Questions and answers

Question reference: S6F-00104

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 14 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 June 2021

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6O-00025

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 June 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 June 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when Ministers last met with tenants' unions to discuss the development of the Rented Sector Strategy.

Question reference: S6F-00003

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 24 May 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 May 2021

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S5F-04897

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 15 March 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 March 2021

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S5W-35641

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 March 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 12 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the closure of non-essential click and collect retail, what its position is on whether businesses that sell a mixture of essential and non-essential items and are permitted to remain open during the COVID-19 lockdown should continue to sell non-essential items.

The Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions and Requirements) (Local Levels) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 set out the types of business which can currently remain open. They do not regulate the items which they can retail. It is up to the individual business to decide which items they make available, as long as they operate within Scottish Government regulations and guidelines. We expect everyone to adhere to the spirit as well as the letter of the guidance and so retailers should think carefully about what items they make available and do so in the most responsible way possible. The current stay at home regulations prohibits people from leaving or remaining outside their home except for an essential purpose including only for essential shopping.

Question reference: S5W-35642

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 March 2021
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 12 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress with the Managed Isolation Welfare Fund.

The Scottish Government is seeking to waive managed isolation fees for those on qualifying benefits, those facing hardship who are not on qualifying benefits but are unable to pay, and those on family reunion visas arriving to join a person with refugee status already in Scotland. However, changes need to be made to the UK Government systems in order for fee waiver to be possible. We are working urgently with the UK Government so that those required changes can be made.

Separately, the Coronavirus Discretionary Fund recently provided to Scottish universities and colleges can be used to support international students and students returning to Scotland at the end of exchange programmes, such as Erasmus, who can demonstrate the charge would cause them financial hardship.

Question reference: S5W-35638

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 March 2021
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 9 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with the UK Government regarding (a) people and (b) businesses who have been unable to access (i) the Self Employment Income Support Scheme, (ii) the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and (iii) other HMRC-issued financial assistance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Scottish Ministers continue to be concerned about the number of people unable to access financial support and have made repeated representations to the UK Government about the impact of Covid-19, the gaps in the current support measures and the need for continued support going forward.

We welcome the Chancellor’s announcement that the furlough scheme will be extended across the UK until end of September and that it will be withdrawn in a phased and gradual manner. It is essential the UK Government commits to the scheme remaining available to businesses in Scotland as long as restrictions remain in place.

We have called for the Chancellor to revise the cut-off date for entry to the Job retention Scheme, we remain concerned about those workers who cannot benefit from the scheme.

Question reference: S5W-35639

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 March 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 9 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will extend the eligibility criteria for the Strategic Framework Business Fund to include non-ratepaying businesses across a wider range of circumstances than current criteria allow for.

There are no plans to change the eligibility criteria for the Strategic Framework Business Fund. The £120m local authority discretionary fund empowers local authorities to direct funding to specific groups or sectors within their local economies and an important principle of this fund is to support businesses that have not received other forms of direct financial support from the Scottish Government since.

Question reference: S5W-35640

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 March 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 9 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will include co-working offices and studio spaces on Level 4 Strategic Framework Business Grant eligibility list, in light of the impact on their businesses of the instruction to work from home wherever possible that was issued on 4 January 2021.

Question reference: S5W-35644

Asked by: Patrick Harvie, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Green Party
Date lodged: Monday, 01 March 2021
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 4 March 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects to have completed its assessment of the funding required for the replacement of unsafe cladding on buildings.

Chamber and committees