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: S6O-01034

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 April 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 May 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what duty local authorities have to assist disabled people who reside in mobile or park homes under the Chronically Sick And Disabled Persons (Scotland) Act 1972.

Question reference: S6W-07504

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 March 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 8 April 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the most recent levels at which business rates begin to be paid for the rateable value of individual properties in Scotland, and how that compares with (a) England and (b) Wales.

The Scottish Budget 2022-23 ensures the lowest poundage in the UK for the fourth year in a row and supports a generous package of reliefs.

Table 1 shows the tax rates and thresholds that will apply in 2022-23.

There are also a number of rates reliefs available in each of the three countries, including up to 100% relief for small properties. Table 1 sets out the eligibility thresholds for 100% relief in each of the schemes across Scotland, England and Wales in 2022-23.

Table 1: Property rates and rates relief for small properties, Scotland, England and Wales, 2022-23

2022-23	Scotland	England	Wales
Basic Property Rate (‘poundage’) applies up to and including £51,000 rateable value	49.8p	n/a	n/a
Small Business Multiplier applies up to £51,000 rateable value	n/a	49.9p	n/a
Intermediate Property Rate applies from £51,001 to £95,000 rateable value	51.1p	n/a	n/a
Standard Multiplier which applies from £51,000 and above in England.	n/a	51.2p	n/a
Multiplier which applies for all properties in Wales	n/a	n/a	53.5p
Higher Property Rate applies above £95,000 rateable value	52.4p	n/a	n/a
Small Business 100% relief rateable value threshold	Up to and including £15,000	Up to and including £12,000	Up to and including £6,000

As at 1 June 2021, there were over 119,000 properties in receipt of Small Business Bonus Scheme relief in Scotland, of which over 111,000 received 100% relief. A 100% relief is available where the total rateable value of a ratepayer’s properties does not exceed £15,000.

In England, 100% Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR) is available where an organisation has only one property. If an organisation acquires a second property, the existing relief will only remain for 12 months unless other properties have a rateable value less than £2,900 and the total combined rateable value is less than £20,000 (£28,000 in London).

In Wales, the equivalent SBRR relief is limited to two properties per organisation in each local authority area with the £6,000 threshold applied to each individually rather than collectively. There is no cumulative rateable value threshold.

Question reference: S6O-00921

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 March 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the consultation on a draft national plan to end the need for food banks.

Question reference: S6O-00790

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 February 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 March 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any potential impact on Scotland's Covid Recovery Strategy due to the UK Government's decision to end the legal requirement to self-isolate for people who have tested positive for COVID-19.

Question reference: S6W-06124

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 February 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 21 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will review and reconsider the Control of Entry arrangements for community pharmacy services, in light of reported calls that this may provide a fairer, equal and transparent process for applicants whereby local interests and needs are prioritised over competitor interests.

The Scottish Government is committed to developing and implementing within this parliamentary term a revised contracting framework for community pharmacy NHS pharmaceutical services, underpinned by a review of existing Control of Entry, funding arrangement and introduction of a Performers List for the Pharmacy profession, as outlined in Achieving excellence in pharmaceutical care: a strategy for Scotland strategy.

Any future amendments to the regulations will uphold the necessity for successful applications to be granted around set criteria. These include neighbourhood requirements, the adequacy of existing pharmaceutical services in an area (from registered pharmacy premises), and the necessity or desirability of to secure adequate pharmaceutical services in an area.

Question reference: S6W-05349

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 24 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 24 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce the waiting time for surgery for Priority 4 gynaecology patients, in light of some patients being informed that the waiting time for some procedures is currently over 100 weeks.

As you know, the NHS in Scotland is under unprecedented pressure, particularly as a result of this latest Covid wave, and a number of services have been stood down in order to support urgent and emergency demand.

The latest data shows Boards are reporting a 65% increase in coronavirus absence compared to the previous week and significantly faster rate of increase in Covid hospitalisations this year compared to last January. This is a reminder of the challenges our NHS continues to face, having a high impact on waiting times for those people waiting to receive scheduled treatment.

Those waiting for treatment should be signposted to help on how they can manage their condition, and are encourage to seek support if they feel their mental health is being impacted.

The NHS Recovery Plan, which is backed by over £1 billion of additional investment, sets out how the Scottish Government will increase NHS capacity by at least 10% as quickly as possible in order to address backlogs and meet the ongoing healthcare needs for people across the country, including gynaecology patients.

Women’s Health is key priority for this government, which is why we published an ambitious Women’s Health Plan in August 2021. The Women’s Health Plan underpins actions to improve women’s health inequalities by raising awareness around women’s health, improving access to health care for women across their life course and reducing inequalities in health outcomes for girls and women, both for sex-specific conditions and in women’s general health.

Question reference: S6O-00673

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 January 2022
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its proposals on green ports as part of the wider investment to support a green recovery.

Question reference: S6W-05393

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 24 December 2021
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 11 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what level of funding can be provided by Historic Environment Scotland (HES) to stabilise and develop the site of Mavisbank House in Loanhead; what engagement HES is undertaking with relevant stakeholders to take forward development of this site; what short-term developments HES anticipates for this project, and whether HES will take a leadership role in the site's development.

Historic Environment Scotland has already played a lead role in looking at the options for development at Mavisbank House, through its partnership with the Landmark Trust in the ultimately unsuccessful funding application to the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Historic Environment Scotland is continuing discussions with interested parties about the future of the property and I have asked the body to write directly to the member about the details.

Question reference: S6O-00554

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 December 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the proposed works at Sheriffhall roundabout as part of its £300 million commitment to the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal.

Question reference: S6W-04446

Asked by: Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 12 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maggie Chapman on 25 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what consideration has been given to the length of time taken to process motions and questions submitted by MSPs.

Since the start of Session 6, the Chamber Desk has seen an upturn in the number of questions and motions submitted. In particular, the number of Urgent Questions being lodged has increased significantly. These factors have had an impact on the previous pattern of work undertaken by the Chamber Desk and have resulted in a longer turnaround time than Members will previously have been used to. When Urgent Questions are lodged, they are given priority due to the timeframe for such questions to be taken if selected and only selected questions are published. To respond to these changes in demand and pattern of work, additional staffing resources have been deployed to the Chamber Desk. Due to the specialist nature of the services provided by the Chamber Desk, the impact of these additional resources will not be immediately realised as staff require to undertake training and familiarisation with the role. Where any Members have lodged motions that are particularly time-sensitive and that they wish to be prioritised they should indicate this by email to the Chamber Desk and, where possible, early attention can be given to processing those items.