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: S5W-26766

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 December 2019
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 19 December 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on procurement contracts relating to its Reaching 100% programme.

Following my announcement on 10 October that BT plc was the sole bidder for lots 2 and 3, covering Central and South Scotland, I can confirm that these contracts were signed on Monday 16 December.

BT plc has also been selected as the preferred bidder for lot 1, covering the North area. We had intended to finalise governance and sign this contract in the coming weeks. However, I can confirm that this award is now subject to a legal challenge from Gigaclear Ltd, which the Scottish Government is currently considering and seeking advice on. This will include consideration of the potential impact on the North lot and I will update Parliament as soon as I have more information. This development does not impact the Central and South lots.

Question reference: S5O-03771

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 November 2019
Current Status: Answered by Liam McArthur on 21 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it will consider introducing a scheme to support employees of MSPs who, for reasons of ill-health, are unable to continue in work.

The SPCB provides a pension scheme for MSPs’ staff which is administered on our behalf by AVIVA. This scheme makes provision for circumstances in which staff are unable to continue to work due to ill health. In such cases, staff who cannot carry out their normal job because of physical or mental ill health can approach AVIVA who will advise them on the process for claiming early payment of their accrued pension benefits.

Question reference: S5O-03782

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 November 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what consultation it undertakes with major employers to ensure that STEM courses are relevant and appropriate to the needs of commerce and industry.

Question reference: S5W-26219

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 November 2019
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 7 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has for developing Scotland’s circular economy.

A public consultation on proposals for a circular economy bill is being published today and runs until 19 December: https://consult.gov.scot/environment-forestry/circular-economy-proposals-for-legislation/ . The proposals form part of wider plans for a step-change in our approach to reducing, reusing and recycling materials, which will help drive Scotland’s circular economy and the transition to net zero emissions.

Question reference: S5O-03739

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 November 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on its commitment to help mitigate the damage to transport infrastructure caused by flooding in the north east and, in particular, the King Edward area in the Banffshire and Buchan Coast constituency.

Question reference: S5O-03729

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 October 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 November 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what support is available to victims of financial crime in circumstances where banks seem to have failed to observe their own lending criteria and "know your customer" protocols.

Question reference: S5W-25894

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 18 October 2019
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 21 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, following its announcement of Serco as the preferred bidder for the Northern Isles Ferry Services tender, when the contract will be signed.

We have received further correspondence from the European Commission in relation to the ongoing complaint from Pentland Ferries that we want to consider and respond to before signing the contract. The current contract with Serco NorthLink Ferries Ltd has been extended for 3 months, until 31 January 2020 to allow for this to happen.

This will not have an impact on the Scottish Government’s commitment from January 2020, to introduce a 20% discount on cabin fares for island residents on Aberdeen-Kirkwall-Lerwick routes, as well as a three year islander fares freeze for passengers, non-commercial vehicles and cabins on those routes.

Question reference: S5O-03646

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 October 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 October 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the reported decline in the number of European tourists visiting Scotland due to negative perceptions of Brexit.

Question reference: S5W-25409

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 September 2019
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 19 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its approach to implementing the ban on sending biodegradable municipal waste to landfill, which is due to be enforced from 1 January 2021.

The recent advice from the Committee on Climate Change reinforced the importance of reducing our reliance on landfill and the Scottish Government remains fully committed to ending the practice of sending biodegradable municipal waste to landfill . This will contribute to progress on climate change targets and increase incentives to deal with waste in a more sustainable way.

Significant progress has already been made towards readiness for the ban and a majority of local authorities and many commercial operators have long-term or interim solutions in place.

However, the evidence available suggests that full compliance by 2021 will not be possible without reliance on export options, including landfill in England, with consequent environmental impact and additional financial implications for local authorities.

Having carefully considered the key issues and available evidence, including advice from a working group comprising public and private sector waste sector professionals and the views of wider stakeholders, I am prepared to accept – reluctantly - that a transitional approach is necessary; and that some commercial operators and a minority of local authorities need longer to achieve full compliance with the ban.

Therefore, I have agreed that full enforcement should be delayed until 2025 for both public and private sectors managing wastes covered by the ban. This timescale is in line with the broader advice provided by the Climate Change Committee on action needed to meet net zero emissions targets.

The necessary legislation extending the deadline will only be made on the condition that remaining local authorities and the commercial sector in particular commit to making further progress at pace and demonstrate early and robust evidence of such progress.

To support progress, Scottish Government will support a positive, centrally co-ordinated intervention to help the remaining local authorities procure solutions for the remaining tonnage of waste; and Scottish Landfill Tax will be used to provide a further incentive to ensure that transitional work proceeds at the necessary pace.

In relation to future delivery plans, I wish to reinforce the importance of reducing waste and increasing recycling. These provide the best solutions in line with the waste hierarchy and will reduce reliance on solutions further down the hierarchy, such as energy from waste.

Scottish Government will continue to work closely with key partners and will bring forward detailed proposals for this transitional approach in due course.

Question reference: S5O-03468

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 August 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 September 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle the climate emergency.