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-05984

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 9 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its engagement with the UK Government on the delivery of the Project Gigabit scheme in Scotland.

The Scottish Government is currently working closely with Building Digital UK (BDUK) to develop our understanding of what Project Gigabit means for Scotland. To date, Project Gigabit has primarily focussed on England with the procurement approach developed for the supplier market there. We want to be sure that any approach works in a Scottish context and is tailored to extend future-proofed digital connectivity across the country.

We hope to publish a Gigabit Open Market Review in the coming weeks which will inform any future gigabit procurement strategy for Scotland. We want to ensure that Scotland receives a fair share of Project Gigabit funding and support – a share commensurate with the scale of the challenge we face.

Question reference: S6W-05911

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 9 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the Bioenergy Expert Panel, including when it was or will be established, when it will next meet, and what sectoral representation is on the panel.

Question reference: S6W-05914

Asked by: Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 9 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what processes are in place to ensure Best Value and financial transparency in relation to any costs that will be, or are expected to be, incurred by the contract with Abellio during the transition from its franchise to a new rail operator.

Question reference: S6W-05931

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 9 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many times civil servants met, including virtually and in person, operators of deposit return schemes, broken down by (a) when the meetings took place and (b) which operators were involved, between 16 March 2020 and 14 December 2021.

Officials did not have any meetings with operators of overseas deposit return schemes (DRS) in the time period specified.

Evidence from other international schemes has played an important role in our decision-making regarding Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) and operators of other schemes provided advice to Zero Waste Scotland during the policy-design process. During our review of the implementation date for DRS, Deloitte LLP has provided expertise and independent assurance relating to the process of establishing a scheme administrator, including drawing on its experience as an advisor to other operators and the wider global DRS network.

Question reference: S6W-05950

Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 9 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to support mobile operators to ensure that they have backup generators for rural mobile phone masts.

The Scottish Government recognises the vital importance of 4G for remote rural and island communities. Mobile telephony is however, as with wider Telecommunications policy, a Reserved subject area and the responsibility of the UK Government. The installation of alternative power supplies at mobile sites is a decision made by each operator.

The Scottish Government work closely with the UK government and operators to ensure that increasing resilience of the telecoms network in Scotland is a priority.

Question reference: S6W-05963

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 January 2022
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 9 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with the Scottish Law Commission in relation to carrying out a law reform project to provide a draft Bill that would implement the recommendations of the Scottish Parliamentary Working Group on Tenement Maintenance.

Question reference: S6W-05923

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 9 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review the Home Energy Scotland loan scheme that provides up to £15,000 for energy efficiency improvements in homes.

The Scottish Government’s Home Energy Scotland (HES) loan scheme provides up to £15,000 for energy efficiency improvements plus up to £17,500 for zero emissions heating and micro-renewables and up to £6,000 for battery storage. Cashback grants are available with the loans of up to £7,500 on zero emissions heating systems plus up to £6,000 for energy efficiency measures.

We have committed to replacing the cashback offer in 2022-23 with a grant scheme to support energy efficiency and zero emissions heat improvements.

Question reference: S6W-05973

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 9 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Minister for Children and Young People will meet with people who have raised concerns about human rights compliance in relation to the treatment of volunteers at Children's Hearings Scotland.

The Scottish Government is aware of a small number of people who have raised concerns based on how they see rights requirements pertaining to volunteer roles with Children’s Hearings Scotland.

Officials and Ministers have extensively engaged on this subject with individual correspondents and Members on multiple occasions over the course of the last Parliament. Detailed information and reassurance on the context of relevant legislation, the autonomy of statutory office holders like the National Convener and the appropriate demarcation of roles in relation to the sponsorship of Non Departmental Public Bodies have been covered extensively. Children’s Hearings Scotland have communicated their position. Ministers have no locus in these matters.

Question reference: S6W-05932

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 9 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government with which external organisations (not including Zero Waste Scotland) did the Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity meet, including virtually and in person, to discuss the deposit return scheme, broken down by (a) the number of meetings that were held with each organisation and (b) when the meetings took place, between 1 September 2021 and 14 December 2021.

Question reference: S6W-05971

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ash Regan on 9 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what protections are in place to prevent legal aid being used to bring forward spurious cases in (a) general and (b) relation to family law.

Legal aid applications are prepared by an applicant’s solicitor, who provides all the details of the case to the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB). Solicitors have professional duties not only to their client, but to SLAB and to the court; therefore it would not be professionally appropriate for a solicitor to submit an application for legal aid if they were of the view that a client’s case was “spurious”.

Legal aid is granted only if the applicant meets the strict eligibility criteria set out in legislation, which apply to all civil cases, including family law matters. This includes the merits of a case. Applicants need to demonstrate that they have a sound legal basis for their case, and that it is reasonable for legal aid to be made available. When looking at the reasonableness test, The Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) considers a range of factors including whether the application is premature and whether there are reasonable prospects of success. If the criteria are not met then legal aid will be refused.

Opponents will generally be notified when an application for legal aid is submitted and have the opportunity to make representations to SLAB prior to legal aid being granted. Opponents can also provide any additional information which may affect the merits of the case during its lifetime after legal aid has been granted and does not require legal representation.