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-12910

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 12 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding has been awarded to businesses in the South Scotland region from the Regional Food Fund, in each year since the Fund was established.

Question reference: S6W-12849

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 05 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 12 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take in response to the reported weeks-long disruption to the mobile signal on Uig.

Telecoms remains reserved to the UK Government and regulated by Ofcom. While this leaves the Scottish Government with limited ability to influence mobile operators directly, officials escalated the issue to senior management in BT Group as soon as the situation in Uig came to our attention. Faulty equipment was replaced in late November and BT advises that an improved service should now be available.

Question reference: S6W-12794

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 12 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many complaints have been made to Historic Environment Scotland in each year since it was founded, and how many of those complaints were (a) successfully and (b) unsuccessfully resolved.

Question reference: S6W-12632

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 12 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many civil penalties have been issued for failure to comply with the Council Tax (Dwellings and Part Residential Subjects) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2021 since the regulations came into force, broken down by (a) assessor and (b) local authority area.

The Council Tax (Dwellings and Part Residential Subjects) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2021 introduced a 70-day per financial year letting requirement for premises to be classed as self-catering holiday accommodation, in addition to the previous requirement that they be available for let for 140 days or more. If a property does not meet the requirements set out in the regulations for self-catering holiday accommodation entered on to the valuation roll, then it will instead be classed a dwelling included on the Council Tax Valuation List.The Non-Domestic Rates (Scotland) Act 2020 provides for civil penalties for failure to respond to assessor information notices, however this is not directly related to The Council Tax (Dwellings and Part Residential Subjects) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2021. The Scottish Government does not hold information on any civil penalties issued under this Act.

Question reference: S6W-12721

Asked by: Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 12 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what evaluation it has carried out on the effectiveness of the Scottish Prison Service's (a) assessments for and (b) support for and/or treatment of (i) substance use and (ii) mental health issues for remand prisoners, and whether this has been published.

The Scottish Government published prison population health needs assessments for mental health and for substance use ( Prison population health needs: synthesis report - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) and Prison population health needs: synthesis report - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . These reports aim to provide stakeholders, including the SPS, with a better understanding of the health needs of the prison population and help align services to support people whilst in prison, along with their transition into and out of prison custody.

The SPS is currently working in partnership with mental health experts to co-produce a revised mental health strategy for those in custody.

Question reference: S6W-12812

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 12 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the World Health Organization's announcement that mpox is the new preferred term for monkeypox, with the name monkeypox to be replaced after one year, what action it is taking to ensure that the public is aware of the change.

Question reference: S6W-12785

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 12 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the total cost of an (a) adult, (b) concession and (c) young person Direct Debit membership for Historic Scotland has been in each year since 2007.

Question reference: S6W-12797

Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 December 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 12 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage dentistry students to specialise in orthodontics.

The Scottish Government is not taking any specific actions with respect to encouraging orthodontics as a specialty.

A degree in dentistry offers students a well-rounded dental education that sets them up for a strong career. There are three dental schools across Scotland in Aberdeen, Dundee and Glasgow, which offer a common curriculum, and on completion of their degree students are free to choose whether they wish to specialise in any particular area. Those students who wish to specialise in orthodontics can undertake a further three-year postgraduate qualification to allow them to register as a specialist orthodontist.

Question reference: S6W-12703

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 (a) funding and (b) support it will provide to Hourglass Scotland, whose 24/7 service is reported to be at risk of closure in March 2023 should no further grant be made available.

With regard to funding, I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-12704 on 12 December 2022 on the Parliament website, the search facility for which can be found on https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers Given that there are currently no open sources of Scottish Government funding, it will not be able to provide funding to Hourglass at this current time.

Hourglass Scotland are valued members of the Older people's Strategic Action Forum (OPSAF). We will ask our fund manager Inspiring Scotland to work with Hourglass to help them identify alternative funding options, such as those detailed in the answer to S6W- 12704.

Question reference: S6W-12663

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 12 December 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the level of research being undertaken in Scotland into the (a) understanding and (b) treatment of brain tumours.

The Scottish Government does not directly hold information on the research spend of other funders.

An interrogation of the NCRI (National Cancer Research Institute) database indicated that £17,631,882 was spent on brain tumour research in the UK in 20/21 by charity and public funders.

This breaks down to £6,290,512 on biology, £872,201 on aetiology, £67,606 on prevention, £2,846,401 on Early detection, diagnosis and prognosis, £6,690,871 on treatment and £864,290 on cancer control, survivorship and outcomes research.