidance on AposHealth is currently out for consultation, with an expected publication date of March 2023.

Although NICE medical technology guidance does not have official status in Scotland, the Scottish Government is awaiting publication of the NICE guidance before deciding next steps.

The Scottish Government are aware that living with chronic pain and painful musculoskeletal conditions can be extremely challenging and debilitating, which is why we are committed to ensuring people experiencing chronic pain can access appropriate support, when they need it.

The Scottish Government’s Framework for Pain Management Service Delivery – Implementation Plan was published in July 2022 and sets out the Actions we will take to improve the quality and coordination of care for people with chronic pain. We want people living with chronic pain to take control of their condition to improve their quality of life and be more empowered to participate in decisions on their care.

Question reference: S6W-12871

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 12 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many drink-driving (a) incidents, (b) charges, and (c) convictions there have been in each year since 2014.

The latest available information is provided in the following tables.

(a) N umber of offences related to drink/drugs driving, recorded by the police 2014-15 to 2021-22.

	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22
Driving motor vehicle while unfit through drink or drugs	450	540	653	719	771	742	897	883
In charge of motor vehicle while unfit through drink/drugs	54	71	123	137	148	159	138	147
Driving motor vehicle with blood alcohol content above prescribed limit	3,161	3,239	3,465	3,262	3,201	3,275	2,756	2,972
In charge of motor vehicle while blood alcohol content above limit	390	364	331	333	333	324	255	299
Failure to provide breath specimen at roadside	477	509	569	602	591	630	637	592
Failure to provide breath, blood or urine specimen at police station	686	735	776	810	803	848	923	906
Driving motor vehicle while under influence of controlled drug above prescribed limit	-	-	-	-	-	573	2,336	1,886
In charge of motor vehicle while under influence of controlled drug above prescribed limit	-	-	-	-	-	43	155	88
Total	5,218	5,458	5,917	5,863	5,847	6,594	8,097	7,773

(b) Driving under the influence charges reported to COPFS, 2014-15 to 2021-22.

2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22
5,434	5,486	5,884	5,770	5,840	5,990	6,272	7,120

Source: COPFS.

(c) The latest available information on the number of people convicted for ‘driving under the influence’ is published in the ‘Criminal Proceedings in Scotland – 2020-21' statistical bulletin, table 4(b).

A breakdown of the various crime types that make up this category is provided in the following table, please note that we are unable to separate alcohol offences from drug related offences in some crime groups.

People convicted of offences related to driving under the influence, where main crime, by crime type, 2014-15 to 2020-21.

	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21
Driving motor vehicle while under influence of controlled drug above	-	-	-	-	-	4	119
Driving motor vehicle while unfit through drink or drugs	203	196	239	255	315	304	145
Driving mv with blood alcohol content above prescribed limit	2,791	2,654	2,746	2,734	2,548	2,460	1,535
Failure to provide breath, blood or urine specimen at police station	382	406	352	368	404	368	231
Failure to provide breath specimen at the roadside	55	48	51	53	42	43	16
In charge of motor vehicle while under influence of controlled drug	-	-	-	-	-	-	6
In charge of motor vehicle while unfit through drink/drugs	26	31	34	48	34	44	26
In charge of mv while blood alcohol content above limit	224	202	212	202	209	179	107
Total convicted	3,681	3,537	3,634	3,660	3,552	3,402	2,185

Source: Scottish Government Criminal Proceedings database

Please note:

Data for 2020-21 are affected by the pandemic and subsequent court closures and may not be indicative of long term trends.

The latest available data is for 2020-21. Information for 2021-22 will not be available until publication of the Criminal Proceedings in Scotland, 2021-22 Statistical Bulletin. This is due to be published in 2023.

Question reference: S6W-12814

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 05 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Elena Whitham on 12 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when it next plans to (a) review and (b) update alcohol licensing legislation for on-sales premises.

While the Scottish Government keeps alcohol licensing legislation under review, there are no current plans to update legislation for on-sales premises. Operation of the alcohol licensing regime is the day-to-day responsibility of independent Licensing Boards and Scottish Government officials regularly engage with a range of licensing stakeholders including clerks to Licensing Boards to help inform regular review and assessment of whether any legislative changes should be considered.

Question reference: S6W-12704

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 12 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what funding avenues it has explored for Hourglass Scotland services, following the organisation's last meeting with the Minister for Equalities and Older People.

Following the last meeting with Hourglass Scotland, officials have explored relevant funding across the Scottish Government. Currently there are no suitable Scottish Government funding options that are open for bids. There may be alternative funding opportunities available via the live database Scotland - News - Grants Online. This database includes a range of funding opportunities from charitable trusts/foundations, churches, councils etc. as well as large grants for family support organisations. One of these is the Robertson Trust which offers large grants for charities including those dealing with trauma. Another grant that Hourglass may want to apply for, is the Hugh Fraser Foundation, which will open for bids in February 2023 for the current round and is open to any charity.

Question reference: S6W-12727

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 12 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many Historic Environment Scotland sites (a) are earmarked for closure and (b) will receive a decrease in funding over the next 12 months.

Historic Environment Scotland is currently undertaking a prioritised inspection programme on each Property in Care affected by High Level Masonry issues. Access restrictions, while regrettable, remain necessary to prioritise the health and safety of staff, contractors and visitors. Each assessment will study the condition and impact of climate change on the site and will inform a subsequent programme of repairs and conservation work at affected properties.

I understand from Historic Environment Scotland that there are no further sites due to be closed due to High Level Masonry issues in the next 12 months.

The amount of resource allocated to each property in care is determined by Historic Environment Scotland under its operating plans.

Question reference: S6W-12728

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 12 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many Historic Environment Scotland grants have been awarded for conservation-standard repairs in each financial year since 2007, and what the current available grant money for the financial year 2023-24 is.

Questions regarding day-to-day operational matters of Historic Environment Scotland, including information relating to grants and awards for conservation repairs, are best answered directly by Historic Environment Scotland.

Information on grants that have been awarded can be found online on the Historic Environment Scotland website at https://www.historicenvironment.scot/grants-and-funding/grants-awarded-by-us/

I have asked Historic Environment Scotland to respond directly to the member with a full reply to his question in writing.

Question reference: S6W-12534

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 12 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the contract to accommodate Ukrainian refugees, what the (a) total cost to date and (b) estimated cost up until the contract end date is for crew staff for the MS (i) Victoria and (ii) Ambition.

All costs, including those associated with crew staff, providing security, providing catering and port charges for the M/S Victoria and M/S Ambition are covered in our contract with Corporate Travel Management.

The original contract notice with Corporate Travel Management (North) Ltd, was published on 9 August 2022. Latest details on contract costings will be published soon on the Scottish Government’s website.

Invoices to CTM will be published on the Scottish Government website in due course as part of our statutory duty to publish all invoices greater than £25k.

Question reference: S6W-12620

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 12 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what support it will provide to help sustain local swimming pools.

The Scottish Government places great importance on leisure facilities and recognises the significant challenges that are facing operators such as leisure trusts, particularly with swimming pools, as increased operational costs continues to put pressure on their operations.

I recently met with members of Community Leisure UK to discuss the issues facing the leisure and culture trusts in Scotland.

The Scottish Government has increased the local government funding by over £1 billion in 2022-23, a real terms increase of 6.3 per cent, despite a 5.2 per cent real terms reduction in the overall Scottish Budget. It is the responsibility of the individual local authorities to provide leisure facilities, including swimming pools, and local authorities are independent corporate bodies with their own power and responsibilities and are entirely separate from the Scottish Government. Ultimately, it is for locally elected representatives to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial recourses available to them, including on swimming pools, on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.

The Scottish Government will continue to make the case for the UK Government to do more to protect our public services.