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-32050

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 18 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with SEPA regarding the potential impact of closing its 24-hour call centre and replacing it with an automated system for responding to significant environmental incidents.

The Scottish Government and SEPA meet regularly to discuss policy and governance matters. Although the Scottish Government has been acutely aware of SEPA’s change plans for their call centre, this is an operational matter for SEPA.

SEPA has not raised any emerging risk, or issue with significant implications, for it's operation or governance with regards to changes to the 24-hour call centre.

We understand decisions around the call centre align with SEPA’s wider plans for organisational transformation and Public Sector Reform.

Question reference: S6W-32035

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 December 2024
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 18 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with VisitScotland regarding the impact of new pylon infrastructure on tourism.

Question reference: S6T-02254

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 16 December 2024
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Information Commissioner letter to it expressing "disappointment’" in the way that it complied with Decision 193/2024, regarding legal advice that it received.

Question reference: S6W-31550

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Claire Baker (on behalf of the SPCB) on 11 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how many email and domain accounts for MSP spouses there are on the Parliament IT system, and what the average annual cost is of administering any such accounts.

Email and domain accounts are included in the parliamentary resources which are provided by the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body to support MSPs' and their staff in undertaking their parliamentary duties. As a requirement of the Reimbursement of Members' Expenses Scheme, the SPCB has to publish a register of MSPs who employ a close family member, including spouses, of another MSP. This register can be found on the Parliament website (Employing MSP family members | Scottish Parliament Website), and as of 2^nd December 2024 the register does not list any MSP spouses who are in paid employment by MSPs.

Question reference: S6W-31818

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 11 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment has been made of the current living grant for trainee educational psychologists, in light of the £15,000 grant introduced in 2018 having not been adjusted for the reported 25.96% increase in the cost of goods and services, and how it plans to ensure that the grant remains sufficient to attract and retain high-quality trainees in the educational psychology profession.

Since 2018, the number of education psychologists in training has more than doubled from a total of 29 in 2016-2017 to over 76 in 2023-2024. This is due to the continued investment Scottish Government in partnership with COSLA make to deliver the training programme for educational psychologists which has risen to nearly £2m per year.

The living costs grant for educational psychologist trainees, in addition to tuition fee funding, is not income assessed and does not need to be repaid. Most post-graduate students studying other subjects are eligible for a £6,900 living costs loan for the duration of their course.

Since 2022, work has been undertaken by Scottish Government, COSLA officials, supported by the National Scottish Steering Group for Educational Psychologists (NSSGEP) and Dundee University, to establish a 3-year doctorate model of training. This package equates to £29,000 per student, per annum, for the duration of the 3-year training programme.

Question reference: S6W-31751

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 9 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how much of the £200 million that it committed to improve rail journey times between Aberdeen and the Central Belt by 2026 has been spent to date.

The total invested to 9th November 2024 (Railway Period 8 – 2024) on projects to reduce journey times between Aberdeen and the Central Belt is £23.1m. Of this figure, £16.3m has been spent on the Aberdeen – Central Belt Service Improvement project, and £6.8m has been spent on the project to improve rail line speeds in the Barnhill area between Perth and Dundee. The investment at Barnhill remodelled a junction between the Tay Viaduct at Perth and Barnhill to increase line speeds over it from 20mph to 50mph. It is a direct enabler for the plan to reduce rail journey times between the Central Belt and the North-East, improving connectivity and enhancing capacity for both passenger and freight trains on the route.

Question reference: S6W-31741

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 9 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with British Transport Police regarding the enforcement of ScotRail's alcohol ban.

British Transport Police are responsible for enforcing the alcohol ban and responding to reports of antisocial behaviour on ScotRail trains. The Scottish Government through Transport Scotland engages with British Transport Police in considerations over the future of the ban and in the wider context of tackling antisocial behaviours on the rail network.

It is acknowledged that a greater British Transport Police resource with increased visibility on the rail network could make a difference to enforcement of the alcohol ban. However, as the Scottish Government has no direct responsibility over British Transport Police, we must work within the resource it has and continue to encourage British Transport Police to work more effectively with ScotRail wherever possible.

Question reference: S6W-31738

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 9 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis has been done with ScotRail on any loss of income to its catering service due to the ongoing ban on the consumption of alcohol on ScotRail services.

Question reference: S6W-31740

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 25 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 9 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government whether a decision on reallowing alcohol at certain times on ScotRail trains will be made in 2024.

Ministers must collectively consider all factors, particularly antisocial behaviour and violence against women and girls. Therefore, Ministers will continue to be informed by the equally safe strategy, alongside the strategic review by the independent working group on antisocial behaviour, which will present its report to Ministers, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and Police Scotland this year.

Question reference: S6W-31595

Asked by: Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 November 2024
Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 5 December 2024

To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy last met the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) to discuss the impact of energy infrastructure applications.