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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 2373 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S5W-35631

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 March 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 12 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what investment will be required to disperse the ophthalmology services provided by the Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion in Edinburgh to Livingston.

Question reference: S5W-35634

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 March 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 12 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the establishment of a new centre of excellence for eye treatment in Edinburgh.

The Scottish Government has asked NHS Lothian to carry out a review of the way in which it delivers its eye care services and to look again at what it can do with its existing estate. The Scottish Government recognises the importance of centres of expertise providing specialist care. At the same time, developments in eye care mean that more services can be safely provided closer to patients’ homes. NHS Lothian’s review should consider both these points and how best to use new technology.

Question reference: S5W-35630

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 March 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 12 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the funding for the relocation of the Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion to the BioQuarter site In Edinburgh, which it had initially approved, was cancelled; whether it will publish the timeline of the process that it used to reach this decision; what advice it has received from (a) clinicians and (b) ophthalmologists regarding the cancellation, and what consultation it carried out with (i) clinicians, (ii) ophthalmologists and (iii) service users.

Question reference: S5W-33968

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 11 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will introduce a support programme for rural home owners, particularly in off-gas areas, to ensure that they are not adversely affected by the costs of moving to low-carbon heat.

The Scottish Government already supports rural homeowners with the costs of reducing and eliminating emissions associated with their heating. Support is available through our existing energy efficiency and heat decarbonisation schemes including Warmer Homes Scotland, our local authority-led Area Based Schemes and our Home Energy Scotland interest-free loan and cashback scheme.

Home Energy Scotland is funded by the Scottish Government and offers free and impartial advice to all Scottish households, including those in our rural and island communities, on how to keep their homes warm, reduce bills and cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Question reference: S5W-33966

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 December 2020
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 11 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that the work toward achieving net-zero emissions does not lead to more households facing fuel poverty.

We are committed to ensuring our approach to heat decarbonisation neither increases the fuel poverty rate nor increases the depth of fuel poverty. It is imperative that our actions help to deliver both our statutory fuel poverty and climate targets.

Over the next Parliament we will invest £1.6 billion to decarbonise the way we heat our homes and our buildings and tackle fuel poverty. In the short term we will continue to build upon our successful Energy Efficient Scotland delivery programmes helping to ensure homes are energy efficient and ready for low carbon heat. We will also continue to increase the number of zero emission heating measures funded through these programmes, targeting households who can benefit most from decarbonisation, avoiding those where there is a risk of a detrimental outcome, and providing uplifted support where necessary to secure both objectives.

Over the longer term the UK Government must take action on energy prices to better align the transition to net-zero with fuel poverty objectives. This includes rebalancing environmental and social obligations on energy bills to make gas and electric prices relatively more comparable; as well as increasing levy funding for social obligations alongside changes to how costs are charged to low income and fuel poor households with higher energy costs, to ensure that progress is maintained in reducing fuel poverty.

The draft Heat in Buildings Strategy, published 5 February, sets out the actions we will take to protect vulnerable households including those at risk of fuel poverty as we transform our homes so that they are warmer, greener and affordable to heat.

Question reference: S5O-05135

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 March 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how it will utilise its public sector procurement to ensure that companies in receipt of public sector contracts pay staff the real living wage and provide longer-term employment and training opportunities.

Question reference: S5W-35383

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 22 February 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 1 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether BS 8414 fire tests allow flammable cladding to be used on buildings and, in light of the position taken by the other UK administrations, whether it will ban their use.

Cladding systems containing combustible materials that pass the large scale BS8414 test and meet the performance criteria in BR 135 can be used on buildings over 11m in Scotland. I announced at the Local Government and Communities Committee meeting on 4 September 2020 that an independent panel of fire experts would be convened to consider the banning of the highest risk combustible cladding materials and also the role of BS8414. Public safety is our first priority and I am satisfied that the action taken within our reviews, based upon the advice from the many independent experts involved, will continue to deliver this.

Question reference: S5F-04820

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 15 February 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 February 2021

To ask the First Minister how the consequentials from the recently announced £3.5 billion of funding to replace unsafe cladding in England will be allocated, and whether buildings under 18 metres will be included in any grant scheme.

Question reference: S5W-34475

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 January 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 11 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many carers have (a) applied for and (b) been awarded the £500 "thank you" bonus to date.

Question reference: S5W-34653

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 January 2021
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 1 February 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the role played by unpaid carers during the COVID-19 pandemic, whether it will consider providing a "thank you" bonus through a Carer's Allowance top-up.

We have already topped up Carer’s Allowance in response to the coronavirus pandemic. In June 2020, we made a one-off Coronavirus Carer’s Allowance Supplement of £230.10 to 83,000 of Scotland’s carers, on some of the lowest incomes and with some of the most intense caring roles, to help recognise the extra pressures caused by the pandemic. Through Carer’s Allowance Supplement and this special payment, carers in Scotland received £690.30 more than carers south of the border last year.

We invested around £19.2 million through the Coronavirus Carer’s Allowance Supplement, bringing our total investment in carers through Carer’s Allowance, the Carer’s Allowance Supplement and the Coronavirus Carer’s Allowance Supplement to almost £350 million in 2020-21.

Throughout the pandemic we have also provided a range additional support to unpaid carers including establishing a £500,000 fund to help local carer services adapt to providing advice and emotional support remotely. We have recently announced a further investment of £750,000 in the voluntary sector Short Breaks Fund’s ‘Time to Live’ scheme. I refer the member to the answer to question‎ S5W-34671 on 29 January 2021 for further information.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx