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-03328

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 27 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 22 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the reported concerns of officials from The Highland Council that the introduction of overprovision through the short-term let licensing scheme “is confusing, as the purpose would appear very similar to control areas.”

Question reference: S6W-03494

Asked by: Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 22 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to raise public awareness of the new regulations on interlinked fire alarms, and how the new fire alarm requirements will be enforced from February 2022.

The Scottish Government has undertaken a comprehensive awareness raising campaign across a range of channels including TV, radio and digital to ensure people are aware of the new legislation and to encourage compliance. This includes material to support third sector stakeholders and leaflets in public libraries. The target audience is all adults in Scotland and the campaign was forecast to reach 95.2% of those.

Because this is a safety measure, we hope most people will see the benefits of it. Local authorities have broad statutory responsibility for tackling substandard housing in their area, and for major defects they can require home owners to carry out work, but any intervention must be proportionate and we do not expect them to go beyond advising home owners about fire alarms. Legislation allows people a reasonable time for bringing homes up to standard. No home owner will be penalised for non-compliance. We will however collect data on fire alarms in Scottish homes in future iterations of the Scottish House Condition Survey.

Question reference: S6W-03446

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 04 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 22 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government by what date it will publish its remote, rural and island housing action plan.

Question reference: S6W-03363

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 22 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) guidance it provides and (b) measures it takes to ensure high levels of bee husbandry and bee health, in order to avoid Varroa and other parasites, and non-native bee species, being imported.

I refer to the previous answer S6W-03362 on 22 October 2021 which details the guidance available on the Scottish Government and National Bee Unit websites, including changes in import conditions made since EU Exit:

Requirements include registration on the Import of Products, Animals, Food and Feed System (IPAFFS), notification of imports on the system, entry via an appropriate route (usually a border control point), provision of a health certificate and post import checks.

The legal framework surrounding international trade requires certification of freedom of notifiable diseases and pests. Imports from areas where certain diseases of pests are present is not allowed, for example areas of Italy affected by Small Hive Beetle (SHB).

Beekeepers also have a significant role to play by ensuring disease management within their own apiaries is in order, by being proactive in making themselves aware of the signs of diseases and sourcing bees that are healthy.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Question reference: S6W-03362

Asked by: Beatrice Wishart, MSP for Shetland Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 22 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what actions it takes to ensure that people who wish to take up beekeeping are made aware of its guidance on importing and exporting bees.

International trade represents a risk for the spread of pests and diseases of honey bees. To protect the health of bees in Scotland we have a framework of legal requirements and trade rules to minimise these risks.

Scottish Government works with the Animal and Plant Health Agency's (APHA) National Bee Unit (NBU) in providing guidance on their website Beebase - Beekeeping information resource for Beekeepers (nationalbeeunit.com) including a section on import and export requirements.

Specific guidance for export and import of honey bees following changes made after EU Exit is also available on the SG website: Importing bees into Scotland: guidance - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) )

As part of the Honey Bee Health Strategy changes in policy are discussed with stakeholders in advance and highlighted to beekeepers through articles in the Scottish Beekeepers Association magazine and the Bee Farmers Association magazine, talks to local associations and Bee Health training days.

Question reference: S6W-03331

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 27 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 22 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its 2020 islands communities impact assessment for short-term let licensing and control areas, what data it used to conclude that “noise and anti-social behaviour can be an issue in rural and island areas, particularly from larger 'party mansion' type properties”, and how it defines a "party mansion".

Question reference: S6W-03349

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 22 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the potential job losses in (a) Scotland and (b) the West Scotland region as a result of its proposed short-term lets licensing scheme and planning control area legislation.

Our regulatory proposals will give local authorities powers to strike a balance between the needs and concerns of their local communities, with the wider economic and tourism benefits of short-term lets.

We published a draft Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) on 25 June 2021 for consultation. The economic and Scottish firms impact of the legislation is discussed at paragraphs 120 to 131 of the BRIA. We are now in the process of updating the BRIA as part of preparing the Licensing Order for laying in November 2021.

We have conducted an Island Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA) which we published in December 2020 and will update to reflect the revised Licensing Order. The ICIA can be found in our December 2020 consultation report: Short-term lets – licensing scheme and planning control areas: consultation analysis - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Question reference: S6W-03080

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 22 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government on the potential impact of the Nationality and Borders Bill on refugees who enter the UK by irregular means, and any implications this may have for Scotland and for refugees that settle in Scotland.

The Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution and External Affairs and I met with the then Minister for Immigration Compliance and the Courts on 16 June 2021 to discuss the New Plan for Immigration. This was prior to the introduction of the Nationality and Borders Bill at Westminster on 6 July. Scottish Government Ministers have had no subsequent discussions with UK Government Ministers on the Nationality and Borders Bill.

The First Minister wrote to the Home Secretary on 26 July, setting out significant concerns about the implications of the Nationality and Borders Bill, including measures which propose to differentiate between refugees and treat them differently based on their journey to the UK and not their protection need.

I wrote to the Home Secretary in further detail on 1 September. That letter is available on the Scottish Government website: Nationality and Borders Bill: letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government to Secretary of State for the Home Department - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Question reference: S6W-03869

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S6W-03542

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 October 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 21 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many confirmed cases of children having COVID-19 there have been in each primary and secondary school in each month since August 2021.

The COVID-19 Education Surveillance dashboard is updated and published every week by Public Health Scotland and includes weekly data on the rate of COVID-19 PCR testing among children and young people of educational age (2-19 years), the number and rate of positive cases and the percentage of tests taken that are positive.

These figures are not broken down to the level of individual school, and there is an overlap between the age groups and the type of school where nearly all 5-11 and 12-15 are primary and secondary school pupils respectively, and 16-17 year olds a more mixed group.

However, the number of individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 by PCR test at the end of August, compared to w/e 10 October were as follows:

Age range (yrs) W/E 30 August W/E 10 October

5-11 12 3151

12-15 20 1905

16-17 12 382