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-10351

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 7 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what plans there are to encourage staff retention in renewable energy, in light of the reported absence of trade union recognition in some parts of this sector.

Trade unions are key partners in delivering our economic and social aspirations. We will continue to promote strong trade unions and collective bargaining arrangements in all sectors, including the renewable energy sector. We have made a clear commitment to promote collective bargaining through the inclusion of an employee voice indicator, measured by collective bargaining coverage, within the National Performance Framework.

We also work closely with Scottish Renewables, the trade body for Scotland’s renewable energy industry.

Scottish Renewables played an active role in the development of the Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan (CESAP) which explores issues such as skills development and staff retention in many industries including Energy. Through CESAP’s Implementation Steering Group we engage with both employers and their workforce as they move through the just transition to net zero. We will continue to engage with partners to deliver the Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan (CESAP) and will move forward with improvements to the Green Jobs Workforce Academy.

Question reference: S6W-10352

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 August 2022
Current Status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 6 September 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether companies contracted under ScotWind development projects are required to recognise collective bargaining arrangements, and, if they are not, whether it will commit to encouraging such companies to implement fair work practices.

ScotWind leasing is administered by Crown Estate Scotland who have confirmed that all companies that have a ScotWind seabed agreement with Crown Estate Scotland are required to comply with all applicable laws including meeting their obligations under employment legislation. Therefore, if those companies have a statutorily recognised trade union, they would be required to comply with their legal requirements in respect of collective bargaining arrangements.

Question reference: S6W-09510

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 19 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it can take to ensure transparency around the loss of life in dispersal accommodation for asylum seekers and in immigration detention in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-09507

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 19 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what representations it has made to the UK Government to advocate for a comprehensive monitoring and review system for asylum seeker deaths in temporary hotel accommodation in Scotland.

Asylum is a matter reserved to the UK Parliament. The Scottish Government has raised a variety of issues impacting people seeking asylum with the UK Government, including on asylum accommodation and the use of hotels to accommodate people seeking asylum.

Scottish Ministers have repeatedly requested detail of any investigation undertaken by the Home Office following deaths in asylum accommodation in Glasgow during the Covid-19 pandemic. We have also requested an update on the status of recommendations in an internal Home Office report on asylum accommodation during the pandemic, which appeared in the media in April but has not yet been made public.

Question reference: S6W-09508

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 19 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commit, in partnership with local authorities, to publishing annual figures on loss of life of asylum seekers in temporary hotel accommodation in Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-09509

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 30 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 19 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commit to full cooperation and participation in the Independent Commission of Inquiry into Asylum Provision in Scotland with particular reference to failings in the provision of care to New Scots during the Covid pandemic.

Question reference: S6W-09332

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 24 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 13 July 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the affordable homes currently being built are (a) within walking distance of local services and amenities, and (b) accessible by public transport.

Scottish Government requires local authorities to assess, set out and monitor delivery against affordable housing priorities through Local Housing Strategy and Strategic Housing Investment Plans, which should be available on the relevant local authority websites. Planning authorities are responsible for the determination of planning permission in accordance with the development plan and relevant material considerations. Development plans set out where new development should and shouldn’t happen in the places they cover, enabling delivery of the right development in the right place.

Question reference: S6W-09006

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 22 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the #LiveableNHSBursary campaign led by medical students, which includes calls for access to full maintenance loans for medical students in line with other professional healthcare courses, access to the NHS Learning Support Fund for medical students and a review of Travel and Dual Accommodation Expenses, in light of the cost of living crisis.

The #LiveableNHSBursary campaign is focused on the situation faced by latter years medical students studying in England which is something we are unable to comment on. Scottish domiciled medical students are eligible for the standard student support package which is comprised of tuition fees and living cost support throughout all 5 or 6 years of their medical degree. Furthermore in February 2002 a £350 loan uplift for 2022-23 for higher education students was announced. This means that the most disadvantaged students can access £8,100 per year through bursary and loan and the Scottish Government remains committed that the total student support package reaches the equivalent of the Living Wage over the next three years.

In Scotland medical ACT is currently used to fund Travel and Subsistence for students in all regions and this is monitored in light of the changing economic climate and impact of locus of student placements in remote/rural settings.

Question reference: S6W-08842

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 9 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update regarding the proposals to allow Ukrainian refugees settling in Scotland access to study at Scottish universities free of charge, with access to living cost support.

Ukrainians who arrive in Scotland and wish to undertake a course of study in Further or Higher Education will be entitled to home tuition fee status, free tuition and living cost support for the duration of their studies. This entitlement has been enshrined in the new student support regulations which were laid before the Scottish Parliament on 6 May 2022 and come into force on 1 August, being the start of the 2022- 23 Academic Year.

In addition, the Scottish Government also announced on 14 April, the creation of a new £1 million International Students’ Emergency Fund for international students who were facing financial hardship as a result of a significant change of circumstances.

Ukrainian students who have previously chosen to study at a college or university in Scotland and are facing financial hardship as a result of the Russian invasion will be eligible to apply to their college or university for support.

Question reference: S6O-01240

Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 June 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the delivery of the missions of the Scottish National Investment Bank.