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-01296

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 July 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 21 July 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that holders of Saltire+1 entitlement cards can book discounted travel for their companions online.

Under the National Concessionary Bus Travel Scheme for Older and Disabled People, a holder of a +1 National Entitlement Card is entitled to free bus travel for themselves and a companion travelling together with them for the same journey on local registered and long distance scheduled bus journeys throughout Scotland. Booking arrangements generally only apply to longer distance scheduled bus services and are the responsibility of the bus operator.

Question reference: S6W-00751

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 5 July 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many empty commercial properties there have been in each local authority in the South Scotland parliamentary region, in each year since 2011.

The following table shows the number of properties receiving a non-domestic rates relief or exemption from rates for unoccupied properties since 2011, except for 2014 and 2017 as no data is available for those years. The figures are as at the snapshot date and may therefore underestimate final numbers of recipients in a given year, and include entire local authority areas as data by parliamentary region is not held.

Data for 2021 is expected to become available in late 2021.

Local Authority	2011	2012	2013	2015	2016	2018	2019	2020
Dumfries & Galloway	400	590	590	560	520	540	490	460
East Ayrshire	400	450	440	290	330	190	190	160
East Lothian *	290	270	230	230	210	260	260	280
Midlothian *	140	260	260	190	190	140	200	120
Scottish Borders	650	640	580	560	570	530	510	460
South Ayrshire	480	480	430	420	410	350	290	280
South Lanarkshire *	1,100	1,070	900	850	600	300	250	10

Data: Billing System Snapshots provided to the Scottish Government by local authorities.

* Some parts of these local authorities, included in the table above, are not part of the South Scotland parliamentary region.

"Properties" refers to subjects listed as separate entries in the Valuation Roll, and includes shops, offices, warehouses, but also self-catering properties, properties that do not necessarily contain buildings, etc. Figures exclude properties for which the rateable value is zero.

Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.

Reliefs and exemptions for empty properties are typically cancelled by local authorities at the beginning of each financial year, with ratepayers required to reapply. Therefore these figures are likely to underestimate the full number of unoccupied properties as at the snapshot dates.

The snapshot dates are: 31 March 2011, 17 May 2012, 1 October 2013, 1 October 2015, 5 October 2016, 1 June 2018, 31 May 2019, and 1 July 2020.

Question reference: S6W-00750

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 29 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many empty (a) private, and (b) public sector residential properties there have been in each local authority area in the South Scotland parliamentary region, in each year since 2011.

Question reference: S6W-00749

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 15 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 29 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many homes in each local authority area in the South Scotland parliamentary region have been returned to use with support from the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership, in each year since 2011.

Question reference: S6W-00433

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 11 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how much the SQA charged each local authority for providing its services in the 2019-20 session, and how much it will charge each local authority for the 2020-21 session.

I have asked SQA to respond. The charges per local authority are:

	Total Charges	Total Charges	Levy Amount	Non- Levy	Non- Levy
	2019-20	2020-21		2019-20	2020-21
Local Authority	£	£	£	£	£
ABERDEEN CITY COUNCIL	705,222.25	699,017.00	698,265.00	6,957.25	752.00
ABERDEENSHIRE COUNCIL	1,177,229.25	1,185,000.00	1,169,834.00	7,395.25	15,166.00
ANGUS COUNCIL	555,398.25	552,189.00	549,886.00	5,512.25	2,303.00
ARGYLL & BUTE COUNCIL	445,413.50	443,867.00	443,348.00	2,065.50	519.00
SCOTTISH BORDERS COUNCIL	545,625.00	546,656.50	1,483,687.00	- 938,062.00	- 937,030.50
CLACKMANNANSHIRE COUNCIL	240,288.25	240,466.00	238,057.00	2,231.25	2,409.00
WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL	446,553.75	443,668.00	793,610.00	- 347,056.25	- 349,942.00
DUMFRIES AND GALLOWAY COUNCIL	802,989.25	795,046.50	612,578.00	190,411.25	182,468.50
DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL	620,854.25	622,603.00	602,382.00	18,472.25	20,221.00
EAST AYRSHIRE COUNCIL	609,791.50	610,740.00	678,524.00	- 68,732.50	- 67,784.00
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL	682,681.00	681,193.00	487,911.00	194,770.00	193,282.00
EAST LOTHIAN COUNCIL	496,080.50	491,256.00	764,774.00	- 268,693.50	- 273,518.00
EAST RENFREWSHIRE COUNCIL	768,361.00	765,247.50	699,680.00	68,681.00	65,567.50
CITY OF EDINBURGH COUNCIL	1,505,928.75	1,491,888.25	1,707,654.00	- 201,725.25	- 215,765.75
FALKIRK COUNCIL	707,678.75	703,365.75	2,135,236.00	- 1,427,557.25	- 1,431,870.25
FIFE COUNCIL	1,726,263.75	1,721,912.00	1,145,115.00	581,148.75	576,797.00
GLASGOW CITY COUNCIL	2,153,260.00	2,149,264.00	385,443.00	1,767,817.00	1,763,821.00
HIGHLAND COUNCIL	1,153,573.00	1,155,695.00	425,177.00	728,396.00	730,518.00
INVERCLYDE COUNCIL	387,147.25	387,967.00	709,006.00	- 321,858.75	- 321,039.00
MIDLOTHIAN COUNCIL	428,181.75	426,894.50	1,766,850.00	- 1,338,668.25	- 1,339,955.50
THE MORAY COUNCIL	482,969.75	482,338.00	112,028.00	370,941.75	370,310.00
NORTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL	725,249.00	718,423.50	645,358.00	79,891.00	73,065.50
NORTH LANARKSHIRE COUNCIL	1,781,996.50	1,774,265.00	886,239.00	895,757.50	888,026.00
ORKNEY ISLANDS COUNCIL	112,504.00	112,028.00	540,772.00	- 428,268.00	- 428,744.00
PERTH & KINROSS COUNCIL	649,650.50	646,325.00	126,785.00	522,865.50	519,540.00
RENFREWSHIRE COUNCIL	891,900.00	887,668.00	593,086.00	298,814.00	294,582.00
SHETLAND ISLANDS COUNCIL	127,303.75	128,010.50	1,545,723.00	- 1,418,419.25	- 1,417,712.50
SOUTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL	596,613.50	594,437.50	473,217.00	123,396.50	121,220.50
SOUTH LANARKSHIRE COUNCIL	1,555,156.50	1,553,114.50	480,912.00	1,074,244.50	1,072,202.50
STIRLING COUNCIL	478,519.00	477,069.50	443,668.00	34,851.00	33,401.50
WEST LOTHIAN COUNCIL	968,179.25	962,863.00	953,766.00	14,413.25	9,097.00
WESTERN ISLES COUNCIL	146,237.50	145,530.00	145,530.00	707.50	-

TOTAL	24,674,800.25	24,596,008.50	24,444,101.00	230,699.25	151,907.50

Question reference: S6W-00432

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 11 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether the SQA will charge local authorities a reduced amount for its services this session, given the reduction in the number of exam settings and marking services it has provided.

The budget agreed by Scottish Ministers for SQA for 2021-22 is based on the SQA levy to local authorities and entry fees charged separately remaining at the same level as has been the case since 2012-13.

These fees provide a contribution towards the cost of awarding, rather than covering the full cost for that individual local authority, school or college. The costs of awarding National Qualifications, even this year, are greater than the contribution made by local authorities in the form of a levy.

Question reference: S6O-00026

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what provision it plans to make for the inclusion of greenspaces within new residential housing developments.

Question reference: S6W-00241

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 8 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on by what date all frontline care staff will have received the £500 bonus announced on November 30, 2020.

We are fully committed to paying the payments to eligible social care workers as quickly as possible. Local authorities have confirmed that the majority of payments were made to local authority employed social care workers by the end of April with the remainder of payments being made in May. All Local Authorities have confirmed that payments to third and independent social care providers have been completed. Our administration partner, Scotland Excel, are working to confirm with social care providers that payments have been made to staff.

We are currently working with key delivery partners to agree a payment process to make payments to Personal Assistants as quickly as possible.

Question reference: S6W-00243

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 4 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many suicides have been recorded in each year since 2016.

Question reference: S6W-00244

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 May 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 4 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what effect it considers that COVID-19 restrictions have had on mental health and on suicide rates.

We know that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on many people’s mental health. The Scottish COVID-19 Mental Health Tracker study provides data which, alongside other sources, the Scottish Government use to track the mental health and wellbeing of the Scottish population. This provides insight into the potential impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic and restrictions on mental health and has allowed us to tailor our mental health policy response to the pandemic as needs evolve. We published Wave 1 of the Tracker Study in October 2020, and Wave 2 in February 2021.

In line with emerging needs, we published the Mental Health Transition and Recovery Plan on 8 October 2020. The Plan outlines the Scottish Government’s response to the impacts of COVID-19 and addresses the challenges that the pandemic has had, and will continue to have, on the population’s mental health. The Plan is comprehensive and contains over 100 actions, including actions on suicide prevention. We continue to work with our National Suicide Prevention Leadership Group and other key stakeholders on the Plan’s implementation.

There is currently no clear evidence on the pandemic’s impact on suicide rates in Scotland. Annual suicide statistics for 2020 will be published this August by National Records of Scotland. We recognise the importance of timely data on probable suicides to support local suicide prevention planning and are working closely with Public Health Scotland who will roll this out over the summer.

Year	Number of homes brought back into use
2011-12	4
2012-13	76
2013-14	278
2014-15	560
2015-16	697
2016-17	859
2017-18	742
2018-19	1,128
2019-20	1,412
2020-21	851
Total	6607