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-15878

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 24 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions NatureScot had with Hampden & Co, Lombard Odier Investment Managers and Palladium to require the creation of new woodland crofts or other forms of tenancies to manage new or existing woodlands and to ensure that the benefits of public and private investments would be widely shared.

Question reference: S6W-15864

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 24 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether NatureScot, by signing the Memorandum of Understanding with Hampden & Co, Lombard Odier Investment Managers and Palladium, and making disclosure of significant amounts of information relating to it and its operation confidential, has placed an obligation upon itself not to disclose any such information on the basis of it being commercially confidential.

Question reference: S6W-15869

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 24 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what other models to achieve natural capital investment in Scotland were examined before NatureScot agreed a Memorandum of Understanding with Hampden & Co, Lombard Odier Investment Managers and Palladium, and whether it will publish any assessment of alternative models that it undertook.

The Scottish Government has increased public investment and support in our natural capital through a variety of methods. This includes the £65 million Nature Restoration Fund, and the Facility for Investment Ready Nature in Scotland (FIRNS) that was launched in February this year. However, the Global Biodiversity Framework that was agreed at COP15 last year identified leveraging responsible private finance as a key target, and in Scotland alone it is estimated that there is a finance gap of £20 billion to meet nature-related outcomes.

For the purposes of this agreement, NatureScot entered into discussions with Hampden & Co., Lombard Odier Investment Managers and Palladium and mutually agreed that a Memorandum of Understanding would best define the ways of working and respective roles of parties, as is commonplace.

Question reference: S6W-15872

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 24 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the Memorandum of Understanding between NatureScot and Hampden & Co, Lombard Odier Investment Managers and Palladium, in addition to investment from public funds, what specific matters it anticipates any private investment will be spent on.

Question reference: S6W-15881

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 10 March 2023
Current Status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 24 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether the minutes and the annual report of the Project Board envisaged under the Memorandum of Understanding between NatureScot and Hampden & Co, Lombard Odier Investment Managers and Palladium will be made public upon production.

Question reference: S6W-15220

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 20 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 20 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government when in late 2023 phase one of the medium-term solution for the A83 Rest and Be Thankful will begin.

Transport Scotland is currently developing a detailed programme and procurement strategy to deliver the improvements to the Old Military Road as quickly as possible. It is expected that these works will be carried out on a phased basis starting later this year. Once this work is complete I will share with the A83 Taskforce the estimated timescale for delivering Phase 1 of the medium-term solution. I share the urgency communities and businesses place in maintaining and improving connectivity of this vital route, and remain absolutely committed to ensuring continuity of access to Argyll and Bute so that the region remains open for business.

Question reference: S6W-14784

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 13 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 16 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-13023 by Jenny Gilruth on 9 January 2023, when it will fulfil its commitment to reduce train journey times between Inverness and Edinburgh to 2 hours 45 minutes, as referred to in the original question.

Transport Scotland, alongside industry partners, is exploring options for lengthening passing loops on the line to enable longer and more frequent freight and passenger services.

Enabling the transfer of freight traffic, particularly from the adjacent A9 to the Highland Main Line, will produce significant carbon savings and improve safety and traffic flow on the A9.

We will fund the infrastructure enhancements necessary to produce further journey time savings on the Highland Main Line once a robust business case has been established for this expenditure.

Question reference: S6O-02033

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 March 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to protect the culture of the Highlands and Islands.

Question reference: S6W-15218

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 20 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 15 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether the medium-term solution for the A83 Rest and Be Thankful will allow free-flowing, two-way traffic.

The objective of the medium-term solution is to provide a safe, proportionate and more resilient diversion route for use if the A83 is closed. The improvements to the Old Military Road will improve the resilience of the diversion route, reduce journey times, are the quickest to implement, of relatively lower cost and would have the least impacts overall across the range of criteria assessed.

These improvements include proposals to extend the length of single carriageway (i.e. two way lane road), subject to obtaining necessary statutory planning approvals. However, a length of the single lane Old Military Road will remain unchanged at the western end, including the hairpin bends. This was communicated when the medium term solution announcement was published on the Transport Scotland website on 23 December 2022.

Question reference: S6W-14873

Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 20 February 2023
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 13 March 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in the last two years, (a) how many times and (b) for what length of time NHS Scotland has taken action to ensure that homecare medicines services return to the agreed standards.

NHS National Procurement in partnership with the Health Boards are responsible for the provision of medicine homecare services and have met with affected providers on a weekly basis over a 12 month period to address services provision and monitor return to good service levels.

When service problems arise, through performance management arrangements linked to service level agreement and contracts, there is work with providers to agree an action plan and then closely monitoring delivery of performance improvements against that plan until service levels return to agreed standards.