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-33099

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 22 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government which projects funded by Transport Scotland in the last five years have delivered the largest economic impact, and how this has been assessed.

All major transport projects are appraised and evaluated in line with the Scottish Public Finance Manual and Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) which are consistent with HM Treasury Green Book guidance. The Green Book (Section 6.1) generally discourages the calculation of macroeconomic impacts (employment and GDP) and it is generally not possible to evaluate the macroeconomic impact of specific transport projects separately from general changes in the economy.

The approach within appraisal is to estimate the microeconomic welfare benefits of projects. Within STAG this is a mix of quantified and qualitative impacts across the 5 STAG criteria (Climate Change, Economy, Environment, Equality and Accessibility and Health and Wellbeing) and any Transport Planning Objectives which reflect the National Transport Strategy priorities. This allows comparison between options within intervention but does not provide a simple way of comparing across projects. The second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2) was undertaken to provide this cross-project information to aid decision making.

Question reference: S6W-33122

Asked by: Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 22 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what funding is currently available for registered social landlords responsible for Gypsy/Traveller sites to bring sites up to standard.

Three Social Landlords, Clackmannanshire Council, Highland Council; and Perth and Kinross Council, have been allocated a total of £5,826,765 in 2024-25 from the Gypsy/Traveller Accommodation Fund to re-build their Gypsy/Traveller sites. Nearly £15 million of the Fund has been spent or allocated between 2021-22 and 2024-25 to allow a total of six Social Landlords to progress projects.

In addition, the formula for the Local Government block grant for 2024-25 included an element of £0.7 million that took account of the number and size of Gypsy/Traveller sites within each local authority. It is the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them (including through the block grant in relation to Gypsy/Traveller sites), on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.

Question reference: S6W-33117

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 22 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how the role of justices of the peace contributes to the overall efficiency of the justice system.

Justice of the peace courts deal with less serious summary crimes such as speeding, careless driving and breach of the peace. Being a Justice of the Peace is a voluntary role that is filled by lay people from within the local community who receive training in criminal law and procedure. They are assisted by lawyers who can provide advice on the law and procedure.

These courts help improve the overall efficiency of the justice system as they reduce the number of cases that need to be considered at Summary Sheriff level (the next most senior court). Justice of the Peace cases are also less expensive to run than Summary Sheriff cases saving public money which can be spent elsewhere in the justice system. Additionally, by hearing less serious criminal cases in a Justice of the Peace Court this helps prevent backlogs in the Sheriff courts.

Question reference: S6W-33178

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 22 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many street lamps along the A90 have been replaced or upgraded in the last five years.

Question reference: S6W-33020

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 22 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to launch public awareness campaigns to encourage the reporting of suspicious activities near railway lines and depots.

Question reference: S6W-33018

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 22 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that anti-theft strategies for railways align with broader transport and infrastructure security policies.

Question reference: S6W-32988

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 22 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on introducing enhanced surveillance measures at railway (a) depots and (b) stations to deter theft.

Question reference: S6W-32987

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 22 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors the impact of theft from railway (a) stations and (b) depots on the safety and operation of the rail network.

Question reference: S6W-33530

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 22 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many patients from rural areas have been referred to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary for treatment in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S6W-33479

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 January 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 22 January 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken to address the causes of surgical cancellations at NHS Grampian, including staff shortages and equipment availability.

The Scottish Government is not aware of any specific issue other than some local stand down of orthopaedics to allow for orthopaedic trauma cases to proceed. Cancellations were predominantly due to cannot attend and did not attend or unwell to proceed with limited cancellations due to winter surge in mainly orthopaedic elective areas. The member may wish to contact NHS Grampian for more information.