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-34369

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 03 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 19 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met with (a) COSLA and (b) each local authority to discuss reusable nappy schemes.

The Scottish Government regularly meets with COSLA and local authorities to discuss areas of shared interest. The Scottish Government has focussed efforts on supporting families to make informed choices about reusable nappies by raising awareness of their benefits on the Parent Club website. Our Circular Economy and Waste Route Map commits to facilitating the sharing of best practice examples on reusable items, such as North Ayrshire Council's Real Nappy Incentive Scheme, to encourage uptake in other areas.

Question reference: S6W-34372

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 03 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 19 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-32849 by Paul McLennan on 6 January 2025, how many registered social landlords have approached it for financial support for assessment and remediation.

Question reference: S6W-34290

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 19 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the new duties on employers under the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023, what steps are being taken to make all employers in Scotland aware of their obligations, and how commitments to the Respect principle in the Fair Work Framework will be addressed, to take account of these new duties.

The legal powers governing Health and Safety, Employment and Equality laws are reserved to the UK Government, and it is their responsibility to promote and enforce legislation in this area. However, taking action to prevent sexual harassment at work is an issue that the Scottish Government takes very seriously. We have made employers aware of their duty to protect their workers' health, safety and welfare by promoting fair work practices. For example, we notified employers and stakeholders of the Act in October’s edition of our monthly Equally Safe bulletin.

Additionally, we have been using the levers we do have to promote Fair Work and Fair Work Principles. Our Fair Work First Guidance on public sector spend is an example of this, it explicitly highlights to employers that violence against women and girls, including sexual harassment, is a workplace issue and how women's experiences of sexual harassment can have a detrimental impact on their employment.

The guidance highlights good practices for employers, such as Close the Gap's Equally Safe at Work accreditation program. It emphasises the importance of providing enhanced support for workers, including flexible working arrangements, leave entitlements, and access to resources for advice, such as the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and ACAS.

Our Fair Work approach follows the Fair Work framework introduced by the Fair Work Convention and commits to the principle of Respect, as it ensures the health, safety, and well-being of all employees. It addresses issues related to bullying and harassment and extends to promoting dignified treatment, social support, and the development of trusting relationships.

Question reference: S6W-34943

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 19 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to protect the health of farmed fish.

Scottish Government’s sustained policy and regulatory interventions on sea lice have focused industry action on sea lice management and have resulted in a downward trend in sea lice numbers at a national level, with 2024 levels being the lowest since 2018.

Scottish Government has also delivered funding into fish health research and innovation through the Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC), which resulted in total investment from SAIC, industry and other funding partners of £62.7 million on projects including those on gill health, rapid diagnostic technologies and Harmful Algal Blooms. In May 2024 a further £1.5m was provided to support the Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre until March 2026 and we are now considering options to help facilitate aquaculture innovation into the future.

On behalf of Scottish Ministers, the Fish Health Inspectorate continues to undertake a listed disease surveillance programme to prevent the introduction and spread of listed and emerging fish diseases in Scotland which includes statutory inspections, sampling programmes, and the provision of advice to stakeholders.

Question reference: S6W-34942

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 19 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it supports community ownership of land in urban areas.

Communities in Scotland now have more options than ever before to take ownership of land and assets, including several distinct rights to buy, and they can now choose which route to community ownership best suits their aspirations.

The Land Reform (Scotland) Act’s 2003 and 2016 give Urban Communities the right to submit applications under Part 2 (Community Right to Buy), Part 3A (Community Right to Buy Abandoned, Neglected or Detrimental Land) and Part 5 (Right to Buy Land to Further Sustainable Development). The guidance provided in the Scottish Government webpages Community Rights to Buy: introduction - Community Rights to Buy: overview - gov.scot provides communities with the information, forms and tools they require.

Other legal powers and mechanisms available to communities

https://www.gov.scot/policies/community-empowerment/asset-transfer/

https://www.gov.scot/policies/community-empowerment/participation-requests/

https://www.kltr.gov.uk/bona-vacantia/ownerless-property-transfer-scheme-opts/

The Scottish Land Fund(SLF), which is funded by the Scottish Government and delivered in partnership with the National Lottery Community Fund and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, offers grants of up to £1 million to help communities take ownership of the land and buildings that matter to them, as well as practical support to develop projects. The fund was opened to urban groups from April 2016 and currently provides £7.1m per year to support communities.

Question reference: S6W-34389

Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 19 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has conducted an analysis of any potential economic impact on Scottish businesses of the disparity in transmission impact assessment thresholds between Scotland and the rest of Great Britain.

To date, the Scottish Government has not undertaken analysis on the potential economic impact on Scottish businesses of the disparity in transmission impact assessment thresholds between Scotland and the rest of Great Britain.

Scotland’s transmission network operates at a lower voltage than the transmission network across the rest of GB. This difference has existed since the 1970s when the 132kV electricity network in England and Wales was transferred from the central electricity generating board to electricity distribution companies, while the same process has not been undertaken in Scotland. The differences in voltage, alongside the network being heavily constrained in Scotland, mean that projects looking to connect, even small embedded generation, could cause impacts on the network that risk the network being unable to operate safely and efficiently.

Transmission owners are licenced by Ofgem and one of their licence obligations is to develop and maintain an efficient transmission network. This includes ensuring that the network can operate safely.

The Scottish Government engages regularly with Ofgem and NESO to ensure transmission infrastructure delivers for Scotland. This includes exploration of the TIA threshold, and consideration of the impact that this has on energy users in Scotland. SSEN increased the TIA threshold from 50kW to 200kW in August 2024 to align with SPEN on the mainland.

Question reference: S6W-34371

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 03 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 19 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-32849 by Paul McLennan on 6 January 2025, whether registered social landlords will be eligible to apply for the open call for further properties that may require government-led assessment and remediation.

The 'open call’ process referred to in the answer to question S6W-32849 remains under development. Further information will be set out in the renewed plan of action to be published in March.

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-34368

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 03 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Alasdair Allan on 19 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to promote Reusable Nappy Week.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of promoting reusable nappies during Reusable Nappy Week. Content will be posted across Parent Club’s social media channels and will highlight the benefits of reusable nappies and answer common questions people have about them.

Social media posts will also direct users to the Parent Club website which has recently been reviewed with up-to-date content on ‘How to use reusable nappies’. This is available at: https://www.parentclub.scot/articles/how-use-reusable-nappies.

Question reference: S6W-34606

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 07 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 19 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to the supplementary to question S6O-04294 by Ivan McKee on 5 February 2025, what information it collects on net movement between Scotland and the rest of the UK, and by what metrics it is equipped to break down the figures of overall movement to and from Scotland and the rest of the UK.

As part of the Scottish Government’s work with HMRC to develop the evidence base analysis on intra-UK migration has been published by HMRC, showing movements by tax band and age band. This is available at:

Intra-UK migration of individuals: movements in numbers and income - GOV.UK

Both the National Records of Scotland (NRS) and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) publish official statistics on migration between Scotland and the rest of the UK. However, these aim to measure total migration (where the HMRC analysis considers only the subset of people who were taxpayers before and after moving). As these figures are not concerned with taxpayers specifically they do not contain information about incomes or tax bands.

Question reference: S6W-34562

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 February 2025
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 19 February 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what new regulations are being considered to enhance the protection of park home residents.

Following a public consultation (https://consult.gov.scot/local-government-and-communities/change-to-basis-of-pitch-uprating-consultation/), the Scottish Government has confirmed its intention to update the Mobile Homes Act 1983 to change the presumed basis of pitch fee uprating from the Retail Prices Index to the Consumer Prices Index, for both existing and future contracts.

We also propose to make a further change so that the statistical basis for uprating pitch fees can be amended by secondary rather than primary legislation in the future. Provision for the change was included in the Housing Scotland Bill which was introduced to the Scottish Parliament on 26 March 2024 and is currently at Stage 2. No new regulations are being considered.