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-10338

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 1 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to ban plastic tree guards and promote the use of delayed biodegradable tree guards.

The Scottish Government is fully supportive of efforts to remove, reduce or recycle plastics used in the woodland and forest environment. Forestry and Land Scotland is moving away from plastic tree shelters and using more biodegradable ones. More work is needed, however, on biodegradable and compostable alternatives before a ban on plastic tree guards is possible. Scottish Forestry is supporting research to test alternatives with partners in the public and private sectors across UK and Ireland.

Question reference: S6W-10534

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 1 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to figures reported in the Times Education Supplement stating that only 50% of post-probationary primary teachers are expected to be in work in Scottish state schools by September 2022, down from 77% in 2021.

Local councils are responsible for the recruitment and deployment of their staff. This includes providing a complement of teachers which best meets the needs of each of their schools and its pupils within the resources available.

The Teacher Induction Scheme provides a one year probationary placement to allow teachers to meet the Standard for Full Registration. This does not provide a guarantee of future employment with a particular local authority. Teaching posts should be advertised and filled in a fair and transparent manner by the local authority employer.

During the pandemic, the Scottish Government provided an additional £240m to local authorities to support the recruitment of additional teachers and support staff.

We have since committed further permanent funding of £145.5m a year to support education staffing. This provides assurance of funding for councils, and removes any uncertainty as a barrier to employing staff on permanent contracts.

Question reference: S6W-10201

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 08 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 1 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many excess deaths there were during July 2022, and in the event that there were excess deaths, what plans it has to assess the extent to which they may be related to the heatwave that month.

Weekly data from National Records of Scotland show that there were 498 excess deaths from all causes between 4 July and 31 July 2022 inclusive. This data does not, however, attribute individual deaths to events such as heatwaves.

The Scottish Government is committed to continuing to build resilience to the impacts of global climate change, as part of a just transition to net-zero by 2045. This includes managing the risks to human health, wellbeing and productivity during heatwaves, the increasing urgency of which has been identified in the 2022 update to the statutory UK Climate Change Risk Assessment. Alongside delivering our current package of adaptation policies (as set out in “ Climate Ready Scotland: Climate Change Adaptation Programme 2019-2024 ”), we are now developing a new programme, in response to the updated Risk Assessment and including enhanced monitoring arrangements, for publication in 2024.

Question reference: S6O-01330

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 August 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many houses it estimates need to be built to tackle the current housing waiting lists in Scotland.

Question reference: S6O-01329

Asked by: Liam Kerr, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 August 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has done on the potential impact on the sale price of new homes of its proposal to introduce new building standards to prohibit the use of direct emissions heating systems in new builds from 2024.

Question reference: S6O-01322

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 August 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met NHS Orkney and what issues were discussed.

Question reference: S6O-01319

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 August 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the latest alcohol-related deaths statistics.

Question reference: S6O-01321

Asked by: Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 August 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the British Medical Association regarding the impact in Scotland of its guidance advising GPs to consider reducing their pensionable pay or retiring early due to changes in inflation and the way these are used in calculations around GP pensions that reportedly leaves them liable for significant tax charges.

Question reference: S6O-01318

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 August 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the findings of the Health and Care Experience Survey 2021-22 in relation to patient satisfaction with GP services.

Question reference: S6O-01335

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 August 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 8 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it is providing to third sector organisations in the Lothians that are supporting refugees from Ukraine.