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-31960

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 December 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 19 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the root cause of the structural problem with the M8 Woodside Viaducts was due to movement in the supporting pillars caused by a change in the water table, which was triggered by nearby construction activity at Phoenix Road.

Question reference: S6W-31973

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 December 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 19 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide further detail on the regeneration funding for Possilpark as set out in its draft Budget 2025-26, including how much funding will be allocated to this area.

Question reference: S6W-31972

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 December 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 19 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide more information on its plans to provide free bus travel for asylum seekers as set out in its draft Budget 2025-26, including (a) a clear timeline for developing and fully implementing this policy, (b) clarity on whether free bus travel will be provided for all people seeking asylum across Scotland, and (c) what models are being considered for delivery.

Question reference: S6W-31990

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 05 December 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 19 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how much money it has allocated to providing free bus travel for people seeking asylum in its draft Budget 2025-26.

Question reference: S6W-31959

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 December 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 18 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will engage with the Ministry of Defence on its plan to tender for two new floating docks for submarine maintenance at Faslane, and establish the feasibility for these docks to be constructed in whole or part at Scottish shipyards, such as Ferguson Marine.

Question reference: S6W-31731

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 25 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 4 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has noted the reportedly promising results from clinical trials in China of a surgical cervical shunting procedure, cervical lymphatic-venous anastomosis (LVA), to unclog cerebral lymphatic systems in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, as reported in General Psychiatry volume 37, issue 3, and whether it will promote any similar trials of this procedure in Scotland.

The LVA research reported in General Psychiatry volume 37, issue 3 is a single case study rather than a Clinical Trial or series of Clinical Trials

The Scottish Government works in partnership with the NHS Boards through NHS Research Scotland (NRS) to deliver high quality research studies in the NHS across the spectrum of disease and clinical need. This includes the NRS Neuroprogressive and Dementia Network which supports a wide range of research conducted within the NHS and Care Home settings Neuroprogressive and Dementia | NHS Research Scotland | NHS Research Scotland

The NRS Neuroprogressive and Dementia Network is available to support the delivery of any eligibly funded Alzheimer's Disease study (including in cervical lymphatic-venous anastomosis) that is open to patient recruitment in the NHS in Scotland

Question reference: S6W-31549

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 3 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many hectares of agricultural land were taken out of use for farming in each of the last 10 years.

The figures set out in the following table have been derived from data contained within the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS). IACS contains land parcels that have been registered with Rural Payments and Inspections Division (RPID) for agricultural subsidy and/or keeping livestock. This data covers most but not all agricultural land within Scotland. When land is de-registered from IACS it is assumed it has been removed from agriculture for analysis purposes but could simply be it is no longer registered for agricultural subsidy and/or keeping livestock. Alongside land being de-registered (removed) additional land is also registered each year. The following table compares land de-registered and land registered for the past ten years highlighting net gain or loss. All figures are in hectares.

Year	De-registered Land	Registered Land	Net Gain/Loss
2014-15	18554	17591	-963
2015-16	7117	18490	+11373
2016-17	4882	13984	+9102
2017-18	7258	18843	+11585
2018-19	5339	8205	+2866
2019-20	4901	8050	+3149
2020-21	12468	8321	-4147
2021-22	3859	4355	+496
2022-23	1332	5245	+3913
2023-24	6222	4983	-1239

Question reference: S6W-31496

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 3 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many farms in Scotland are bigger than 200 acres (81 hectares).

Question reference: S6W-31497

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 3 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many people in Scotland who are above state pension age pay the (a) starter, (b) basic, (c) intermediate, (d) higher, (e) advanced and (f) top rate of Scottish income tax.

Information on the number of Scottish Income Tax payers by age and band are only available from the Survey of Personal Incomes and the latest data is for 2021-22. Table 1 provides the number of taxpayers of State Pension age by band in Scotland.

Given this data is for 2021-22 it does not include estimates of those who are of State Pension age paying the Advanced Rate. Forecasts of the number of taxpayers over State Pension age by band are not available.

Table 1: Taxpayers above State Pension Age by Band

Band (2021-22)	Number of Taxpayers of State Pension Age
Starter Rate	94,000
Basic Rate	274,000
Intermediate Rate	148,000
Higher rate	42,000
Top Rate	1,000

Question reference: S6W-31907

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 02 December 2024
Current Status: Answer expected on 16 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government how many men are currently waiting more than 18 months for a vasectomy.