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-08500

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 24 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to research by Professor Steve Turner of the University of Aberdeen, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Public Health, which found that a link between household income, poverty and fetal size is present in the second trimester of pregnancy, and what action it is taking to improve antenatal health and wellbeing.

We provide a wide range of antenatal support to help reduce the effects of poverty. For example, Best Start Foods provides pregnant women in receipt of benefits, with £18 every four weeks. To improve the nutrition of pregnant women, we provide free vitamins and are working, on a UK basis, to introduce mandatory fortification with folic acid. We provide £2.3m annually to NHS Boards to implement the Maternal and Infant Nutrition Framework (2011) and we have agreed standards with them to ensure early access to antenatal services where fetal growth, smoking/alcohol use, diet and maternal wellbeing is monitored.

Question reference: S6T-00730

Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 May 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the sports and events sectors regarding alternative transport arrangements in light of the revised ScotRail train timetable.

Question reference: S6T-00732

Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 23 May 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports of an outbreak of the monkeypox virus in the UK, including cases in Scotland, what action it is taking to monitor transmission of the virus in Scotland and support people affected.

Question reference: S6F-01149

Asked by: Jim Fairlie, MSP for Perthshire South and Kinross-shire, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 May 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 May 2022

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is, regarding the impact on Scotland, to comments by Ian Wright of the Food and Drink Sector Council regarding the UK’s preparedness for increasing food prices and shortages.

Question reference: S6F-01144

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 23 May 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 May 2022

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to comments by Citizens Advice Scotland that one in five people are running out of money before payday.

Question reference: S6F-01137

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 May 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 May 2022

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's position is on whether burning waste is good for the environment.

Question reference: S6F-01132

Asked by: Ariane Burgess, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 May 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 May 2022

To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government is celebrating Scottish Bus Week.

Question reference: S6F-01128

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 23 May 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 May 2022

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-01127

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 May 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 May 2022

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-08488

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 May 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 23 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether new minimum energy efficiency standards will be set at the level of fabric efficiency necessary in conjunction with heat distribution system.

The Heat in Buildings Strategy (7 October 2021), committed to introducing primary legislation in the current session of the Scottish Parliament that would set a regulatory framework for heat and energy efficiency, as a key action to meeting Scotland’s statutory climate change targets.

This year, the Scottish Government will commission independent research which will specify what fabric energy efficiency levels are necessary in existing homes for the cost effective installation of different zero direct emission heating sources, in different archetypes of domestic properties. The outcomes from this research will inform our proposals for energy efficiency regulations, ahead of a public consultation in the coming year.

Improvements to Building Regulations from October this year, (which apply to new buildings and new building work), will improve fabric standards to reduce space heating demand. They will also deliver new heating systems which operate at lower temperatures, compatible with the efficient operation of zero direct emissions heating sources.